Category Archives: Equipment

Ham Radio USB Serial Cat Rig Control FSK Windows 7

Equipment

I wanted to create a separate post just to reiterate the info I have around USB serial support in Windows 7 for CAT rig control and RTTY FSK and CW keying. It is something all amateur radio operators will be dealing with as they upgrade their computer equipment. Until ham radio rigs provide direct support for USB, and some do, we still need to figure out how to get bin-serial port computers to work with traditional serial devices. In my investigation before switching to a new Windows 7 machine I found a lot of confusing and often contradictory info. I was using Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Here is what I decided.

If I went with a desktop, I would have opted for a standard serial card that goes in one of the slots. Of course you need to make sure the card supports Windows 7 but a real serial card should work fine.

My older XP notebook supported PCMCIA cards and my dual port serial PCMCIA card worked fine for years. Since there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of new notebooks providing PCMCIA slots, I didn’t investigate Win7 driver support for mine or other PCMCIA cards. Some newer notebooks support ExpressCard technology which is like the older PCMCIA. I checked out notebooks with ExpressCard but not all had them and specific Win7 support for ExpressCard serial card support was sketchy at best.

The real complexity and confusion comes in with USB serial cable and adapters. They provide USB support one end to plug into a notebook or desktop and then on the other end of the cable or device they provide the traditional 9 pin serial connections we all need. The problem is Windows 7 driver support and support for more complex serial applications such as FSK interfaces. In most cases, basic CAT rig control seemed to work with most any cable as long as the USB device had any recognition with the OS.

So what will you find when you start looking for yourself? I found there are 2 main USB chipsets that seem to be the most common. These chipsets are embedded in the cables or devices and make up the brains of the USB support for the operating system and the conversion to the serial end of the device. The 2 names are Prolific an FTDI. Reports on which chipset seems to work best are sometimes contradictory. Maybe specific revisions of the chipset or specific versions of the software drivers and the combination of the two determine the success. All seem to be able to support CAT rig control and the issues come in with complex communications between the computer and rig for thinks like FSK RTTY interfaces.

I kept making notes about which chipsets and devices were reported as working. Someone even put together a chart and it was incorporated into the N1MM Wiki which shows some info. I was directly contacted by a WA5ZUP, a fellow RTTY contester and he suggested devices by Digi and their Edgeport series. I looked into those and it appeared there was not yet Win 7 support but reports on the Digi forums indicated no issue using available drivers and it functioning perfectly. I checked eBay for Edgeport and the devices that cost over $400 list price new were selling for $40 used on eBay including shipping. So I took a chance since it was only $40 and picked up an Edgeport/8 which is an 8 port serial box.  The seller of my unit happened to be nationwidesurplus. I had a spare A/B USB cable so it was ok it didn’t ship with one (and the seller indicated there was no cable). I got the box before I even purchased the new notebook.

After getting the new computer I installed MMTTY and N1MM. I then plugged in the EdgePort and held my breathe. Windows 7 detected a new USB device and went through it’s usual discovery. It then went online to Windows Update and found the drivers, installed them and said the device was ready. I fired up the small program that is also automatically installed and configured the com port numbers to the physical ports on the device. I first fired up Ham Radio Deluxe and configued it to use Com4 which is the first port on the Edgeport. It worked perfectly. I then fired up MMTTY and select Com5 as the port and it immediately worked. Note that I am NOT using EXTFSK and directly specifying the com port. I then fired up N1MM, modified my old config slightly for the new com port numbers I was now using and it also worked perfectly for rig control, sending CW and for integrating with MMTTY. A perfect trifecta!

Based on my experience I would highly recommend the Digi Edgeport units. Documentation on the unit is available on the Digi support site. They provide a nice 4 and 8 port model available used at a very reasonable cost on eBay. As I would suggest with any eBay purchase, check the sellers feedback, make sure you are aware of the total cost, and if there is a problem with the unit, make sure you are comfortable with the return policy for the seller. My experience was perfect and I hope yours is as well. I’ll possibly update this post if any additional input is noteworthy or based on feedback from others.

73,
K2DSL

A new computer – what a difference!

