[Skimmertalk] How to run two copies of CW Skimmer Server on the same PC

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

Executive Summary:

Install two copies in separate folders: *SkimSrv* and *SkimSrv2*.

In *SkimSrv2*: (1) rename SkimSrv.exe to *SkimSrv2.exe*, (2) rename the
Hermes DLL, and (3) specify a different TELNET port in SkimSrv.ini.

(Optional) Add RTTY Skimming via CWSL_Tee to one instance only.  See this
web page <http://hamsci.org/n6tv-red-pitaya-combine-cw-rtty-skimmer-hdsdr>
for details about setting up the Red Pitaya SDR for skimming and CWSL_Tee.

Details:

I now have two Red Pitaya 125-14 SDRs on my LAN, making it possible to skim
CW spots on 12 192 kHz band segments between 1.8 to 54 MHz.

Running CW Skimmer Server on two separate computers works fine, but my goal
was to do all processing on my fastest PC, a new Windows 10 machine with a
3.6 GHz Intel i7-7700 CPU.

To run two instances of SkimSrv on the same machine, I had to do the
following:

   1. Install CW Skimmer Server in the default location (*C:\Program Files
   (x86)\Afreet\SkimSrv\*)

   2. Copy *HermesIntf.dll* to the same location (Administrator privileges
   required)

   3. *Rename* HermesIntf.dll to *HermestIntf_XXXX.dll* where XXXX = the
   last 4 hex digits of the MAC address of the *first* Red Pitaya

   4. Copy *C:\Program Files (x86)\Afreet\SimSrv\* to *C:\Program Files
   (x86)\Afreet\SkimSrv2\*
   (Copy the *entire folder*; Administrator privileges required)
   -or-
   Install a second copy of CW Skimmer Server, but change the installation
   directory to SkimSrv2 (I did not try this method)

   5. VERY IMPORTANT:  In the new *SkimSrv2* folder, rename *SkimSrv.exe*
   to

*SkimSrv2.exe *
   6. Also in *SkimSrv2*, rename HermesIntf_XXXX.dll to
   *HermestIntf_YYYY.dll* where YYYY = the last 4 hex digits of the MAC
   address of the *second* Red Pitaya

   7. In SkimSrv2\SkimSrv.ini, change:
   Port=7300
   to
   Port=7302

   8. If required, manually create a new Windows shortcut to the new
   SkimSrv2\SkimSrv2.exe program and SkimSrv2 directory

   9. Start both instances of CW Skimmer Server, configure each for
   separate band segments, and use the Aggregator to connect to both

Step 5 is critical, otherwise the two instances will both try to write to
the same file (*%appdata%\Afreet\Products\SkimSrv\Spots.txt*), which isn't
supported, and you'll get an error message similar to "Could not open
Spots.txt."  Renaming the executable causes the second instance to write
to %appdata%\Afreet\Products\*SkimSrv2*\Spots.txt instead.

For simultaneous RTTY skimming, well, there is currently no way to run two
instances of  *CWSL_Tee* on the same instance of Windows.  As a compromise,
I decided to dedicate the first Red Pitaya to skimming CW and RTTY on the
six contest bands (160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and the low end of 10) via
CWSL_Tee, and the second Red Pitaya to skimming CW only on the other bands
(60, 30, 17, 12, and the high end of 10), *without* CWSL_Tee.  Some day I
may also try adding 6m skimming on this same SDR.

Note:  you must edit edit *CWSL_Tee.cfg* in both the SkimSrv and the RBN
directories, changing HermesIntf to *HermesIntf_XXXX*.

W3OA's Aggregator takes care of automatically starting both CW Skimmer
Server and RTTY Skimmer Server in the right sequence, both using the first
Red Pitaya, but it has no provision to automatically start the second
instance of CW Skimmer Server, so I have to start it manually with a
separate shortcut.  Automatic connection to this second Skimmer Server is
enabled by checking the *Auto Start* box on the *Secondary Skimmers* tab.
The box should probably be labeled *Auto Connect* since it does not
automatically start SkimSrv2.

73,
Bob, N6TV