On Jun 24, 2009, at 8:30 PM, Dave Gomberg wrote:
At 19:16 6/24/2009, Joseph White wrote:
I will be running Windows XP as provided by
FLEX Radio on the FLEX 5000C. I am now wondering how many different
software programs I am going to have to run
Good question. Is there an overview of PowerSDR and its friends so
that one can understand how all the pieces fit together?
First, PowerSDR is the radio itself. Your Flex 5000 or Flex 3000 plus
your computer running PowerSDR *IS* the radio.
If you are running a traditional radio and connecting it to your
computer to do digital modes, e.g. RTTY, PSK31, Olivia, etc., you have
to connect your radio to your computer and then run some digital mode
software on the computer. The speaker output of the radio connects to
the input of the computer's sound card. The output of the sound card
connects to the mic input (or line input if your radio has such) of
your radio. You also need a way to key the transmitter so there is
some kind of third connection from the computer to the PTT on the
radio, usually through some kind of an adaptor.
Once you have the physical connection you need to run the right
software on the computer to enable the digital modes. There are many
possibilities. For example: Ham Radio Deluxe with Digital Mode 780,
fldigi, MixW, etc. Some programs just do the digital modes and some
are more all-encompassing including rig control (frequency, mode,
filters, etc.) and/or logging. If you are running Windows and want an
all-in-one program to do digital modes, rig control, and logging, your
two best choices are probably Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD -- includes DM780)
and fldigi. If you are the kind who wants *ALL* the bells-and-
whistles, HRD is the way to go. If you want the essentials in an
easier-to-understand package, I would recommend fldigi. Both are
excellent programs and both are free.
If the program is going to control the radio and get information from
the radio, you need another connection between computer and radio.
This is the CAT connection and usually is an RS-232 (serial) port
connection. Through this connection the radio communicates frequency,
mode, power, filters, and just about everything else the radio knows
how to do. The logging program will use this connection to
automatically fill in a lot of information from a contact for you.
Conversely the computer can use this connection to control the radio.
Some radios (Icom comes to mind here) need an adaptor box between the
computer and radio.
Are you with me so far? Now we need to apply this the flex radios and
PowerSDR.
In the previous example, the radio and computer were separate and
connected together by cables and adaptor boxes. But what happens when
the "radio" is inside the computer with all the other programs? There
is no place to plug the cables. Still, we need an "audio cable" for
receive audio, an "audio cable" for transmit audio, a "PTT control
line", and a "serial cable" for CAT. In the case of the flex radios
the cables come in the form of extra software that runs inside the
computer.
To connect the audio signal from the radio to the digital mode
program, instead of a wire we use Virtual Audio Cable (VAC). When you
set up VAC it looks like a sound card to both devices. PowerSDR sends
its "audio" to VAC thinking it is talking to a sound card. Your
digital mode program connects to VAC thinking it is getting audio from
a sound card. VAC acts as a virtual "patch panel" to send the digital
audio directly from one to the other. This keeps the digital signal as
"pure" as possible.
PowerSDR doesn't need a separate PTT line since it can accept a PTT
command via CAT. Instead of grounding a line to turn the transmitter
on (which the Flex radios can do -- there is a traditional PTT line)
PowerSDR can accept a "transmitter on" and "transmitter off" command.
This simplifies life and reduces the number of necessary connections.
So how do we get the CAT commands to go between PowerSDR and your
digital mode program? We use a virtual com port program com0com.
com0com looks like two serial ports connected back to back. PowerSDR
opens one thinking it is talking to a hardware serial port. Your
digital-mode/logging/rig-control program opens the other corresponding
virtual port. Now whenever PowerSDR sends a message it is received by
the digital mode program and vice versa. This is how the CAT commands
and messages flow between PowerSDR and your digital mode programs.
So to make this all work you need four programs: PowerSDR (the radio),
VAC (the "audio cables"), com0com (the serial ports), and your
favorite digital mode and rig control program. (I use fldigi most of
the time but also keep HRD on and use that for more general purpose
logging.)
Tim has given you the pointers to the articles in the knowledge base
that will help you set up all the programs. Hopefully this little
overview will help you understand how it all goes together.
--
73 de Brian, WB6RQN/J79BPL
Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com
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