Hi guys
If you do not use or know what Winkey is then you do NOT need to read or reply to this post.
I have decided to recode and completely revise the Winkey interface, I have never been satisfied with it for my own use and tend to use the key only
The main problems are surrounding the 32byte buffer in Winkey1, this does cause some unusual behaviour under certain conditions, and the situation is not that much better in Winkey2 even though this has a bigger buffer.
As every user tends to do their own thing, I don't want to completely revise the interface just for my own likeing, so I look forward to any input either here or direct to me which I will take into consideration.
A couple of the problems I encounter
The non ability to 'on-the-fly' correct messages due to already having been sent to the WK buffer
Buffer overflow when typing faster than the keying speed.
Unusual behaviour when buffer is full and continue sending.
This was a little improved with Winkey2, but still not ideal.
To try and remedy these things, I have to provide a software buffer, this will change the behaviour of the interface and the way you use Winkey, hopefully it will improve the usability even if still not a perfect solution.
The changes may not suit everybody, so I am willing to take onboard user input, especially on how they use Winkey with Winlog32 and their station.
Some of the things that will of special interest to me are:
Do you use.....
Key only?
Keyboard only?
Keyboard and key?
Memories and keyboard?
Memories and key?
Memories, Keyboard and Key together?.
Other?
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
Are you using the Winkey interface?
Are you using the Winkey interface?
I have Winkeyer USB and I use the memories mainly and sometimes the keyboard.
73
David
73
David
Are you using the Winkey interface?
Hi Colin,
I use 100% key in day to day use and 100% keyboard during contests.
I have a WK1 and WK2USB, none of them is working as I would expect under WL32.
The work extremely well in Win-Test and HRD (used for remote control of my station).
What I do not like in the WL32 WK interface is :
- setup panel is way too complex
- field value grabbing (e.g. callsign, name...) is not very reliable, it sometimes does not work
- and more than everything, in day to day use, I enjoy CW because it is not a digimode. I do not like QSO made using macros. I prefer to key my thoughts "on the fly". In DX pile-ups, I find much more accurate to manually key in full QSK as the latency in memory keing can be very annoying if you hear the DX sending a message while your winkeyer is sending something you cannot stop.
Theonly exception I make to this rule is contests where repeatability in messages format increases the rate, hence the score.
Hope this helps.
73 de Pascal - F5JSD
I use 100% key in day to day use and 100% keyboard during contests.
I have a WK1 and WK2USB, none of them is working as I would expect under WL32.
The work extremely well in Win-Test and HRD (used for remote control of my station).
What I do not like in the WL32 WK interface is :
- setup panel is way too complex
- field value grabbing (e.g. callsign, name...) is not very reliable, it sometimes does not work
- and more than everything, in day to day use, I enjoy CW because it is not a digimode. I do not like QSO made using macros. I prefer to key my thoughts "on the fly". In DX pile-ups, I find much more accurate to manually key in full QSK as the latency in memory keing can be very annoying if you hear the DX sending a message while your winkeyer is sending something you cannot stop.
Theonly exception I make to this rule is contests where repeatability in messages format increases the rate, hence the score.
Hope this helps.
73 de Pascal - F5JSD
Are you using the Winkey interface?
I don't have a large number of issues. I use the Winkeyer 2, USB.
I use the memories and keyboard. My keying hand over my HAM career can really no longer handle a key due to injury and I've been working getting the other one to squeeze the key but ...
I'd like to see, say the first 10 characters of memory displayed in the tool tip when one hovers the mouse over one of the memory buttons.
I'd like to be able to interrupt the sending of a memory with a keyboard shortcut, say Escape, instead of having to touch a key paddle.
With Send Immediate enabled and typing on the keyboard, if I hit a memory, the typed buffer is repeated prior to the memory. I'd like to see the hitting of a memory key throw away what was is in the send buffer.
Some keyboard shortcuts for the Clear Send Text and Send All Text would be handy too.
As an aside, for contesting, I use N1MM and after the contest, export from N1MM and import into Winlog32. It's great to have all QSO data in one place. I am not sure I find the keyer support in N1MM any more intuitive.
Dale
Edited by - kb5iy on 12/03/2011 6:26:21 PM
Edited by - kb5iy on 12/03/2011 6:36:57 PM
I use the memories and keyboard. My keying hand over my HAM career can really no longer handle a key due to injury and I've been working getting the other one to squeeze the key but ...
I'd like to see, say the first 10 characters of memory displayed in the tool tip when one hovers the mouse over one of the memory buttons.
I'd like to be able to interrupt the sending of a memory with a keyboard shortcut, say Escape, instead of having to touch a key paddle.
With Send Immediate enabled and typing on the keyboard, if I hit a memory, the typed buffer is repeated prior to the memory. I'd like to see the hitting of a memory key throw away what was is in the send buffer.
Some keyboard shortcuts for the Clear Send Text and Send All Text would be handy too.
As an aside, for contesting, I use N1MM and after the contest, export from N1MM and import into Winlog32. It's great to have all QSO data in one place. I am not sure I find the keyer support in N1MM any more intuitive.
Dale
Edited by - kb5iy on 12/03/2011 6:26:21 PM
Edited by - kb5iy on 12/03/2011 6:36:57 PM
Are you using the Winkey interface?
Thanks for comments guys
I have decided to get the interface working at least to some degree and then release this version, we can adjust and refine various things later - after we have experienced the new interface, as this will feel and work quite differently from before.
Generally I am please with the work so far, at least my own 'feel' for Winkey has improved and some of the previous problems have been overcome, but not all yet, I think I could go on forever with this and still not be totally satisfied but I think that I need to get it 'out there' and see what others think before doing too much more in case fundemental changes have to be made again.
