CAT

CAT Commands

History

In the beginning the CAT Command set for PowerSDR used the same commands as Kenwood TS-2000 radios. As the Flex radios developed the Kenwood command set no longer was adequate enough to cover the features of the Flex radios.

As you read through the CAT Command Dictionary you will notice that many commands have the same functionality. Such commands are FA/ZZFA, FB/ZZFB, etc. these commands can be used interchangeably, but it is recommended to use the ZZxx commands for continuity and consistency. All of the original Kenwood commands have been re-written with a ZZ equivalent, but there are many more ZZ commands to pick from.

Command Structure

PowerSDR CAT Commands

Note: → for Legacy Radios only

See this link to browse the PowerSDR CAT Command Reference Guide

CAT commands are a fixed structure of multiple elements. In these examples we are only going to discuss the ZZ commands to keep the confusion down. The Kenwood commands can be used interchangeably if they exist for a given function. This example we will use is ZZMA1; which will Mute the receiver when executed. Below is a dissection of the command structure.

• Preamble (ZZ)

  ZZ precedes each CAT command. This tells the CAT Parser the following string of characters is a PowerSDR CAT Command.

• Function Identifier (MA)

  Follows the Preamble and is a two alpha character string that represents a specific function to be performed on the radio.

• Parameter List (1)

  The parameter list can be one or many characters depending on the function identifiers. See the following examples for differences in parameter list characters.

• Terminator (;)

  The terminator for all commands is a semicolon (;) and tells the CAT parser that this is the end of the command string, go ahead and execute the command.

ZZMA    Sets or reads the Mute (MUT) status
Get	ZZMA	;								
Set	ZZMA 	P1	;							
Answer	ZZMA	P1	;							
Notes	P1 = 0 for off, 1 for on.

ZZGL    Sets or reads the Noise Gate Threshold value
Get	ZZGL	;								
Set	ZZGL	P1	P1	P1	P1	;				
Answer	ZZGL	P1	P1	P1	P1	;				
Notes	P1 = -160 to 0 (- sign required except for 0000).

Note: For more information on setting up, programming and using CAT and DDUtil commands see the How To section.

DDUtil Macro Commands

The DDUtil macro are formed the same as the PowerSDR CAT commands but use a DD prefix in lieu of a ZZ prefix.

In the event an error is made composing the command structure a pop-up error window will appear describing the error. Note: this error catcher will not tell you if you use the wrong command or the wrong command parameters.

DDUtil Command Reference

Note: ALL commands require a semicolon (;) terminator.

DD34 - SteppIR antenna to 3/4 mode (vertical only)
 Form: DD34;

DDAD - Auto Drive Enable/Disable
 Form: DDAD P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 for Enabled, P1 = 0 for Disabled
 Uses: DDAD1; Enables the Auto Drive feature

DDAM - Sets the Palstar AT-Auto tuner to Auto Mode
 Form: DDAM ;

DDAO - Set selected supported amplifier to Operate
 Form: DDAO;

DDAP - Selects Auto Drive settings for Amp1 or Amp2.
 Form: DDAP P1;
 Parm: P1 = 1 for amp1, 2 for amp2
 Uses: DDAP2; loads drive settings for amplifier #2

DDAS - Set selected supported amplifier to Standby
 Form: DDAS;

DDBC - Sets the Aux BCD data bytes
 Form: DDBC P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 ;							
 Parm: P1 = 0 for off, 1 for on.
 Uses: DDBC01010101; Sends decimal 85 (0x55) to the BCD port.

DDBE - Enables/Disables BCD port output
 Form: DDBE P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 Enabled, 0 = Disabled (DDBE1;)

DDBI - Sets the SteppIR antenna to the Bi-Direction mode (Yagi only)
 Form: DDBI ;

DDBL - Sets the Palstar AT-Auto tuner to Balanced Mode
 Form: DDBL ;

DDBM - Sets the Palstar AT-Auto tuner to Bypass Mode
 Form: DDBM ;

DDCX - Sets the Palstar AT-Auto tuner to Coax Mode
 Form: DDCX ;

DDDT - Toggles the DTR line of the SerMacPort on/off
 Form: DDRT P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 0 for off, P1 = 1 for on
 Uses: DDDT1; sets the SerMacPort DTR line to on

