Month: February 2018

You can check on the status of WA0TDA through this Remotehams link:

http://www.remotehams.com/orb.html?id=5106

You can also check W0ZSW and W0EQO, which I also help to manage.

The WA0TDA IC-7200 station

IC-7200

Some users have had issues with spontaneous shutdown of the IC-7200 on voice peaks, especially with the COMP enabled.  This morning the aging Astron RS-20 power supply was switched out in favor of an SEC-1223 switching supply, which will provide adequate power on peaks to avoid shutdown.

When the rig spontaneously shuts down, the USB connection to the host computer is broken momentarily before the IC-7200 restarts.  On restart of the radio, the USB connection is NOT automatically reestablished.  This results in the station going offline until manual intervention by the admin is performed.  The host software will “hang” and must be manually halted with the Windows Task Manager, then restarted.  On restart the USB connection to the radio is then properly reestablished and the station is back on line.

It is easy to see why we want to avoid this problem!  Please report issues to me via email.

73 – Pat
wa0tda@arrl.net

When operating the remote via the Windows RCForb software, you find that the station connects as expected and you hear sound.  This is good, because that means you have both rig control and VoIP for audio.

But what about when something unexpected happens?  For example, let’s say you are using the Android app on your smartphone and attempt to connect to a station.  The connection is made, but a warning appears stating that the VoIP server is not working.  The station is connected, so there is rig control but no audio.  You should disconnect and report the problem.

This can happen because of a problem on the station’s host computer, and it will not be noticed by users of the Windows app, only users of the Android app.  This is not to say that Windows users might not be affected at other times.  I have observed problems like this cropping up when Windows is setting itself up for updates.

If you experience this problem, please let the station admin know about it.  If it happens with this station, email wa0tda@arrl.net and let me know what app you are using and what kind of behavior the station was exhibiting.

Thank you for your help!

73 – Pat
wa0tda@arrl.net