Computer

Ham Radio Deluxe will run on any version of Windows supported by Microsoft that meet the minimum hardware specifications provided by Microsoft.

A link to that information can be found by clicking HERE.

Supported Radios

The list of supported radios for Ham Radio Deluxe can be found by clicking HERE.

Internet Connection

Not absolutely required but really is essential to fully utilize all the features. The best connection is a full time connection such as cable or DSL. Registering the program is much easier when done online.

Radio Interfacing

Ham Radio Deluxe is designed to be used with one of the rigs listed above. Some modules, however, can be used without a connection to a rig. Logging will work but will not be as automated. Satellite tracking is still fun without a rig connected. In fact, there are only a few of the above listed rigs that “really” work fully with the satellite module.

Some of the rigs listed above do not fully avail themselves to all the features of Ham Radio Deluxe. A number of the rigs do not provide Tx control easily. That is the limit of the rig, not Ham Radio Deluxe.

For CAT control, all radios require some sort of SERIAL connection between the radio and the computer. Some of the newer model radios are equipped with a USB port on the back of the radio. All that is needed there is a USB cable from the radio to a USB port on the computer.

Other radios have a standard DB9 serial port on the back which either connects directly to a DB9 Serial port connector on the back of the computer or through a Serial/USB converter to a USB connector the computer, while others connect from an ACC or DATA plug on the back of the radio through a Serial/USB converter to the computer.

Many of these cables use the serial port. If you don’t have a serial port all is not lost – USB serial converters are widely available. Also, there are options available that are USB based.

One of these is HamLink USB from Timewave. This will allow rig control with most of the radios listed above.

Note: If you need a Serial/USB converter be especially aware of the type of chips and drivers that are in the converter you choose. We recommend ONLY converters with FTDI or SI Labs chipsets and drivers. We have found these to perform exceptionally well with HRD and other radio related software.
Beware of Prolific chipsets and drivers. There are many of these on the market which are counterfeit and the chipsets are of poor quality. The drivers are also poorly written and will not work properly with HRD, especially if trying to use them on a Windows 7 or 8 system.
Some of the problems you may experience with these chipsets and drivers are system crashes, BSOD, program lock-ups, drivers won't install properly, com ports disappear for no reason, just to name a few.
If in doubt as to what you need to connect your radio to the computer running Ham Radio Deluxe, contact [email protected] or Timewave either through their website at www.timewave.com or phone them at 1-651-489-5080. They can provide you with cables and connectors to meet your needs.

The future trend in radio control and interfacing is the USB connection. More and more radios will only have USB ports and not Serial or Parallel ports. The USB port will even pass audio as rig control with a few of the radios.

For the majority of the radios listed above, you will need to have a more robust interface if you need to send or receive audio. The audio recorder and PSK31 are two examples of this need.

Check out the cable and interface solutions from:

Public Interfaces

Other (non-Ham Radio Deluxe) programs are supported via a DDE interface (see DDE Support) and a serial port (see 3rd-Party Programs).

Logbooks typically use these interfaces; for example - contest-oriented logbooks.


Continue to next section