SO2R

From DDUtil

Single Operator 2 Radios well not exactly, but has the same effect when using a Flex-5000 with a second receiver. The correct acronym when using the F5K is SO2V (Single Operator 2 VFOs).

DDUtil allows the operator to listen to two separate receivers, on different bands if desired, and select either VFO A or B to transmit on. VFO A is connected to Amplifier A and VFO B is connected to Amplifier B. User defined settings are automatically set depending on what equipment configuration the operator is using with his station. These settings are defined on the SO2R tab in DDUtil.

Graphic Pictorial of how the SO2R feature is implemented using the Flex-5000.

Contents 1 Features 2 Hardware 3 Software 4 Setup 4.1 DDUtil Setup 4.1.1 Controls 4.1.1.1 Enable 4.1.1.2 Single Amp 4.1.1.3 TX Switch 4.1.1.4 AmpKey A/B 4.1.1.5 Save 4.1.1.6 Load 4.1.1.7 Clear Matrix 4.1.1.8 LPT 2 4.1.1.9 VFO A Data Matrix 4.1.1.10 VFO B Data Matrix 4.1.2 Antenna Programming 4.1.3 SO2R Disabling 4.1.4 SO2R Exit Macro 4.2 PowerSDR Setup 4.3 N1MM Setup 5 Operation 5.1 Single Amplifier 5.1.1 Caveat Emptor 5.2 Two Amplifiers 5.3 Limitations

Features

The following settings will be automatically selected based on band used.

• Control two (2) separate 1 of 10 antenna arrays one for each VFO/Amplifier using parallel ports. Depending on the decoder used the number of antennas can be as many as sixteen (16) per decoder.
• Band switch up to two amplifiers via BCD data output to the parallel port(s).
• Selects the proper PSDR drive setting for each amplifier by band.
• Selects both receive (Rx 1/2) and transmit antenna ports on the radio for each VFO by band.
• Selects PTT via TX control lines based on VFO selection by band.
• Select transmit VFO via PSDR console OR external switch connected to a designated serial port.
• Rx2 is automatically started when SO2R is enabled.
• DXLab and N1MM contest/logging programs are directly supported.
• Save matrix configuration settings for future recall.

Hardware

• A Flex-5000 with a second receiver is required to support the SO2R feature.
• The DDUtil Auto Drive feature is disabled when SO2R is enabled. This is because SO2R controls the drive level to each amp separately which is setup in the SO2R matrix.
• One to two free parallel ports are required to control the antenna switching matrix and the amplifier band switching control depending if one or two amplifiers are used.
• Optionally, a SPST toggle or foot switch may be connected between serial port pins 4 & 8 (db9) to switch the transmit VFO from VFO A to VFO B. This can be done manually via the console TX buttons, but is awkward and tiresome.
• Optionally, up to two (2) 4-10 decoder boards can be used to switch antennas via a BCD decoder board. This one has proven to be a good choice depending on your requirements. Four to sixteen (4-16) decoders may also be used if a greater number of antennas are required. Any of the commercial BCD switches should also be usable.

Software

Minimum requirements for full functionality. There are several new CAT commands that aren't available in lesser versions of PSDR.

DDUtil  1.8.0
PSDR    1.19.3 SVN 3494
.Net    3.5 SP1

Setup

DDUtil Setup

• Open the SO2R tab.

Controls

Enable

• Select to enable the feature.

Single Amp

• Select if only one amplifier will be used.

TX Switch

• If using an external switch to change the focus of the transmit VFO (A/B) select the serial port where the switch is connected. Wiring information can be found on this Graphic Pictorial (bottom page 1).

AmpKey A/B

• Enter the the TX key line number (1-3) for each amplifier in the AmpKey A/B windows. Note: if using a single amp the AmpKet A key line will be used.

Save

• Pressing this button allows saving of matrix data to an xml file of the users choice. A message will be displayed with instructions.
  • Please note the default location for this file is the users application data folder.
    • In Windows XP the location would be similar to "C:\Documents and Settings\{user}\Application Data\DDUtil".
    • To find the base location in other systems (Vista/Win7) open a command window (Start|Run|Cmd[Enter]) and type SET [Enter]. See the APPDATA line near the top of the listing for the location of the Application Data folder.
      

Load

• Pressing this button will load matrix data from a file that was previously saved (see the Save feature above for details).
  • A file dialog window will open asking you for a file name. Select a file name and press Open to load the file.

Clear Matrix

The RED button next to the Load button will clear all settings from the SO2R matrix array when pressed.

LPT 2

• Enter the decimal address for the parallel port connected to the amplifier and antenna data decoder for VFO B. Here are the common addresses.
  • LPT1 = 888, LPT2 = 632, LPT3 = 636, LPT4 = 620

Note: if you have a port with an uncommon address (like an add on card) here is a method of how to find its address.

VFO A Data Matrix

• For each VFO A band to be used enter the following information:
  • Enter the address (decimal notation) of the parallel port to be used.
  • Enter the control word (Da) in hex notation (LPT1 port upper 4-bits) for the data decoder connected to VFO A.
  • Enter the drive level required for amplifier connected to VFO A.
  • Enter a decimal number for the RX1 antenna desired (see below for explanation).
  • Enter a decimal number for the TX antenna desired (see below for explanation).
  • Enter the control word (Aa) in hex notation (LPT1 port lower 4-bits) for band switching of the amplifier connected to VFO A.

