Slice Master 6000 v0.10.7 is now available

K1DBO

Version v0.10.7 adds basic Flex SSDR v3 support to Slice Master. 

The latest README is now available at https://github.com/K1DBO/slice-master-6000 and will tell you how to get started, or you can just download the latest zip from https://github.com/K1DBO/slice-master-6000/releases

If you are running SSDR v2 or SSDR v3 but not using any of the Multi-Flex features, you shouldnt notice anything new in this release.  If you are using Multi-Flex, and would like to specify the station for Slice Master to bind too, you'll be interested in the new

         --station STATION

start-up option.  This option can only be set at start up time so you'll need to either create a Slice Master shortcut for each station you'd like to bind to or start Slice Master from a cmd window.

I hope this release is less buggy than I expect it to be.  Please let me know how it goes.  Unreported problems rarely get fixed!

--Don

W9WLX_Chuck

Thanks for all the work you've put into the program.

I'm having difficulty with getting it to launch WSJT-X.  No issues with CW Skimmer, skimmer launches and works as expected.  Using V3.

I verified that DAX is enabled on the slice and in the DAX control panel.  I started Slice Master from the cmd window and used the --station attribute.  I did have to take the space out of my station name in order for SM to recognize the station.  Also, started WSJT-X manually and then retried with SM-no change.  I am using 2.1.0 rc5.  Could this be causing an incompatibility issue?  

-Chuck

K1DBO

Thanks Chuck... you're right.  The problem was on my end.  I've uploaded a v0.10.7a to github.  It should take care of the WSJT-X problem.

Rich McCabe

I am on it. Will let you know Don

Rich

Rich McCabe

So far so good. CW skimmer and WSJT working fine. Did not want to play at first. I deleted the slicemaster folder in my user folders and rebooted and took right off.

K1DBO

Great!  Thanks for the feedback Rich.

The config folder should have worked fine.  No changes in there since the last version.  Perhaps it was the reboot that really did the trick?

Rich McCabe

Yea good chance it was reboot. When in doubt...

KC8P

The 0.10.7a works well. Thanks!

LZ2BE

Hi Don,
CW skimmer often is spotting one station on 2 different frequencies, a proper and false at the same time.
I'm with 6600 v.3
73 Boyan

W9TVX

Thank you so much for this program. I love it. Very much appreciated!

K1DBO

You're welcome!

K1DBO

I'm going to have to dig into my notes on this one.  I sounds very similar to something that's been discussed before.  The short of it is that it's not a Slice Master problem but rather a DAX problem.  My guess is that your DAX drivers need some attention.  You might have other, still unnoticed, issues with them. 

A quick fix might be to tell CW Skimmer to use the WDM Soundcard Drivers instead of the MME drivers that Slice Master prefers.  But if that helps it only confirms my guess.

Boyan LZ2BE

Hi Don,
No difference with MME or WDM drivers. Skimmer works OK with Afedri RX. DAX, CAT and SSDR are put in exception list of Firewall and antivirus.
It looks I have some problems with my DAXIQ installation, but I don't have any idea where to look.
I'm with Win10 Pro64.
73 Boyan

Rich McCabe

Boyan,

I would start with this. Flex DAX is a little flaky and seems to require occasional rebuilding

https://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/en-us/articles/204017069-How-to-Manually-Re-Install-DAX-Drivers

Boyan LZ2BE

Rich,
thanks for link. I will try it next week when I come back at home.
73 Boyan

Boyan LZ2BE

I found the problem after few drivers uninstalls/installs
IQ drivers were set by default to 24bit 48kHz in my Sounds Playback/Recording Advanced settings.
Skimmer works OK when you set it to 48kHz, but there are a lot of wrong spots when is set to 96kHz or 192kHz.
I changed IQ drivers to 24bit 192kHz and Skimmer now works OK on 48, 96 and 192kHz without any false spot.
I left all other DAX drivers (RX, TX and Mic audio) to 48kHz.

73 Boyan

W9WLX_Chuck

I tried what you suggested and I'm still seeing false spots on 48, 96, and 192 kHz.  Are there any other recommendations?  I don't recall seeing this on 2.4.9 and the compatible SliceMaster version.

K1DBO

Make sure the DAX drivers are set to stereo (2 channel).  I've seen cases where they end up being set to mono (1 channel).  For I/Q data, the I uses one channel and the Q uses the other.