Equipment

My old Pentium notebook running Windows XP had out lived its ability to serve my needs. It was originally my work computer from 2004 which I took with me when I left my company in 2005. It had become slow to the point where it was extremely frustrating to use all the latest memory and processor intensive versions of the applications I run. The time had come to get a new computer.

I did a bunch of investigation on Windows 7 and support for the radio programs such as Ham Radio Deluxe/DM780 and N1MM/MMTTY. I also considered desktops vs notebooks and decided A notebook would again be the best choice. My old computer supported PCMCIA cards so I had a dual port serial card I used for rug control and the CW/FSK interfaces. I didn’t see any new notebooks with PCMCIA card support and a few with ExpressCard support but very sketchy info on serial card support with them and Windows 7. I got a suggestion from a great fellow contestor in WA5ZUP and John suggested checking out Digi EdgePort units. On eBay there were many used units for sale and I picked up an 8 port unit for only $40. It has a list price of $455 if purchased in the Digi site! Even if it didn’t work, it wasn’t a lot of money lost.

Later last week I saw a good deal come up on Amazon. I was glad because I had about $240 in Amazon gift certificates waiting to be used on something. I ended up purchasing an Acer Aspire AS7740-6656 17″ notebook running the new Intel i5 chip with 4GB RAM, 500GB HD, N wifi, webcam, etc. It was $700 and with my gift certificates it came to $460 and I signed up for Amazon Prime so for $3 it was sent overnight and I had it Fri when I got home from work.

I was up until 3:30am working on removing the software I didn’t want and installing software like HRD, N1MM, MMTTY, etc. Then came the big moment where I plugged in the EdgePort/8 and took a deep breathe. Windows 7 found the unit and then automagically went to Windows Update and found the Windows 7 drivers for it. It installed and started to work perfectly! I ran a couple quick tests with N1MM and MMTTY and it was sending/receiving fine. Whew! Time to call it a night.

On Saturday and Sunday I participated in the Mexico RTTY contest on the new computer setup and it worked flawlessly. 213 contacts and not a glitch!

Moving from a 5+ year old Pentium notebook to this new Acer is a huge improvement. The speed at which things open and run is fantastic. No waiting and no frustration. Windows 7 seems to be solid and it is just me finding where things are in the new interface that takes a little time. At least for an experienced Windows user, Windows 7 seems very natural.

Thanks again to WA5ZUP for his suggestion on the EdgePort unit and I would recommend them to anyone needing serial port support with Windows 7. Kudos to the developers of Ham Radio Deluxe, N1MM and MMTTY for building applications that run well on Windows 7 especially if you install outside of the \Program Files\ directory which is something all Windows 7 users need to be aware of.

Now comes the long task of pulling off relevant data from the old notebook and reinstalling programs on the new computer.

73,
K2DSL

A new computer on the way

Equipment

I use an older Sony Pentium notebook for my computer for all needs including ham radio. It was my computer when I worked at Sony and I took it with me (legally) when I left Sony in 2005. It is 6-7 years old and ready to be retired.

I have been thinking about what to do when replacing it. Should I get another notebook? Should I get a desktop? How will I handle serial ports? Does the software I need to use run on Win 7? All my friends that run Macs were pushing for me to get a Mac, but I’m a Windows guy. In addition, the Macs costs a significant premium over a similar sized/featured Windows machine.

Yesterday I saw a posting online about a very good price on a 17″ Acer notebook at Amazon. I was hoping to find something suitable at Amazon because I had $240 worth of gift certificates to apply to any purchase. I pulled the trigger and made the purchase. It’s an Acer Aspire AS7740-6656 notebook with a 17.3″ display. It runs the new Intel i5-430M processor, comes with 4GB of memory, 500GB HD, Win 7, CD/DVD burner, webcam, 802.11N wifi, media card reader, 4 USB ports and a HDMI port. Price was $700 and then I deducted my gift certificates so it was a good deal. And it should arrive today if someone is home to sign for it.

In anticipation of getting a new computer, on eBay I purchased an Edgeport 8 port USB to Serial box. Supposedly it is compatible with Win7 using Vista drivers and native Win7 drivers should be out soon from the vendor. So I’ll keep my fingers crossed that works and I don’t need to purchase USB to Serial cables for support of rig control and the CW/RTTY FSK interface and hope I get ones that work.

