The attraction of a computerized shack is the ability to combine a lot of functionality at the same time - log book, DX Cluster, rig control, panadaptor and decoders for various digital modes. Having built quite a few Windows applications myself, I can understand why Tom has gone down this path, but I do hope that he will offer a "compact" layout in addition to the current full layout in a future release. My only criticism of the application is that the screen is not resizeable. It loaded and configured easily and I was controlling the rig within minutes. This is a very competently designed and built application which delivers all the functionality of my 7300 through an attractive and, generally, ergonomic screen interface. I mentioned them in the Groups.IO support group and the author, Tom, came back quickly with some advice that got it working for me, so I bought a licence. I tried Win4ICOM on the 30 day eval and liked it, but I had some hardware problems that stopped me using it. They all work reasonably well, but they are all showing their age these days. I've used several of the leading CAT programs over the years including HRD and DXLabs. I reported this to Tom by email through his support channel, he responded with a few questions which I replied to promptly and he released a new version of Win4ICOM just over a week after my initial report - fixing the problem completely. It worked very well with Win4Yaesu controlling my FT-991A, but was sluggish and "gritty" with the IC-7300 through Win4ICOM. I recently purchased a ShuttleXpress tuning control to add to my shack PC. Update: Tom gives an excellent level of support for his products. So, make sure it works properly on your station setup before you order it. The 60-day trial phase was good for that test phase. It took me a number of steps and changes of my USB station cabling. you have to make sure that all Energy savings settings on the USB ports of the PC are switchen off. You have to put toroids on the TRX side as well as on the PC side of the USB cables to make sure the there is no RF which interferes with the communication. The way it is now, it is worse than the Spectrum indication on the IC 7610 itself. Scaling of the Signal strength is wrong, meaning too low by about 30 to 40 dbm. Specially the USB3 cable for the I/Q Spectrum should not be longer than 2-3m. With USB Hubs in between it might not work. You have to have direct connection to USB ports from the PC. The program is quite delicate in terms of installation. It is very helpful for changing settings of the IC-7610 But there are a number of precautions you have to take, to make sure that the SW runs flawless and doesn't stops working (freezing): Good SW, but not trivial to make it work properly
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |