PC Migration in the Shack

Technology changes fast. Call it Moore's Law if you like, it is true that our computers and related technology can do more, and do it faster, as time moves on. This has been going on for decades and isn't likely to end anytime soon.

It is unsurprising that software and equipment in our shacks exploits that power. We have direct-sampling SDR in our transceiver, standalone SDR, loggers with massive databases and search features, online real time data collection, analysis and dissemination to characterize on air activity, and so much more. And it's remarkably inexpensive. With a little learning it isn't difficult to build custom equipment that can greatly aid the enjoyment of our hobby.

But technology doesn't come entirely free. The technology you own has to be replaced, and quite often, to keep up with the resource demands of new applications and services. That costs money. Perhaps worse is the migration: moving our applications and data from one computer to another, and reformatting or transforming data formats. We may also have to adjust our operating practices to make the best of new products and services. As they say, the only constant is change.

I recently purchased a new PC to replace the one that runs most of the station. The old one -- only about 6 years old, can no longer cope with the data processing requirements, especially during contests. It bogs down, and that impacts my effectiveness. It also run Windows 10 which has been forced into obsolescence. 

Aside from the Windows 11, the new PC has a higher speed microprocessor and attendant peripherals, including more and faster RAM, SSD rather than a hard disk, and more wireless options (Wi-Fi, BT, etc.). What have been eliminated are an Ethernet port, CD & DVD drive, and VGA video. Luckily I have an ample supply of cables, monitors, keyboard and so forth that are compatible with the new PC. Many others will have to buy more than just a PC when upgrading.

This article is not a migration guide, whether for ham radio or general computing. There are ample online references to help with that. I won't suggest any since I don't know which guides are best and I picked from several to get a diversity of ideas. I've migrated computers many times in the past but with every technology change the process is different. In two cases it was forced by a hard drive (HDD) failure. I hope that you keep up to date backups.

My sole purpose is to give you an idea of what I had to go through considering the size and complexity of my station. You may find it interesting. Hopefully it won't be as difficult in your station.

Why Windows?

While there are alternative OS's such as Linux and iOS, most of the software I use (as do most hams) only supports Windows. Eliminating Microsoft's OS from my station isn't practical and would make any migration far, far worse. I use Linux at home for other purposes but not for the computers running the station.

Some will nevertheless persist: there are ways to run most Windows applications on Linux and iOS. That's swapping one set of difficulties for another, and it's usually more difficult for a worse result. I have no reason to do so. This is a ham shack, not a religious crusade. Yet there are certain to be readers of the blog that have taken that road and are itching to preach the gospel. Please don't be that person.

Cleaning Windows 11

Removing all the "cruft" from Windows is easy but tedious. I followed several online guides on how to go about it. I uninstalled the Microsoft components I don't need or want, turned off the most annoying features of software that cannot be removed, and adjusted the behaviour of Files Explorer and other components. These are a few of the ones that applied to my ham radio applications:

• Turn on the display of file extensions and hidden files. There are so many applications with unique file locations and file types that I find it helpful to make these details visible.
• Ensure that file types (file extensions) default to the appropriate application. Don't assume that the Windows defaults are useful and sensible. It can be particularly useful to associate Notepad to files like .ini, .mc and similar settings files found in N1MM and other applications to make them easier to inspect and edit.
• Services like OneDrive -- I disable it and rely on manual backups -- are not compatible with N1MM Logger+ and various other applications. You must move databases out of its sight or you'll end up with corrupt data. 

While not "cruft", there are important Windows settings to consider. For example, for digital modes and voice message recording and playback, navigate to the audio settings and turn off all audio processing (mostly on the audio input) -- processing may be enabled by default. You will likely have to adjust the mic and speaker level since the defaults may not reside within the required level setting ranges needed in WSJT-X, N1MM Logger+ and other applications.

Windows increases the amount of security screening for applications with every release. That is reasonable. Enhanced security can prove challenging for the many ham radio applications that are not digitally signed or not distributed by Microsoft and other certified vendors. You'll have to work your way through the various security prompts ("are you sure you want to run this?") for each installed app. I even get splash warnings every time I run some custom applications. It can become very annoying.

Again, this is not a Windows guide so I won't delve deeper into the topic in this article. You may run into Windows security hurdles beyond those I've mentioned so be prepared to spend more time than expected on the migration.

