Introduction

     Networking has been added to RTTY by WF1B for use in connecting multiple stations. Probably fewer than 10% of WF1B users will use it, at least for now; and Ray has recognized that fact by making it all invisible to those who don't need it and don't want any problems or bugs from it.

    Many top RTTY single ops use two rigs;  I am not sure just how much the second rig adds to their score but an all-out contesting effort on any mode demands two rigs these days. In fact, on RTTY at least, the single op/two rigs will often beat the multi / single teams when there is a "10 minute rule" which requires a multi/single to remain on a band for at least 10 minutes after qsying. Such a rule in the single op class would reduce participation as the bulk of the operators are mostly  "search and pounce" operating and would be discouraged from checking the off bands for activity, so the rule is unlikely to be applied to the single op class ( but the top ops would still win , I suspect).

     Some operators (like me) just use the second rig to monitor other bands with a simple rig and make a decision when to change bands on the main rig based on the activity heard. The main rig has the good antennas, amp, best TNC, etc. Networking is still useful on a monitor-only station as it identifies dupes and new mults accurately when networked. I use a R7 vertical antenna and a PK-232 on the monitor station.  With Ver 3, I may move gradually into actually trying to work some one on the second rig. The basic technique is to transmit on one station while copying a station on the other rig and switching ones attention back and forth. RTTY is probably the best mode for this but much practice is needed to be successful. The sound of two signals can be nerve-wracking.  Don, AA5AU, uses stereo headphones with each rig on one ear.  He feels that he could mentally listen to one easily after only three years of practice!

            There are three parts to setting up the networking of two to eight computers: the hardware (ports and cables), the RTTY.INI setup, and actual operation, either as a single op/ two rig , a multi/single two rigs, or all out war with multi-multi. Most of your effort will be in getting the hardware setup. I will concentrate on the single op/two rig and multi-single two rig operations as the multi-multis need no advice from the likes of me ...

       So what happens if you do all the stuff I am going to get into? The main result is to automatically keep identical logs for two or more computers, including issuing the correct serial numbers and both stations recognizing dupes already contacted by the other station.  Multi op stations can also send messages to a specific computer or an announcement to everyone.( Single ops that do this may have been contesting too many hours ! ).

     If you have only one packet cluster, spots can be sent to the appropriate station by the operator with the cluster. For a really big operation, one computer can be used by the leader just to keep everything running smoothly. It also provides a backup log if one computer self-destructs. Even if your second rig is used only for monitoring, the dupes/new mults will be recognized correctly.

   One caveat -- there is nothing in the software to prevent simultaneous transmissions that may be allowed in the class entered.

Hardware:

A. Serial Ports

        You will need a serial port with unique address and IRQ for each computer. If you have more than two computers, they will be daisy-chained and the computers in the middle will need two com ports to carry the daisy-chain. You will probably need a special serial port expansion card for all the ports you need for TNC, rig control, mouse, cluster, etc. This is covered in a separate article with all the details ... You can see it by clicking:         Serial Ports  
This also includes good info from Bruce, WT4I and Bob, AA4PB on their methods.

B. Null Modem Cable

     This is a special cable that can be built yourself ;  see :

http://www.u-net.com/epr/electron/issue1/feat0712.htm
    
  I built my own out of two ten foot RS232 cables so that I had one long enough to snake its way behind the two rigs. It also lets you get 9 pin connectors at each end (if that is what you need), a hard cable to buy. This method consists of cutting of the undesired plug on each cable and then crosswiring receive and transmit wires per the link above. Better check the continuity directly .. my two cables had different color codes for the wires.

     Another method is to use a "null modem adapter" which converts an ordinary RS-232 cable to the null modem wiring (abt $5 at Radio Shack). Be sure and study your connectors; there are many male/female and 25/9 pin combinations of cables and adapters should be minimized.

      The third method is buy a ready-built "null modem cable" or Lap-Link cable from a computer store or Radio Shack, sometimes Wal-Mart.

Setup and Testing your Hardware

     Now that all that is connected up, there must be info added to RTTY.INI and a special program provided with Version 3 (nettest.exe) used to check your handiwork.

