You can dive into Ham Radio Deluxe using a demo radio or your radio. A good way to explore the program is with a demo radio first and then connect your rig.
Dem-o-matic Radio
Now that you have installed Ham Radio Deluxe you can try it out using a Dem-o-matic radio. This is a reasonably accurate simulation of the real thing, designed for use during presentations and while developing Ham Radio Deluxe when a radio is not available (on the train, in a plane, in an airport, stuck in a hotel room in Finland etc.).
From the Start menu select Programs > Ham Radio Deluxe. Once the splash screen has closed you see the Connect window. If you do not have the correct connection cable, select one of the Dem-o-matic radios so that you can open Ham Radio Deluxe.
Dem-o-matic
The Dem-o-matic radios do not need cables – simply select Dem-o-matic in the Company drop down, select an option in the Radio drop down, and then press Connect.
They are ideal for demonstrating Ham Radio Deluxe when you do not have a suitable radio available. It is also the only way that you can open Ham Radio Deluxe if you do not have a supported radio or the correct connecting cable.
Your Radio
TIP: Read your radio's manual to find out exactly how it is supposed to be connected to a computer for CAT control. Some radios require special drivers to be loaded in the computer to access certain model radios. These drivers can usually be downloaded from the manufacturers website. All this information is in your radios user manual or from the radio's manufacturers tech support system.
Please refer to See System Requirements and Interfaces to review the requirements for Ham Radio Deluxe interfacing.
Configuration Options
To connect your radio you will need to connect the necessary cables and install drives if needed. You must also do some configuring within Ham Radio Deluxe. This is usually a one time exercise.
Once you have all your cables in place it's time to turn on your radio, boot up your computer and start Ham Radio Deluxe. The next screen you should see is the radio connection setup screen. This is where you select your radio and set some parameters to allow the Ham Radio Deluxe Rig Control software to connect to your radio.
The New Tab
Notice there are four tabs at the top of this display. The one currently showing is the NEW tab. This is where you configure the setup for any new radio you want to connect to the Ham Radio Deluxe software. We will continue with this setup in the next section.
This is where you actually configure how Ham Radio Deluxe connects to your radio. It also allows you to configure what modules Ham Radio Deluxe loads, by default, on start-up.
The Preset Tab
Once you have a radio configured properly and it starts from the NEW window, the configuration is saved in the Preset page. As you can see here, there are several radios configured both real ones and demo-o-matic ones.
Serial Ports Tab
The Serial Ports tab displays all the comports available on your computer. You will notice just below the window near the center it has two radio buttons. One says Show All ports and the other says Only ports connected to PC. These buttons come in handy when you are trying to figure out which ports are actually being used by the Ham Radio Deluxe Software and which are just available for use.
The Connection Process
Each radio must be on a different comm port from the computer. This allows you to actually operate two or more radios at the same time and switch between them with a couple clicks of the mouse. We will also show that in another section of this manual.
If you have a radio configured in this screen which you no longer own or have connected to Ham Radio Deluxe, you can easily remove it from the Presets by clicking on the setup line in the display window, to highlight the unwanted configuration, and click on the "X Remove" located on the left just below the slider near the left center of the dialog box.
Manufacturer
Select your radio manufacturer from the drop-down list. The Dem-o-Matic radios do not require a COM port, they are for demonstrating Ham Radio Deluxe when you do not have a suitable radio available.
FlexRadio: You must install virtual COM virtual serial port drivers. Please check Flexradio references for additional information.
ICOM: disable the CI-V Transceive option for best performance.
Kenwood: make sure Packet communication mode is switched OFF (if supported). Most Kenwood radios require CTS and RTS to be ON for flow control.
Radio
Select your radio model from the drop-down list.
If your radio does not appear in this drop-down list there is a chance it can be supported by the commands of a different model from the same manufacturer. Contact HRD Support or the manufacturer of your radio for information on about compatibility with another models firmware CAT command set.
