Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-20/procat21.zip/PROCATHF.DOC

Text File | 1990-08-02 | 16KB | 362 lines

                     Don's Original Designs
                          Oceanside, Ca

                     Don Rasmussen  WB8YQJ/6
                          Version 2.0





              Don's Original Designs proudly introduces ProCat/HF
user  customized  software.  What you get  is  computer  keyboard
control  of your transceiver, user defined command keys,  contest
callsign duplicate checking, and transceiver memory loads for the
Yaesu FT747GX. The system  works  with  Kenwood, Icom, or   Yaesu
transceivers  that have provisions for computer control. You need
an IBM compatible computer with hard drive,  serial port, and EGA
or VGA graphics card. An interface is  required  to  connect  the
computer serial port to the transceiver, which is available  from
the   transceiver   manufacturer.  Interfaces   can   be   easily
constructed, and are generally compatible between  manufacturers.
A  Yaesu FIF232 interface works great with Icom  transceivers  by
connecting Yaesu DIN #1 to Icom remote connector center, and  DIN
#3 to Icom remote connector ground. Once interfaced, the  program
allows  instant  QSY  using the numeric keypad  on  the  computer
keyboard.  The  control  keys  are grouped  to  make  tuning  the
transceiver EASIER than it would be by using the transceiver  VFO
knob.  You  can also add other commands to the  transceiver,  and
assign  any  key you wish to perform that command. You can change
the on screen colors to suit  your preferences, they are saved to
disk,  and  the on screen  GMT clock is adjustable to  your  time
zone. I hope you  find  ProCat/HF useful in  your shack, as  many
hours  were  spent  in  design, programming, and debugging.


                                        Best 73's

                                           Don





Special Thanks To:

Edward J. Coan
Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd.
Tokyo,  Japan

Roy Kessler
Janet Traylor
PC Globe Incorporated
Tempe, Arizona                      A Quick Demonstration




All programs and files should be copied onto your hard disk.

To  run the program, key in PROCAT and then press the enter  key.
Make sure your transceiver and interface are turned on and ready.

Make sure the NumLock light on the keyboard is on.

The  program  will  show  you  the  opening  screen,  with  the
station  clock  in  the  upper  left    corner,  and  ten  VFO
frequencys  listed along the right border of the screen.  One  of
these VFO frequencys will have a highlighted background. You  can
change the highlighted frequency by pressing the cursor up or the
cursor down key, these keys are  located just to the left of  the
numeric keypad.

NOTE: The transceiver that is currently configured is listed just
below the time display. See configuration instructions to  change
the current transceiver.

You can set the transceiver display to the highlighted  frequency
by  pressing the numeric keypad minus (-) key. You can raise  the
highlighted frequency by pressing the keypad plus (+) key, the  6
key, the 5 key, or the 4 key. When you press the plus key (+) the
frequency will only be raised by 20 hertz, so you'll have to keep
it depressed for a few seconds to hear a noticable change in  the
received  signal.  You can lower the frequency  by  pressing  the
keypad  (enter) key, the 3 key, the 2 key, or the 1  key.  Again,
you'll have to hold down the (enter) key for a couple seconds  to
notice  any  change.  Transceiver mode can  also  be  changed  by
entering the first letter of the mode.  Notice how all tuning  of
the transceiver can be easily done with one hand over the numeric
keypad, and very little looking at the keys.

If  you  want to change the highlighted  frequency  to  something
completely  different,  press  the "b" key to  enter  a  new  VFO
frequency.


The TEN VFO's on the screen have a description in the lower right
corner of the screen. You can change this description by pressing
"e"  then pressing "l". Or, you can clear this group of VFO's  by
pressing "e" then pressing "e" again.

There  are  up  to 20 groups of TEN VFO's, the  group  number  is
listed just to the left of the description. A different group  of
VFO's  can  be called by pressing "r" then entering a  new  group
number (from 1 to 20).                   Main Menu Key Definitions


     F2 - adjusts on screen window color.
     F3 - adjusts on screen text color.

     F4 - adjusts the station clock.

     F5 - starts contest callsign checking.
     F6 - finishes contest callsign checking.

     F9 - clears the contest callsign file.

     b - enter a new base frequency in highlighted VFO position.
     r - request a different page of VFO's.
     e - edit the label or erase a page of VFO's.
     o - call the configuration options program.

     u, l, c, a, f, n - used to set transceiver mode.

     KEYPAD KEYS

     4 - Up   100 KHZ
     1 - Down 100 KHZ


     5 - Up 10 KHZ
     2 - Down 10 KHZ

     6 - Up 1 KHZ
     3 - Down 1 KHZ

     (plus key) - up 20 HZ
     (enter key)  - down 20 HZ
     (minus key) - set displayed frequency, no change.
     (cursor keys) - select displayed VFO.


