> When Tree first did TR log it sent CW by sending the data
> out to his AEA MM-3 on the serial port.
> It had this support in it for a long time - and may still
> have it in there somewhere for all I know.
Ah yes - the MM3. A very nice little keyer and it is too bad it didn't
catch on - because with its serial port - it can be used with NT or
whatever without any problems.
Well - even BEFORE that - TR did its first CW using an external
processor (a Z80) using a scheme very similar to Jim's proposal.
The program was downloaded over a serial port, and then it was started
up and then commands could be processed from the serial link to
send CW. The Z80 also supported some CW reading commands which
interfaced to an AEA CP-1, and also some basic radio control
commands for a TS-430.
This was the hardware setup for the Z80 op, which still claims to
have made the first totally automated QSOs in a contest (the 1986
Field Day).
The first implementation of TR ran on the same hardware and borrowed
many of the basic routines from the original Z80 op code.
Another interesting piece of history - KK7A was present during a
presentation I made at the 1988 ARRL National Convention which was
held here in Portland. I made a presentation about some of the
pitfalls that the computer presented when used as a logging tool.
I believe I said something like "Computer loggging will never be as
efficient as paper logging." Another person at that talk was NJ2L.
At that time, Jim was working on a Z80 based CW keyer. He was always
adding new features to it... sounds familar. I have a copy of the
source code in assembler. It was called CWCP Version 1.0.A.
End of history lesson.
Tree
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