CW Bug with 6400M internal keyer. Ver. 2.6.1

Lasse SM5GLC

Uwe,

Not sure why you could not try v2? You better check with Flex or ask Mike VA2MW.... But as there are several contesters using Flex (and N1MM I guess) it may be something in your configuration that do cause a specific situation. But as I said, for me on my 6500 I could not see the MOX hanging , when aborting a N1MM message. This used to be very annoying in earlier releases. And the timing feels a lot better vs. 2.6.2/2.5.1 (and it appears even better than 2.4.10 but I need further testing). As always we all seem to set up our station differently and see different problems :) "Just because it works for me it must work for you" is not always true.

If you can ty 2.7.3 (I think the CAT/DAX is the same), but of course the new 3.2 s/w should work!

Lasse SM5GLC

Ho-hum... just noticed the first "drop-out" while running 2.7.3 ****, let's hope it was a on-off glitch :(

DL2CC

Anything new here? CW dropouts still exist for me. I'm not going to downgrade, we're using multiFlex.

Les Brown

I'm also seeing periodic power dropouts while keying with a paddle. The problem stops after going back to receive and then transmit again. There is definitely something here to look into.

73, Les VE3NNT

Bill NE1B

DC voltage drop with transmit load? Anderson power pole oxidation? Clean all the contacts.

73, Bill NE1B

KD0RC

I have never had any CW dropouts or bad behavior of any kind with my 6400 until Field Day this year. I let my batteries go down a bit further than I should have, and all of a sudden, I got requests for fills and I noticed the power intermittently dropping out. If I slowed my keying down to 17 WPM, I could finish the exchange. Once I fired up the generator and power cycled the rig, the problem did not return. I was showing 12.01 V during receive and 11.78 V during transmit. I got away with this for a while, but it finally caught up with me.

So as a data point for the CW dropout problem, my issue was self inflicted by trying to operate on low batteries. I think that gives credence to Bills statement about cleaning the power pole contacts.

Lasse SM5GLC

How I wish it was just a matter of cleaning contacts :(

So far the only remedie is to revert back to 2.4.10 or run full QSK this way one will only loose a character or less.

Mike-VA3MW

I was having transmit drop outs on a remote PTT switch and I added a 1.0uf cap across the contacts of the PTT switch.

Would this be worth trying on both sides of the paddles.

Has anyone given this a try?

Mike

DL2CC

I can confirm at least in my case this is NOT a matter of insufficient input voltage nor lack of cleaning of contacts.

I use an external WINKEY with PTT connected to the Flex and the CW key signal connected to the back connector of my Flex 6700. In case of a dropout I can hear the sidetone generated by the Winkey device just fine, just that I don't hear the sidetone in my headphones which are connected to my Flex 6700.

Mike-VA3MW

The reason I brought up the 1uF cap was due to debounce mitigation.

If you have a key plugged into the radio and you are not hearing any sidetone, Make sure you have the Sidetone volume to an appropriate level. If you do, then you may want to do a database reset.

If this is a remote situation, then the sidetone is generated on the device (PC, Maestro, Radio) that is actually generating the CW so that the sidetone matches the RF keying, etc. The Winkeyer that N1MM uses resides in the radio, so the sidetone is generated on the radio speaker/headphones. It is not sent to the remote devices. Yes, we are aware of this limitation.

I don't know your setup at all, so I can only speculate.

Joe N3HEE

This bug needs to be squashed ASAP or I will have to use my K3 for contesting. This bug reared it's ugly head at least six times during ARRL SS CW this past weekend. It causes problems and confusion completing QSO's. Very annoying !

I also needed to reboot the radio Saturday morning ( in the heat of battle ) due to CW timing bug rearing it's ugly head. Normally I can get through a 48 hour period without any CW timing issues if I reboot the radio right before a contest. This time the reboot lasted for less than 24 hours.

These bugs are becoming deal breakers for contesters. I've been asked directly by a fellow contester and prospective buyer concerned about the CW timing issues. It's a shame that an otherwise great radio has become hobbled with CW timing and TX switching issues rendering it problematic and unreliable for contesting.

Get these bugs fixed Flex !!!

Uwe - DK3WW

Hi Joe,

This bug has been around for so long time that I have lost the hope of solving this problem.

Pity...

73! Uwe

DK3WW

KD0RC

@Joe N3HEE - How were you configured for CW? Using a Maestro or paddles directly in the back of the rig? Are you operating remotely? Which rig and software version are you on?

I found that if I am operating CW remotely using my own homebrew TeensyMaestro, I can get bad CW if the network quality is poor (which it usually is when I am in my camper). My device keys the radio remotely the same way (I think...) as the Maestro does.

My solution is to set a CW Delay of between 30 and 100. I addressed the issue in this thread:

Odd sounding CW operating remotely using paddles & Maestro — FlexRadio Community

If remote operation (i.e. CW not using a key plugged directly in to the radio) is not what is causing your issue, it would probably be good to submit a helpdesk ticket.

Uwe - DK3WW

I don't work remotely and I already opened a help desk ticket. There was a long e-mail traffic with NM9P. In the end, it was characterized as a software bug. Unfortunately, this mistake is obviously considered unimportant ...

73! Uwe

DK3WW

Uwe - DK3WW

I forgot: Flex6600, SSDR 3.2.39. use the internal Winkey, paddle directly on the TRX, N1MM+ log.

73! Uwe

DK3WW

skellam

I'm having the same issue. Poor CW timing with slight delays that happen randomly. Resolves for a time after turning off the Flex radio. I am using Kent paddle plugged directly to the back of Flex 6400. Very frustrating for me since I am essentially 100% CW in my use of the radio. I hope some priority is given to this if it is a software issue that has been around for years as I have read.

Joe N3HEE

I primarily notice the CW timing during a contest with N1MM running. CW timing becomes choppy when sending with N1MM and the paddle connected directly to internal electronic keyer of the radio. Flex 6600M running 2.7.6. I run SSDR on a Windows 10 machine. Not operating remote. Hardwired to gig ethernet switch directly at the radio.

I rebooted the radio at 8AM Friday morning (11/5/21) before the contest. I also started N1MM at that time to prepare for the contest. Everything was fine until 6AM Sunday morning (11/7/21) when the CW timing became an issue. I rebooted the radio and everything was ok for the rest of the contest. I closed N1MM on Monday morning (11/8/21). The CW timing was still ok. I left the radio on all this week checking the CW timing and it was fine. Today (11/10/21) as a test I started N1MM and within an hour the CW timing was choppy again.

So perhaps there is an interaction with N1MM that causes the CW timing issue. Rebooting the computer, closing and restarting SSDR and closing and restarting N1MM does not fix the issue. The only way to fix it is to reboot the radio.

I will also note that this issue still exists if I close SSDR and operate using the front panel of the radio. Need to reboot the radio to fix it. So its something outside of SSDR and the front panel GUI.

Hopefully this will give some clues as to what is happening so this can be fixed ?

KD0RC

Hi Joe, these are good data points. I would submit a help desk ticket with all of this info in it.

Joe N3HEE

I submitted a ticket.

Pat_W5WTH

I have submitted a ticket as well. Many have. The more the more the merrier.

I would really like to see this fixed. 99% CW with a high degree of Flex frustration.