RADIO CONTROL PROGRAM FOR WINDOWS
By Lydia Rosa
Copyright 1995-2005 by Lydia Rosa
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS RELEASE
DISCLAIMERS
REQUIREMENTS
INTRODUCTION
STARTUP
THE DISPLAY
MAIN PANEL
VFO PANELS
MEMORY CHANNEL PANEL
SCAN BANKS PANEL
SEARCH BANKS PANEL
MESSAGE PANEL
SPECTRUM PANEL
Information unique for various radios
SPECIAL KEYS
DATA FILE FORMATS
RS232 INTERFACE
PROGRAM LIMITS AND RANGES
Version 0.1
First Beta test release
Version 0.2
Fixed problem with COM port open failure aborting program.
Fixed various ICOM modulation problems.
Changed DIGITs to FONTS instead of BITMAPS to reduce flashing.
Version 0.3
Fixed problem with Program restarting when closed from ICON.
Fixed hangs and errors caused when switching radios.
Fixed functional problems with AOR3000 code.
Added code to process commands in File (including CHAIN)
Version 0.4
Fixed various AOR8000 problems.
Fixed more bugs.
Made NT and Win95 versions separate (due to DLL differences).
Version 0.5
Fixed several problems with writing Frequency files.
Added DEBUG file generation for troubleshooting.
Added support for DRAKE R8a radio.
Added short form/abbreviations for Frequency files.
Updated Radio Option panel code.
Added additional settings for AOR8000 and KENWOOD radios.
Separated display into multiple panels.
Added range selection for LOAD and SET
Added COPY/MOVE/SWAP operations.
Version 0.6
More bug fixes
Support for Bearcat 895xlt added.
Support for AOR500 added.
Fixed several problems that caused program to die.
Enabled Extended options on PARMS panel.
Re-arranged screen layouts to allow for future additional controls.
Changed VFO A/B operation.
Version 0.7
Fixed problem with AOR8000 not scanning properly.
Support for Bearcat 245xlt added.
Added VFO channel selection for Bearcat radios
Fixed problem with RADIO scan mode.
Added TRUNK keyword
Added FONT selection for Frequency Display (Much requested)
Version 0.71
BUG FIX- Numerous Bearcat bugs fixed
Fixed "sticky" FLOW CNTRL selection on OPTIONS panel
Version 0.80
Merged NT & 95/98 into one file.
Added radio locate function to OPTIONS panel.
re-wrote radio routines to remove hang when radio not connected.
Resized panels for bigger fonts.
Added option to hide unused AUX controls.
Version 0.90
Numerous problems fixed.
Removed Windows 3.1 support.
Version 0.91
More bug fixes.
Added support for additional ICOM radios.
Changed VFO A/B operations (Radios use 1st VFO always).
Left/Right Mouse buttons now working.
Bandwidth kept in sync with FM modulation type.
Updated SPEED and DELAY routines for better uniformity.
Added SIZE selection for Frequency fonts.
Version 0.92
Fixed numerous bugs.
Added support for Kenwood THF6A.
Added code to Parms Panel to select best defaults.
Added support for additional BEARCAT models
Added Separate windows for VFOA and VFOB.
Window positions are now remembered.
Unrelated AUX controls are now hidden if GLOBAL SHOW AUX not checked.
Added option to bypass DBF load at startup.
CTCSS scanning for radios supporting it.
Logging to file added.
Added switch to disable update of memory channels.
Version 0.93
Added support for Kenwood TH-G71
Messages panel displays more messages and now has CLEAR button
Fixed problem where radio Name on parms panel not always saved
Improved Th-F6a performance
************************************************************
**** A big THANK YOU goes out to all of the folks that ****
**** Helped test out this version! ****
************************************************************
Version 0.94
Added Offset support for THF6A
More bug fixes
Converted document to HTML
Version 0.95
Support for BC396T (Scanning only)
Fixed hang bug with Bearcat radios.
Reorganized RADIO PARMS panel more logically
IBM is a trademark of IBM corporation.
ICOM is a trademark of Icom incorporated.
KENWOOD is a trademark of Kenwood Corporation.
AOR is a trademark of AOR inc.
DBASE III is a trademark of Borland International.
RADIO SHACK is a trademark of Tandy Corporation.
BEARCAT is a trademark of Uniden Corporation.
The author takes no responsibility for any damages that may occur
to your radio or computer due to the operation of this program.
This program is being distributed as CHARITYWARE. This means that
you should donate something to your favorite charity if you find this
program useful You should probably donate to a charity even if you don't
intend to use this program!
Donations of radios for testing or inclusion in this program will
be graciously accepted. Please contact the author by e-mail if you
want to make such a donation.
Due to the charitable nature of this program, bug fixes and suggestions
will be acted upon at the author's convenience.
Please e-mail all problem reports and suggestions to: richardrosa@yahoo.com
The latest versions of RadioCtl can be downloaded from:
http://www.geocities.com/richardrosa
Thank you!
In order to run this program you will need the following:
- An Windows based computer.
- about 2mb of free disk space (for the program and document).
- A free Serial (RS232) port.
- one of the following models of radio:
- ICOM R-7000*
- KENWOOD R-5000*
- AOR3000A (not the AOR3000)
- AOR8000/AOR8200
- AOR5000
- BEARCAT BC895xlt*
- BEARCAT BC245xlt*
- RadioShack radio equipped with OPTOSCAN interface (from
OptoElectronics).
- KENWOOD TH-F6A
- BEARCAT BCD396T
*NOTE: Although not tested, this program should work with
other models of this manufacturer equipped with a serial port.
For Kenwood and Icom Radios, a modified interface is required
for full program functionally (signal detection). For all
other radios, the manufacturer's interface will work. However,
signal detection can be speeded up by use of the modified
interface for all of the radios. Plans for this interface
are made available free of charge for all registered users.
Unfortunately, the AOR3000 does not currently work with this
program. The protocol differences between the AOR3000 and the
AOR3000A are different enough to cause incompatibilities with
RadioCtl.
The RADIO REMOTE CONTROL PROGRAM for Windows
will allow you to control selected radios
from any computer serial port (RS232) using Windows.
This program
expands the capabilities of your radio to
1000 channels and 100 programmable scan or search banks.
In addition, scanning, searching, and logging facilities are
also provided. Some radios will need an additional interface
to utilize the signal detection facilities of this program.
A circuit diagram and build instructions are provided
free of charge to all registered users.
The program allows you to select various baud rates, COM ports,
and other parameters associated with individual radios. Up to eight
different radio configurations can be defined for easy switching.
A LOCAL mode is also provided to run the program without the need
for a radio connection.
Frequency information can be loaded or saved from a text file.
An interface to a DBASE type file is also provided for frequency to
service lookup.
There are various terms and descriptions used throughout this
manual. Although RadioCtl is fairly easy to use, it helps to
have a clear picture of what the program is doing and how it is
doing it. Various terms are used throughout this document to
explain the program operation.
VFO
| Stands for Variable Frequency Oscillator. This is the settings
for one frequency, modulation, and other parameters that tune
the radio and set selected functions. Both the RadioCtl program
and the radio being run have VFOs. RadioCtl contains two separate
VFOS, one active and one standby. Some radios also have two VFOs.
However, RadioCtl will select only one of these to be the active
VFO. RadioCtl's active VFO is where parameters are sent to or
received from the Radio's active VFO.
|
MEMORY
| Memory is where multiple VFO settings are saved for future
usage by the active VFO. Both RadioCtl and the radio have
memories. RadioCtl has 1000 memories. The number of memories
in the radio varies from model to model. RadioCtl memories
may NOT always reflect the contents of the radio's memories.
|
CHANNEL
| Channel in this document refers to the currently active
memory number. A Channel number may either be a RadioCtl memory
number or a radio memory number.
|
BANK
| This is a collection of Channels within RadioCtl. There
are two types of banks, SCAN banks and SEARCH banks.
SCAN banks group together memory channels for scanning.
SEARCH banks define search parameters.
Although some of the supported radios also have bank definitions,
they are usually not used by this program.
|
PROTOCOL
| A method of communication with a particular radio. Each
radio type has a unique method of transferring information
between the radio and the computer. The method used by
RadioCtl is set by the user based on the Make and Model of the
radio being controlled.
|
RadioCtl provides the user with a flexible way of controlling a
radio. It also provides a uniform interface for different types of
radios. This is a high-level block diagram of the program:
+--------+
|search |---+ +------+
|banks | | |stndby|
+--------+ | | VFO |
| +------+
| |
| +--+---+
+--------+ +----->|active| serial +--------+
|memories|<---------|VFO |---------->| radio |
| |--------->| |<----------| |
+--------+ +------+ +------->| |
^ ^ | port +--------+
| | |
| | +---------+ |
| +----|channel #|-------+
| +---------+
+------+
|scan |
|banks |
+------+
Memory channels store information on frequency, modulation,
squelch count, duration, and other important parameters. The program
provides for a maximum of 1000 memory channels. Information can
be directly entered from the control panel, loaded from a text file,
loaded from the radio's memory, or transferred from the program's
VFO.
The VFO represents a single frequency, modulation, and other
radio settings. These
settings can be sent to the radio, or stored in a memory channel.
The VFO can be set from the control panel direct input,
loaded from a memory channel, loaded from a search bank, or set
from the radio. Current VFO settings can be swapped with
a standby VFO for quick changing of VFO information.
Scan banks provide the ability to group blocks of channels
for scanning. Scan banks allow the user to define up to 100
different blocks of memory channels for selection.
Search banks provide groups of frequencies to search. Up to 100
different ranges of frequency, modulation and step value can
be defined.
The Channel number provides selection of the program's memory channels. It
can also be used to address the memory channels of the current
radio.
Radio control information is sent to and received from the
radio by way of the serial port. The program provides for selection
of up to eight different radios, each with a unique set of
operation characteristics. The program can also provide simulation
of a radio. The actual commands to the radio are defined by a
protocol setting. The program currently supports protocols for
KENWOOD, ICOM, AOR8000, AOR3000, BEARCAT, and OPTO equipped
radios. A LOCAL protocol is also
provided which does not require a radio to be attached.
If you are controlling the R7000, you will need either the ICOM CI-V
interface adapter, or the modified RS232 interface.
