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Post by Micky K1XH on Mar 7, 2022 13:28:22 GMT
My FT-100D works fine, my FTDX-3000 works fine, but my FT-990 (as well as my FT-847) will not work with CAT control no matter what settings I choose. Neither OmniRig nor the built-in Hamlib controls seem to work.
I know the 990 will work OK because I use MSHV just fine. DX Commander seems to work OK, although both apps seem to have difficulties reading the radio.
What could be up with OmniRig & Hamlib? The 990 was a high-end rig at one time (15-20 years ago...) so it seems as though it must have been on the list of rigs to work with.
I can entertain any ideas anyone might have...
Micky K1XH
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Post by w9mdb on Mar 7, 2022 13:34:44 GMT
Hi Micky
Contact me at mdblack98@yahoo.com and we can connect up and see what's going on.
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Post by Micky K1XH on Mar 7, 2022 13:52:54 GMT
Can't connect until later, at work and swamped again for a Monday...
Micky
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Post by Arvo ES1JA on Mar 7, 2022 14:53:58 GMT
FT-847 should work I use it everyday, there should be some configuration issue. Added my Configuration.
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Post by Micky K1XH on Mar 8, 2022 1:21:02 GMT
Hi Arvo and Mike
When I get the FT-847 connected, it sees like it has only uni-directional control. My FT-990 doesn't even get that far. That was one of the reasons JTDX was crashing when I ran it, I had screwed up the .ini file so bad...
I can only get the FT847 to work with the 847UNI selection. Audio works great, and I can change frequencies just fine, rather quick I must say. I can PTT via CAT which is probably enough to run FT8.
My FT-990 doesn't get that far. No PTT and no freq changes. I know it can work, I use it with a couple other programs, although it seems nothing can read the radio, it only works one way.
I am about ready to try it with a different computer, but I bet it will be just as bad.
It is just so frustrating, I run JTDX seamlessly on other machines with other radios...
Micky K1XH
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Post by w9mdb on Mar 8, 2022 4:15:54 GMT
I'd like to hook up with you to test the FT-990. Contact me at mdlack98@yahoo.com
You must have one of the older FT847's. The FLRig selection is also unidirectional for that model. Hamlib also has the bidirectional one which you notice doesn't work on your serial#.
Found this
Yaesu appears to use the following format for serial numbers on their
amateur products:
Year of manufacture-Month of manufacture-Production Run-Individual Unit
number, where the month of manufacture is offset by 2, so "C" means January,
"D" means February, "E" means March, and so forth.
Example: 8G051234 = 1998, May (fifth month, or "G"), Production Run 05, unit
#1234 in this run.
One key serial number range is 8G05. This seems to be the point at which
Yaesu had corrected the bi-directional CAT issue and made some other
improvements. This version was made in May 1998. Later serial numbers (e.g.,
8L09nnnn) all seem to have incorporated the earlier improvements plus new
ones...."
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Post by Micky K1XH on Mar 8, 2022 12:31:27 GMT
Yeah, I am beginning to think that too, even though the serial number on my 847 is later than that. I will look again to see exactly what it is, I want to swap my USB cable for a crossover serial cable, as I have a 9-pin input on my laptop docking station. In all reality, I only NEED one-way communication to run FT8 on that radio, but I WANT two-way for when I run other modes. What I really need is for OmniRig to work on both these machines, as I run Log4OM as my logging app.
Log4OM has a Hamlib option, but I am unfamiliar with that. My other 2 radios work well (FT-100D & FTDX-3K) with OmniRig and JTDX, so well in fact that I won't use anything other than JTDX.
The FT-990 is a recent acquisition, it was only used at Field Day each year since its purchase. I am beginning to think I may need to mod the CAT control path as I have read in other's 990 problems. A resistor between pin 3&4 was their solution. I can't get anything to 'read' the radio, although a couple apps I have can command it and use PTT via CAT.
I will call this morning.
Micky K1XH
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Post by w9mdb on Mar 8, 2022 16:08:17 GMT
I connected with Micky -- seems the FT990 has a potential serial problem which may be solved by putting a 1.5k or 2k resistor across pin 1 & 2 on the CAT connector or serial cable.
He's got some other serial cables to try to ensure the FT-847 problem is not just the cable. His serial# is current enough that the FT-847 should be bi-directional but it's not talking yet.
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Post by Micky K1XH on Mar 9, 2022 2:16:04 GMT
Update - All is good!
I dug out my old Yaesu FIF-232 serial interface and connected it up with my FT-990. Luckily my laptop docking station has a DB-9 serial port (COM1) and I had saved the appropriate 25-pin to 9-pin serial cable to connect it all up. Fired up JTDX and configured it for the 990 and we were on our way!
Next thing to try was to configure OmniRig to see if that would work. If that worked it meant that my logging program was all set, and as luck would have it, everything is playing nicely together. I can spin the dial on the 990 and both programs follow the dial, and I can change bands and frequencies with the apps and the rig follows. My rig and computer are happy again. Now I need to get my logs all synced together and start working again.
Special thanks go to Mike W9MDB who took the time out of his busy schedule this morning to rule out all the problems and test all the connections we could find. It turns out I have some cables with the Silicon Labs chipset that do not like to play nicely. My FT-847 has an almost identical cable, and I will bet that is the problem there. Unfortunately I do not have a replacement yet to get that one connected and tested.
What is amazing is that all 4 apps that I use integrate so seamlessly. I use JTDX for digital modes, JTAlert to alert me when JTDX decodes something I don't have yet, and Log4OMv2 that logs things when I make contact. OmniRig allows my rig to be multiplexed between the main apps, and basically ties them all together. All these apps require 2 monitors, which as you can imagine takes up even more space.
I would be interested to hear what others are using for rigs with CAT control and how they connect it all together. I still need to find a CAT control cable for my FT-847, and am open to suggestions, maybe Arvo can chime in with what he uses.
Thanks again everyone. I cannot express how much it means to me.
Micky K1XH
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Post by Arvo ES1JA on Mar 9, 2022 6:01:55 GMT
maybe Arvo can chime in with what he uses I use Interface ONE unit, it has usb sound card and serial port, both have galvanic isolation. But in general any sound card and serial port can be used. 3 connectors used in FT847. |
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Post by oa4blr on Aug 30, 2022 17:50:40 GMT
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