Now comes the daunting task of removing software from the computer I don’t want on it, installing software I do, configuring all the programs and hoping when something doesn’t work right (specifically around N1MM, MMTTY, Ham Radio Deluxe, etc) I can troubleshoot it and get it working. With a potential snow storm coming overnight, I’m hopeful I get the computer today (Friday) so I can start setting things up over the weekend.

I’m also hoping this weekend I can get on and make some QSO Party and 10-10 contacts. I checked 10m last night around 8:30pm ET (0130z) and didn’t hear anyone. Compared to the arm-chair copy of stations on Sun and Mon, the band was dead. But maybe everyone is resting for an active 10-10 two-day event starting tonight?

73,
K2DSL – David

Kenwood ACC2 13-pin DIN switchbox – options?

Equipment

I have two ACC2 connections that I switch between on my Kenwood TS-2000. If I’m in a contest I use a home made cable for CW/FSK keying that connects to my serial port and if I’m operating casually, I use the SignaLink USB. Each plugs into the back of the TS-2000 in the ACC2 so I need to unplug/re-plug whenever I want to switch which I’m using.

I figured a 13-pin DIN switch would do the job but haven’t come across any to purchase or any plans on how to cobble one together. I don’t know if it is as straight forward as finding a generic switch box and changing the input/output connectors or if it is much more involved.

I found connectors for 13-pin DIN plugs and connectors at http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=CP-1013-ND

Any ideas, suggestions or links are greatly appreciated!

73,
K2DSL

Hamfest Goodies

Antennas, Equipment, Misc

I did almost no operating over the 3 day holiday weekend. On Saturday we had our local club hamfest and the weather and turnout was spectacular. I think it was the largest attendance by both sellers and buyers since I have had my license and attended the club’s hamfests.

I helped out very early in the morning as vendors and buyers arrived. While one fellow was pulling up to pay I noticed he had some beams in the back and asked him about them. One was a nice 2 meter beam and he said $25 so I said to hold it for me and I will be by in a few to pay for it and pick it up. It turned out to be a nice 4 element Cushcraft 2m beam that looks like it goes for $80-$100 new. This one, though used, is in magnificent shape and according to the seller was used inside someone’s attic.

I browsed a bit more before heading in to help with the VE test session that was taking place. There were 6 applicants which is a lot smaller then past hamfests. 5 passed their exams made up of a new Tech, 2 new Generals and 2 new Extras. Congrats to all of them.

I then picked up an 8 pole fiberglass mast kit that goes up 30 or 40 feet and comes with a base, guy rings and a duffle bag to carry it all. I thought this would be good for testing things at home or portable operations. The whole kit was $40.

I also picked up a $10 component which is a SO-239 connector in a plastic housing with a stiff wire coming out of each side to connect to 2 ends of a wire antenna. Might use it for a loop or moxon antenna. I saw them online and was hoping to find one here to try out. I also grabbed some misc connectors and adapters to have handy.

The last item other then a taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich was 100 feet of low loss coax to have around for use with a 2m or 6m antenna. The cable is supposed to have a <2 db loss over 100 feet.

I was looking for another pair of the metal rope grip devices I use on my G5RV to hold the ropes in place but didn’t see anyone with those. I can get them online if I need them.

The next hamfest I will likely hit is a large one in western NJ in mid July unless I go to one in Central New Jersey in mid June, but that is only if I need something. There is also another local Northern NJ hamfest in mid August which I have been away for the past 2 years that I will try to attend if I am around.

73,
K2DSL

Learning the code

Equipment, Misc

I’ve been able to participate in CW contests and the Triple Play Award by using software to both receive and translate morse code into print as well as send it back to the other operator.  In essence, it makes CW very RTTY like for me. I can already hear certain words such as my call sign, CQ, 5NN, TU without looking at what was translated. I can tell when they come back with a portion of my call sign or have it incorrect just from hearing it and I know I need to resend it.