If you wish to use the signal detection feature
of this program, you will need to use the modified interface.
For the R-5000, you will need the IC-10 option kit. A modification
must be made to the R-5000 if you wish to use
the signal detection feature
of this program. Some other KENWOOD radios provide for software
signal detection. Although RADIOCTL can make use of this, the
hardware detection will increase the speed of scanning.
The AOR3000, Bearcat, and OPTO equipped radios
already have a RS232 interface. No modification
is needed for these radios, as signal detection is done in software.
The modification instructions include a change to the
AOR3000 to allow 9600 baud operation (from the default 4800 baud) .
For the AOR8000, an interface is also needed. The OPTOLINK from
Optoelectronics has been tested with this program. This interface
allows the use of hardware signal detection for faster scanning.
This interface will also work with ICOM radios as well. However,
most interfaces for the AOR8000 should work with this program.
Although it has not been tested, this program should work with
the AOR8200, as the command set is similar.
The Kenwood TH-F6A uses a different command set and interface
then earlier
Kenwood radios. A special cable, PG-4P (available from Kenwood)
is used to connect the radio to the serial port. Unfortunately,
this cable mutes the speaker, so monitoring is not possible.
However, a special adapter can be built to overcome this
limitation.
It is highly recommended that the modified interface be used for
ICOM and KENWOOD radios.
Most of the features of this program make use of the detection of
an available signal (SQUELCH).
These radios do NOT currently have
squelch detection as part of the standard interface. Although this
program will work fine without this signal detection,
operations such as SCAN and SEARCH will have no usability.
The interface circuit is a inexpensive, easy to build project.
All the parts are readily available at any electronic store. Estimated
cost for each interface is $15. Plans and instructions for these
interfaces are provided to you when you become a registered user.
To install the program, Unzip all the files into a temporary
directory and run the program SETUP from the WINDOWS RUN command.
The install process will allow you to specify a directory and copy
all the needed files to the appropriate places.
Once the install has completed. select RadioCtl from the START
PROGRAMS menu.
When the program starts, you will be running with the "LOCAL" protocol.
This allows you to check out all the functionality of RadioCtl without
having to actually connect a real radio. Before using RadioCtl with
your particular radio, you need to tell the program what radio and
communication port that you are using. You do this by selecting the
PARMS menu, and selecting one of the eight RADIO_PARMS items.
Once the RADIO PARMS panel is displayed, you can enter information
pertaining to your specific radio. First select the PROTOCOL based
on the type of radio that you have connected. When the PROTOCOL
is changed, RadioCtl will fill in settings that should work with
the radio you selected. You WILL need to select the Communications
port that your radio is connected to. If know that your radio
uses different settings, you can change them as you wish.
If you are not sure of your communications port settings,
use the LOCATE RADIO button to have RadioCtl attempt
to find your radio.
Once the parms are set for your radio, you can give these settings
a name to make it easy for you to identify them. This name can
be any combination of letters and numbers up to 40 in length.
Press the OK button to set the parms and
return you to the main panel.
If all the settings are correct, you should be ready to control you
radio using RadioCtl.
- Press the LOAD button. This will load your radio's memory channels
into RadioCtl's memories.
- Press SCAN. This will start scanning the frequencies that you
just loaded.
- While scanning, press the UP or DN buttons next to the
CHANNEL display. This will change the direction of scanning.
- Press MANUAL button. This stops the scanning operation.
- Enter a frequency in the Active VFO Frequency Entry field
(be sure to
press ENTER to complete the entry). Your radio should
change to the frequency you entered.
- Left click on a VFO FREQUENCY digit.
The selected digit should increase by one (or set to 0 if it
was at 9). If the VFO being changed is the Active VFO, then
your radio should also change to the new frequency.
- Right click on a FREQUENCY digit.
The selected digit should decrease (or set to 9 if it was at
0) with similar results to the left click.
- Select CHANNEL UP with either mouse button and hold
the button down. The channels will start incrementing and
your radio settings should also change. Release the
button to stop.
The main panel shows you the status of your radio, as well as
the status of the program.
There are numerous controls, and various status fields. Controls are
toggled by moving the mouse cursor over the control and clicking.
Entry fields require a ENTER or TAB key to complete the entry.
There are also separate windows for Messages, VFO status, memory
channels, search and scan Banks, and the spectrum display.
You may close any window (except the main panel) that you do not
wish to view.
To close a panel either click the "X" on the upper right corner
or click on the panel's ICON in the upper left hand corner
and select CLOSE from the drop-down menu.
To open a window you have previously closed, use the
VIEW menu item on the main panel.
If the Main panel is closed, the program is terminated.
The following display windows are provided:
- Main Panel
- Messages
- VFOA
- VFOB
- Memory Channels
- Scan Banks
- Search Banks
- Spectrum
The MAIN PANEL is the controlling panel for
the entire program. From this panel, you can
display other panels, start and stop operations,
and terminate the program.
This display shows the current channel number being used by the
program. Depending on the state of the COMPUTER/RADIO switch, it
will represent the internal memory channels in the program, or
the radio's memory channels. The memory channel can be changed
using the scroll buttons to the left of the display,
using left or right mouse button on a digit to increment or
decrement,
or entering
a channel number in the entry field under the display.
When a memory channel number is changed, and the COMPUTER/RADIO
switch is set to COMPUTER, the corresponding computer memory
channel information is set to the VFO, and to the radio. If
the COMPUTER/RADIO switch is in the RADIO position, the radio's
memory channel is changed.
If the program is in MANUAL mode, and the MEM SYNC switch is
selected, changing the channel number will display the corresponding
Memory Channel information.
The memory channel number can be incremented or
decremented using the UP/DN buttons next to the Channel display.
The mouse button used to
select the UP/DN button can be held for continuous increment
or decrement of FREQUENCY or CHANNEL.
A memory channel digit can also be changed by right or left clicking
the mouse over the digit.
These buttons perform various operations and set the program
into
of three scanning modes. MANUAL, SCAN and SEARCH modes determine
the primary operation of the program. MANUAL mode is the default.
MANUAL, SCAN & SEARCH are "Sticky" operations. That is, once
selected, the operation continues until another scanning
operation is selected. All the other operation buttons
return to the scanning mode that was in effect before
the operation was selected.
Of three scanning modes. MANUAL mode is the default. In this mode,
the program will continuously monitor
the signal strength from the radio. Depending on the radio,
changes in the
radio frequency or modulation may be logged in the active VFO display.
The program will switch to manual mode if one of the following
conditions is met:
- The MANUAL button is pressed.
- SCAN mode detects no valid channels or banks.
- SEARCH mode detects no valid banks.
- A new radio is selected.
- Any radio or global parameter is changed.
The SCAN button starts the program scanning through selected
memory channels.
When a signal is detected, scanning will stop,
the signal strength will be displayed in the Signal Meter,
and information (duration, squelch count, etc) will be logged
in the memory channel.
When the signal stops, scanning will continue.
Memory channels are normally incremented. The direction of the
scan can be changed by pressing the CHANNEL NUMBER scroll
button to the side of the channel display.
Various Global switches and memory channel setting
affect the operation of scan mode. Global switches (on
the main panel) overide any settings of individual memory
channels. In Addition, PARMS settings for the individual
radio also affect scanning.
Each RadioCtl Memory Channel has a number of settings that
are used to setup the radio during a SCAN operations. Depending
on the radio, some of the settings may NOT be used or set.
Table 3 shows the functions available for each radio.
In addition, several switches in the memory channel affect
how RadioCtl processes an individual channel. These switches
are VALID, DELAY, TRUNKED FREQ and RSM.
The VALID switch is used during scan to identify channels that
should be scanned. Any memory channel with the VALID switch off
will NOT be used in any scan operation.
If the DELAY switch of a channel is
set, and a signal is detected after setting the radio with
the channel's settings, then the program will delay for a
number of seconds
after the signal stops before
resuming scan. This DELAY value is set from the GLOBAL PARMS
menu.
This switch identifies the memory settings as belonging
to a set of Trunked Frequencies. If
the Global Switch SCAN TRUNKED FREQS is on, and this
switch is also on, (and the VALID switch is set). This
channel will be included in scans. If this switch is on
and the SCAN TRUNKED FREQS global switch is off, then this
channel will NOT be used in any scan regardless of the
VALID switch setting.
If the RSM switch (Memory Channel) is selected,
and a signal is detected after
setting the radio with the channel's settings, then
scanning will resume after a set time period, even if
the signal is still present. This time period is
set from the GLOBAL PARMS menu.
The Main Panel has a number of Global Switches that affect
the way that scanning is done.
The MEMORY SYNC switch allows the Memory Channel display to follow
active channels. If this switch is selected for SCAN or SEARCH
mode, the displayed Memory Channel information will change to any
channel where a signal is detected. This allows you to automatically
display the channel information whenever the squelch breaks.
If this switch is off, then the memory channel display will NOT
change when a signal is detected.
Note: If you are editing a memory channel during Scan with the
MEMORY SYNC selected, you may loose your edit if the program
switches memory channel before the edit is complete.
If the PRIORITY switch is selected, The PRIORITY channel entered
will be scanned
at a specific interval.
If a signal is detected on the priority channel,
normal scanning stops, and the program switches to the
priority channel. Normal scanning will resume when the signal
is no longer present on the PRIORITY channel. The interval for
priority checking is set on the GLOBAL PARMS panel.
Note:The RESUME counter does not function when stopped on
the priority channel. Scan or Search will resume from a
priority channel
ONLY when the signal disappears.
RadioCtl provides 100 Scan banks (numbered 0-99) that can contain
ranges of channels to scan. These banks allow you to group
a set of channels based on some common criteria. For example,
channels 1-10 might be your local fire frequencies, while 21-25
might be your Police departments.
In order to use these banks, the BANKS ON Global Switch must
be checked. If this box is checked when scanning, the order
of channel selection is determined by the Scan Bank entries.
Bank channel selection is done with the following logic:
- Set Bank number to 0.
- Step through Scan Banks until a bank is found with
the VALID switch set. Set the current memory channel number to the
START value of this bank. If no valid bank found, terminate
the Scan (return to Manual Mode).
- If the RadioCtl memory channel has the VALID switch is set,
and either
the TRUNKED FREQ switch is off or the Global Switch
SCAN TRUNKED FREQS is on, then Frequency, Modulation and other
information from the memory channel is use to tune the radio.