COM Port
The COM port on this computer where you have connected the radio interface cable. Make sure that you do not have other programs using the same port, for example mobile phones and personal organizers. It is recommended you NOT use the Auto-Detect. The Auto-Detect can sometimes fail to detect the port. To see the COM ports on your computer select the Serial Port tab to see a display.
COM Port Speed
The speed used for communicating with the radio, check the speed setting via the radio's configuration menu. Again, it’s not recommended to use the Auto-Detect. Also remember that “FASTER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER”. Sometimes faster speeds can cause timing problems when sending commands back and forth between Ham Radio Deluxe and the radio. The important thing is that you set the speed in Ham Radio Deluxe and the port speed in the radio the same. Check your radio manual to find out how to set the com port speed. A 4800 baud connect speed is normally plenty fast enough to support most radios.
CI-V Address
ICOM only: the address assigned to the radio, consult the radio's documentation for the default address. This can also be configured via the radio's configuration menu.
CTS
Enables the CTS flow control, required for Kenwood radios.
DTR
Enables the DTR line when the COM Port is opened and leaves it on, usually to provide power for an interface cable. For Yaesu CT-62 and ICOM CT-17 interfaces this can be left unchecked (off).
RTS
Enables the RTS line when the COM Port is opened and leaves it on, usually to provide power for an interface cable. For Yaesu CT-62 and ICOM CT-17 interfaces this can be left unchecked (off).
Next, put a check in the boxes for DTR and RTS. Some radios don’t require both of these settings checked so they can be unchecked if there is a failure to connect to the radio.
- Note: If you will be connecting more than one radio to Ham Radio Deluxe and you would like the current one to be the default radio, place a check in the box where it says “Always connect to this radio when starting HRD Rig Control”.
Connecting
Press Connect to connect to the radio. If you see the error below then the COM port is currently held open by another program or the radio is not turned on.
Check that you have not started another radio control program. Other culprits are PDA and mobile phone connections. Even if you have disconnected a device from a COM port you must make sure that the software is no longer running.
Once connected Ham Radio Deluxe reads the radio’s frequency to ensure that the options you selected are correct. If you see the error below then Ham Radio Deluxe failed to read the radio’s frequency:
If Ham Radio Deluxe can read the frequency the Connect window is replaced with the main radio display – you are now using Ham Radio Deluxe!
If Ham Radio Deluxe cannot read the frequency then check:
- Correct COM port is selected,
- Speed on radio is the same as the speed selected in Ham Radio Deluxe,
- Your cable – you may have a NULL modem cable when a normal serial cable is needed,
- Cable is connected correctly to your PC (you may have more than one COM port),
- DTR / RTS are selected if required to power an active cable such as CT-62 or a cable from third-party provider.
If you still can’t get started refer to:
- Command Tester, and
- Portmon.
Icom CI-V Details
Icom's CI-V Protocol
ICOM's CI-V protocol is based on a relatively simple bi-directional, single-wire TTL level signaling system. The single wire consists of a communications line (DATA) and a ground reference (GND). The DATA line is held high when there is no traffic. As long as the DATA line is high, any device can initiate communication by pulling the line low and sending the Icom attention command (FEFE). When the line goes low, the other devices see this as a BUSY indication, allowing the single DATA line to offer some amount of basic flow control. Multiple devices may connected across the CI-V port in parallel, as long as each device is set up with a unique hex address. All in all, it's quite elegant in it's simplicity.
Default Icom CI-V Addresses
Each Icom model has its own, distinct default address. As a general rule, Icom used only even addresses ($02, $04, $06 ...). Each model was given a new default address when it came out. The user can change the default address if required. On older rigs this was done by (re-) soldering some diodes, on newer rigs the address can be changed by setup through the front panel or even by CI-V commands. Addresses can be selected from $01 to $EF, giving 239 distinct addresses. The following is a nearly complete table of all known addresses from CI-V capable rigs, not only by Icom.