File transfer

This is the easy part of the migration. There are many modern methods that are convenient and fast for moving large quantities of files between computers.

Three are shown in the picture: Wi-Fi, flash memory drive and portable hard drive. I find the last of those the easiest: the transfer is very fast. The USB HDD holds 1 TB, is cheap, and doubles as a backup device for all of my computers.

Although Wi-Fi may seem a good choice, I find that it's difficult to navigate Window's obscure local networking "features" to access the required remote drives and folders. Its terminology and restrictions make an easy wireless connection unfathomably difficult.

Aside from application folders and files, don't forget application installers. Ham radio applications tend to only last as long as the developer cares to do so. Once they abandon it, the application may be difficult to locate other than on predatory sites. I always save a local copy of install executable files. 

Most of those files will never be used since updated versions are supported and available online. But when you need one that has since become obsolete you'll be thankful that you kept it around. Most of those old installers work fine on current Windows versions.

Serial ports

When you plug a new device into a USB port on the computer, a COM port is assigned. With the increasing amount of computerized equipment in our shacks there are many ports. It is your job to know which newly assigned COM port is associated with which device. If you use a USB hub (you have more USB devices than ports on the PC), use it during the connection process for the new PC.

It is helpful to have the Device Manager open when connecting USB devices. Watch for the new COM port to appear and write it down. Better, keep the information in a file on the computer; a text file is all that you need.

The COM will not be assigned until a driver is found. For some devices, such as the Silicon Labs driver for many rigs such as my Icom transceivers, the driver must be installed before the device is connected.

Follow the manufacturer's recommendations on device driver selection and use. Otherwise Windows may choose one that will not work properly or at all. Drivers such as for FTDI and CH340 devices can be loaded by Windows though it is not always easy. You may have to use the Windows update feature to find and load the driver. Once you have the correct driver beware that Windows may choose to update it during its usual update process. That may not be what you want.

Some devices will only work with a COM port lower than 10. Connect those first since they are incrementally assigned. The assignments can be changed later though with some difficulty. I prefer to avoid the necessity.

If you use applications such as com0com or VSP Manager (among many others) that create virtual serial ports and enable connections to and sharing of physical COM ports, you'll have to install those as well before the applications that use them will function. Again, keep detailed notes. I need virtual serial ports for the SO2R Mini.

Microsoft tries hard to put peripherals to sleep. After each serial (USB) peripheral (transceiver, SO2R device, etc.) is connected, assigned a COM port and the driver installed, the Device Manager's power management pane should be opened to disable the sleep feature. Occasionally a Windows upgrade will reverse the action so it can be worthwhile to periodically look for that check mark.

Transceivers

Modern rigs typically connect to the PC via USB. As a minimum this is for CAT control and for an increasing number of rigs it also supplies a virtual soundcard for audio (e.g. digital modes and phone contest messages). 

Virtual soundcards are assigned generic names that can be ambiguous when you have several transceivers and audio peripherals. Either document the assigned names or rename them to what you find useful. Virtual soundcards are not limited to transceivers, extending as well to VNA software, SDR, and SO2R devices.

Digital modes

WSJT-X can be annoying to initially set up. If you don't yet have a transceiver connected (CAT and soundcard) it can be futile to jump into the settings. The reason is that it won't let you save most or any of them until there is a functioning radio connection. It's very annoying. WSJT-X is wonderful software expect for the UI (user interface). 

You'll have to transfer (manually or otherwise) the specific parameters of the rig and soundcard selection. Colours, decoding level, spectrogram and other features will require similar setup. If you use the application in conjunction with a logging program such as HRD or N1MM, you'll have to go through that set up as well.

The log files must be copied to the new PC if you want WSJT-X to correctly identify stations worked before, grids and countries needed, etc. I took the most recent log and ADIF files from the old PC and carefully copied them to the new PC. 

• wsjtx.log
• wsjtx_log.adi 

The WSJT-X log file directory is deeply hidden within Windows so rather than find it yourself, open the log window from the Files menu. When copying the files to the new PC, make sure that WSJT-X isn't attempting to log a QSO; preferably do it without yet having used WSJT-X on the new PC, not even to monitor. 

The next time you start WSJT-X it will load the copied files and notify you in a message that is visible for just a few seconds. You should also load the latest country file, and update it from time to time. WSJT-X has a button to take care of that regular task. 