The main feature of the new interface apart from not relying on the hardware buffer is the software word buffering, not sure how this will go down but having tried just about everything it looks like the way to go, as you know, using CW, having words 'broken' up like when keybord typing slower than sending, it is not pleasing to the ear and confusing
Thus we can send only complete words only when they have been typed, word completion being the space character - OK but we may get longer word spaces when the keying catches up with typing, the last word typed is still giving me concern as it will not be sent without a space character added (using 'ENTER' also adds a space), but will we get used to this? otherwise I must add some sort of auto-complete, but there is no way to tell whether you have finished typing or just paused for thought!.
Keyboard shortcuts will not be a problem, and would use the ALT + key, like present ALT +"S" is for 'Stop' and 'Start', but if you think reasigning the function F1 thru F10 keys would be good, let me know, but again remembering which does what will not always be intuitive like with normal ALT+shortcuts.
Any further comments are still welcome as I am still working on this daily.
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
I have decided to get the interface working at least to some degree and then release this version, we can adjust and refine various things later - after we have experienced the new interface, as this will feel and work quite differently from before.
Generally I am please with the work so far, at least my own 'feel' for Winkey has improved and some of the previous problems have been overcome, but not all yet, I think I could go on forever with this and still not be totally satisfied but I think that I need to get it 'out there' and see what others think before doing too much more in case fundemental changes have to be made again.
The main feature of the new interface apart from not relying on the hardware buffer is the software word buffering, not sure how this will go down but having tried just about everything it looks like the way to go, as you know, using CW, having words 'broken' up like when keybord typing slower than sending, it is not pleasing to the ear and confusing
Thus we can send only complete words only when they have been typed, word completion being the space character - OK but we may get longer word spaces when the keying catches up with typing, the last word typed is still giving me concern as it will not be sent without a space character added (using 'ENTER' also adds a space), but will we get used to this? otherwise I must add some sort of auto-complete, but there is no way to tell whether you have finished typing or just paused for thought!.
Keyboard shortcuts will not be a problem, and would use the ALT + key, like present ALT +"S" is for 'Stop' and 'Start', but if you think reasigning the function F1 thru F10 keys would be good, let me know, but again remembering which does what will not always be intuitive like with normal ALT+shortcuts.
Any further comments are still welcome as I am still working on this daily.
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
Are you using the Winkey interface?
As an addenum too last post.
I have added the tool tip messages asked for by Dale
I have added alt+"C" keyboard shortcut to clear text
I have added alt+"P" keyboard shortcut to Pause and Resume sending
Already we have alt+"S" to stop and start sending.
Although Winlog32 is not a specialised contest logger, I have added some 'contest' interaction for those who like the 'fun' of contesting and for some casual operating, this is looking good although I have not tried it in a real contest situation yet, it will enabled auto-sending pre-defined messages when logging a QSO in the log e.g.
Enter Callsign = send call/report/serial nr.
END = send new CQ, of course messages can be defined as you like
Option to send 5NN at 2X speed like the serious guys do.
When finished I will have to do some testing on a couple of other systems to see if results are the same, again this is likely to take up a bit more time, but hey, I'm only human.....
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
I have added the tool tip messages asked for by Dale
I have added alt+"C" keyboard shortcut to clear text
I have added alt+"P" keyboard shortcut to Pause and Resume sending
Already we have alt+"S" to stop and start sending.
Although Winlog32 is not a specialised contest logger, I have added some 'contest' interaction for those who like the 'fun' of contesting and for some casual operating, this is looking good although I have not tried it in a real contest situation yet, it will enabled auto-sending pre-defined messages when logging a QSO in the log e.g.
Enter Callsign = send call/report/serial nr.
END = send new CQ, of course messages can be defined as you like
Option to send 5NN at 2X speed like the serious guys do.
When finished I will have to do some testing on a couple of other systems to see if results are the same, again this is likely to take up a bit more time, but hey, I'm only human.....
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
Are you using the Winkey interface?
Colin,
It all sounds good to me.
I am definitely against the reassignment of the F* keys.
Dale
It all sounds good to me.
I am definitely against the reassignment of the F* keys.
Dale
Are you using the Winkey interface?
What happened to the Send Immediate button?
Are you using the Winkey interface?
There is no need for send immediate button anymore
Anytime in 'Send' mode - you can send using the keyboard
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
Anytime in 'Send' mode - you can send using the keyboard
73 Colin G0CUZ
Winlog32 Author
Are you using the Winkey interface?
Colin,
Finally got a chance to upgrade, using 5.5.4.
The function keys no longer work.
I use PTT. When sending a memory I get an initial key-down and then and immediate key-up of the radio, than the key-down and the CW is sent. Now and then, it key's up while sending.
Since I am using the mouse to click the memory button, so I don't know if this happens with the function keys, there is an appreciable delay before any characters are sent. I have PTT unchecked because of the above and it is noticeably longer that it was in 5.4.4 of which I upgraded from and previous versions with the use of PTT.
The keyer is the Winkey 2.
Dale
Edited by - kb5iy on 11/03/2011 12:01:23 AM
Finally got a chance to upgrade, using 5.5.4.
The function keys no longer work.
I use PTT. When sending a memory I get an initial key-down and then and immediate key-up of the radio, than the key-down and the CW is sent. Now and then, it key's up while sending.
Since I am using the mouse to click the memory button, so I don't know if this happens with the function keys, there is an appreciable delay before any characters are sent. I have PTT unchecked because of the above and it is noticeably longer that it was in 5.4.4 of which I upgraded from and previous versions with the use of PTT.
The keyer is the Winkey 2.
Dale
Edited by - kb5iy on 11/03/2011 12:01:23 AM