Jim, KN4QV asked how to use older versions of NA with newer ICOM
radios that are not explicitly supported. This message is a quickie
explanation - I'll put out another message with the details tomorrow
because I'm typing this from the office and the technical data is at
home.
The main functions of the computer/radio interface (frequency
read/frequency set) are common for all ICOM radios other than the
IC-735. The serial data stream from the radio to the computer
contains a control character that identifies what type of ICOM radio
it is. If this control character is not the right one, COM port data
to/from the radio will be ignored.
Newer ICOM radios allow this control character to be set by the user.
I believe this is called the C-IV option on the menus of the newer
radios. (I don't own any newer ICOMs, so this is from memory when I
did development with a borrowed IC-737.) Making a newer radio emulate
the older radio is essentially a matter of adjusting the C-IV option
on the menu to the correct control character.
Tomorrow, I will publish a message with the control characters NA
recognizes for the various radio types. NA users with newer radios
can then experiment to see what works.
One caveat - some of the newer radios have enhanced features like
sub-receiver that ICOM invented new data protocols for. These
features cannot be emulated with old versions of NA.
FYI, the data protocols for the major radio manufacturers are all
greatly different. Kenwood's is without a doubt the best, being the
same for all radios since the TS940. Historically, Yaesu's has been
the most difficult to work with, and their radios do not match the
published protocols. Icom's radios are pretty good about matching the
published technical data, but the protocols are starting to have more
and more differences between radios. Ten-Tec set out to emulate Icom,
but they didn't do a very good job (judging from the user problems)
both from the hardware and software standpoint.
Stay tuned for the answer tomorrow...
73, Dave
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