- If the radio was set, RadioCtl will check for a signal.
If a signal is detected, scanning will stop until either
the signal goes away, or Global Switch RESUME is set and
the resume period has expired.
- If the current channel number is less than the
current Scan bank STOP number, then increment the current
channel number. Otherwise decrement the current channel number.
- If the updated channel number is outside the START and STOP
range of the current bank number, then increment the
bank number and return to step 2. Otherwise go back to step 3.
The RESUME switch determines the action after the squelch
breaks. If RESUME is off, scanning will not continue until
the signal ends. If RESUME is on, scanning will resume
after the number of seconds specified by the RESUME value. This
value can be set from the PARMS panel.
NOTE:The Global RESUME Switch forces a resume regardless of
the individual memory channel setting.
Normally, RadioCtl Memory channels are updated with
signal strength, time-stamp, and other information when
squelch breaks. If the USE RADIO'S MEMORY switch is selected,
then Frequency and Modulation will also be updated when a
signal is detected. Checking this box disables this logging,
effectively write-protecting the RadioCtl memory channels.
When the LOG TO FILE switch is selected,
all squelch breaks are looged to
the current log file. This file is set with the FILE->CHANGE LOG FILE
NAME menu. If this switch is off, then squelch breaks are only
logged to the MESSAGES panel.
The SCAN TRUNK FREQS switch determines what happens with
frequencies marked as TRUNKED FREQ. If this box is checked, memory
channels marked as TRUNKED channels will be included in the scan.
Otherwise memory channels marked as TRUNKED will be bypassed.
The CTCSS Enable switch determines how a SCAN handles
the CTCSS settings in a memory channel.
If this box is checked, the SCAN function will honor the
CTCSS setting on the memory channel being scanned. Otherwise,
the CTCSS setting will be ignored. If CTCSS scanning is selected,
then RadioCtl will stop on a channel ONLY if there is a signal
AND the CTCSS setting for that channel matches the CTCSS tone
being received by the radio. Note that CTCSS scanning results
in a SIGNIFICANTLY slower scan rate, as additional information
must be exchanged between the computer when checking the signal.
Note: If the radio does not support this feature, this control
will not be visible.
Under the Channel display is a button marked USE COMPUTER'S MEMORIES
or USE RADIO'S MEMORIES. This is a toggle button that affects
where the frequency, modulation, and other settings for the
radio will come from. If this switch is in the COMPUTER state, then
the radio is set from RadioCtl's current memory channel information.
If set in the RADIO state, then the radio is set from whatever
information is in the Radio's memory channel.
In the RADIO position, scan is usually much faster, as there
is less information being transmitted between the computer
and the radio. However, information in RadioCtl's memories will
not always reflect what is kept in the radio's memories. Also,
in the RADIO position, the channel number range is determined
by the minimum and maximum channel numbers for the radio (set
in the PARMS panel).
NOTE.The OPTO protocol does not provide for memory
channel control. When using the OPTO protocol, this switch
remains in the COMPUTER position, and cannot be changed.
The SPEED CONTROL setting determines how fast each channel will be
scanned. In the event that a scan is too fast to respond to
certain frequencies, it can be slowed by adjusting the SPEED CONTROL.
Setting the SPEED CONTROL to a lower value
causes the computer to wait on each channel when there is
no signal present. This gives the radio time for the squelch
to detect a signal.
Search Mode allows you to scan a range of frequencies for action.
Up to 100 different ranges can be programmed. Each range
consists of a starting frequency, stopping frequency, increment
value and modulation. In addition, searching can start at the
current VFO frequency and be incremented or decremented by the
current STEP value.
When a range is searched, the radio is set to the initial frequency
and modulation. If a signal is detected, the frequency and
modulation are recorded in the next free RadioCtl memory channel, and
the VALID switch is set for this channel.
If this frequency already exists in a memory channel, then COUNT, TIME
and SIGNAL values are updated. If the memory channel has the VALID
switch off, then the signal is ignored, and searching resumes with
the next frequency.
If there are no more free channels available, then the
message "SEARCH FULL" is displayed, and the information is NOT
saved.
Various Global switches and memory channel setting
affect the operation of search mode. Global switches (on
the main panel) overide any settings of individual memory
channels. In Addition, PARMS settings for the individual
radio also affect searching.
When Search encounters a signal on a given frequency, the operation
will check to see if this frequency is already stored in one of
the RadioCtl Memories. If the frequency is found, then the VALID
switch is checked for that channel. If the switch is turned off,
then the signal is ignored, and the next frequency is selected.
If the VALID switch is on, information for that frequency
is updated in the RadioCtl Memory Channel.
When a signal has been detected, and then goes away, RadioCtl
will wait a short period before resuming Search if the memory
channel that it has logged information to has the DELAY switch
set.
The DELAY time value can be set from the GLOBAL PARMS menu.
If the RSM (Memory Channel) switch is selected,
and this Memory Channel is used
for logging a signal, then
the search will resume after a set time period, even if
the signal is still present. This time period is
set from the GLOBAL PARMS menu.
The Main Panel has a number of Global Switches that affect
the way that searching is done.
The MEM SYNC switch allows the Memory Channel display to follow
active channels. If this switch is selected,
the displayed Memory Channel information will change to any
channel where information is being logged. This allows you to automatically
display the channel information whenever the squelch breaks.
If this switch is off, then the memory channel display will NOT
change when information is logged.
Note: If you are editing a memory channel during Search with the
MEMORY SYNC selected, you may loose your edit if the program
switches memory channel before the edit is complete.
The BANKS ON switch determines the logic for the Search operation.
If this switch is off, the Search operation performs as follows:
- Send current active VFO Frequency, Modulation and other
applicable settings to the radio, and wait a short period for
a signal.
- If a signal is detected, locate a memory channel that
has the same frequency as the current VFO, or a memory channel
that does not have any data (frequency = 0 ).
If the DON'T UPDATE MEMORY Global switch is not set,
update information (modulation, signal strength, etc.) to this
memory channel.
- If a signal is detected, wait until the signal goes away,
or until RESUME timeout (if Global RESUME switch set).
- Update active VFO Frequency by the active VFO step value.
If VFO Frequency is greater than the maximum frequency allowed
for this radio, then set VFO frequency to the minimum frequency
allowed for this radio. If VFO is being decremented, and
VFO is less than the minimum frequency allowed for this radio,
then set frequency to the maximum frequency allowed.
Maximum and minimum frequencies are set in the PARMS menu for
the particular radio.
- If the UP or DN buttons are pressed (on the VFO panel next to
the frequency display) then change the direction of the search.
- go back to step 1.
If the BANKS ON switch is on, then the Search operation is as
follows:
- Set Bank number to 0.
- Step through Search Banks until a bank is found with
the VALID switch set.
If no valid bank found, terminate
search (return to Manual Mode).
- Set the current VFO frequency to the starting
frequency of the bank, Set the current VFO modulation to the
modulation specified in the bank.
- Send current active VFO Frequency, Modulation and other
applicable settings to the radio, and wait a short period for
a signal.
- If a signal is detected, locate a memory channel that
has the same frequency as the current VFO, or a memory channel
that does not have any data (frequency = 0 ).
If the DON'T UPDATE MEMORY Global switch is not set,
update information (modulation, signal strength, etc.) to this
memory channel.
- If a signal is detected, wait until the signal goes away,
or until RESUME timeout (if Global RESUME or RSM on channel set).
- Update active VFO Frequency by the INCR value for the current
search bank. If the new frequency is outside the range specified
by the START and STOP of the current search bank, increment
the bank number and go back to step 2. Otherwise
set the current VFO frequency to the new frequency and go to step 4.
Note: If START frequency less than STOP frequency then frequency
will be incremented by the value in INCR. Otherwise it will
be decremented.
The RESUME switch determines the action after the squelch
breaks. If RESUME is off, searching will not continue until
the signal ends. If RESUME is on, scanning will resume
after the number of seconds specified by the RESUME value. This
value can be set from the PARMS panel.
NOTE:The Global RESUME Switch forces a resume regardless of
the individual memory channel setting.
Normally, RadioCtl Memory channels are updated with
signal strength, time-stamp, and other information when
squelch breaks. If a new frequency is found during a search,
an empty memory channel is used to store Frequency and modulation.
Checking this box disables this logging,
effectively write-protecting the RadioCtl memory channels.
When this switch is selected, all squelch breaks are logged to
the current log file. This file is set with the FILE->CHANGE LOG FILE
NAME menu. If this switch is off, then squelch breaks are only
logged to the MESSAGES panel.
The PRIORITY switch does NOT have any effect on Search Mode.
Priority is not supported during a search operation. Likewise,
the COMPUTER/RADIO switch is also ignored. Search Mode always
uses the computer's VFO.
The SPEED CONTROL setting determines how fast each frequency will be
monitored. In the event that a search is too fast to respond to
certain frequencies, it can be slowed by adjusting the SPEED CONTROL.
Setting the SPEED CONTROL to a lower value
causes the computer to wait on each frequency when there is
no signal present. This gives the radio time for the squelch
to detect a signal.
When this operation is selected,
all of the radio's memory channels are loaded
into RadioCtl's Memory Channels. The load starts at the
first channel entered in the START LOAD/SET field,
and continues to the channel specified in the STOP LOAD/SET
field.
The contents of computer memory channels are overwritten
with the new information. Channels that are locked out will have
the VALID switch reset. The count, duration and strength
fields are reset to 0. If the radio provides for text information,
that will be loaded into the service field. Any field or
setting not supported by the radio will be set to the default
state.
When all channels specified in the START/STOP range have been
loaded, the program will return to the previous scan mode
(MANUAL/SCAN/SEARCH).
For a LOCAL radio, a set of random settings will be
set for each channel.
Note: The OPTO protocol does not provide for memory
channel control. When using the OPTO protocol, this switch
is disabled.
Note: This control will be disabled if the DON'T UPDATE MEMORY
switch is selected.
When this operation is selected,
the contents of the computer memory channels are
stored into the radio's memory channels. The set starts at the
first channel entered in the START LOAD/SET field,
and continues to the channel specified in the STOP LOAD/SET
field.
