F.A.Q. Frequently asked questions :

Q : When running F6DQM's programs, I cannot access some files created by the relevant programs !

A : While running my programs, for example CW_PLAYER, under WIN VISTA, WIN7, WIN8 or Win10 from the directory
C:\Program Files\CW_Player\ or C:\Program Files (x86), you have to start CW_Player as administrator anyway for getting full access to all functions of CW_Player, especially saving text to text- or wave-files.
If you don’t, the produced files won’t be accessible because of the UserAccountControl (UAC) of windows.
If you don’t want to run the program as admin, you have to install it to a directory, which is NOT in Program Files or Program Files (x86), but for example direclty under C:. There, the function of the UAC takes no effect.
This applies for all my softwares. The installation programs that you download from my sites respect this feature and install by default in a directory directly under C:.

Q : With CW_Player, can I connect my keyer to the serial port ?

A : Yes, from release 4.0.3 this is possible. See the file pc_tx.bmp for connections or go to the page Schematics . The file shows how to connect a keyer to the gameport or to the serial port or to a mouse. If you computer includes none of these ports, you may use USB-Gameport or USB-serial adaptors such as the Trendnet TU-S9 tested successfully.

Q : If I connect my Morse key to a serial port, can I supply it with the  DTR ou RTS signal instead of a battery ?

A : Yes, with CW_Player it's possible. In the menu PORT, in the box TX/PTT COM, check the signal DTR or RTS that you wish to use. Then, in the window MONITORING which allows you to send Morse, push the button ptt. At that time, the chosen signal will be set to high voltage (+12V). Note that the current driven from this signal is quite low, only a few milliamps. If you have connected you Morse key such as described in the pc_tx.bmp file, the network made of the two 100nF filtering capacitors and the two 6.8k resistors will limit the driven current to about 2 milliamps and rebounds from the key should be efficiently filtered.

Q : With CW_Player, can I decode audio morse signals ?

A : Yes you can but the result may be disappointing as far as CW_Player has been written to monitor your own keying and help you to have a good keying. So, it is supposed that the audio signals coming from your personal keying are clean (not noisy) : either keying an audio oscillator or the monitoring of you transceiver that your are keying. Remember that CW_Player will never replace your ears ! Please note also that CW_Player will try to decode these audio signals around the speed that is set. So, trying to decode audio signals at a speed of 30 wpm when the set speed is 12 wpm will be totally inefficient. So, please key at a speed that you can read.

Q : Does CW_Player support iambic keying ?

A : Yes it supports Iambic mode When squeezing both contacts of the double key, CW_Player will play a series of dots and dashes alternatively. When releasing the two paddles, CW_Player will simply complete the last sign being played. Iambic keying is a matter of experienced OMs, not for beginners. CW_Player is mainly for beginners. The key decoding (Monitoring) is to let newcomers use correctly a Morse key (single or double). When using a double key, we advise learners to start with the traditional keying : dash to the left and dot to the right. No squeeze. May be you are not convinced ? Then read this interesting paper of Marshall, N1FN. Maybe you will change your mind after reading it.

Q : Err2 occurs when opening the option "Monitoring" in CW_Player.

A : This may happen with Windows 7 if no microphone or equivalent device is connected in the MIC input of your sound card. Normally, this error does not block CW_Player and you are still able to use your keyer or mouse or joystick or CTRL key to decode CW. If you don't want this error to appear, just connect a microphone in the MIC input of your sound card.

Q : Does SIMPLEX manage a duplex repeater or a transponder ?

A : Yes, it does. It manages simplex, duplex and transponder repeaters and also a combination of duplex and transponder repeaters. The name SIMPLEX may let imagine that it manages only simplex repeaters. This is because the very first release of this program did manage only simplex repeaters. Since several years, it manages all sorts of repeaters. It is already used to manage several VHF/UHF repeaters over France and in some European countries. But probably also on other continents as far as repeater operators usually don't give me reports if all works correctly ! I've discovered by chance that it was used in a repeater network around Montreal (Canada)

Q : Why can't I read the help files (.hlp) with Vista or Win7 ?

A : This is due to Vista or Win7 which does not include the software to read these .hlp files.
All my programs include now help files using the htm or chm format.
Nevertheless, you will find on the Microsoft pages the way to read these old hlp files. You just have to download and install the relevant software.
Note that this answer relates to old releases of my programs. In recent releases, the .hlp files have been replaced by .chm files. So it is highly recommended that you install the more recent releases of my programs.