Migrating WSJTX-improved is the same as for the general release. Since I do not use JTDX or other digital modes software I have no migration advice to offer about those.

LOTW

An unexpected gap appeared when I tried to upload a log to LOTW for the first time on the new computer using TQSL. Since the signed digital certificate is tied to the device, a new one must be requested. I haven't done that yet. It's one more inconvenience to deal with.

Browser

I use several different browsers. I have one that strictly enforces privacy to protect me when viewing many web sites, especially those that I've never visited before. Another has strong ad blocking to block malware using ad networks as a distribution vector, and when using a variety of internet services that are overbearing with respect to ads. I use another browser to work on the blog since Blogger is incompatible with some security settings I enable. It's confusing but effective for my style of internet usage. If you use just one browser the migration will be easier.

Bookmarks have to be transferred and login credentials must be re-entered, among many other tasks where data on the old computer aren't present on the new one. Luckily there is not a lot that is strictly necessary for the station since most of my browser use is on other computers.

Loggers

At present I only use N1MM Logger+ for all my contest and daily logging needs. That simplifies matters somewhat. Unlike WSJT-X (see above) the directories that contain all of my extensively customized files and settings are easily accessed and copied.

The relevant directories and files encompass: old and current databases for myself and guest operators, function key definitions, and voice messages. In this migration I did not copy over the old .ini settings but I probably should have. It took longer than expected to configure N1MM on the new computer. I thought it would be easier since the hardware settings are not really transferrable due to the different COM ports.

The details that needed attention included: Winkeyer settings (COM6 above), audio interfaces, broadcast UDP addresses, OTRSP connections (COM22 above), window appearance and positions, call history and check partial files, and individual features selected via the menus, among others. It took a while to fully recreate my preferences.

Custom software

My home brew antenna selection software was not trivial to migrate, but I've done it before and I didn't expect it to be a problem. Despite that, there are multiple steps and my documentation is sparse. There is, as yet, no configuration file -- there are hard coded parameters to be changed -- and installation of required software and libraries. These include:

• Python. Since Python is popular it has a rapid development cycle. I had to deal with new versions of the software, libraries and development tools. Most are upward compatible but not always.
• Many libraries are distributed with Python while less popular ones must be installed separately. It isn't difficult except for the details which I don't remember clearly since I don't often do it. The Pywin32 library installation is particularly difficult, requiring a two-step process -- it provides access to the Windows APIs that allow me to control window focus for compatibility with the logger software.
• COM port assignments must be changed in all applications, including my own, that access transceivers and other peripheral equipment.
• Integration testing with the Arduino-based switching software and hardware.
• Even after all was done, Windows 11 security continues to dislike Python apps and complains. I haven't yet figured out how to stop the warnings, but they are transitory notifications and can be ignored. There are certain to be other applications that trigger the same warnings.

There were no changes to the Arduino software since it, of course, doesn't run on Windows. However the Arduino IDE and libraries had to be installed and tested on the new computer. This was also necessary for my other Arduino projects and products that use Arduino boards such as the SO2R Mini.

EMI

A new computer requires EMI protection. Since most of the cables already have chokes installed, the primary concern is the computer power supply and monitor. I installed more chokes even though I didn't observe new problems while operating, either to or from the computer and its peripherals. Something requiring attention is certain to arise eventually. I was running low on ferrite chokes so I ordered a bunch at the same time I purchased the PC.

Going live

The migration as I've described it sounds painful. In reality it wasn't that bad, perhaps a few hours spread over a week. I could resume operating before the migration was complete. About the only thing I've yet to do is to test SO2R and networking for M/2 contests. I don't expect any problems with those. I have a guest operator for the upcoming RAC Winter contest and I'm hoping that the station works as it should!

All that said, I hope I don't have to do this again for several years. Usually that works out since computer resource consumption grows at only a moderate pace and Windows 11 should remain current for at least another 5 years. My older computers with Windows 10 can remain as they are. The security risks are low since they are rarely used outside of contests. 

One of the spare computers will be converted to Linux for non-radio use. Mostly that involves just a browser,Open Office and a few other widely available application for document creation and processing. I count at least 5 computers currently in the shack, and a few more scattered around the house that still work but are too old to be of use. 

Eventually they'll go to electronic recycling after the hard disk drives are destroyed. Any discarded smart device needs to be wiped of all personal information. Physical destruction is a last resort but don't hesitate when the need arises.