INTERFACE REQUIRED

For any transceiver to be able to be used with a PC to decode and send the various data modes that are available for amateur radio use some kind of external electronic interface is required to connect the radio to the computer.

This can be done by constructing a DIY interface that connects the AF in, AF out, PTT and Key connections on the radio to the PC's sound card and data interface, eg RS232 serial port.

To make connections to the radio easier, the ICOM IC706MK2G has dedicated sockets on the rear for this purpose. There is a 6 pin mini DIN socket for connection to a TNC for packet operation, and a 13 pin 'Accessory Socket' that allows all the necessary connections to an external interface unit that will be used for connection to the PC so that all the data modes can be used.

There are a variety of  external interfaces available, but the best value ones seem to come from Tigertronics, http://www.tigertronics.com and G4ZLP's ZLP Electronics, http://www.g4zlp.co.uk. In this case I happened to choose the SignaLink USB sound card product. This offered me the easiest method of connecting the Icom transceiver to a PC. The SignaLink is supplied with a cable specifically wired for many different transceivers and wiring diagrams are supplied for very many transceivers.

Incidentally ZLP Eletronics have recently released a new data interface, very similar to the SignaLink USB; the "DigiMaster DataLink".  The ZLP "Digi Master Data Link" has a built in USB soundcard but with the bonus of switched socket connections for 2 radios. See http://www.g4zlp.co.uk for more information.

I bought my SignaLink USB with a cable suitable for connection to the Icom IC706MK2G, of course. What makes the process so much easier than some other products is that there aren't lots of separate cables and plugs to hook up to the PC's sound card input and output and the serial port. In fact the PC does not even need a sound card. The SignaLink takes care of all that on-board and simply connects to the PC with a single USB cable. All it took was a few moments for Windows to identify the necessary drivers and it was ready to configure.

There are some sound card settings to take care of, but the SignaLink instructions covered the necessary details. I do really appreciate the facility of the interface having an internal USB sound card as this frees up the PC's own sound card for normal duties of playing music and movies and other sounds.

The Tigertronics SignaLink SL1+ is an alternative interface that uses the sound card built into the PC (rather than having a built in sound card connected by USB).

G4ZLP produce several similar interfaces the DigiMaster PRO+ and the DigiMaster MiniPRO

http://www.g4zlp.co.uk
http://www.tigertronics.com/

"Digimaster DataLink" data interface with USB soundcard from G4ZLP http://www.g4zlp.co.uk

"Digimaster MiniPRO" data interface from G4ZLP - uses PC's sound card http://www.g4zlp.co.uk

"Digimaster Pro PLUS" data interface from G4ZLP - uses PC's sound card http://www.g4zlp.co.uk

RIG CONTROL  -  Computer RS232 Serial Port or Computer USB Port to C-IV or CAT radio interface (TTL):

ICOM IC-706 mk2G & YAESU FT-857D / FT-897D / FT-817 RIG CONTROL INTERFACE - and most other rigs

To use rig control software, such as Ham Radio Deluxe, to control these and other rigs a C-IV or CAT control interface (TTL) will be required. This can connect between the radio's C-IV or CAT port and the computer's Serial Port. This may be inconvenient since not all PC's have serial ports, or if there is one it may be being used for some other function. In which case it would be far more convenient to use a USB port on the PC.

This could be accomplished by using a USB to Serial Port conversion cable such as the excellent "US232R-10 Premium USB-Serial Converter" from http://www.ftdichip.com. This would allow a cable such as the  "Icom CI-V / CT17 / CAT Interface [ CT-17 level convertor ]" from ZLP Electronics for ANY and ALL CI-V Icoms" or the "Yaesu CT62 CAT Interface" from ZLP Electronics.

Alternatively ZLP Electronics provide excellent interfaces that connect between a USB port on the computer to the C-IV or CAT port on the transceiver. This seems to me to be the most modern and elegant solution.



For Icom radios:

The miniature USB dongle "USB CT17 CAT Dongle Interface" or the more substantial "DigiMaster Single USB CT17 CAT Interface". Based on FTDI's 232 chip for maximum performance and reliability and powered from the PC's USB port, these can be connected to the Icom Communication Interface-V (CI-V) port on the IC-706mk2G using the ZLP Electronics I1 cable, suitable for any Icom that uses the CT17 / C-IV ). (This interface can also be used with "Y1", "Y2", and "Y3" cables for Yaesu radios.



For Yaesu radios:

The miniature USB dongle "USB CT62 CAT Interface" or the more substantial "DigiMaster USB CT62 CAT Interface". Based on FTDI's 232 chip for maximum performance and reliability and powered from the PC's USB port, these can be connected to the FT-857D / FT-897D with the Y3 cable to the 8 pin mini-DIN data port or alternatively with the Y4 cable to the MIC socket.




KENWOOD TS-590S  -  Data and Rig Control

I now also have the Kenwood TS-590s - Kenwood have very thoughtfully included a USB interface into this transceiver. This means that one simple USB cable connects the rig directly to the PC wich provides the data interface AND rig control.

Before connecting the TS-590 to the PC, the Kenwood virtual COM Port driver must be installed onto the PC (Silicon Labs C_210x USB to URT Bridge). Once that is done the USB cable can be connected between the TS-590 and the PC. The PC will then detect the presence of the USB sound card within the TS-590 and install that automatically.

Once that is done any of the well known data software can be used. The rig can also be easily controlled using HRD (Ham radio Deluxe 5) or Kenwood's own ARCP-590 rig control program.




SOFTWARE REQUIRED

Before it is possible to use any data modes it is necessary to install some software onto the PC that will do the job.  Fortunately there is a wide variety available, much of it free to use. e.g  HamScope, MultiPSK, MMTTY, MMSSTV, Ham Radio Deluxe + Digimaster 780. These free programs have been written by some extremely clever radio amateurs / computer programming experts and have been very kindly offered free of charge for others to take advantage of. Thank you!!

Of course there is also commercial paid-for software available at various price points from reasonably priced to very expensive. e.g. MIXW and SkySweeper.

The Tigertronics SignaLink is supplied with a CD rom containing a huge array of free data software so this saves downloading time. I just chose the software that I needed and installed it from the disk. I found that, as expected, each individual software program also needed a certain amount of configuration too.

As at August 2008 I have merely experimented with a few of these programs. MultiPSK seems very comprehensive indeed, but has a very daunting user interface. Hamscope is quite simple to set up and use. My favourite so far is Digimaster 780 that I use with Ham Radio Deluxe version 5 ("HRD"). Digimaster 780 is very comprehensive and seems quite straightforward in use and has a modern looking user interface.

That's as far as I've got so far, and I will continue persevering with HRD / Digimaster 780 as my favoured digital modes program.







Links:

Digimaster 780 with HamRadioDeluxe: http://www.hrdsoftwarellc.com/

HamScope: http://www.qsl.net/hamscope/

MultiPSK: http://f1ult.free.fr/DIGIMODES/MULTIPSK/digimodesF6CTE_en.htm

MMSSTV: http://amateur-radio.ca/

MMTTY: http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/mmtty/

W1WC's Featured Software page: http://www.w1wc.com/software/

FLDigi and other software by W1HKJ & Associates
http://www.w1hkj.com

MixW:
http://www.mixw.net
http://www.rigexpert.net


RS232 Serial Port to USB Adapter Cable:
RS232 Serial Port to USB adapter cable : http://www.ftdichip.com




THE DATA MODES:

The data modes that I would like to get to grips with in the future are CW (morse code), PSK31, RTTY and perhaps SSTV too.