Q : Why can't I read the help files (.chm) with Windows 10 ?

A : This .chm help file is opened by the HTML Help utility program of MicroSoft ((c:/windows/hh.exe).
When right-clicking on the chm file, verify that this utility program is actually the default program that opens the chm file, and verify that the box Unblocked is checked.
If HTML Help is not the default program to open chm files, perhaps should you try to download and install it in your computer.

Q : Why do I get sometimes date format errors with Win7 ?

A : When using some of my programs, you may get an error related to the Date/Time format. The whole story is due to a bug occuring on some Win7 systems not storing the regional settings correctly, even though they seem to be set properly. Here is the procedure to get rid of this Win7 bug :
WORKAROUND:
1) Start/Configuration/Regional settings (: the globe symbol :)
2) on the 1st tab select a different country, i.e. Germany ;-) and press [APPLY]
3) set the country back to what it should be and press [OK]
4) Now your app will behave again as expected.

Q : Why the LPT port does not respond to commands in Sat_Explorer, Simplex, AziPoint or Intercom ?

A : If the LPT port exists in your computer configuration, then it might be an installation problem. If you install with the install.exe programs there should be no problem. If you install with the zip, then don't forget to copy the zntport.sys driver in the Windows/system32/drivers repertory.
Verify also that the library ntport.dll is present in the application directory.
If it still does not work, with using REGEDIT, delete the key (and sub-keys) : HKey_Local_Machine/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/services/zntport. Then restart your computer and launch Sat_Explorer or Simplex. In the initialization window of my programs you should get the LPT port address such as h378.
Finally, you may also run the zntportsetup.exe utility program which is given in the application packages. This program should normally set correctly all the files that are necessary to use the LPT port with my softwares.

Q: With Sat_Explorer, why do I get an error when downloading TLE files?

A: The origins can be numerous. Check the following:
- Is your Internet connection operational?
- Are the download URLs correct? See the help files.
- If you use Space-Track, check your login information.
- If the download is successful using a VPN, the IP address of your router may be blocked by the download site's server. Renew your router's IP address and try again.

Q : Why can't I login the space-track.org site with Sat_Explorer under WinXP ?

A : If you run under WinXP, you must be aware that the space-track.org site is secured and cannot be accessed with Internet Explorer 8, latest release compatible with WinXP.
Sat-Explorer uses the librairies of Internet Explorer to access the sites that provide the 2-lines files. If you really want to access the 2-Lines files of space-track.org, it is mandatory that your computer runs under a more recent OS (Win7 and later) which includes a more recent release of Internet Explorer (IE9+).
If you cannot run another OS than WinXP, please use the sites Celestrak.com or Amsat.org to download the 2-Lines files. 

Q : Why login space-track or aprs.fi with Mozilla or Chrome is not recognized by Sat_Explorer or WX_Player ?

A : The login procedure of sites such as space-track.org  or aprs.fi uses cookies that are saved in a specific directory of your browser. Sat_Explorer and WX_Player use Microsoft libraries and recognized only those cookies created by Internet Explorer. So you need to have IE installed to make the login procedues work correctly. If you don't like to have IE installed in your computer, you still the possibility to login with your favorite browser. When looged, Sat_Explorer or WX_Player will be able to access the datas of these sites.

Q : Why do I get sometimes "Script errors" when downloading TLE files from Internet ?

A : The problem is related to the same reason as before. Sat_Explorer uses the Microsoft libraries of Internet Explorer. As you may know, this browser is now obsolete and may not interpret correctly some scripts of the sites from where you try to download. If this happens, just answer "NO" to the error window and continue the downloading procedure.

Q: Why with Sat_Explorer are the moonrise and moonset times different from those read on the Internet?

A: Internet sites give the time of the beginning of the appearance and total disappearance of the Moon on the horizon. Sat_Explorer gives the time at which the geographical center of the Moon appears or disappears from the horizon. It is this geographic center that serves as a pointing reference for the antennas, i.e. a zero elevation. This explains why in Sat_Explorer the Moonrise is a few minutes late and the Moonset a few minutes ahead (about 6 to 7 minutes) compared to the ephemerides that you will find on the Internet.

If this page does not you answer your question, before sending a message via the Contact page please verify that you have got the very last release of the program about which you have a question.