Of course, that’s not enough to help me work through if the exchange doesn’t go exactly as planned and the CW reader (I use DM780 though I’ve installed CWGet) isn’t able to interpret what is sent back. And it certainly isn’t enough of a solution to make me happy, so I will now embark on learning “the code”.  As a quick aside, it was just recently announced that there were more CW logs submitted for the CQ World Wide contest then phone logs. So CW isn’t dead, despite not mandating a code requirement in the US.

I have a few software programs and web sites to assist with learning the code but none of them seem to be working well for me yet. To be fair, I don’t think I’ve put in any real effort to stick with any one of them long enough to make progress. I also don’t have any keyer. Saturday night, I noticed a MFJ-557 Practice Code Oscillator bundled with some morse code audio CDs on eBay so I went ahead and did a Buy Now and got them. They will probaby arrive the very end of this week or early next week and I’m looking forward to putting in the time to learn the code.

73,
K2DSL

FSK vs AFSK on a TS-2000 – What a difference!

Contests, Equipment

For RTTY I’ve used AFSK via my SignaLink USB into my Kenwood TS-2000.  It has always worked fine but I was unable to take advantage of the RTTY/FSK filters in the TS-2000. When using AFSK you are in SSB mode and the tight FSK filters aren’t available. There are some adjustments you can make to try and compensate a bit both in the MMTTY application and on the radio but nothing compared to what I experienced this weekend when running FSK.

A club member that made me the serial to CW cable I used to work my first CW contest volunteered to add in a FSK circuit. With a spare 13-pin DIN plug that comes with the TS-2000 that I provided him and all the spare parts he had already, he turned it around quickly. I tried getting it working and ran into some issues and he even volunteered to come over and troubleshoot. After messing with the software we checked the cable connections and a couple of pins weren’t wired per the online circuits so a quick unsolder/solder and it was working like a champ. So many, many thanks to K2ZC for getting me to the next level of RTTY capabilities!!

I made notes of all the changes I made to MMTTY, N1MM and the TS-2000 so I can switch back as needed. The only TS-2000 change was on menu 39 and changing the FSK keying polarity to Inverse from the default setting of Normal. Everything else was just configuring MMTTY to specify the serial port I wa using for the FSK/PTT drop-down on the TX tab and the Misc Tab being set to COM+TxD (FSK). On the soundcard tab I changed the input from the SignaLink device to my audio card which has a mic/line in connection from the ACC2 cable as part of the cable that K2ZC made up. In N1MM I think the only change was on the Digital mode tab to change it from AFSK to FSK. No setup changes in the N1MM hardware configuration were required.

Now that I was transmitting FSK, I can put the TS-2000 in FSK mode and use the filters to narrow down the bandwidth. This filtering makes all the difference in the world when there are signals stacked up right on top of each other. I left it at 1000hz and dropped it down to 500hz if I couldn’t easily copy a signal. Going to 250hz made it even tighter and that was only needed a few times. I was now able to copy signals I wouldn’t have been able to do without the FSK filtering and would have had to move to a different frequency and tried later if they were still around.

I can’t really tell the difference in me transmitting other then I don’t think anyone asked me to repeat my exchange in the NA QSO Party this past weekend. It might have nothing to do with FSK vs AFSK but I don’t really know for sure. I know I didn’t have to worry about adjusting the transmit to get the power at max and still make sure the ALC didn’t kick in. One less thing to have to worry about.

The contest was primarily a local (US/Canada) contest but there were a few DX stations participating. I made a total of 340 Qs in the 10 hours you were around to operate. I logged Qs with 45 of the 50 states.  Here is the score summary:

        Band    QSOs     Pts  Sec   NA
         3.5     135     135   43    0
           7      88      88   34    0
          14     114     114   27    1
          21       3       3    1    0
       Total     340     340  105    1
            Score : 36,040

I had a nice hour of being in run mode on 80m with an average of 1 Q per minute which for me was great.  Using clusters isn’t allowed in the single op category for this contest so I only popped over to 15m once and there wasn’t much there. There might have been other times it was in better shape and I could have picked up more mults but I didn’t bother.