RTTY.INI

Here is a picture of my rtty.ini file section for the first computer networking; there are two sections, one that specifies the station and the normal one for specifiying the com port info. This is for the master station (stationnum=1); others will be numbered 2,3 etc. For daisy-chained multi-multi stations, a comportb=x will be added for the middle computers. The BaseAddr=$100 shows the address as a hex number and the dollar sign is needed to tell Ver 3 that it is hexadecimal notation.  I show all the possible variables but the defaults can be omitted if that is what you use.

Next, use the program NETTEST.EXE, which is provided in your Ver 3 .ZIP file.   It must be running on both/all computers and it simulates the actual operation by "pinging", which is one computer sends a "ping" to another and if it receives it OK, sends a "pong" back and the originating program which reports to you that all is OK. Ray urges you to get this working right before you bother to try the full Ver 3 program. It uses the info right out of the RTTY.INI file, so it is checking both your hardware and your .ini setup simultaneously.


The Real Thing:

All OK? Then fire up version 3.1A (to be posted soon) or newer on both computers.

Here is my startup screen for the second computer; It shows the network is successfully installed but communication is not yet checked as the other computers may not be even started yet. Get all computers started up and good network startup messages on each.






The next step is synchronize the clocks of all computers, so the logs will be in sync. This can only be done automatically from the station designated as stationnum=1 in RTTY.INI.   The procedure is to press ~Ni or use the mouse to access the upper menus and select Network:

Guess which menu item will synchronize the time! Remember, this must only be done from computer #1.

The other stations will display a message showing they have complied with the sync time of computer #1:

The messages are always at the bottom; if it gets overprinted with another one, you can see all the messages this computer has received via the network menu. At this point, you know that your network is working and all is well. The "Ping" test feature of nettest.exe is also available on the menu.

Operating With the Network

    You have been a long time getting your system to this point (at least I was) and must be ready for some action. First, send a message from station 1 to station 2 (you need to press control-enter to send it) :


and his screen will show:

and a warning bell should sound also .. if  he has not turned it off !

Anouncements works the same way, except all stations get it :

If you only have one computer on the DxCluster and you get a message not on your band, you can send the spot to the station working that band :


and the op will recieve:

Now, Ray, when will be able to auto-QSY via a recieved message???

Logging Calls :

   OK, enough fooling around; note that the above screens show the identical calls on both screens; one was logged on computer one and the other on computer 2. When computer 2 made it's first exchange, it knew the next serial number to be used was 002 automatically, as computer 1 had already logged the call and sent the info to #2. Some little problems can still occur:

#1 sends serial number 001 but before he logs it, #2 makes a contact and gives out serial #001 also.

#1 logs a call wrongly, deletes it, but #2 has already skipped that serial number and given out the next one.

   This is common to all networking software and even manual logging. There is nothing to be done about it except include a note on your log summary page explaining that you were using networking software and they will understand the duplicate or missing numbers and not get suspicious of you.

Editing Networked Logs

    Mistikes can be made by the best of us and Version 3 has two ways of making corrections and have them automatically transferred to all the other stations whose logs will be automatically corrected ... The two ways:

1. Correction to call still on the screen ... just type over it with the new info

2. Correction to call no longer visible or deletion of an entire qso --- use alt-E editor

    It might be wise to record editing changes in a notebook or use the NOTE utility so that the logs can be examined afterwards for editing accuracy. And that is all there is to it ..

Hints and Tips

READ THE MANUAL ..... and the addenda.txt file that contains updates to the manual.

    I will be adding any that I hear of from users here in the future. I know that RTTY by WF1B networking will continue to evolve as user experience is gained. Let me know of your techniques and I will add them to this article. And tell Ray directly of your ideas .. He loves them !     Thanks to Ray for all the help he has given me in getting the networking going .. most of my start-up problems were of my own making !       

   There have been so many new features added since I started this series a few months ago that I think another one (the last, I promise!) is needed to illustrate them all as the manual is running a little behind!

73 de Dick       10 Aug '97