Faulty PC repaired - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday I had an email to say my PC had been repaired and checked and Asus was awaiting collection by the courier. 

This was under warranty and was done very fast. I expect they just swapped the motherboard. They have contacted me at every stage. I hope it is OK now. 

When it arrives back I must check it and see if FT8 works with the FT-710.

Windows PC

Currently I have 2 Windows PCs. Both run Windows 10 and were made by Asus. One I have had for years and is the main shack PC. The other failed under warranty and is currently being fixed.

Despite trying everything, I have still not got the FT-710 to work on FT8. I have downloaded the drivers, checked the settings are correct many, many times. This includes watching several YouTube videos. Until the other PC returns from repair, I cannot check the FT-710 with the other Windows PC.

Looking in Device Manager, all is there, but I cannot get CAT to work and there is no TX audio.

Of course, the FT-710 could be faulty, but I suspect the shack PC.

PC time syncing

Many digital modes like WSPR and FT8 depend on accurate timing.  

For the last few weeks I have just used Windows 10 to sync PC time.  As a matter of habit I do a re-sync perhaps once a day "just in case".  

Judging by results on FT8, I am perfectly sure this is fine. In the past I used special software for this. My advice is do not bother. 

Make sure your settings for time automatically sync. This is extremely easy.

PC not fixed

My issue seems to be no Internet connection. I have tried most things I know about, but so far no luck. I shall try again tomorrow. 

UPDATE 2020z: I am currently on 8m FT8 QRP TX with the "old" Windows PC. So far, no spots.

PC update and 630m WSPR

My shack PC needed an update. When this happens it does not sync to an internet time server. This occurred during the day (probably after lunch) so no South Americans on 10m JT65 may have been because of timing being out rather than propagation.

Anyway, the PC is now updating and I shall be on 472kHz (630m) WSPR for the rest of the evening and overnight.

10m short-skip

EA1FAQ (1249km) spotted me on 10m WSPR at lunchtime. A few hours later I noticed the shack PC had closed the WSPR program and shut down, presumably to install updates. I did a time resync and restarted the WSPR program about 1 hour ago. I have no idea when the PC shut down, but there have been no more 10m WSPR spots.

Reboot of PC needed

Although I was spotting F5WK (364km) well again this evening on 472kHz WSPR, my spots of him were not being uploaded to the WSPRnet database. My PC was showing that the WiFi was connected but I had no internet connectivity, except that other machines were connecting perfectly well! So, I rebooted the Win 7 PC and now all seems to work - spots of F5WK on 472kHz WSPR are now being uploaded OK. Although the first uploaded spot of F5WK is 1812z, I was copying him well before then.

On 10m WSPR the beacon is stand alone and the PC is only needed to start the sync. I could use the radio pips. The 10m beacon then runs (at least) all day on its own on 10m. I use the PC and WSPR software on either 6m or 630m.

Looking at new PCs

No, I don't really need one! This was me killing time waiting for the XYL in our local Cambridge branch of John Lewis. It is a very nice store and they always have long guarantees on TVs and PCs.

New PC due any time now.

According to the tracking data, my new Dell PC has been dispatched from their factory and should be here soon. Assuming all is well, I shall load Spectran and WSPR software and start WSPR tests again. My shack is currently out of action as it is housing my little granddaughter's cot. They go home tomorrow. We will miss them as they have been nice company.

UPDATE 1700z: The new PC has arrived.  I shall start configuring it tomorrow when the grandchildren have gone home.

No amateur radio

At the moment I am unable to do any amateur radio operation in my shack for the next few days.

Firstly, my shack  has been taken over to house my 2 year old granddaughter in her cot.

Secondly, the XP shack PC seems to have terminally died. It has served me well for very many years, but now is the time to replace it. The new PC is apparently ready and is in the process of being delivered.

My little granddaughter goes back home on Wednesday and my new PC is likely to arrive shortly afterwards. I will need to load WSPR and other software and check all is well with the new machine. As a 64 bit Win 8.1 machine, some software may prove incompatible.

PCs playing up

Both my PCs are playing up today.

Firstly, the Dell Inspiron 630m, XP OS, is getting very tired and refuses to boot up today.  Several keys are broken and sadly XP will shortly no longer be a supported OS.

Secondly my little Asus,Netbook with Win 7 Home OS, not used for several months, is taking forever to start, even on mains power. It may have to be returned. When new it was fine for portable, in-field, use with Spectran software, as long as ready-boost was used.

Now finally it is time to invest in a new PC for home use , so I am buying an i5 Inspiron 15R touch screen 1GB hard-drive, laptop, with 3 yrs hardware and software support. It should serve me well. We'll see.

Logging into a Windows PC and 10m WSPR

When I came to log in on my old (lab) Windows XP PC today it was a nightmare. Firstly it had not been used for almost 4 months and refused to bring up the log-in page. Then I'd forgotten my log-in details: even my old hint did not help. In the end after many attempts all was sorted but what a struggle with my poor addled brain currently. I've even made a small start on the tax return online. At the moment I am making lots of typos on the PC and everything takes twice as long as it did.

 I've started WSPRing on 10m for the first time since September! My old life is slowly returning, thank God. Not bad reports too.

Initial 10m WSPR reports with 2W out