73,
K2DSL

Ham Radio Deluxe, Kenwood TS-2000 & LDG KT-100

Equipment

There was an operator on one of the mailing lists that was having an issue getting his Kenwood radio to kick in the LDG KT-100 antenna tuner while using Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD). The KT-100 is LDG’s Kenwood specific antenna tuner made for Kenwood radios that support the AT-300 connection such as the Kenwood TS-2000, TS-480. etc.  At least with my TS-2000, using the KT-100 is no different then using the internal tuner.  The only real difference is that when the TS-2000 is powered on and the KT-100 is attached, the Antenna Tuner defaults to off and needs to be enabled.

I emailed him since I have a very similar setup to what he was running. I have the Kenwood TS-2000 and this fellow had the Kenwood TS-B2000 which is the same radio but without any front panel display or controls. The Kenwood TS-B2000 is meant to be computer controlled. Otherwise, it’s the same radio as my TS-2000.  I really didn’t understand the problem he was having as I thought everything was working great with my setup.  After a few emails and me finally being able to be at my radio, I was able to understand his predicament. I was always pressing the AT button on the front of the radio and then the Tune function in Ham Radio Deluxe worked. But since he doesn’t have a front-panel on his TS-B2000, there’s no button to push and the ATU button in HRD wasn’t turning the AT on, just off.

I did some digging once I could reproduce the problem and found a post on the HRD forums at http://forums.ham-radio.ch/showthread.php?t=11622 and outlined the steps for him in an email and it worked.  So here are hopefully the steps with pictures that will help someone else. I imagine this works for other external tuners connected to the TS-2000 and other Kenwood radios.

In Ham Radio Deluxe, once connected to the radio, the default buttons (I think as I don’t remember customizing them) look like:
hrd_kt100_default_buttons

The ATU button is the Antenna Tuner button which, in this hardware setup, will turn the Antenna Tuner off, but not on. As mentioned above, by default, the Antenna Tuner isn’t turned on each time the radio is powered on. In the “on” state, it would be dark colored like the Ant 1 button under it is.

So the first step is to create a CAT Command which will be used in the second step. You click on the Macros menu in HRD and select CAT Command Manager as pictured below:
hrd_kt100_cat_command_menu

A new window opens that looks like the following:
hrd_kt100_cat_command_1

You probably have a window like mine showing no user defined CAT Commands yet. So click the New button and the following window opens. Fill in the title, command and a description. The CAT Command is A (Alpha) C (Charlie) followed by three number ones:
hrd_kt100_cat_command_2

Once entered as the above shows, click the OK button and it will add it to your list of user defined CAT Commands, leaving you at a window that looks like:
hrd_kt100_cat_command_3

Press the OK button to close the window. Now click the Tools menu and select Customize Layout at the bottom of the long Tools menu. A window that looks like the following will open. If the Layout tab isn’t selected, select it so it looks like the below:
hrd_kt100_customize_layout_1

Click the ATU button just to the right of the current displayed frequency and it should turn a darker color such as shown below:
hrd_kt100_customize_layout_2

Once the ATU button is selected, the left portion of the screen will show ATU in the Define Button section. Under that is a Select button just under where it says Dropdown Button / CAT Command / Macro. Click the Select button and window will pop up that looks like:
hrd_kt100_customize_layout_3

Select CAT Commands: KT100 from the bottom of the dropdown list and then name the button KT100 as shown. When you then press OK, you’ll be returned to the Layout screen and above the Select button on the left side it will now say KT100 = CAT Commands: KT100 as shown here:
hrd_kt100_customize_layout_4

Press the Apply button on the bottom right of the Customize Layout window and you’ll be returned to the main HRD window with the ATU button replaced with a functioning KT100 button. The screen will look like:
hrd_kt100_customized_buttons

You should now be able to press the KT100 button and it will enable the AT on the radio and initiate a tuning cycle. Once initiated, the Tune button (just below Ant 2) should be used.

I hope this helps someone that runs into the same or similar situation.

73,
K2DSL

APRS

Equipment, Misc

Here’s a screen shot from APRS.fi of my APRS track from Wilmington, NC to my home QTH in Northern NJ. I use a Garmin GPS76CS connected to my Kenwood TH-D7A(G) handheld and plugged into a Mirage dual-band amplifier. I’ve used this setup a few times on this same trip when going to visit my in-laws. I have the radio station id as K2DSL-7. Here’s the map…

APRS track from Wilimington, NC to Northern NJ
APRS track from Wilimington, NC to Northern NJ

You’ll see a very large gap at the bottom portion between where the track ends and Wilmington which is shown at the bottom of the map above. It’s a APRS dead spot. I almost never get anything between that last end point and Wilmington.  Otherwise, the track is pretty accurate for the route which is primarily Rt 17 in Northern NJ to the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike and then I-95 south to I-40 in North Carolina which is the ride (a few different names as it gets into Wilmington) my in-laws live off of.

