开云体育

ctrl + shift + ? for shortcuts
© 2025 开云体育
  1. K1elsystems
  2. Topics

PTT Revisited

 

Folks,
???? I am trying to use Winkeyer PTT (s/w 30.10, standalone mode) in a bit of an unconventional way. Winkeyer is being used with an older boatanchor station, consisting of a Drake 2-NT transmitter and R4-B receiver. I am also using a Johnson tube-type T/R switch.? The challenge is to key the external VFO (a Globe V-10) in a fast enough way so that the running VFO is not heard in the receiver, thereby giving me QSK.
???? I'm currently using Winkeyer PTT to key the VFO, and that is partially working.? The VFO is very stable and I can manually key it at high speeds without chirp. However, using Winkeyer PTT to key the VFO, I am experiencing a delay of perhaps one-half second before the VFO shuts off.? That's a bit annoying while trying to run full QSK, and I can't seem to get rid of that delay. My PTT hang time is set to 1.? From what I read this may be the best I can achieve with the Winkeyer software. I realize most users would not want PTT delay to be so close to zero as I am looking for.? Thoughts?
--Ed, N3CW--
?
 

开云体育

When tail is set to one, PTT drops very close to the end of a dit or dah, a few milliseconds at most. I would look at how your VFO keying works. There may be an inherent delay due to decaying screen or plate voltage so the oscillator continues to run for a period of time after being switched off. You may need use cathode or grid block keying to get a fast oscillator off.
Steve K1EL?

On Feb 24, 2025, at 8:40?AM, Ed G via groups.io <ed.n3cw@...> wrote:

?
Folks,
???? I am trying to use Winkeyer PTT (s/w 30.10, standalone mode) in a bit of an unconventional way. Winkeyer is being used with an older boatanchor station, consisting of a Drake 2-NT transmitter and R4-B receiver. I am also using a Johnson tube-type T/R switch.? The challenge is to key the external VFO (a Globe V-10) in a fast enough way so that the running VFO is not heard in the receiver, thereby giving me QSK.
???? I'm currently using Winkeyer PTT to key the VFO, and that is partially working.? The VFO is very stable and I can manually key it at high speeds without chirp. However, using Winkeyer PTT to key the VFO, I am experiencing a delay of perhaps one-half second before the VFO shuts off.? That's a bit annoying while trying to run full QSK, and I can't seem to get rid of that delay. My PTT hang time is set to 1.? From what I read this may be the best I can achieve with the Winkeyer software. I realize most users would not want PTT delay to be so close to zero as I am looking for.? Thoughts?
--Ed, N3CW--
?
 

Thanks Steve; will try some different configurations.? However, I can key the VFO line manually (with a hand key for example) and oscillator cutoff is instantaneous and sharp.? So that's why I was wondering why I so far am unable to get the same or closely the same when using Winkeyer PTT.? If I am reading correctly when I set hang time to 1 the delay should be as you describe. Is there anything else that could be overriding this?? I downloaded settings from Winkeyer using your tool program and tail is set to 1.
?
The other thing I have done is to cable in a different known good VFO - a Hallicrafters HA-5, which is famously stable and reliable.? I see the same anomaly with PTT tail that seems too long.? I can remove the RCA plug from the rear of Winkeyer and manually short it, with clean and quick VFO oscillator cutoff.? So I remain puzzled, but I'll continue to investigate.
?
--Ed, N3CW--
?
 

开云体育

Try setting lead and tail both to one?


On Feb 24, 2025, at 10:38?AM, Ed G via groups.io <ed.n3cw@...> wrote:

?
Thanks Steve; will try some different configurations.? However, I can key the VFO line manually (with a hand key for example) and oscillator cutoff is instantaneous and sharp.? So that's why I was wondering why I so far am unable to get the same or closely the same when using Winkeyer PTT.? If I am reading correctly when I set hang time to 1 the delay should be as you describe. Is there anything else that could be overriding this?? I downloaded settings from Winkeyer using your tool program and tail is set to 1.
?
The other thing I have done is to cable in a different known good VFO - a Hallicrafters HA-5, which is famously stable and reliable.? I see the same anomaly with PTT tail that seems too long.? I can remove the RCA plug from the rear of Winkeyer and manually short it, with clean and quick VFO oscillator cutoff.? So I remain puzzled, but I'll continue to investigate.
?
--Ed, N3CW--
?
 

Steve - no difference with both lead and tail set to 1.? However, I had a spare MORTTY device which I tried in place of the Winkeyer and QSK is all working fine, with no unexpected extended PTT tail.? I'll have to think about what's different between the two devices, such as switching transistors on the PTT output. I haven't measured anything on a scope, but perhaps I am just seeing normal minimum tail delay on the Winkeyer PTT, although it is long enough to be distracting when attempting QSK...and it's not there with the MORTTY device.? I am not sure how to determine what PTT tail is on the MORTTY, but I suspect there is none unless some external program were to set it.
?
At this point I'm not sure much of this is of interest to the group, but I can post anything new if/when I learn it.? Appreciate your comments so far.
?
---Ed, N3CW--
?
 

开云体育

I spent some time refreshing my memory today, there are two PTT delays, tail delay and hang delay. Tail delay is applied after machine sent CW, namely keyboard or messages. Hang delay is applied after paddle entry. There is a good write up in manual on this topic, but in general tail delay is set in increments of 10ms while hang delay is set in wordspace increments. Note that tail delay is a fixed delay governed by mechanical constraints while hang delay is governed by sending speed.

By experiment, you can prove this out. Set tail to 0 or 1 and you see it drop immediately after a message or keyboard action. Hang delay drops later. The minimum hang delay is 1 wordspace. I think there is a way to disable hang but I have to spend more time with it.?

This all was designed years ago, arrived at by consensus of many, many class A cw ops.?

The issue is that you are using the keyer in a way it wasn’t intended. I will let you know if there is a trap door to disable hang.
Steve K1EL?

On Feb 25, 2025, at 6:33?AM, Ed G via groups.io <ed.n3cw@...> wrote:

?
Steve - no difference with both lead and tail set to 1.? However, I had a spare MORTTY device which I tried in place of the Winkeyer and QSK is all working fine, with no unexpected extended PTT tail.? I'll have to think about what's different between the two devices, such as switching transistors on the PTT output. I haven't measured anything on a scope, but perhaps I am just seeing normal minimum tail delay on the Winkeyer PTT, although it is long enough to be distracting when attempting QSK...and it's not there with the MORTTY device.? I am not sure how to determine what PTT tail is on the MORTTY, but I suspect there is none unless some external program were to set it.
?
At this point I'm not sure much of this is of interest to the group, but I can post anything new if/when I learn it.? Appreciate your comments so far.
?
---Ed, N3CW--
?

1 - 6 of 6