Using Virtual Serial Ports
Contents
1. Com Port 2 panel for the control port and the second virtual COM port from the two chosen earlier Again there is a text box available to label how the port is to be used The example uses COM11 for this step and the label indicates Data Port There may be a brief delay while LP Bridge initializes the virtual port Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com 4 Leave LP Bridge running to use with the next section File Setup Help K3 Com Port Disconnect Auto Connect Rig Revd Text BG SR SMHO45 DS 37 483 Virtual Com Port 1 Close Auto Create An Al2 Auto Launch Pam PTT Key AlwaysOn Top Start Minimized Click Offset Mark g Shift Poll Rate ms Virtual Com Port 2 Close Auto Create An Al2 Auto Launch Pam Data Port 2007 SDR Com Port 7 Create Auto Create Auto Launch Virtual Com Port 3 CO0MI3 Create Auto Create DAT Al2 Auto Launch Pam Enter Name Output Com Port 1 COM1 X 4800 Connect Auto Connect Virtual Com Port 4 COM14 v Create Auto Create pr Al Al2 Auto Launch Pam Enter Name Output Com Port 2 COM1 X 4800 Connect Auto Connect Virtual Com Port 5 COM15 Create Auto Create p AM Al2 Auto Launch Pam Enter Name Rig Status POWER MODE VFO2. 01 ejey Buyjog o1pey i L ge L syg dojg Sg eye 77 95 yee gg 76h vl 159 a c v4 auanba peay 0j puewwoo asn 1uog Aouenbes4 fiy e Kg paulua eg apoi uog ug Siu 9uoN e J9MOg uon2euuo ua 9UON e PPO Queg cl 96 9v LA e ejey pneg e o sumes peo1 s6umeg aes JANO J N N NSA Q 0001 NS3LA 0001 NSA 166 NSA 066 596A 026 NSA 006 Nsee 069 NSeeA I X9 LG NSeeA G00 NSILA JapiO NSILA snse ad 331 vay UOUQ 23 UAL WA UUUQ 291 Ua IA uwo 331 val Ud W4 331 V L afez 331 ual iA nevobiy 331 ual CDOOMUSM HNOS poowuay cO Soo ioo enoo WOO Hog W09 SEL woy Figure 4 Rig Interface Setup screen in N3FJP s Amateur Contact Logger rotated image The screen capture aspect ratio has been altered slightly in order to fit the page size Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com Operating Considerations Application Stacking using a CPC When running with a K3 K3S plus the P3 panadapter use the least number of applications needed to get the job done Each application does not know the others exist and will assume it has exclusive control of the COM port s it has been assigned As the number of applications using the same COM port rises the radio receives an increasing number of commands it must attempt to execute At some point the radio cannot process an
3. ELECRAFT Application Note Using Virtual Serial Ports with Logging and Contest Software Revision B2 August 14 2015 Copyright O 2015 Elecraft Inc All Rights Reserved Introduction Many contact and contest logging programs require the use of dual COM ports at the host computer for transceiver control and keying This Application Note introduces methods for concentrating multiple computer COM ports to a single transceiver serial port using COM Port Concentrator CPC software An example is used for illustration purposes A typical CPC scenario consists of one computer COM port used for keying and PTT with another COM port used for remote control The transceiver of course only has a single port The transceiver port may be implemented as plain RS232 via a USB serial adapter or less often via other interfaces such as Ethernet or Wi Fi The CPC software binds the two computer internal virtual COM ports into a single externally accessible physical serial port The two virtual ports are used by the logging program while the single physical port is connected to the transceiver Scope This App Note is written for Amateurs that require detailed knowledge about COM port concentrators and the configuration of logging programs The example used is specific to the Elecraft K3S and K3 but nearly all concepts presented also apply to other Amateur transceivers that have serial ports This Note is limited to the use of Microsoft Windows a
4. See Figure 4 below l 5 To set up the N3FJP logger application to read and write the control port use the Select Rig panel to choose the transceiver type The example shows an Elecraft transceiver K3S or K3 Next choose the control port that you selected earlier The example uses COM11 Set the Baud Rate the baud rate set up in the K3 s CONFIG RS232 menu then parity none 8 data bits 1 stop bit If using an external USB or the K3S s internal USB 38400 baud is recommended The Data Polling Rate is next In this case for K3 type rigs 500 mS is generally adequate and is known to function properly Longer polling intervals may be used if buffer overruns occur Push the Done button on the bottom of the CW Setup window Using the Logger Now that you have the logger running with the transceiver you may want to try out CW and SSB modes Most loggers including N3FJP have CW and voice message recording and playback functions and this type of facility is a great place to start Record a few CW or voice messages then use the F keys to play them back with the logger with keying or PTT controlled by the logger program See your logger s user manual for details on this type of operation Normally the logger tracks the transceiver s mode and band rather than controlling it Of course you may wish to change this But for a first try go ahead and change bands and or modes at the transceiver s front panel Y
5. XD RXD DE 9P LP Bridge DE 9S CPC Software Figure 1 Virtual and physical serial port configuration shown with a contact logger program requiring two COM ports Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com Special Case CPC Usage with a USB Serial Adapter When a USB Serial adapter is plugged into your Windows PC or its external USB Hub it is enumerated as if it were a regular COM port What s needed is to understand which COM port the USB adapter represents The Windows Control Panel provides access to Device Manager an applet which is used to probe details about various device types that Windows recognizes Within Device Manager select the Ports category and expand it As the USB Serial adapter is inserted a new COM port will appear When the adapter is removed that same port will vanish from the lineup Take note of which COM port appears and vanishes That port is the one to use as the pAysical port during setup and configuration While in Device Manager select two COM ports that aren t listed in the lineup These will be used as the virtual ports COM11 and COMI2 in the example in the CPC s configuration Two ports with adjacent numbering are easiest to keep track of CPC Setup and Configuration See Figure 2 below which is based on the diagram shown in Figure 1 COM11 and COMI2 are the two virtual COM por
6. _A on j cw 7049130 VFO B 7040000 PREAMP ony T R Off K3IF FREQ 8214420 K3 SHIFT 520 K3 Bw 400 K3 BW 400 MCU 05 29 FPF 01 22 02 83 oF Figure 2 Configuration example of LP Bridge This configuration corresponds to Figure 1 Logger Setup and Configuration If you followed the steps in the last section there are two virtual COM ports available for the logger program This example uses N3FJP s Amateur Contact Log ACL to illustrate how to set up a logger application to use the virtual COM port configuration already described Other logger programs have their own variations on the steps needed Please refer to Figure 3 and 4 on the following pages Key Setup I To configure the logger application to use the PTT Key port left click on ACL s Settings menu then select Transmit gt CW Setup The display will show a setup form as in Figure 3 already set up in LP Bridge The example uses COMI2 Push the Done button on the bottom of the CW Setup window Choose the PTT Key port in the Com Port panel top left The PTT Key virtual port was Choose the Keying Options to the right of the Com port panel The example uses DTR Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com Note For N3FJP Amateur Contact Log to set up SSB or AM operation use the Settings menu under Transmit gt Pho
7. d reply to one command before the next one arrives When this happens some applications may lock up or crash Methods to mitigate Reduce the COM port speed between the output of the CPC and the transceiver For instance if you re attempting to run at 38 400 bps lower it to 9600 This gives the radio extra time to use in processing and replying to incoming commands For each Application in use increase the polling interval This setting controls how frequently each application reaches out to the radio asking for status or updated information The more applications you stack behind the CPC the more the polling frequency must be lowered Failure to take the steps above typically results in lost data because the radio cannot process the requests from the applications as fast as they re coming in Depending on how the application reacts to the lack of response the operator may find applications locked up crashed or otherwise unresponsive Recommended Reading and Links 1 LP Bridge Overview and Web Manual http www telepostinc com LPB html 2 VSPE Description and Information Page http www eterlogic com Products VSPE html 3 Eltima s Virtual Serial Port Page http www eltima com products vspdxp 4 N3FJP Amateur Contact Log Page http n3fjp com aclog html 5 NIMM Contest Logging Software http nlmm hamdocs com tiki index php Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subjec
8. er port for keying and or PTT either type of concentrator will suffice if properly configured CPC Usage One of the more common use cases for a CPC is to combine the computer s keying PTT and control COM ports into a single serial port for use at the transceiver This is illustrated below in Figure 1 and described here In this configuration COMI1 is used for serial communications with the transceiver while COM12 is used as the transceiver s keying and PTT port COMS shown on the right is the physical serial port that is connected to the transceiver COMI1 and COM 12 aren t physical serial ports but instead are virtual COM ports created by the CPC software They become available for use by software applications after the CPC has been correctly configured and started The CPC application combines the COM11 and COMI2 streams from the computer to the transceiver port COMS Likewise from the transceiver to the computer the streams are split so that both COM11 and COM12 ports receive identical data from the transceiver The application program used in the example of Figure 1 is N3FJP s Amateur Contact Log ACL The transceiver is set up in CW Mode and the logger will be used to key it using the KEY input via the serial port s DTR modem control signal LP Bridge is used as the CPC Windows PC Application Progams N3FJP Amateur Conka Loser E virtual COM Port LJ Physical Serial Port Rig Key PTT K3S or K3 Transceiver T
