CAT control on Remote side

[KX7M]

I have K3 Twin setup. On the RRC Control side, I use RRC1258-COM1 for the CAT control and RRC1258-COM2 for DTR CW keying.

Is there a way on the Remote Unit side of the RRC to get to CAT control? If I plug USB to Remote Unit RRC, I can see 4 virtual COM ports, but they have no functional label in Device Manager, the way Control RRC Unit has. Or, can the physical COM1 on the front of Remote unit RRC can be made for CAT control?

By CAT control, I mean more of receive function only, to allow Amplifier at remote location to monitor K3's frequency for its segment tuning.

Denny, KX7M

[sm2o]

Yes you get CAT info for PA, Antenna switch etc  from com1 RS-232 connector at the Radio-RRC if you have set com 1 to mode 6 or 7

73  de mike

[dj0qn]

Denny,

I have posted my CAT checklist on this forum before, but here it is again:

CAT Checklist for K3 Twin
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Note first that in a "Twin" configuration, COM2 is used to "tie" the two ends together and carries the CAT data. In order to access CAT, you need to get to COM2 without touching it. The easiest method is to duplicate COM2 over COM1 using a function in the RRC as follows:

- Change both RRC's COM1 to mode-7. Note that the baud rate does not have to be identical with COM2 to fit a lower bandwidth or software requirement.

- If using a "real" serial cable:
     - connect a straight through serial cable between the control RRC's COM1 and the PC. If using a USB to serial converter cable, make sure it is using an FTDI chipset.
     - note that if you also use the radio RRC's COM1, the pinout is not the standard straight-through serial port. Use the pinout description in the RemoteRig manual, or just try a null-modem cable which usually works (may need a gender changer).
     - the  serial setting for COM1 "Use USB Com Port as COM1" must be set to NO

- If using USB:
     - make sure that first Microbit Setup Manager is installed first on the control PC to get the drivers.
     - Then change the serial settings for COM1 to change "Use USB Com Port as COM1" to YES
     - connect the USB cable between the RRC and computer and wait for the drivers to finish installing
     - go to the Windows Device Manager and look at which virtual serial port was assigned to COM1 and use that for your software, taking the correct baud rate into account.

Note also that you can pull CAT data in parallel off of the radio RRC to use a PC on that end, or to sync with a remote device (amplifier, SteppIR, etc.)

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[KX7M]

Mike and Mitch, thanks for your quick replies.

I have in Serial Setting both (Remote and Control) set to Mode-7. On the Remote Unit side, I plugged in the cable to physical COM1 (front side of Remote RRC), and I can talk to K3 also on Remote side, on top of existing CAT control on Control side.

Just something I could not find in manual. It works now for me. Thanks!

Denny, KX7M