The contents of radio memory channels are overwritten
with the new information. A zero
frequency will cause the memory channel to be cleared.
For a LOCAL radio, each memory channel will be transferred to
the VFO in turn.
When all channels specified in the START/STOP range have been
set, the program will return to the previous scan mode
(MANUAL/SCAN/SEARCH).
NOTE.The OPTO protocol does not provide for memory
channel control. When using the OPTO protocol, this switch
is disabled.
This button will transfer the contents of the Memory Channel
indicated by the Channel display, to the VFO. If the
COMPUTER/RADIO switch is in the COMPUTER position, the Computer's
memory channel will be transferred. If the RADIO position is
selected, the information will be transferred from the radio's
memory. For a LOCAL radio, the input will be a random frequency
and modulation. This operation is the same as a LOAD for
one channel.
This button will transfer the contents of the VFO frequency and
modulation to
the Memory Channel
indicated by the Channel display. If the
COMPUTER/RADIO switch is in the COMPUTER position, the Computer's
memory channel will be updated.
Count, Strength, and Duration fields are reset. The
Service string is also cleared.
If the RADIO position is
selected, the information will be transferred to the radio's
memory. For a LOCAL radio, no data is transferred.
This operation is the same as a SET for
one channel.
Note: If the DON'T UPDATE MEMORY switch is selected, and the
COMPUTER/RADIO switch is in the COMPUTER position, then this
control will be disabled.
Some of the supported radios have search memories that
can be loaded into the RadioCtl program. When this button
is pressed, those memories are loaded into the corresponding
SEARCH BANK channels.
Note: If the currently selected radio does not support this
feature, this control will not be visible.
Some of the supported radios have search memories that
can be set from the RadioCtl program. When this button
is pressed, those memories are set from the corresponding
SEARCH BANK channels.
Note: If the currently selected radio does not support this
feature, this control will not be visible.
The starting channel number for a load or a set operation
is entered here.
The ending channel number for a load or a set operation
is entered here.
RadioCtl provides two sets of VFO settings. Each set includes
a frequency, modulation, step, attenuator, notch, preamp, amsync, tone,
AGC, antenna, noise blanker and bandwidth settings. The Swap VFO
button can be used to
quickly switch the program between either of the two VFOs.
Note: For radios that have multiple VFOs, RadioCtl will always
use the first VFO regardless of the program's VFO selection.
For
SCAN or SEARCH
mode, the speed control determines the time between each channel
or frequency. When the control is all the way to the left, the
time between each setting is minimal. If the slider is moved to the
right, the program will delay for a certain time before changing
the setting on the radio. During this time, the program will
monitor the radio for a signal. The SPEED control allows you to
reduce the SCAN or SEARCH speed to give the radio more time to
respond to a signal.
At the right of the Main Panel is a column of switches that
affect various operations. These switches determine
what memory is used, priority, resume, and other settings.
If the switch has a "check", then the switch is ON. Otherwise
the switch is off.
The MEMORY SYNC switch allows the Memory Channel display to follow
active channels. If this switch is selected for SCAN or SEARCH
mode, the displayed Memory Channel information will change to any
channel where a signal is detected. This allows you to automatically
display the channel information whenever the squelch breaks.
If the program is in MANUAL mode, then the memory channel
display will change in sync with the memory channel number.
Priority scanning allows a selected channel to be tested for
a signal once every interval. The channel number to select
as a Priority channel is entered in the entry field at the bottom
of the frame.
If the Priority switch is ON, then
the priority channel will be used.
The priority checking interval
can be set using the PARMS panel. Priority only works during
SCAN mode.
When in SCAN or SEARCH mode, the program can make use of banks
of scan or search information. These banks allow the grouping of
channels or frequencies for the SCAN mode. The Banks On switch
allows the scan mode to use the bank associated with the
SCAN mode. When selected, the indicator in the status frame
will display what bank number (00-99) is currently being used.
See the discussion of SCAN and SEARCH mode for a complete
overview of bank usage.
The Resume switch will allow the Scan or Search to continue
when a signal is present. This is useful when a Scan or Search
encounters a constant signal. With Resume on,
the signal is ignored after a set amount of time. This
time interval is set using the Parms panel. The indicator
in the Status panel shows approximately how many
seconds are left until the SCAN/SEARCH resumes.
Note:This switch is a global setting. If on, the
RSM switch for each memory channel is ignored.
This switch acts as a write-protect for RadioCtl's memories
during SCAN or SEARCH operations. If this box is checked, then
scan or search operations will NOT update RadioCtl memories
when the squelch breaks.
Note: Selecting this switch disables the LOAD operation button.
When this switch is selected,
all actions are logged to a data file. This includes
mode changes and squelch breaks. A time stamp is also logged
with each event. This file is cumulative, and is not erased
by this program. The name of the logging file can be changed
with the FILE menu selection.
If this box is checked, the FREQUENCY display will
change to a green background whenever a signal is detected. If
the connected radio supports this feature, the light on the
radio will also light for a signal.
Note: This switch is disabled for the Bearcat 895.
If this box is checked, then memory channels marked as TRUNKED
will be included as part of a SCAN operation. If the box is not
checked, these channels will be bypassed.
If this box is checked, the SCAN function will honor the
CTCSS setting on the memory channel being scanned. Otherwise,
the CTCSS setting will be ignored. This is only available for
radios that support CTCSS scanning.
For unsupported radios, this control will not be displayed.
The center frame on the Main Panel contains several status
controls and displays. The controls allow you to select a
specific radio to test, and adjust signal detection.
The status displays show information about the connected radio,
bank selection, resume time and signal strength.
Up to eight different radios can be defined to the program.
These radios can have different BAUD rates, Com ports,
protocols, etc. Each radio is assigned a name. You can
change the name (and other parameters) for a given radio
from the Parms menu. Radio Selection is a drop-down selection
field. Click on the right button to display the radio list.
Double click on a radio to select it. The Baud and Com port
used will be displayed below to the Radio Selection control.
The connection status of the radio is displayed below the
BAUD and COM status. This field can be double-clicked to force
a reconnection.
NOTE: When a new radio is selected, or the current radio is
reconnected, Manual mode is
forced.
The signal is a 12 step indicator corresponding to the signal
strength being detected. Depending on the radio, the meter may
reflect the actual signal strength, or just the presence of
a signal. The signal level of 9 is used for those radios without
the ability to read the actual signal strength.
For a LOCAL
radio, clicking any of the signal display buttons will turn on
the signal at that strength. For all radios, the OFF button will
temporarily turn off the signal. If scanning or searching, this
will cause the radio to resume scan or search. For LOCAL operation,
the OFF button is the only way to turn off the signal detection.
When not running in LOCAL mode, the signal buttons can be
used to define a minimum squelch trigger. Clicking on a button
will cause the program to ignore any signal at or below that
signal level. When the squelch minimum is active, the
signal limit level buttons are displayed in green.
NOTE:This feature is not useful for the ICOM and KENWOOD radios,
as these radios do not have the ability to determine signal
strength values.
The menu on the top of the main panel provides additional functions.
These functions provide the ability to load and save information
to disk, customize your radio setup, and select various panels
for viewing. Menu items can be selected by placing the
mouse cursor over the item and pressing the right mouse button.
Menu items can also be selected from the keyboard using
the underlined letter.
For the primary menu, the ALT key must also be pressed.
For drop-down menus, only the key itself is need to select an item.
The File menu provides the ability to load or save the current
memory channel, scan banks, and search banks to or from a text file.
The file format for this file is described in the DATA FORMAT section.
The scan information can be saved to or loaded from many different
files. When a file is loaded, only those memory channels, scan
bank channels, or search channels that are included in the file are
changed. For a save, all Memory Channels, Scan Banks and Search Banks
are written.
A new DBASE file can also be selected from this panel. This
file is used for service lookup operations. The format of this
file is also discussed in the DATA FORMAT section.
The DEBUG item enables or disables the logging of
debug data. This data is used primarily for logging
information for troubleshooting program problems. The
information is logged to the file DEBUG.DAT. This file
can grow to be quite large, as an extensive amount of information
is written to this file.
The File menu also contains the Quit for the program.
This menu item enables the display of various
panels. These panels are for VFOA, VFOB, Messages, Frequency
database, Scan and Search banks, and the spectrum
display.
This operation will clear all Memory Channels,
Search Banks, Scan Banks and the VFO. In addition,
the program will be reset to Manual mode.
For the program, and for each radio, there are a set of
parameters that need to be defined. Although the program
sets certain defaults, the user will most likely wish
to change these to suit individual needs and tastes.
Various parameters determine the operation of the program.
For the most part, these parameters are set once when you
first install the program. This panel
allows you to change program operation parameters.
This is the time (in seconds) between
priority checks. This value is used during SCAN when
PRIORITY is selected.
The number of seconds that the program will wait on a channel
after a signal disappears. This value only has affect if the
DELAY switch is set on the current memory channel.
If RESUME is selected, this is the number of seconds that
SCAN or SEARCH will continue after a signal is detected.
The frequency, Step and Channel Fonts are initially set to use
the TRANSITOR type font. This font was selected to look like a
Seven Segment display found on most scanners. However, tastes vary,
and a different font for these displays may be desired. This drop-down
box allows you to select any FONT that is currently installed in the
system for the displays. When the font is changed, the sample box
(next to the FONT SIZE selection) will change to reflect the new
setting.
Note:The TRANSISTOR font does not always get selected for use
by Windows. If the font does not seem to be available, go to the
Windows Control Panel, Select Fonts, locate the font "Transistor Regular",
and double click on the file. Press the DONE key to register the font.
This font should now be available in RadioCtl.
When the font size is changed, the sample box
will change to reflect the new
setting.
The size of the Frequency, Step and Channel Fonts can also be
adjusted to suit taste. Depending on the font chosen, the size
of the font may need to be adjusted to allow the entire digit
to display. Any size from 10 to 30 can be selected.
On the VFO and MEMORY panels, Aux values are displayed. These
values represent functions that may not be available based on
the current radio. If this box is NOT checked, functions that are
not applicable to the current radio selected will NOT be
displayed on these panels.
There are two formats that frequency information
can be saved in. The long format logs a frequency
record that includes all keywords with no abbreviation.