VFO B Data Matrix

• For each VFO B band to be used enter the following information:
  • Enter the control word (Db) in hex notation (LPT2 port upper 4-bits) for the data decoder connected to VFO B.
  • Enter the drive level required for amplifier connected to VFO B.
  • Enter a decimal number for the RX2 antenna desired (see below for explanation).
  • Enter a decimal number for the TX antenna desired (see below for explanation).
  • Enter the control word (Ab) in hex notation (LPT2 port lower 4-bits) for band switching of the amplifier connected to VFO B.
• Press the Save button when finished inputting values. If you fail to save the settings you will be reminded when the program is closing.

Antenna Programming

Enter the values below for the RX1, RX2, and TX items in the SO2R matrix.

• Receiver 1
  • 0 = No Connection
  • 1 = Ant 1
  • 2 = Ant 2
  • 3 = Ant 3
  • 4 = Rx1 In
• Receiver 2
  • 0 = No Connection
  • 1 = Ant 1
  • 5 = Rx2 In
  • 6 = Rx1 Tap
• Transmit
  • 1 = Ant 1
  • 2 = Ant 2
  • 3 = Ant 3

SO2R Disabling

When disabling the SO2R Enable check box, a message window is presented informing the user of possible settings that may need to be reset. The SO2R function requires several settings to be modified from their normal values including:

• PowerSDR
  • Antenna and TX lines.
  • Drive power settings.

This message box can be permanently disabled by selecting the Don't show me this again check box.

• DDUtil
  • Auto Drive is disabled in favor of matrix settings.
  • The PTT button (ctrl+O) may require toggling to resume it's normal state.

SO2R Exit Macro

As an option to manually configuring the settings mentioned above, there is a special macro available for restoring the radio to a preset condition when the SO2R feature is disabled. This SO2R Exit Macro is assigned as M21 in the macro editor and MUST be in this position in the Macro editor for it to work.

A typical set of commands for the SO2R Exit Macro could be.

DDAD1;ZZOA1;ZZOB6;ZZOC1;ZZOF100;ZZRS0;

Which has the following meaning.

DDAD1;   = Re-enable Auto Drive.
ZZOA1;   = Set RX1 antenna to antenna #1.
ZZOB6;   = Set RX2 antenna to RX1Tap.
ZZOC1;   = Set the TX antenna to antenna #1.
ZZOF100; = Enable the TX1 Key Line (TX2, TX3 = off).
ZZRS0;   = Turn off RX2.

Any series of properly formed Flex or DDUtil CAT commands may be used interchangeably.

For more information on setting up, programming and using Macro commands in DDUtil see the CAT and How To sections of this wiki.

PowerSDR Setup

• In the Menu open the Antenna window.
  • In the Complexity group select Simple. DDUtil will handle all antenna and key line switching based on the matrix values.
    Warning! Failure to observe this setting will result in strange and unexpected behavior.
• In the Menu open the Setup / General / RX2 tab.
  • Make sure that the Auto Mute RX1 on VFO B TX option is Un-Checked. Otherwise RX1 will mute when the VFO B TX button is selected.
• In the Menu open the Setup / CAT Control tab.
  • Check the Allow Kenwood AI Command check box. Without this selection DDUtil will not receive notification from PowerSDR when the TX VFO A/B buttons are pressed manually on the console.

N1MM Setup

* * * IMPORTANT * * *
Set the Radio type to K3. This radio option works best and DDUtil is optimized for it. Other options can give unexpected results.

Operation

The SO2R matrix allows a very large degree of versatility when setting up a station for contest operation. A few of these options are:

• Single or Dual amplifier operation.
• External antenna switching via BCD decoder for each amplifier.
• Direct band switching for BCD driven amplifiers.
  • Non BCD switched amps will have to use frequency sensing band changing or be manually set.
• Internal (F5K) antenna control.
• Drive control for each amplifier.
• Key line assignment for each amplifier.

Single Amplifier

By selecting the Single Amp check box on the SO2R tab a single frequency switching amplifier will follow each VFO's frequency depending on the transmit TX button setting. Full matrix information is available with the exception of the LPT2 port which is disabled since it isn't needed.

Caveat Emptor

• If SO2R and Single Amp options are selected all frequency sensitive devices and supported amps will follow the TX VFO frequency that is selected.

Note: this is separate from SO2R matrix switching activity.

• If you have a PW-1, Alpha, ACOM, SPE or any other supported amp connected to a BCD or Serial port they will follow the TX VFO frequency selected.
• All frequency sensitive devices means just that. If you have a SteppIR antenna controller or any other device connected to the Passive Listener port (or any other port) they will switch also. You will need to disable them if you don't want them to follow the chosen VFO.
• The SO2R matrix can be used in addition to any other to switch or set other devices as necessary.
• Auto Drive NOT
  • If using the SO2R feature the Auto Drive feature is disabled in favor of the Drive settings of the SO2R matrix. Otherwise unexpected/conflicted drive settings could occur.

Two Amplifiers

Mr. Lee Crocker (W9OY) was instrumental in providing knowledge and a driving force to get this feature incorporated into DDUtil. He has written an extensive and detailed account of how his station is setup and configured using this feature. You can find his document here.

Limitations

There are a few limitations that require mentioning.

• Digital modes CAN NOT be used with RX2 using VAC. The proper provisions are not present in VAC and PSDR at this time. However, there is a work-around using a sound card.
  • Split the audio into L & R channels using a Y connector in the speaker line.
  • Make a cable for only the RX2 channel of the audio.
  • Connect the RX2 audio to the sound card.
  • Use the sound card as the audio source for the 2nd digital decoder program.
• There are only two (2) antenna sources available for RX2.
  • RX2In (#5 in the matrix)
  • RX1Tap (#6 in the matrix)

  It is also possible to use Antenna 1 (#1 in the matrix), but this setting should be avoided as it will conflict with RX1 or the TX and unexpected results will occur if they are using the same matrix setting.