[amsat-bb] Re: XML and radio

["Margaret Leber (K3XS)" <maggie@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" wrote:

> Why not use something that is more standardized and works uniformly cross
> platforms/OS?  

Well, first off, I'm writing this software to please *me*, not some "target
market"--probably a classic example of Eric Raymond's "software written to
scratch a developer's itch". 

But since I'm writing in Java, I'm really not expecting portability to be an
issue. The code I sometimes compile on NT runs just fine in Linux. Platform
dependencies are pretty well encapsulated to the calls that do the serial I/O. 

In my shack, serial I/O (I have the luxury of a 16-port serial
board--*wonderful* for a shack computer) is just part of the filesystem. Any
Windows portations will only need to replace the streams that currently connect
to /dev/cuxxx in the filesystem with equivalant streams from javax.comm.comport.
But I don't have to mess with that right now because...OK, OK, I won't go there. 

> How do you like your 847?  I'm getting ready to make the big purchase soon.
> I wish it had an internal tuner like the 890.  What I DO like about it is
> separate antenna connections for HF/6m/2m/70cm -- NO DUPLEXERS!

The 847 is very cool. As an economical solution for someone who wanted to be
active in a *lot* of modes/bands it was nearly ideal, at the time I bought it in
anticipation of getting my General...almost a year ago now. 

The functionality of the CAT interface is disappointing to me; why on earth you
would design such an interface without a command equivalant to every button on
the front panel, I have no idea. But I do intend to make the most of what
function is there. 

The HF section is servicable, considering that this is not a dedicated HF
DX/contesting radio, but I understood that at the time I bought it. The lack of
an internal tuner is not often felt--Yaesu obviously wanted one autotuner to
serve across the product line. I have an LDG Electronic autotuner in the HF
stream and it does the job,, considering it has only one memory. Since we switch
antennas here a lot (having two HF stations in the household and a shared
antenna farm) individual band memories wouldn't help a lot anyhow. 

My lifepartner Gwennie NG3P has an internal autotuner in her new ICOM 748 and
loves it a lot. That radio shows me what an equivalant amount of cash focused on
HF performance only (OK, it has a 6m/2m section, I know) can accomplish.
Wonderful box, and she lets me use it....so ICOM support will probably show up
in JHamTune next. I'll have to deal with javax.comm then too, because *her*
shack computer runs Win98. I'm hoping to keep the class factoring clean so I can
implement remote operation someday.  :0)    

All in all, not a disappointment at all for someone who previously only had two
HTs and a dual-band mobile. And when I ultimately replace it with something
spiffier down the road, I have the mobile bracket for it in storage... :-) 

 73 de Maggie K3XS      

-- 
-----/___.   _)   Margaret Stephanie Leber    / "The art of progress  /
----/(, /|  /| http://voicenet.com/~maggie   / consists of preserving/
---/   / | / |  _   _   _    `  _AOPA 925383/ order amid change and /
--/ ) /  |/  |_(_(_(_/_(_/__(__(/_  FN20hd / change amid order."   /
-/ (_/   '  K3XS  .-/ .-/    ARRL 39280   /___ --A.N.Whitehead ___/
/____ICQ 7161096_(_/_(_/__AMSAT 32844____/ <maggie@voicenet.com>
----
Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org