Portsdown 4 Update

[G8GKQ]

The Portsdown 4 has a function (on Menu 3, System Config) that allows the current settings to be saved to a USB stick and reloaded later. This is useful when changing locations during a contest in that a complete set of contest numbers can be stored on a USB stick for each location.

Following reports that this function seemed unreliable, I have re-written it and added a facility on the File Menu (Menu 2, File Menu, Mount USB Drive) to check that the right files have been saved to the USB Drive. You can select the Portsdown_Settings folder and actually check the contents of each config file. After use, select Unmount USB Drive (same button) to safely eject the drive. Mount/unmount is not required by the Save Settings button as it does this itself.

Limitations

It only works with “simple” USB drives formatted with a single FAT32 partition. This includes the majority of “junk box” drives. Anything with a capacity of over 1Mbyte (yes, that small!) is fine.

It works with a Pluto attached (which of course has its own storage drive), but not with any other storage devices attached.

To get this fix, simply update your Portsdown 4 to the latest version (202405300). The fix will be applied to the Portsdown 2020 in due course (but not yet).

Dave, G8GKQ