Controlling The Receiver

Operating the Receiver

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Control of the remote radio is done either though keyboard commands or mouse clicks. All commands are supported directly from the keyboard. A tabular list of all the commands is provided HERE.

You cannot do anything wrong to the radio with this control. There are software safeguards to prevent improper transmit (based on your license class) and the radio  itself will not accept illegal combinations of commands. So don't worry about trying out this interface!! The key elemerts of the user control interface is provided below.

The frequency display window provides summary status of the operating conditions and allows changing of key system parameters.

  • Rx Frequency -- This display reflects the true Rx Frequency,i.e it incorporates tuning made through the main tuning, e.g. knob or arrow keys, as well as changes due to enabling the RIT.
  • Tx Frequency -- In simplex operation this reading will follow the frequency set by the main tuning of the Rx Frequency. If RIT is enabled then Rx Frequency may be changed by the RIT setting, while the Tx Freq will remain unchanged. Also see information on Split Frequency Operations
  • Band indicator
  • Mode Indicator
  • FIlter Bandwidth Setting
  • Transmit Power Setting
  • Meters
  • PTT and Transmit Indicators -- The PTT indicator is displayed whenever the PTT is enabled via clicking the PTT button or using the Space Bar. The Transmit indicator is displayed when the telemetry from the radio indciates that it is in transmit mode. Note there may be a slight delay between this indicator and actual transmitting due to communications and radio delays.
  • Antennas -- When a rotatoable antenna is selected then the azimuth is indicated below the antenna and can be controlled by selecting direction from the drop down menu.

Changing Bands

Clicking on the band label  will provide a drop down menu. Clicking on the band will cause immediate change. These will allow selection of the last settings used for that band.

Additionally, just typing in a new frequency in a different band will change bands but without chaning any other settings

Changing Frequency

Several methods of changing frequency are available.

  1. Frequency can be directly entered at any time from the normal keyboard (not he numeric keyboard) . Frequency entries in either kHz, e.g. 7020, 14213.5, etc. or in mHz e.g. 7, 14.1, etc are permitted. The entry can be cancelled at any time by hitting the ESC key. Frequency entries are accepted by hitting the ENTER key.
  2. Frequency can also be changed by clicking the mouse on the tuning knob - the top portion is used to increase frequency, and the botton is used to decrease the frequency. Changes enered this way are limited to +/- 100Hz steps (using the left mouse click) or +/- 500Hz steps (using the right mouse click).
  3. My preferred way of tuning around the bands is to use the arrow keys. The LEFTand RIGHT arrow are used to select the digit to tune and the UP and DOWN arrows change the frequency. If you are in a hurry, you may also use the SHIFT and CNTL keys in conjunction with the UP and DOWN arrows to get 5x and 10x tuning rates. Direct selection of the tuning digit is possible from the keyboard entry by using the CNTL+1,2,3,4,5,.. key combinations.
  4. 2m FM is a special case. To facilitate repeater operation, when FM is the selected mode, the frequency will only change by 5kHz steps when using the UP and DOWN arrows. Using the mouse and the tuning knob will still change the frequency in 100Hz or 500Hz steps. Additionally, the R key will toggle through the allowable repeater offsets.

Changing Modes

Several methods of changing modes are possible.

  1. Clicking on the mode label in the center of the frequency display will provide a drop down menu. Clicking on the mode will cause immediate change. Default values  for the IF filter and AGC are also selected when the mode is changed.
  2. The mode may be immediately changed from the keyboard by hitting the first letter of the mode (no SHIFT key is required) LSB, USB, AM, CW, FM. Note PSKcan only be selected using the mouse and drop down menu.

Filter Settings

The default IF bandpass is set for each mode. The user may change the IF bandpass by several methods.

  1. Direct selection of the IF bandpass filter for the active mode can be selected by clicking on the filter value in the frequency display window and selecting a value from the drop down window.
  2. Direct selection is also available from keyboard input using the SHIFT+1,2,..,9 key combinations
  3. Except in CW, the variable bandpass IF filter is available. Select either the upper or lower limit by clicking the value with the mouse. Then use the < or > keys (no SHIFT) to reduce or increase the bandpass values.

Other Controls

The following other receiver controls may be adjusted:

  • AGC -- The default settings are set based upon mode. The user can change the AGC setting by clicking on the AGC value and selecting a value from the drop down menu.
  • Noise Reduction -- The user can activate the Digital Noise Reduction setting by clicking on the Noise Reduction value and selecting a value from the drop down menu. The O key can be used to toggle through the Noise Reduction values directly from the keyboard.
  • Notch -- The user can activate the Automatic Notch setting by clicking on the Notch value and selecting a value from the drop down menu. The N key can be used to toggle through the Notch on/off directly from the keyboard.
  • Rx Audio Equalization -- The user can activate the Rx Equalizer setting by clicking on the RxEq value and selecting a value from the drop down menu.The Q key can be used to toggle through the Notch on/off directly from the keyboard
  • RIT -- The user can activate the RIT setting by clicking on the RIT value and selecting a value from the drop down menu. The Y key can be used to toggle the RIT on/off directly from the keyboard. Then use the < or > keys (no SHIFT) to reduce or increase the RIT values.
  • AF and RF Gain -- The user can change the AF and RF gain settings by using the sliders. The G key can be used to toggle through the RF Gain values directly from the keyboard. The '+/-' keys (no SHIFT) can be used to toggle through the AF Gain values directly from the keyboard.
  • PreAmp -- The user can change the Preamp setting by clicking on the PreAmp label . The SHIFT+P key can be used to toggle the PreAmp on/off directly from the keyboard.
  • Attenuator -- The user can change the Antennuator setting by clicking on the Antennuator label . The SHIFT+A key can be used to toggle the Attenuator on/off directly from the keyboard.
  • Beam Antenna Heading -- If a  bean antenna and rotator are available, the rotator heading can be controlled via either clicking on the heading label or value and then using the < or > keys to slowly move the antenna or by using the CNTL+B combination to select the heading value and then entering a new heading via he keyboard and terminating it with the <ENTER> to accept the input.

Memories

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