9. nd application software designed for that operating system CPC Types There are two types of CPCs Polling and Direct A polling CPC continuously queries the transceiver for its state frequency mode etc and maintains a local copy or cache to use in reply to the logger application s queries A direct CPC doesn t maintain a local copy of the transceiver s state Both types of concentrators support the modem control signals DTR and RTS used in keying and PTT at the transceiver A polling CPC is always designed to work with a specific serial port based device type say a K3 A direct CPC is device agnostic An example of a polling CPC is LP Bridge a software program developed and maintained by Telepost Inc LP Bridge is a full featured CPC that was designed to work with the Elecraft K3S and K3 transceivers Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com There are many examples of direct CPCs One that is in common use is VSPE developed and maintained by Eterlogic com VSPE is a full featured direct CPC This Application Note does not show any examples of using VSPE to keep the Note brief Because the polling type of CPC acts as a stand in for the transceiver it is the best type to use with multiple applications that each interact with the transceiver s control port If your application needs one port for data and anoth
10. ne Setup The standard PTT setting to use is RTS CW Setup Form _ Com Port Description COM Keying Options To use computer generated CW first you COM3 2 RTS FUN Configure will have to build or purchase an interface to COM2 D None DTR Winkeyer Winkeyer connect from your computer s serial port to E COM8 E your transmitter Schematics and purchase COM12 options are available on my website COM11 www n3fjp com Timing Options Most folks only have USB ports now but in most cases a USB to serial adapter will work fine You ll find them on line or at your local Best Buy D Sleep Timer Word Characte WPM Alternatively you can select the Winkeyer Send F9 device which will key your rig independently Characters from your PC s processor which is a great 30 0 0 solution if your processor s code is erratic Test There is also a Winkeyer USB version that Load Settings Slower Less Less will connect right to your PC s USB port For more on Winkeyer please vist Loop Sec F1 0 F4 F10 F2 FS F11 F3 F6 F12 Keyboard v Faster Escape Check 7 Show Mini on Startup Click for more info on rig to PC CW interfaces Faster More More Figure 3 CW Setup screen in N3FJP s Amateur Contact Logger Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com Rig Interface Setup
11. ou should see the logger following along if the COM port plumbing is working correctly Elecraft e www elecraft com e 831 763 4211 Technical content subject to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com Au ma wv es esn mo pues 9rric Kxuanbo 4 Suopnq apow au uo funr Aq sapow Dubueuo isa aqua nok Aquanbayj au uo Duipuadap jai se M2 40 GSS 0 uey pinoys apou au puas yy pue zu ur 3u9nbajj e Jajua pueuxuo 3uanbayj uey eui 153 OL pieoqdir 0 teg Adon paunja ejep passe oxdun jay Iepa Bry MMA Ue NO Bursa auos op 0 ayy pow pue pajsi us jeu Du e eeu nof y s u pars eun Jo Avew 30 sumas jene pue sirejap dnjes aow Sjo 10 MOjaq uong dia Jepa Biy maA IPPD diay aou paau NOA j A er au pue js Buy WOY y 9jes sead pars s Du nof y pars Aquauno s u aui ye uo spodaj poo6 peu aeu ZLOZ PIG Jo Se swo3j pue spooMuay uo jeuosJad 1159 0 aqe uaaq uo aeu FUM Sy ambas sadepayul Aueyy Y sambas a2epeyul JO ji uondo jewod UORDBUU0D ULO 10 S1Y 34 peres 0 ains eg 189 PI pue OIpEJ MOA jo sjajaurejed ayeudosdde ay Palas eoeyieju ouo Bry eu asn o uonduosag ibn Buyjjog ON pamba y apon peay oj puewwog asas UON Sja l MO OS MO UO ji ABUEUD APON MO puas 1uoQ Z dnyejs uo wo auey Kauanba 4 mous SPURWWOD ey3ex3 aeipaww F 8SN 891 whey w04 Ure uo 3uanbaj4 asn A 285 QI 985 Z su oc e su 0
12. t to change without notice For more information please contact info elecraft com
13. ts available to the contact logger application program COMS is shown as the physical port which is the RS232 or USB serial adapter connection to the transceiver Setting up the CPC is described below step by step below This sequence uses the LP Bridge program from Telepost Inc as an example but any CPC you use needs to be configured similarly in order to work properly The steps needed to implement the example in LP Bridge are 1 Select the K3 Com Port see upper left panel Use the drop down menu to select the COM port The example uses COMS If you want the program to connect to this physical COM port automatically when it starts up check the Auto Connect box Now push the Connect button to connect the transceiver port There is a short delay while LP Bridge makes the connection During this time there is nothing visible happening with the program 2 Select the PTT Key port in the Virtual Com Port 1 panel lower left Use the drop down menu to select the COM port to be used for PTT Key the first one chosen earlier If you want the program to create this virtual port automatically when it starts up check the Auto Create box In the lower text box in this panel you can label the virtual port for later reference Push the Create button to create the virtual serial port Note that the example uses COMI for this step There may be a brief delay while LP Bridge initializes the virtual port 3 Repeat the last step but use the Virtual
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search