--Don

W9WLX_Chuck

Definitely set to two channel.

Wolf

Don,

Just loaded v0.10.7b and it works fine with DM780 and
WSJT-X.  Thank you for this nice program !

Two questions:
(1) Does it support WSJT V10.0 as well ( used in the EME Community) ? 
(2) How to activate the HRD Logbook ?

73 Wolf

K1DBO

Wolf,

Sorry, but Slice Master does not support WSJT V10.0.  You're the first the ask.

HRD Logbook, on the other hand is fairly well supported.  Slice Master wont launch it for you, but you can use Slice Master in place of HRD Rig Control and configure HRD Logbook to connect to it instead.  This starts with enabling Slice Master's HRD TCP TX Listener on the Slice Master settings tab.  Make note of the port number.  It's usually 7810 but could be anything.



Then configure HRD Logbook's radio pane to connect to Slice Master



We've now taken HRD Rig Control out of the loop and put Slice Master in its place.  

You can also configure HRD Logbook to read spots from Slice Master's telnet aggregation server.  

The first step is to enable Slice Master's aggregation server



This capture also shows how to enable spots from other telnet servers.  HRD Logbook will only connect to one telnet server at a time.  So if you want your "locally" discovered spots from CW Skimmer and WSJT-X to appear in HRD Logbook along with spots from other cluster servers, you'll have to configure Slice Master to connect to the other cluster servers.

The second spot source show here tells Slice Master to query HRD Logbook for "color" information.  Whenever a new spot is discovered, Slice Master will ask HRD Logbook for information on the call.  That information will be used to apply a color to the spot when it is displayed in the SSDR panafall.  The color is intended to give you a rough idea of the desirability of the spot.

Back in HRD Logbook, you'll need to add Slice Master's aggregation server



and select it for use.

Finally, on HRD Logbook's Tools menu select the 'Network Server' option and make sure that it's enabled.  If you are already using DM780, it probably is.



Slice Master can also work with HRD Sat Track but there's a fairly recent thread here on that topic so I'll skip that for now.

Good Luck!

--Don

TAC

I'm running FlexRadio 2.4.9 on and 6300, Slice Master 6000 v0.10.7b, and WSJT-X v2.0.1. 

When I start SM is it supposed to automagically find WSJT-X and display it under the Launch tab? 

I'm also running HRD v6.5.0.207 and only see DN780 listed under the SM Launch | Slice A tab.  

TAC

As a test I just installed CW Skimmer and I see it automatically showed up under the Launch | Slice A tab of Slice Master.

K1DBO

If WSJT-X is installed in the default location, Slice Master will find it and add it to the launch tabs. Note that if you just installed it, the installation isn’t complete until you run it I once from the desktop. You don’t have to configure it but adding your station information to its settings is a good idea. —Don

TAC

Thnx! 

EA4AYW

Hi to all.
I need the link for download Please.

Johan _ SE3X

https://github.com/K1DBO/slice-master-6000/releases

I downloaded yesterday, installed, and it did work flawless with WSJT-X this morning.

Johan
 

Brian Denley KB1VBF

Is there a manual for Slicemaster 6000? The readme file is not doing it for me.

K1DBO

Brian,

Sorry but the README is about all there is to the documentation for Slice Master.  What are you having trouble with?

--Don

Brian Denley KB1VBF

Thanks for the hard work and for replying. I have only had my Flex 6400 for two weeks. It’s great but I’m still learning Dax, etc. I own the latest release of HRD for instance but I can’t seem to get Slicemaster to start it or any other app. Do I need to do something different with CAT? Thanks Brian. KB1VBF

K1DBO

Brian,

Is Slice Master connecting to your radio?  If so, there's not much more to getting it to configure and launch a handful of digimode programs.  Most of the supported  programs need to be run at least once outside of Slice Master to finish off their installation.  It's also important to either install these programs in their default locations or to let Slice Master know where you've installed them by editing its config file.  

With HRD installed, Slice Master should give you the option to launch DM780 but it doesnt automatically launch HRD Rig Control or any of the other HRD components.  You can launch them on your own, but with Slice Master, there's no need for HRD Rig Control.  

But before going into detail I'd like to suggest that you use the search function here to find other posts related to Slice Master and HRD.  Give those a look and if things are still muddy, drop me an email at the address you see when Slice Master starts up.

--Don