When logged in this manner, each field is aligned with
field above and below it. This format is much
easier for reading or editing with a text based
editor. However, it requires more disk space than the
short form. The long form is the program default.
The short format abbreviates keywords and
only logs essential fields. This format conserves
disk space, but is harder to read or change with
a text editor.
Normally when the program starts, the DBF file that contains
information for service look-up is loaded automatically. If this
file is fairly large, it can take a bit of time to load. If you
don't wish to use this file, or you want to load it later (using
the FILE menu) you can uncheck this box.
The program provides settings for up to eight radios.
Each radio can be setup with different operation characteristics.
For the most part, these parameters are set once when you
first install the program. However, you may need to update these
parameters if you connect different radios.
Except for Name, Baud rate and Com port, the defaults for the particular
radio types should only be changed if a non-standard radio is
being connected.
This is the name that you give the radio. There are no restrictions
on the name, other than it is limited to 30 alpha-numeric characters.
This name is used in the Radio Selection control on the main
panel. It is NOT required that each radio have a unique name, but
it makes it easier for the user to select the right radio if
they are.
This is the com port that your radio is attached to. The program
allows you to select com 1 thru com 4.
The baud setting for this radio. Most radios can be configured
to accept baud rates from 1200 to 9600 baud. The program will set
the default baud rate when a new protocol is selected.
If your radio requires a different baud rate, it can be changed
with this control.
Most of the radios supported work with an 8 bit data format. If
you have a radio that requires 7 bits, this can be changed.
Most of the radios supported use 2 stop bits. If needed, you can
change this to 1 stop bit.
Flow Control provides the ability to stop and start communications
based on the ability of the radio and computer to accept data.
Flow control requires the use of additional control lines (RTS/DTS).
These lines are used as signals to indicate to the radio and the
computer to start and stop sending information. When a new
protocol is selected, this box will be set based on the radio type
selected.
This is the first memory channel for the radio (0 or 1).
This field defines the maximum memory channel in the radio.
This is the minimum frequency that the radio will accept.
This is the maximum frequency that the radio will accept.
There are three ways to detect a squelch break. The first
is using a spare signal on the RS-232 port. This signal
detection is part of the modified interface, and also
provided with OPTO equipped radios. This is referred to
as HARDWARE detection.
The second detection method involves using a command to
the radio to detect squelch break. This is referred to
as SOFTWARE detection. This method also uses a command
to the radio to determine the signal strength.
Not all radios can use software detection.
The third method is a combination of HARDWARE and SOFTWARE.
With this technique, the signal line is checked for
squelch break, and a signal strength command is issued
ONLY if the squelch break signal has been detected. This
method is the most efficient for scanning speed. However, it
can only be used with radios that have both available.
Please note that to make use of the HARDWARE, or HARDWARE
and SOFTWARE detect methods, either the modified interface
or the OPTO interface must be present.
This field defines the type of radio (protocol). There are
currently nine types of radios supported. ICOM, KENWOOD, AOR3000,
AOR8000, OPTO, DRAKE, BEARCAT, TH-F6A and
LOCAL. Other radios may be added in the future.
When this value is changed, all other fields (except RADIO NAME and
COM PORT) are updated with values that RadioCtl believes are
correct.
Some radios have small variations on the command set based
on the model. For those radios, the MODEL field will be displayed.
Use this field to identify to RadioCtl the correct model of
radio that you are using.
ICOM and OPTO radios require an address. For the R-7000,
the address is
normally 8. If you connect a different ICOM or OPTO radio, or you have
more than one ICOM radio connected, you can change this address
to match. In addition, the computer (RadioCtl) must also have
an address. This usually defaults to 0, but can be changed.
These parameters will only be displayed for ICOM or
OPTO radios.
Some radios (most notably the BEARCAT series)
do NOT have a separate VFO. To make up for this,
RadioCtl will use one of the radio's memory channels as a
"virtual" VFO.
This will overwrite the contents of this channel whenever VFO
data is sent to the radio. The default channel is 300, but can
be set to any channel from 1 to 300.
All radios require a delay between each packet sent.
In general this delay should be between 60 and 90 milliseconds.
If you are seeing error messages that indicate overflow or
bad data from the radio, you should increase this value.
Setting this value too high will slow down the maximum scanning
speed. However, setting this value too low will cause
transmission errors.
For certain radios an extended command set is provided.
These extended commands provide additional radio settings
(such as Bandwidth, CTCSS tones, etc.).
If this switch is visible, then the radio selected
will support these extended commands.
Note that enabling extended commands will
increase the amount of time scan or search takes per channel,
as more information must be transferred.
The following table shows what defaults are used for
the protocol selected:
Default Settings
| parm |
LOCAL |
ICOM |
KENWOOD |
AOR3000L |
AOR8000 |
OPTO |
DRAKE |
THF6A |
BEARCAT |
AOR5000 |
| Baud Rate |
n/a |
9600 |
4800 |
4800 |
9600 |
9600 |
9600 |
9600 |
9600 |
9600 |
| Data Bits |
n/a |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Stop Bits |
n/a |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Flow Cntrl |
n/a |
Off |
On |
On |
Off |
Off |
Off |
On |
Off |
Oo |
| Min Channel |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Max Channel |
999 |
99 |
99 |
399 |
999 |
99 |
439 |
411 |
300 |
999 |
| Min Freq |
10hz |
25mhz |
10hz |
10hz |
50hz |
25mhz |
10hz |
10hz |
29mhz |
10hz |
| Max Freq |
1999mhz |
999mhz |
999mhz |
2035mhz |
1899mhz |
999mhz |
29mhz |
1999mhz |
955mhz |
2035mhz |
| Signal Det |
n/a |
Hardware |
Hardware |
Software |
Software |
Hardware |
Hardware |
Software |
Software |
Software |
| Radio Address |
n/a |
08 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
08 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
| Computer Address |
n/a |
00 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
00 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
| Timeout |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
30 |
30 |
90 |
| VFO channel |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
300 |
n/a |
| Extended? |
n/a |
Off |
Off |
n/a |
Off |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
There are two identical VFO displays. Each one shows the
status of the affected VFO, and allows you to change the
current settings. Whenever one VFO is active, the other
is considered to be in standby. This allows you to make
multiple changes the inactive VFO, and then send those
changes to the radio with one button press. Changes
made to the active VFO will be sent immediately to the
radio.
This display shows the current frequency of the program.
This frequency may or may not reflect the state of the
attached radio. Any frequency information sent to the radio
is displayed.
The value of this display can be changed
using the scroll buttons to the left of the display or
by using the mouse buttons when the mouse pointer is over the
digit displayed. Clicking the left button will increase a digit by one.
Clicking the right button will decrease a digit by one.
Holding either button for about 1 second will cause the
action to repeat until the button is released.
A frequency value can also be entered in the entry field under the
display. If a value is entered, changed with mouse buttons,
or scrolled with the VFO scroll bar for the ACTIVE VFO, the new
value is sent to the radio.
This is a combination display and selection box. It shows the
current modulation used by the program. This may or may not reflect
the state of the radio. A modulation can be set by pressing the
drop-down control on the right of the box, and double-clicking
on the desired modulation. If the modulation on the ACTIVE VFO is
changes, the corresponding modulation will be changed on the
radio.
NOTE:Some radios may not support the modulation selected. In
that case, the appropriate modulation will be selected, and the
display will change to reflect this.
This display shows the current step value that will be used
when incrementing or decrementing the VFO.
This is done during search operations, and when the UP/DN frequency
buttons are pressed.
This value can
be set by entering the desired step value in the entry field
below the Step digits. Alternately, left or right mouse
clicks can be used to increment or decrement individual digits.
During a bank
search, this field will be loaded from the selected bank.
Note: The STEP value displayed will most likely NOT reflect
any STEP value set in the current radio.
Note: Setting the step value to 0 will keep SEARCH from
working.
The VFO Step Value and VFO frequency displays can
be changed using the left or right mouse
button to increment or decrement the digit. The mouse pointer
selects the digit to change. The left button will
increment that digit, while the right button will decrement.
If a digit is a 9, an increment sets the digit to 0.
Likewise, if a digit is a 0, a decrement will set the digit to
9. Either mouse button can be held for continuous repeat of
an increment/decrement.
This allows quick changing
of any of the information in the display. Changes to the
Frequency display will be reflected to the attached
radio.
Note: Because the program will send data to the radio when
a digit is scrolled, there may be a delay involved between
each digit "click".
If this button is selected, this frequency is identified as
belonging to a trunked group of frequencies. The primary usage
of this switch is to allow setting of the TRUNK switch in radios
such as the BEARCAT that support trunk tracking.
This switch is also used for bypass during scanning operations.
The VFO Active indicator shows if the VFO in question is the
currently active VFO. If it is, the indicator will be Red, and
will be indicated by "VFO Active". If the VFO is NOT active, the
indicator will say "Make This VFO Active". If you click on this
indicator for the inactive VFO, it will make it the active VFO.
This operation is identical to the SWAP VFO button on the main
panel.
A number of VFO settings are enclosed in a box identified as
AUX CONTROLS. Depending on the protocol selected, and the DISPLAY
UNUSED AUX option setting, these controls may or may not be
visible. If the DISPLAY UNUSED AUX option (set in the GLOBAL OPTIONS
menu) is not selected, only those controls that are meaningful to
the radio being used are visible. In addition, some controls will
have different descriptions for different radios. Please see
table 3 for a list of what controls are available for what
protocol.
Some radios have a built in attenuator. This can
be switched on to reduce overload from a strong signal. Pressing
this switch will toggle the current attenuator setting in the
radio. When in SCAN mode, this switch will be set by the
currently scanning memory channel's attenuator setting.
For certain radios, a notch filter is available. For these
radios, this switch enables or disables the radio's notch
filter.
For other radios, this switch enables/disables a descrambler
tone.
If supported by the radio, a CTCSS or descrambler tone
may be set using the Tone drop-down box, and enabled by this
switch. See Table 3 for a breakdown of how this switch is
defined for each radio.
For certain radios, an AM synchronous detector is available.
For these
radios, this switch enables or disables the radio's preamp
function.
For the BEARCAT protocol, this function enables or disabled
the RECORDER function.
For certain radios, a pre-amplifier is available.
For these
radios, this switch enables or disables the radio's preamp
function.
For certain radios, a CTCSS or descrambler tone is available.
