In our heavily digital world there are some expectations with respect to the interoperability of devices and software. Makers and problem solvers have always made up amateur radio. So it is common to find stations made up of several small solutions roped together via adapters and cables. Getting to a somewhat clean setup with minimal patches is a challenge.
In a previous post, my goal was to be able to operate my basement station remotely from our three-season room. It was during this effort that a lot of research went into finding the simplest ways to connect ham-shack-devices. The setup described here is more about maximizing the performance and ease-of-use of my basement-shack when operating it locally.
Design phase
Running Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) as my go-to logging system, rig control, and digital-modes manager, creates the foundation for what everything else would hopefully connect to. During my studies of SDR and acquisition of an SDRplay RSP1a, I learned how to refurbish virtual serial ports into connectors. This document details the SDRplay.
SDRuno and HDSDR software are common in that both use OmniRig as the connecting data system to communicate between applications and rigs. In my setup which is similar as is in the SDRplay document, I connect HDSDR to my Yeasu FT-991a through its OmniRig interface. EterLogic’s Virtual Serial Ports Emulator (VSPE) software then allows HRD to “rig control” HDSDR, which in-turn controls the FT-991a.
Integration Phase
I purchased the EterLogics VSPE software because it’s inexpensive, and it works great. Step one was to install VSPE and create the “Pair” of virtual ports that will connect HRD with HDSDR.
I chose to use COM11 and COM12, but any ports below COM21 will work as long as they don’t collide with any other ports of the same name. (COM21 and up do not seem to work with OmniRig.) These settings were save to WR9R.vspe for easy access.
The HDSDR connections are possible once VSPE is running with the “pair” in place. Firstly, HDSDR controls the actual rig, so OmniRig is configured accordingly. (My FT-991a uses COM17 for CAT control):
Because the PTT (Transmit) will be going from HRD to HDSDR to the FT-991a, the TX path must be setup in HDSDR:
The HDSDR is controlled over CAT via COM11:
Next, Ham Radio Deluxe is then configured to connect through the VSPE-pair to HDSDR using COM12. HDSDR supports a basic Kenwood protocol and I found that the TS-440S seemed to work well.
The settings retain; you need not repeat these steps.
Final Phase
To keep the process of starting up my station clean and simple, I use a batch file to launch the applications. With the batch file in place, you can add a shortcut to the start menu for a 1-click launch. The batch file I use looks like this. (Note that your installation directories will vary.):
# Launch the VSPE with the saved parameters (WR9R.vspe)
c:
cd "C:\Program Files\Eterlogic.com\Virtual Serial Ports Emulator (64 bit)"
start /min VSPEmulator.exe ./WR9R.vspe
#
# Launch HDSRD
#
d:
start D:\Ham\HDSDR\HDSDR.exe D:\Ham\HDSDR\ExtIO_SDRplay_RSP1A.dll
#
# Launch HRD
#
cd "D:\Ham\HRD Software LLC\Ham Radio Deluxe\"
start /min HamRadioDeluxe.exe
cls
# EOF–
73 de WR9R