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Author
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Topic: Hobby Time RADIO RANT
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TheMoMan
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
Member # 1659
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posted January 05, 2012 17:10
Programing Radios
This story is not for the faint of heart, I have an Alinco DJ-175 HT this radio only has one knob, from this ONE knob and the use of function keys and menus it is possible to program repeaters into memory slots for later retrieval. This radio has TWO HUNDRED of those Memory locations. So while in a Radio Shack I saw a programing Cable for those multichannel Scanners. It was on special so why not. Let me tell you why not. The list of repeaters for Michigan is quite large, secondly it is not in a format that will let it be imported into the cloning software. You can not grab a line of info and "COPY & PASTE" and insert it into the spread sheet like document that the cloning software generates. Each Freq. Duplex offset/Simplex, tone and power setting must be entered separately. Think of a TWO HUNDRED line Spreadsheet with EIGHT COLUMNS. Now Since I have an Icom 2200H lets do two spreadsheets, again one company does not do things the same as its competitor, again no IMPORT or COPY&PASTE.
Take the USB to RADIO dongle out of the package and read directions, WOO BOY it says do not let windows go look for the drivers for the dongle. To install them from the CD. I knew enough about Serial ports to know that the drivers were going to create a VSP (VIRTUAL SERIAL PORT) that for all intents and purposes would act like a real port. So open properties of my computer, look up hardware manager, find the VSP it was numbered COM8. Now open the spread sheet for the radio open the menu to the clone actions and specify that COM8 is the one to use. HICCUP the DJ-175 uses a 1/8" stereo plug but it uses the ring terminal for the connection. I plug in the dongle COM ERROR. The dongle uses both the ring, tip, and ground. Oh look, they sent a Stereo to mono adapter except that now the signal is on the tip, I try fiddling with the plug hopping that it will make the connection, nope. Go get an old set of ear buds cut the wire and determine what wire goes to the ring terminal. Push it in to the port. Damn that was fast.
Now lets do the Icom, nope not so fast there pal the GODS of electronics are not shining on you today, nope COM PORT ERROR, every time. Turn off the radio turn it back on, that dongle is flashing like a police cruiser but it ain't going to program the radio. Now it gets better due to me not reading a dialog box correctly I ERASED THE FILE, POOP, DOUBLE POOP, maybe even TRIPLE POOP. The file is gone, not there tried to retrieve it, GONE I OVER WROTE IT WITH A BLANK FILE, POOP.
While talking with a fellow HAM he informs me about a Shareware program that is supposed to write to most mobile Transceivers. Well, I will have to give that a try, so I download the program, install it, and try it out. Lookie it has an IMPORT FEATURE, great it works and loads all of the Southern Mich. repeaters. However I have to edit every line to get the non tone enabled repeaters to the last position for each freq. So I get the spreadsheet ready, declare the radio model and hit send, COM PORT ERROR. POOP, POOP, POOP. Whoops where did the file go, not again. I feel like Charlie Brown kicking the football while Lucy holds it. RELUCTANTLY I CLEAR THE MEMORIES and start programing the radio manually, two and one half hours later I am done.
Dirty Snow
What to do, I ended up with some dirty snow, after our first snowfall. I needed to clear the drive way however the ground was not yet frozen. We have a gravel driveway so if the ground has not frozen then some of the gravel ends up in the grass. So today with the ground frozen and not wanting to leave the gravel in the grass. I plowed the dirty snow back onto the driveway and then drove the tractor over the lumps of DIRTY SNOW until the driveway looked like a gravel driveway again.
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If it don't glow it ain't Ham Radio
Posts: 5071 | From: Just South of the Huron National Forest, in the water shed of the Rifle River | Registered: Sep 2002
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Erbo
BlabberMouth, the Next Generation
Member # 199
Member Rated:
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posted January 19, 2012 21:26
Ouch. I know what you mean in terms of how tough it is to program those repeaters manually, having done so on my Yaesu FT-60R a few years ago for the repeaters between Denver and Illinois...something like 120 memory channels, arranged in 5 banks. I don't have a programming cable for it, though.
My bigger issue will be to see if it would be worth it to fit a mobile rig into a 2001 Saturn SL1...
73 de KD0BSZ
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See more From The Erbo Files: www.erbosoft.com/blog/
Posts: 1480 | From: Denver, CO, US | Registered: Jan 2000
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TheMoMan
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
Member # 1659
Member Rated:
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posted January 20, 2012 05:18
Rumor has it that one of the big five, Alinco, Icom, Kenwood, Vertex, and Yausu was going to offer a scanning transceiver that would auto set the CTCSS and you could save that setting for future recall.
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If it don't glow it ain't Ham Radio
Posts: 5071 | From: Just South of the Huron National Forest, in the water shed of the Rifle River | Registered: Sep 2002
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