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the tone value. When the
Tone switch is enabled, the selected Tone value will
be sent to the radio.
For other radios, this switch enables or disables a Notch filter.
For certain radios, an Automatic Gain Control is available
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the AGC level.
For certain radios, an antenna selection is available
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the particular antenna.
For certain radios, a noise blanker function is available
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the noise blanker function.
For certain radios, a bandwidth function is available.
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the bandwidth of the radio.
For the THF6A, the bandwidth function is replaced by a
transmit offset function.
Note: The Bandwidth control is kept in sync with the Modulation
selection when the modulation type is FM.
This is Not the case for the THF6A.
For certain radios, a second tone function is available.
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the value of that tone.
The switch below this control enables or disables this
function.
RadioCtl Memory channels
contain information for a specific radio setting.
Each channel contains information on Frequency, Modulation and
other parameters to be sent to (or received from) the radio. In
addition, information on signal strength, number of squelch
breaks and service information is also displayed.
Each program channel displayed has several fields associated
with it. Some of these fields are entry fields that information
can be entered.
Other fields are toggle switches that can be turned
on and off.
Note that entry field information is NOT accepted until ENTER
is pressed, a TAB key is pressed, a new entry field is selected
with the mouse, or the channel display is changed with the
scroll bars.
This field determines which
memory channel is being displayed or changed.
The memory channel can be changed by direct entry in the channel
field, or using the scroll bars to the left of the channel number.
If entering the channel number, keep in mind that the data will
NOT be finalized until you press ENTER or a TAB key.
The VALID field determines whether or not SCAN and SEARCH will
use the frequency currently entered into that channel.
For SCAN mode, the program will not scan the
memory channel if VLD is OFF.
For the SEARCH operation,
a frequency entered in a memory record that has the VALID switch off
will NOT cause the search to stop and log.
When a program memory channel is transferred to the current radio,
the VALID switch will be used to set or reset any channel lockout
in the radio.
The DELAY field is use during the SCAN and SEARCH operations.
If delay is set
ON, scanning will continue DELAY seconds after the signal ends on that
channel.
If delay
is set OFF, then scanning will continue immediately after the signal
ends.
The DELAY time value
can be set on the PARMS panel.
When a program memory channel is transferred to the current radio,
the DELAY switch will be used to set or reset any channel delay switch
in the radio. Note that not all radios have this feature.
A memory channel can be identified as a trunked channel. This is
useful for being able to store frequencies in the radio from the
program, but having the ability to exclude them from RadioCtl scans.
In addition, if the radio supports it, this switch will be set in
the radio when a memory channel is transferred to that radio.
The RSM field selects the resume function for the individual
memory channel. If this switch is on, and a signal is detected
for this memory channel in SEARCH or SCAN mode, SEARCH or
SCAN will continue after a set number of second if the signal
has not gone away. This works the same as the global RESUME switch
except that it only affects the single channel.
The FREQUENCY field is used to record or set the current memory
channel frequency. Frequency information is entered in Mhz.
The MODE field represents the modulation being used for a specific
frequency. This field is a drop down selection box. To select
a modulation, click on the button to the right of the box. Double
click on the desired modulation.
Note that not all modulations will be accepted by your particular
radio.
This field displays the number of times a signal was detected on
a specific channel. This field cannot be edited.
However, left-clicking on this field with the mouse cursor will
reset the field to 0.
This field displays the average number of seconds that a signal
was detected on
a specific channel. This field cannot be edited.
However, left-clicking on this field with the mouse cursor will
reset the field to 0.
The signal strength of the last recorded
signal is reported here. This field cannot be edited.
However, left-clicking on this field with the mouse cursor will
reset the field to 0.
When ever a squelch break occurs for this channel, the time
stamp is updated with the time and date of the occurrence.
This field cannot be edited.
However, left-clicking on this field with the mouse cursor will
reset the field to 0.
This field is used to record the service for a specific channel.
This is
a scratch pad location to record information about a specific
frequency.
If the squelch breaks on this channel during SCAN or SEARCH mode,
the program will attempt to lookup the service for the
frequency entered. If the frequency is found in the current
frequency database, and the SERVICE field is blank, then it
will be filled in with the service found in the database.
A number of Memory settings are enclosed in a box identified as
AUX CONTROLS. Depending on the protocol selected, and the DISPLAY
UNUSED AUX option setting, these controls may or may not be
visible. If the DISPLAY UNUSED AUX option (set in the GLOBAL OPTIONS
menu) is not selected, only those controls that are meaningful to
the radio being used are visible. In addition, some controls will
have different descriptions for different radios. Please see
table 3 for a list of what controls are available for what
protocol.
Some radios have a built in attenuator. This can
be switched on to reduce overload from a strong signal. Clicking
this switch will set or reset the attenuator setting when the
program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For certain radios, a notch filter is available. For these
radios, this switch enables or disables the radio's notch
filter when this memory channel is sent to the radio.
For other radios, this switch enables/disables a descrambler
tone.
This switch may also enable or disable the CTCSS tone function.
If supported by the radio, a CTCSS or descrambler tone
may be set using the Tone drop-down box, and enabled by this
switch. See Table 3 for a breakdown of how this switch is
defined for each radio.
For certain radios, an AM synchronous detector is available.
For these
radios, this switch enables or disables the radio's preamp
function when the program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For the BEARCAT protocol, this function enables or disabled
the RECORDER function.
For certain radios, a pre-amplifier is available.
For these
radios, this switch enables or disables the radio's preamp
function when the program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For certain radios, a CTCSS or descrambler tone is available.
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the tone value. When the
Notch|Tone switch is enabled, the selected Tone value will
be sent when the program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For certain radios, an Automatic Gain Control is available
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the AGC level to be set
when the program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For certain radios, an antenna selection is available
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the particular antenna
to use
when the program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For certain radios, a noise blanker function is available
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the noise blanker function
to use
when the program memory channel is sent to the radio.
For certain radios, a bandwidth function is available.
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the bandwidth of the radio.
Note: The Bandwidth control is kept in sync with the Modulation
For the THF6A, the bandwidth function is replaced by a
transmit offset function.
selection when the modulation type is FM.
This is Not the case for the THF6A.
For certain radios, a second tone function is available.
For these
radios, this dropdown box selects the value of that tone.
The switch below this control enables or disables this
function.
Several menu operations are available for manipulating
memory channels. These operations are selected by clicking on
the Menu option, or pressing the underlined menu letter.
The Database menu allows you to manipulate various aspects of the
memory channels. A sort of memory channel by frequency can be done
from this panel. With a sorted frequency list, the radio being
controlled requires less settling time for each frequency change,
allowing for faster signal detection.
The Service lookup will update all Service fields for any
memory channel with a non-zero frequency. The service information
is obtained from the current DBASE file.
The Clear option allows you to clear all memory channels, all
service fields from all memory channels, or all count, time and
signal logs from all memory channels.
Selecting the Edit menu item will display the Move/Copy/Swap
panel. This panel is used to manipulate a block of memory channels
at a time.
The COPY operation will copy a source block of channels to another
location.
The MOVE operation is the same as copy except that the source
channels are cleared.
SWAP will exchange two blocks of channels.
For each operation, a starting and stopping channel is required
for the source block, and a starting channel is required for
the destination. The source and destination blocks can overlap.
If the number of source channels specified would cause the
destination to exceed the number of available channels,
then the program will adjust the source block such that the operation
will end when reaching the last available memory channel.
Scan Bank entry allows you to define banks of channels for
scanning.
RADIOCTL allows you to assign any range of channels
to various banks. Up to 100 banks (0-99) can be assigned. Banks can
overlap, and can be turned on or off selectively. In order for
SCAN mode to recognize banks, the Banks On switch must be active.
The bank displayed has several fields associated
with it.
This is the first field on the display. It determines which
scan bank is being displayed or changed.
The range for this channel number is 0 to 99.
The Channel number can be changed by direct entry in the channel
field, or using the scroll bars to the left of the channel number.
If entering the channel number, keep in mind that the data will
NOT be entered unless you press ENTER or a TAB key.
The VALID field determines whether or not SCAN will
use this bank.
Scanning banks
without the VALID switch will be ignored at all times.
START identifies the first memory channel to start scanning with for
the given bank. When this bank is active, START will be the first
memory
channel scanned if the
memory channel's VALID switch is set. If the memory channel's
VALID switch is NOT set, then the first
memory channel to be scanned will be
the next sequential memory channel with a VALID switch.
STOP identifies the last
memory channel to scan when the bank is active.
After this memory channel is scanned, scanning will continue with the
memory channel specified by the START value of the next
valid SCAN bank.
If the STOP channel is set lower than the START channel, the
SCAN will decrement channel numbers. If STOP is greater than
START, channel numbers will increment. If STOP and START are
equal, the single channel number in START and END will be
scanned.
This field is provided to enter comments about a given bank.
It is not used or modified by any program function.
Several menu operations are available for manipulating
memory channels. These operations are selected by clicking on
the Menu option, or pressing the underlined menu letter.
The Database menu allows you to clear a single scan bank
or all scan banks.
Selecting the Edit menu item will display the Move/Copy/Swap
panel. This panel is used to manipulate a block of scan channels
at a time.
The COPY operation will copy a source block of channels to another
location.
The MOVE operation is the same as copy except that the source
channels are cleared.
SWAP will exchange two blocks of banks.
For each operation, a starting and stopping channel required
for the source block, and a starting channel is required for
the destination. The source and destination blocks can overlap.
If the number of source channels specified would cause the
destination to exceed the number of available channels,
then the program will adjust the source block such that the operation
will end when reaching the last available scan channel.
The search bank panel allows you to define banks of channels for
searching.
RADIOCTL allows you to assign any range of frequencies, along
with a modulation and step value for searching.
Up to 100 search banks (0-99) can be defined.
In order for
SEARCH mode to recognize banks, the Banks On Global switch must be active.
When searching, the program will start with the first search
channel marked as valid, set the radio VFO to the frequency in
the START field and the modulation in the MODE field,
and check for a signal. If no signal is detected,
the program will increment or decrement
the frequency by the amount in the INC
field, and repeat the process. When the frequency in the STOP
field is reached, the program will select the next valid search
bank and repeat the process. When all valid search channels have
been processed, the program returns to the first search bank. For
more details on the SEARCH operation, see the description of the
SEARCH mode.