                     Duplicate QSO Checking


This feature is an  aid to the  operator that is not  planning on
sending his contest results  into the  contest officials.  Simply
press  F5  to start  contest  duplicate  callsign  checking.  All
keys other than numeric keypad keys are disabled. Use the  keypad
to tune in a contest station. Key in the station's  callsign  and
press return. If the  call begins  with  the  number 1 through  6
(this rarely happens) preceed the call with an asterisk. The call
will  be added to the list, and displayed in large letters if  it
is a good call. Then, try to work the station, use the  displayed
QSO  number  in the exchange. If you can't work  him,  press  the
backspace  key  to  drop  him from the list. If  the  call  is  a
duplicate, it is not added to the list, and the WARNING LEMON  is
displayed. Over 900 calls can be saved. Press F6 to save the  log
and return to ragchew mode. Press F9 to clear the duplicate log.                Configuration and Customization


     Configuration  can  be as simple as defining  your  graphics
card  and transceiver brand. Or, you can  define custom  keys  by
looking  up the computer command  data in your  Kenwood or  Yaesu
transceiver manual or Icom CI/V interface manual. An  example  of
this would be to define the "S" key. First specify a label for the
key,  like "SPLIT ON". Then, look in your transceiver  manual  to
find  the  command bytes that perform this function, and  key  in
that data. When you finish, this will be displayed on the  screen
  S - SPLIT ON    . You can also position this label anywhere  on
the  screen you want. From then on, whenever you press the  upper
case S, the split function on your transceiver will be turned on.
You may want to define the lower case "s" as SPLIT OFF. There are
20 keys available for definition.

         The options screen is available by pressing "o" from the
main menu.  Then press return to select  configuration  from  the
options  menu. Here is  the list  of options  and  the  responses
required.

Change Basic Configuration? - enter Y to specify a different brand
of transceiver than that listed under the time on the  main menu.

Configure Icom Transceiver? - enter Y to select an Icom transceiver.

Enter Icom Address - enter 2 digit rig address, 00 if you dont know.
Ex. IC735 - 04,IC751 - 28,IC761 - 30. Call Icom for other addresses.

Configure Kenwood Transceiver? - enter Y to select a Kenwood.

Did you modify your rig for 9600 BPS operation? - All Icoms  come
from  the factory configured for 1200 BPS. There is a  jumper  in
the  transceiver  that  can be moved to  enable  a  higher  speed
transfer. Enter Y if you've enabled this option, its a very good idea.

Command  Data  is 5 Bytes Long, is the command  byte  sent  last?
(Yaesu Only) - All Yaesu commands are 5 bytes long. Depending  on
your model the command byte may be the first byte, or more often,
the last byte of the string.

Frequency set command byte? (Yaesu Only) - is usually 0a, look in
your manual and remember to enter zero and not the letter "O"  in
these hexadecimal responses.

Setup  Operating Modes? - enter y to define the keys used to  set
transceiver mode.

Mode set command byte? - Kenwood and Icom users enter 00. Yaesu's
that have one command byte and four dummy bytes for the mode  set
command (this is rare) enter 00. For all other Yaesu's enter  the
value that will be first or last in the 5 byte string (this  byte
is also called the "instruction byte" by Yaesu.).                    Configuration and Customization
                           (Continued)


AM  mode  set command byte? - Icom users enter  02.  Yaesu  users
enter  the AM command byte, also called the mode  set  "parameter
byte" by  Yaesu.  Kenwood's mode  parameter byte is n , where the
mode command listed in the Kenwood  manual is  MDn;  and  n  is a
number between 1 and 6 that specifies the mode.

CW  mode  set command byte? - Icom users enter  03,  Yaesu  users
enter the CW narrow parameter byte. Kenwood users enter n value.

FM  mode  set command byte? - Icom users enter  05,  Yaesu  users
enter the FM narrow parameter byte. Kenwood users enter n value.

LSB  mode  set command byte? - Icom users enter 00,  Yaesu  users
enter the LSB parameter byte. Kenwood users enter n value.

CWN  mode  set command byte? - Icom user enter 04  (RTTY),  Yaesu
users enter the CWN parameter byte. Kenwood users enter n value.

USB  mode  set command byte? - Icom users enter 01,  Yaesu  users
enter the USB parameter byte. Kenwood users enter n value.

Suggested values were listed for Icom because all Icom radios use
the  same  values, Kenwood and Yaesu values  should be taken from
the transceiver manual.

OTHER CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

Adjust memory loading delay? (Yaesu FT747GX only) - enter a large
enough value in this delay to ensure that memorys are not  loaded
into  the  FT747GX too fast, when this happens memorys  are  lost
after the transceiver is powered down.

Use auxillary serial port? - enter Y to use Comm Port 2.

Use  VGA graphics? - enter Y if you have VGA graphics.

Change  the  programmable keys? - enter Y to see a  list  of  the
programmable  keys that have been defined, and to change them  if
you wish.

