Win 11 laptop with wfview. I am getting serious packet losses with my IC705. The RX latency shows approx 35 or more and sometimes goes red. If I ping the IP address of the 705 at the same time I get a value of 1ms. Usually when starting wfview the losses are zero but after a minute or so this starts to climb to a huge number. It used to work perfectly … Anyone any ideas ?
Hi
I assume you are connecting to the IC705 via the built-in AP mode of the radio? As we have said previously, the AP mode isn’t stable enough for general use unless you are within about 30cm of the radio!
People who connect the radio to a good quality access point instead, have very few problems.
This is an issue with all software that connects to the radio over a network connection and isn’t limited to wfview.
73 Phil M0VSE
Hi Phil. This has never been a problem since I have owned the 705. Its always been a perfect connection. I have been trying to sort this all day and the laptop and 705 are within inches of each other. I might try another laptop with Win 7 on it. Just strange its started to play up ?? Cheers. James G1JSP
I have a similar problem with my 705 when either connected directly or to an AP, but only with my Windows 11 machine. Choosing port audio fixes it mostly but the RX latency will run around 700ms. Going to my Windows 8 tablet and it runs perfectly around 200ms, but still only works with port audio.
200ms seems really slow for a device on the same network with no other devices, but at least it is usable.
If you come across a solution, or if there is a way to get one of the audio choices working I would like the know.
~Matt
KC7OOY
So… are you using the built in AP?
Yes. Using the built in AP. Its worked fine for the last 18 months of owning it.
Despite your history of success, the built in WiFi (in any mode) is not the greatest. Maybe something in your environment changed or perhaps the laptop’s own WiFi is acting up.
I don’t own a 705 (yet) but if I did, I would buy a dedicated small AP for the 705 and basically keep it near by the 705. I’ve heard enough about the built in WiFi to know it’s not excellent.
I know, it worked for you in AP mode for 18 months. But look around online and you may see some more about it.
—E
de W6EL
So a little update. I gave up with the Win11 laptop (HP) and set up the Win 10 laptop (HP). It was just as bad. So then I setup another older Win 10 laptop (Samsung upgrade from Win7) and it worked straight out of the bag. No messing about with settings or anything. So that rules out the AP access point being a problem. Before Xmas all 3 worked fine. Any ideas ?
Have you or neighbors added anything or changed anything to your network about the time you began to have problems?
Do you have other WAPs nearby? Please describe them.
Are you using a mesh network?
Do you have an android phone or tablet to perform a test with using a WiFi Analyzer?
Hi Bob. Just to put things into perspective. If you want to live round here someone has to die first. Its like waiting for God and at 66 Im pretty young !!! I just use the Access Point on the 705 direct to whatever laptop I decide to use. So there is no external influence on what I use. I find it strange that 2022 all was fine BUT 2023 all is NOT FINE …
Networks change all the time, even unbeknownst to us sometimes. 73s.
I went into my wireless router (older Orbi) and changed the RTS/CTS to 500, from 2347. This reduced my error rate and dropped packets. I did notice with a WIFI analyzer that the 705 uses 2.4ghz and my older Orbi stacks traffic across 2 channels.
the IC705 wifi performance is like this:
a) you have luck all works fine
b) you are in bad luck, you have a mesh network
c) you are in luck, despite a mesh network
d) it’s mostly awful
e) you have RSBA1 too and you experience the same above.
the conclusion is, and also confirmed by ICOM vi one of my direct contacts:
- mesh networks are not supported
- wifi is a weak spot
also note that the 7851 experiences packet loss as wel; this one is connected directly to the network and even if directly connected to a laptop it experiences this.
If you connect the 9700 the same way – no noticeable loss is seen (*).
Given the fact that we’re talking about UDP and the nature of it, this is entirely to be expected. We also can conclude that the 9700’s network stack seems differently/better written compared to the 7851.
Now, the UDP exchange goes between rig - (network) - your_device which means that if you get loss on rig 1 and not on rig 2 on the same your_device, you can safely conclude that it’s not your_device but outside of it.
Since wfview runs on your_device and only detects missing stuff… it’s not a wfview problem.
(*) see, not hear.
I had a mesh network in my home using two high performance ASUS routers. However, my Orbit BHyve Sprinkler on the first floor was unreliable. I unplugged the upstairs mesh network router and the BHyve starting working well. I mention this because (as best I can remember) the BHyve used UDP packets and they were coming to it from two different MAC addresses on the same network. The Bhyve was confused by the two sources.
I agree with you and recommend disconnecting mesh networks.
UDP packet loss has to be tolerated unless the application has a layer to effect packet retransmission like TCP does. Even so I would expect some issues. The best solution is to build a rock solid network in which no packets are lost.
Perhaps I should start a thread on good management of WiFi networks since WiFi has its own set of issues.
Hi Bob.
We have had (semi official) word through a contact at Icom that Mesh networks are NOT supported by the IC-705. I suspect this is a hardware limitation of the ‘off the shelf’ WiFi chip that the rig uses, so is not likely to be fixed.
The Icom protocol includes provision for lost packet retransmission and this is fully implemented in wfview, but high packet loss can result in significant audio dropouts due to it’s real-time nature.
This issue comes-up regularly, and many threads can be found through the search function.
73 Phil M0VSE