I usually leave Band A on APRS with a 2 minute interval. Band B I leave on 146.52 which is the national 2-meter simplex frequency. I usually don’t hear more then 2 or 3 people on that frequency during the 650 mile trip. The map above is the route home and the map from NJ to NC from 5 days earlier is very similar. APRS.fi shows 32 stations reporting hearing me direct ranging from a few miles away from my broadcast location at the time I was heard to over 115 miles away. Most are in the 30-50 mile range from my location.

APRS.fi reports 100 packets received for today’s trip home and 127 for the trip down last Tues night/Weds morning. Without analyzing why, I’d guess the number difference it was the length of the trip down on Tues vs home on Mon.  Tues/Wednesday’s ride was very long with a lot of traffic. It took about 12.5 hours to get there (arriving just before 2am). Today it was smooth sailing and we did the trip in 9.5 hours. If I look, I see about the same gaps on the map between the 2 trips.  We need some more igates (computers connected to tranceivers that get APRS packets via RF and push them onto the Internet) along I-95 and I-40 in North Carolina.

On a completely different subject, the FCC ULS is now showing my license class as Extra. QRZ should follow in a day or two the upgrade.

73,
K2DSL

CQ WW SSB

Antennas, Contacts, Contests, Equipment

This was my first CQ WW SSB contest. It turned out to be a very different experience then other contests I’ve participated in so far. First, the digital contests seem to be much easier to work and make contacts. That could be because there’s less people participating as well as that a digital contact is easier then a phone (voice) contact. The second reason is that with 100w and a dipole, you aren’t busting through any pileups. But overall, I’m happy with how things turned out. In this contest, other then to add a new multiplier, all contacts had to be DX so I there was no US-to-US contacts on then to grab a multiplier.

I ended up over the 2 days with 158 contacts. Almost all except 8 were on 20 meters with the 8 being on 40 meters. I ended up, combined with the bands, 84 countries and 25 zones with a combined score of 46,523 points. There were 11 new DXCC entities in my logbook at the end of the contest.

I was able to make my first voice contact with Alaska after a few previous RTTY contacts so that was neat. Other then Japan and countries like China and others in that area along with Austrailia, I think I was able to make a contact with all the countries I saw spotted on the band. I could actually hear Japan fairly strong but they couldn’t hear me. It wasn’t because of a pileup either as 2 strong stations were calling CQ over and over and just not able to hear me. Oh well, maybe next time.

I used my Heil Proset 5 for the first time and it worked extremely well. Even though it is light, it does make your neck a bit tired and your ears a bit sore, but taking just a min break every once in a while helps. So it was a good purchase to add to my equipment. I didn’t use the new voice keyer I purchased yet. I’ll save that for a rainy day.

There seemed to be a fair amount of activity on 15 meters but I couldn’t tune up the G5RV antenna with the Kenwood TS-2000 to put out a full 100 watts. I’d guess an external antenna tuner might do better then the internal tuner or of course a more appropriate 15m antenna would work. I’ll ponder what to do about that one.

When a new entity popped up on the band, if you weren’t quick enough, a big pileup started. For me, the most effective way is to either wait until there’s a pause after most stations put out their call and before the CQing op came back, or to just come back later. I think in almost all cases, I was able to make the contact.

I also noticed there’s a much less percentage of SSB folks which are using LOTW then RTTY folks. Within a day or two of a RTTY contest, a significant number of operators have uploaded their logs. Comparing that to this SSB contest almost a week later only 19 of the 158 contacts are confirmed on LOTW. I really wish folks used that more. I know I’d have DXCC confirmed since I have around 112 DXCC entities contacted in my log book.

So that’s my summary of my first CQ WW SSB contest. All fun!

73,
K2DSL