Programmable keys available 20  - Press  an  alphabetic key. You
   Press Esc to finish            will redefine the key if  it is
                                  on  the  custom  key  list that
borders  the left side of the screen. You can  define a  new  key
if  it does not appear on the list. Remember that upper case  and
lower case are different keys. Press Esc to finish.

Enter  key label - Enter a short description of the key you  want
to  define, such as SPLIT ON, SPLIT OFF, WWV, CLARIFIER ON,  etc.
This  description will be seen on the main menu. The letters  are
small, using upper case improves readability.                    Configuration and Customization
                           (Continued)

Enter  Command  (10 digits) - this is where you  will  enter  the
actual byte string from your transceiver manual that will perform
the  function you described in the (Enter key  label)  procedure.
For  example, in the Yaesu FT747GX manual the  SPLIT  ON  command
consists of these  5  bytes ( 00 00 00 01 01 ). In  this example,
these  are  the  exact  10 digits  to  enter  (there  are  always
two  digits in one byte). Remember that although the  values  you
are entering are in hexadecimal, there is no conversion  required
by you!. Simply plug the ten digits in the way they are listed in
the  manual.  All Yaesu commands are 10 digits (which is  also  5
bytes)  long.  Whatever you put in this ten digit field  will  be
sent directly to your transceiver, with no changes in byte order.

       Icom commands are not always ten digits long,  here is  the
format  for Icom commands. In the Icom CI/V manual  (available  to
anyone,  free  from Icom) on page 13 there is a  sample  FM  Mode
command.  It  looks  like  this  ( FE FE 04 F1 01 05 FD ).  Every
command  in Icoms manual starts with FE FE 04 F1 , and ends  with
FD. Since that is true, the program will provide these characters
to  the transceiver for you. In this example, if you  ignore  the
characters  that the program adds for you, ( 01 05 ) is all  that
is left. These are the digits for you to enter. When the  program
asks for ten digits, key this in ( 01 05 FD FD FD ). Always use FD
to fill out the ten digit field. As an added example, the command
on page 12 looks like this ( FE FE 04 F1 00 10 32 54 21 FD ) for a
frequency set of 21.543.21 MHZ. You enter this ( 00 10 32 54 21 ).

       Kenwood commands are  entered as characters from the Kenwood
manual. Six characters  must entered, up to five command characters,
and the sixth character must be a semicolon. If the command consists
of less than five characters, the  field  must be  filled  with the
semicolon character. The TS440 command that  steps the rigs memory
channel down by one is listed in the Kenwood manual as DN; This is
counted as two characters and would be entered as DN;;;; The TS440
command for select memory channel is MCnnn where nnn is the channel
number. Enter this as MC001; to select channel one.

Arrange  key  labels onscreen? - enter Y if you want  to  display
your  key  labels  in another part of  the  screen.

Move  which  key? - find a custom defined key  somewhere  on  the
screen that you want to move. Press that key to select it.

Use  the cursor keys to position the label - move the  key  label
wherever it looks good, then press Esc to paste it in position.FINAL NOTES

If  the  main file CATBASE.DAT is damaged, etc. Just  remove  the
damaged file and execute ProEdit.exe A new file will be built.

ProCat.EXE - main program    ProEdit.EXE - options program
Catbase.dat - database       ProCatHF.DOC - documentation
EGAPCA.DAT - EGA SCREEN 1    EGAPCB.DAT - EGA SCREEN 2
VGAPCA.DAT - VGA SCREEN 1    VGAPCB.DAT - VGA SCREEN 2
TT747.EXE  - FT747 program   PT747.EXE - prints the database

I can accept no responsibility for damages caused either directly
or  indirectly  from the use of this free program.  If  you  like
ProCat/HF please pass it on to a friend in it's ZIP format.




                      Version 2.0 Notes



I hope Kenwood guys like this program too. I view ProCat/HF as a
sensible approach to computer control of HF radio gear. I don't
see any reason to transfer control from the rig to the keyboard
unless it makes operating easier or more fun. The bottom line on
the program is that it makes tuning around a band or various bands
instantly available with only a keystroke or two. It also provides
a no hassle way to keep from being embarrased by calling the same
big gun contest station twice. Try the program and it's variations
with whatever rig you use, and if you think its the computer control
program you want to use, send me a letter. Thats all I ask in return
for this program.

       If you would like your callsign displayed on the  screen
where my  call (WB8YQJ/6) is now, or anywhere else on the screen
that you like, send me $25 along with your request, whether you
want an EGA or  VGA graphics  screen, and  your diskette  format
(3.5 or  5 1/4 floppy). I'll  send you  updated an  screen file,
customized for your station.



Inquirys may be addressed to

A.R.S. WB8YQJ/6
Donald Rasmussen
2316 214 Paseo De Laura
Oceanside, Ca 92056