The CHANNEL number determines which
search bank is being displayed or changed.
The range for this channel number is 0 to 99.
The Channel number can be changed by direct entry in the channel
field, or using the scroll bars to the left of the channel number.
If entering the channel number, keep in mind that the data will
NOT be accepted unless you press ENTER or a TAB key.
The VALID field determines whether or not SEARCH will
use this bank.
Search banks
without the VALID switch will be ignored at all times.
START identifies the first frequency to set for the search.
Please note that
the program does NOT check the range of this value. If it is
outside the range of the radio, the radio may ignore the setting.
STOP identifies the last frequency to set for the search.
The search bank ends when the VFO frequency reaches the Stop value.
If the Stop value is less than the Start value, the frequency
is decremented. If the Stop value is greater than the Start
value, the frequency is incremented.
Please note that
the program does NOT check the range of this value. If it is
outside the range of the radio, the radio may ignore the setting.
INCR determines the steps for the given search bank. The Incr
value is added to (or subtracted from) the VFO frequency for
each step. If an Incr value of 0 is entered, the SEARCH mode
will automatically reset the VALID switch for that bank.
The MODE field represents the modulation being used for the search
range. The radio will be set to this modulation at the beginning
of the search range.
This field is a drop down selection box. To select
a modulation, click on the button to the right of the box. Double
click on the desired modulation.
Note that not all modulations will be accepted by your particular
radio.
This field is provided to enter comments about a given bank.
It is not used or modified by any program function.
Several menu operations are available for manipulating
search bank channels. These operations are selected by clicking on
the Menu option, or pressing the underlined menu letter.
The Database menu allows you to clear a single search bank
or all search banks.
Selecting the Edit menu item will display the Move/Copy/Swap
panel. This panel is used to manipulate a block of search channels
at a time.
The COPY operation will copy a source block of channels to another
location.
The MOVE operation is the same as copy except that the source
channels are cleared.
SWAP will exchange two blocks of banks.
For each operation, a starting and stopping channel is required
for the source block, and a starting channel is required for
the destination. The source and destination blocks can overlap.
If the number of source channels specified would cause the
destination to exceed the number of available channels,
then the program will adjust the source block such that the operation
will end when reaching the last available search channel.
The Message Panel displays messages from the program. This
may be error messages, or normal operation messages.
The time and date are included with all messages as an
indication of when the error occurred. Up to 10 messages at
a time are displayed. The most recent message is displayed in
red at the top of the panel
If the LOG TO FILE Global switch is set, all messages that
appear on the Message Panel are also logged to the Log file.
The spectrum display shows a graph of frequency vs. signal
strength.
An active channel will be shown as a red line (if the graph
is in the range of the active frequency). Frequencies
representing past activity will be displayed in green.
In the lower left hand corner, the starting frequency will be
displayed. The ending frequency of the spectrum will be displayed
in the lower right hand corner of the display.
The center frequency of the spectrum is changed by moving the
horizontal scroll bar. The minimum start frequency is 0 mhz and
the maximum stop frequency is 9999.9mhz. The horz step increment
is determined by the spectrum resolution.
The resolution is changed by moving the
vertical scroll bar. Resolution goes from 100khz per pixel
to 1khz per pixel in 1khz steps.
Tic marks are displayed for reference. Tic marks are displayed
every 10 mhz when the resolution is above 10khz/pixel.
When the resolution is 10khz or below, the tic marks are displayed
every 1mhz.
Every radio supported is unique in the way it operates.
The RadioCtl program has attempted to standardize the way
that all radios are controlled. However, it is not always
possible to make every radio perform the same way. The
following information is provided to explain and identify
some of the differences.
Several ICOM models have variations on the command set.
As a result, you will need to select the particular model
(in the PARMS panel) for proper operation.
OPTO radios do NOT have memory channels. Therefore all the
features relating to storing and recalling memory from the
radio do not work.
The AOR3000a does not have the ability to clear memory channels
from the computer. If a 0 frequency is encountered during
any operation, the information will NOT be sent to the radio.
FM and FMw modulation provide the same modulation when set.
Narrow/Wide modulation is provided by the setting of the BandWidth.
The AOR8000 is organized into 20 banks of 50 channels.
Each bank is identified as a lower or upper case letter. RADIOCTL
maps these channels as follows:
AOR8000 to RadioCtl Mapping
| radio |
computer |
|
radio |
computer |
| A00-A49 |
000-049 |
|
a00-a49 |
050-099 |
| B00-B49 |
100-149 |
|
b00-b49 |
150-199 |
| C00-C49 |
200-249 |
|
c00-c49 |
250-299 | >
| D00-D49 |
300-349 |
|
d00-d49 |
350-399 |
| E00-E49 |
400-449 |
|
e00-e49 |
450-499 |
| F00-F49 |
500-549 |
|
f00-f49 |
550-599 |
| G00-G49 |
600-649 |
|
g00-g49 |
650-699 |
| H00-H49 |
700-749 |
|
h00-h49 |
750-799 |
| I00-I49 |
800-849 |
|
i00-i49 |
850-899 |
| J00-J49 |
900-949 |
|
j00-j49 |
950-999 |
The AOR8000 provides for the installation of a
decoder for scrambled communications. If this decoder is installed,
the TONE ENABLE switch will turn the decoder on and off.
The TONE select drop-down box allows the selection of a decoding tone.
Because the BEARCAT does NOT have a VFO, RadioCtl makes use of
one of the radio's memory channels to function as a VFO. The default
channel is 300, but is changeable.
BEARCAT radios do NOT have the ability to change modulation.
The modulation within the radio is selected based on the frequency
range, and is not user selectable.
RadioCtl currently cannot setup Trunk banks. Future releases
may include this support. However, memory channels CAN be identified
as belonging to a trunked frequency set. Once these frequencies
have been written to the radio, all that is required is to
select the trunk system type (using TRUNK key on the radio).
The RadioCtl program reduces the amount of manual data entry for
a trunked system.
Scanning support only is provided for the Bearcat BCD396. Due to the
complexity of the memory structure, RadioCtl does not provide the ability
to store information into this radio's memory. This may change in a
future release.
The following table shows what functions are available
for each of the protocols
Functions Available
| function |
LOCAL |
ICOM |
KENWOOD |
AOR3000L |
AOR8000 |
OPTO |
DRAKE |
THF6A |
BEARCAT |
AOR5000 |
BCD396T |
| Tone|Notch |
Tone |
n/a |
Notch |
n/a |
Tone |
Tone |
Notch |
Tone |
CTCSS |
Tone |
n/a |
| AM Sync |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Recorder |
Recorder |
No |
| Preamp |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Attenuator |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes* |
Yes |
Yes |
| AGC |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Antenna |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Noise Blanker |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Bandwidth |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Offset |
No |
No |
No |
| Tone 2 |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
CTCSS |
No |
No |
No |
| Trunked Freq |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes* |
No |
No |
| Light On Signal |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes* |
Yes |
No |
*model dependent
The ENTER key finalizes input to the program. For data entry fields,
the information is stored into the computer's memory, and the
cursor advances to the next field.
The tab keys will move the cursor to the next field. A forward
or reverse tab key will complete data entry of the current field.
There are several files that this program makes use of. These
files are used to store and retrieve data used by the program.
When LOGGING is enabled, certain transactions are logged
to a file. The name of this file is set by the user. The
initial setting for this filename is RADIOCTL.LOG.
For a given transaction, the following information is logged:
- Timestamp- The Date and Time of the transaction.
- The scanning mode (SCAN/SEARCH/MANUAL).
- The VFO frequency.
- The VFO modulation.
- The current memory channel.
- The signal strength at the time of transaction.
- The length of the transaction.
- The service information for the current memory channel.
This is a standard DBASE III+ type data file. It contains
frequencies and allocations for the radio spectrum. There are
three fields that are used by this program.
field name allocation description
-----------------------------------------------------------
FREQUENCY decimal 10.5 holds the frequency in Mhz
DESCRIPT character 50 usage of the frequency
ACTION logical flags the frequency in use
If the ACTION field is not present, the program will
use the DESCRIPT field to determine ACTION. A blank DESCRIPT
field signals an inactive channel.
The length of the DESCRIPT field can be changed, if so desired.
This program only uses the first 80 chars of this field.
Any other fields can be added or deleted from this file without
affecting the operation of the program.
However, if either the FREQUENCY or
DESCRIPT field is not present in the database, the DBASE function
will not operate.
The SAVE command creates a file with the current settings of
memory channels, and various scan parameters. The file created
is an ASCII readable file. Each record is terminated by a
CR/LF sequence. One record represents one frequency channel, one
scan bank channel, one search bank channel, one command, or a
comment. Which type if record is determined by the first
non-blank character on the line.
The following table shows the identifier for the various types
of records:
| Identifier |
Type Of Record |
| Number |
Frequency Channel Information |
| @ |
Scan Bank Information |
| # |
Search Bank Information |
| keyword |
Command To Execute |
| * |
Comment line (ignored) |
Each record contains one or more fields delimited by blanks.
The file can be altered (or created) using any standard text
editor.
The maximum record length that the program can handle is 200
characters.
If the comment record flag is detected, all information
following the '*' is ignored on that line.
When the program reads the file, any missing required parameter,
parameter range error, or unrecognized keyword will terminate
the file read at that line.
The format for a frequency channel entry is as follows:
| Field |
Name |
Value Range |
Description |
| 1 |
CHANNEL |
0-9999 |
Channel Number to Set (Required-Positional) |
| 2 |
FREQUENCY |
0-999.9999 |
Frequency in Mhz (Required-Positional) |
| 3 |
MODE |
AM|FM|FMn|FMw|SSB|LSB|USB|CW|FSK |
Modulation (Required-Positional) |
| * |
COUNT |
0-999999 |
Count of Squelch Breaks |
| * |
Duration |
0-9999999 |
Total Duration of squelch breaks |
| * |
Signal |
Sxx |
Signal Strength value (xx=00 to 15) |
| * |
VALID |
VALID|VLD|NOTVALID |
Set|Reset channel valid |
| * |
ATTEN |
ATTEN|ATT|NOATTEN |
Set|Reset Attenuator |
| * |
RESUME |
RESUME|RSM|NORESUME |
Set|Reset Resume |
| * |
TSTAMP |
TSTAMP|TS n |
Squelch Break Time stamp. Time value is Unix time
(number of seconds since 1970) If N=0, no time stamp |
| * |
TONES |
PL n1 n2 n3 |
Tone values. All three numbers must be specified.
