[hpsdr] PowerSDR CAT seems to go to sleep...solution

[w3sz]

Hi All,

I solved the problem with my HPSDR/PowerSDR CAT control going to sleep 
when no CAT commands were sent to the HPSDR for more than about 10 
minutes [I did not determine the exact time].

I am posting what I found to potentially save others from having to deal 
with this [although what I am seeing could be an idiosyncrasy of my 
systems, so perhaps no one else will ever see it].

It turns out that for some reason on my systems the HPSDR/PowerSDR needs 
to see a signal on the CAT line periodically.  If there is no CAT 
traffic for a period of time [10 minutes or more, I estimate], then the 
HPSDR/PowerSDR CAT line goes to sleep as I originally detailed, and 
needs to be re-enabled in PowerSDR.

I found that by polling the HPSDR with an "FA;" CAT command sent down 
the CAT to the HPSDR/PowerSDR every 2 seconds by using a VB6 timer event 
to trigger this, everything works fine and the CAT doesn't shut down.

This issue occurred/was cured by the above step on 4 different 
computer/HPSDR combos, all running XP.  I ended up standardizing the 
virtual comports to com0com [and hub4com/com2tcp-rfc2217 for the TCP 
comports] on all computers, but that didn't change things.  Adding the 
CAT polling made the difference.  Since adding the CAT polling, I have 
had things running for 17 hours with no CAT shutdowns ;)

I don't know if this issue is due to the inclusion of a 'watchdog' timer 
setup in PowerSDR to monitor the CAT line and shut it down if there 
seems to be no data flowing of the CAT for an extended period of time, 
or if its an idiosyncrasy of my code, but in any event, if you have this 
problem, adding polling of the HPSDR should solve it.

73,

Roger Rehr
W3SZ

On 3/5/2010 6:03 PM, w3sz wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have an annoying and weird problem with my HPSDR installations 
> [Atlas/Mercury/Ozy/Penelope].
> I am using PowerSDR v 1.10.4 Base SVN2025, but I have noticed this 
> with earlier versions, too.
>
> It seems like when I let the radio sit for 'awhile' [not sure how 
> long; somewhere between 5 and 30 minutes, I think] the CAT control 
> through PowerSDR seems to turn itself off, and I need to disable and 
> re-enable it by clicking 'enable' in the PowerSDR CAT Control menu [to 
> remove the checkmark and disable it], hit 'apply', and then re-enable 
> it by clicking  'enable' again, and everything works.
>
> As long as I keep using the radio in question, things work fine.  But 
> if I go to another radio and leave a unit quiet for awhile, when I 
> return I have the problem.
>
> I have several setups running, and am using various 'brands' of  
> Virtual Comports; one system uses com0com, others use Advanced Virtual 
> Com Port, and all display similar behavior.
>
> All systems are Core 2 Duo Windows XP Pro.
>
> Has anyone else noticed this?
>
> Does anyone have an idea of where my troubleshooting should begin?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> 73,
>
> Roger Rehr
> W3SZ


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