Tone values for N1 are between 1 & 15. Values for N2 are between 0 & 42
See CTCS tone number Table. Tone value 3 is not used at this time (must be 0) |
| * |
AGC |
AGCO|AGCS|AGCF |
AGC On|Slow|Fast |
| * |
BANDWIDTH |
BWn |
Bandwith Setting. N is 0-6. See BANDWIDTH table |
| * |
NOISE_BLANKING |
NBO|NBN|NBW |
Noise Blanking Off|Narrow|Wide |
| * |
NOTCH |
NTCH|TONE1 |
Notch Filter Or Tone 1 On |
| * |
TONE2 |
TONE2 |
Tone 2 On |
| * |
TONE3 |
TONE3 |
Tone 3 on (Currently not used) |
| * |
PREAMP |
PAMP |
Turn On Preamp |
| * |
SYNC |
SYNC |
Turn On Syncronous Detector |
| * |
TRUNK |
TR |
Channel is a Trunked Frequency |
| * |
ANTENNA |
A1|A2|AV |
Antenna Selection 1|2|VHF |
| 4 |
DELAY |
DELAY|DLY|NODELAY |
Delay On or Off. DELAY also marks the end of
optional items. DELAY must be specified if SERVICE is
also specfied. |
| 5 |
SERVICE |
text |
Up to 80 chars indicating the service for this channel |
*optional fields
The first three fields MUST be specified and be in the proper
order. Optional fields do NOT have to be specified.
However, the following positional restrictions apply:,
- If COUNT is specified, it MUST follow the MODE field.
If not specified, the COUNT value for the channel is set to 0.
- If DURATION is specified, COUNT must also be specified, and
DURATION must follow the COUNT.
If not specified, the DURATION value for the channel is set to 0.
- Duration value MUST be specified if any of the following
fields are specified:
SIGNAL, VALID, ANTEN, RESUME, TSTAMP, TONE, DELAY, SERVICE.
AGC, PREAMP, BANDWIDTH,NOISE BLANKING, NOTCH TRUNK or SYNC.
- If SIGNAL value is not specified,
then SIGNAL value for the channel is set to 0.
- If VALID is not specified, the channel will be
marked VALID.
- If ATTEN, RESUME or DELAY is not specified, the
respective switches will be reset for the channel.
- If DELAY is specified, it MUST precede the service
field.
- If SERVICE is specified, DELAY must also be specified.
All characters (up to 80) following the DELAY value and up to
the end of the line (CR/LF) are
taken as a SERVICE string. Leading blanks and any special
ASCII characters are removed.
BANDWIDTH keyword sets a numeric index. If the radio allows for
a bandwidth setting, the index will be used as per the table
below. If the radio does not support BANDWIDTH, then
the value is ignored.
Bandwidth Translation
| Index |
DRAKE-R8 |
AOR5000 |
THF6A (offset) |
| 0 |
0.5khz |
0.5khz |
0mhz |
| 1 |
1.8khz |
1.3khz |
+0.6mhz |
| 2 |
2.3khz |
6khz |
+1.6mhz |
| 3 |
4.0khz |
15khz |
+5.0mhz |
| 4 |
6.0khz |
30khz |
-0.6mhz |
| 5 |
6.0khz |
110khz |
-1.6mhz |
| 6 |
6.0khz |
220khz |
-5.0mhz |
THF6A is transmit offset rather than bandwidth
CTCS Tone Translation
| Tone Number |
CTCS tone Frequency |
| 0 |
Tone off |
| 1 |
67.0hz |
| 2* |
69.3hz |
| 3 |
71.9hz |
| 4 |
74.4hz |
| 5 |
77.0hz |
| 6 |
79.7hz |
| 7 |
82.5hz |
| 8 |
85.4hz |
| 9 |
88.5hz |
| 10 |
91.5hz |
| 11 |
94.8hz |
| 12 |
97.4hz |
| 13 |
100.0hz |
| 14 |
103.5hz |
| 15 |
107.2hz |
| 16 |
110.9hz |
| 17 |
114.8hz |
| 18 |
118.8hz |
| 19 |
123.0hz |
| 20 |
127.3hz |
| 21 |
131.8hz |
| 22 |
136.5hz |
| 23 |
141.3hz |
| 24 |
146.2hz |
| 25 |
151.4hz |
| 26 |
156.7hz |
| 27 |
162.2hz |
| 28 |
167.9hz |
| 29 |
173.8hz |
| 30 |
179.9hz |
| 31 |
186.2hz |
| 32 |
192.8hz |
| 33 |
203.5hz |
| 34* |
206.5hz |
| 35 |
210.7hz |
| 36 |
218.1hz |
| 37 |
225.7hz |
| 38* |
229.1hz |
| 39 |
233.6hz |
| 40 |
241.8hz |
| 41 |
250.3hz |
| 42* |
254.1hz |
*not available on the Bearcat radio.
The format for a scan bank entry is as follows:
Scan Bank Record
| Field |
Name |
Value Range |
Description |
| 1 |
BANKID |
@ |
"@" identifies a scan bank |
| 2 |
BANK |
n |
Bank number. N is 1-100 |
| 3 |
START |
n |
Starting number for bank. N is 0 to 100 |
| 4 |
END |
n |
Ending number for bank. N is 0 to 100 |
| 4 |
VALID |
SCAN|NOSCAN |
Bank is valid or not. Optional field. If Not specified,
bank is assumed to be valid. |
| 4 |
DESCRIPTION |
text |
Up to 80 characters of text describing bank. |
The format for a search bank entry is as follows:
Search Bank Record
| Field |
Name |
Value Range |
Description |
| 1 |
BANKID |
# |
"#" identifies a scan bank |
| 2 |
BANK |
n |
Bank number. N is 1-100 |
| 3 |
START |
0-9999.99999 |
Starting frequency for bank. |
| 4 |
END |
0-9999.99999 |
Ending frequency for bank. |
| 5 |
INC |
0-9999.99999 |
Increment frequency for bank. |
| 6 |
MODE |
AM|FM|FMn|FMw|SSB|CW|LSB|USB |
Modulation for bank. |
| 7 |
VALID |
SEARCH|NOSEARCH |
Bank is valid or not. Optional field. If not specified,
bank is assumed to be valid. |
| 8 |
DESCRIPTION |
text |
Up to 80 characters of text describing bank. |
Certain commands can be entered in a text file for execution.
These commands provide the ability to execute certain operations
automatically, without having to select them from the various
panel controls.
Valid Commands
| command |
option(s) |
description |
| BANK |
ON|OFF |
Bank mode On or Off. |
| CHAIN |
filesepc |
Start reading another RadioCtl file. Maximum CHAIN depth
is 3 files. |
| CHANNEL |
0-9999 |
Select a channel. |
| CLEAR |
ALL |
Clear All memory channels. |
| CLEAR |
COUNTS |
Clear All Squelch Counts. |
| CLEAR |
SERVICE |
Clear All service strings. |
| CLEAR |
SIGNAL |
Clear All Signal Strength Readings. |
| CLEAR |
TIME |
Clear All squelch time stamps. |
| DBNAME |
filespec |
Set DBASE filename to "filespec" for service lookups. |
| DELAY |
n |
Set DELAY value to n seconds. N must be in the value
of 1 to 99. |
| F |
0-999.9999 |
Set VFO frequency. |
| HALT |
|
Force Manual mode. |
| LOAD |
|
Load RadioCtl memory from Radio's Memory. |
| M |
AM|FM|FMw|FMn|LSB|USB|CW |
Set VFO modulation. |
| MANUAL |
|
Set program into MANUAL mode. |
| MEMORY |
|
Use Radio's Memory for Channel selection. |
| PDELAY |
n |
Set priority interval. N is 0 to 9999. |
| QUIT |
|
Exit RadioCtl. |
| PRIORITY |
ON|OFF |
Set priority on or off. |
| PRIORITY |
n |
Set priority channel. N must be 0 to 999. |
| RESUME |
ON|OFF |
Set RESUME on or off. |
| RESUME |
n |
Set RESUME inteval. N is 0 to 9999. |
| SCAN |
|
Set RadioCtl into SCAN mode. |
| SEARCH |
|
Set RadioCtl into SEARCH mode. |
| SORT |
|
Sort RadioCtl Memory Channels. |
| VFO |
|
Use RadioCtl's Memory for channel selection. |
Note:Certain commands are processed on a deferred basis. In other
words, they are not processed until the entire file (and any chained
files) are read. Because of this, only one of these commands (the
last one read in) will be processed. As a result, only one of these
commands should be present in the file. The commands are:
CHANNEL, F, HALT, LOAD, M, MANUAL, SCAN, and SEARCH.
The F and M commands CAN co-exist in the same file.
Any record that is not recognized as a Frequency, Scan bank, Search
bank, command or comment will be ignored.
This program is designed to use the serial communications port
(RS232) of the IBM computer. In order to interface a radio to
this port, an interface adapter is needed designed for the
specific radio. Each radio manufacturer makes such an adapter.
However, none of the adapters supplied from the manufacturer
provide for squelch detection. Without this detection, the
signal sensing functions of this program will not work.
For some of the radios supported, a circuit and instructions are available.
This circuit provides the squelch detection needed by this program.
The interface circuits are easy to build, and require few parts.
All of the parts can be obtained cheaply at any electronics supply
store. The schematics and instructions are provided to all registered
users.
MEMORY REQUIRED: 4 meg (Windows Minimum). 8 Meg+ suggested
PROCESSOR REQUIRED: 80386 or Higher
WINDOWS LEVEL REQUIRED:Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT
MAXIMUM MEMORY CHANNELS 1000
MAXIMUM SCAN BANKS 100
MAXIMUM SEARCH BANKS 100
FREQUENCY RANGE .01khz to 9999.99999mhz*
MINIMUM FREQUENCY STEP 10hz*
MAXIMUM FREQUENCY STEP 9999.99999mhz
*may be limited by radio model.