DDEA - KAT500 Set Active Antenna (1|2|3)
 Form: DDEA P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1, 2 or 3 digits only.
 Uses: DDEA1; sets the active KAT500 antenna to #1

DDEM - KAT500 Set Mode (A|M|B)
 Form: DDEM P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = A(utomatic, M(anual or B(ypass) characters only
 Uses: DDEMB; sets the active KAT500 Tune Mode to Bypass

DDET - KAT500 Start Tune Cycle
 Form: DDET ;
 Uses: DDET; same as pushing the KAT500 or DDUtil Tune button

DDFA - Write to FlexWire port 1
 Form: DDFA P1 ;
 Parm: P1 is in hexadecimal (0-255)
 Uses: DDFA12; sends b00010010 to the FlexWire port1 (d18)
 Uses: DDFAFF; sends b11111111 to the FlexWire port1 (d255)

DDFW - Sets the SteppIR antenna to the forward direction mode (Beam only)
 Form: DDFW ;

DDHA - Heros Set Antenna (1/2)
 Form: DDHA P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 (Antenna #1), 2 (Antenna #2)
 Uses: DDHA1; Selects antenna port 1

DDHB - Heros Set Band (1-6)
 Form: DDHB P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 - 6 (Bands A-F)
 Uses: DDHB5; Selects band "E" (5)
 Note: P1 = 0 results in Bypass On

DDHL - Heros Set LNA On/Off
 Form: DDHL P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 0 (Off), 1 (On)
 Uses: DDHL0; Turns LNA off

DDHU - Heros Set Anttenuator
 Form: DDHU P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 00, 06, 12, 18 dB of attenuation
 Uses: DDHU00; Sets anttenuator to 0dB (Off)

DDHY - Heros Set Bypass On/Off
 Form: DDHY P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 0 (On), 1 (restores band)
 Uses: DDHY0; Turns Bypass on

DDKA - Sets CX-Auto switch to select multiple ports
 Form: DDKA P1 P2 ;
 Uses: DDKA0101; selects ports 4 and 0.
 Note: See CX-Auto users manual for more information.

DDKM - Sets CX-Auto switch to select single port using switch address
 Form: DDKM P1 P2 ;
 Parm: P1 = B1-B3, P2 = 01-07
 Uses: DDKMB101; selects port 1 on switch with address B1

DDKS - Sets CX-Auto switch to select single port using GUI address
 Form: DDKS P1 ;
 Uses: DDKS01; selects port 1

DDKW - Display the Tuning Knob sub window
 Form: DDKW ;
 Note: DDUtil v1 & 2 only

DDLP - Write to a parallel port
 Form: DDLP P1 P1 P1 P1 P1 P2 P2 ;
 Parm: P1 = port address in decimal, P2 = hex value (DDLP00888FF;)

DDLY - Inserts a delay between commands
 Form: DDLY P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = milliseconds to delay (1000 = 1 second)
 Uses: DDLY3000; adds a delay of 3 seconds

DDMB - Sets SSB to correct side band (based on band)
 Form: DDMB ;
 Uses: DDMB; selects LSB for 160, 80, 60 and 40 meters and USB for all others.

DDMD - Sets F6000 Mode, Filter Center Freq and Size
 Form: DDMD P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 ;
 Parm: P1 = Demod Mode (1 digit {0=LSB, 1=USB, 2=CW, 3=AM, 4=DIGL, 5=DIGU})
 Parm: P2 = Separator (1 char {, or : recommended})
 Parm: P3 = Filter Center Freq (5 digits, 1st digit can be a '-' sign)
 Parm: P4 = Separator (1 char {, or : recommended})
 Parm: P5 = Filter Width (5 digits) representing the filter width in Hz.
 Uses: DDMD4:-2210:00300; 
 Note: Selects DIGL (RTTY), Center Frequency of -2210 Hz and 300 Hz wide

DDME - Executes another macro
 Form: DDME P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = other macro to execute
 Uses: DDME21; will execute DDUtil macro 21

DDMM - Sets Palstar AT-Auto tuner to Manual mode.
 Form: DDMM ;

DDMS - Sets a Macro Memory (0-9) to either 0 or 1
 Form: DDMS P1 P2 P3 ;
 Parm: P1 = memory (0-9)
 Parm: P2 = : colon separator
 Parm: P3 = 0 = off, 1 = on
 Uses: DDMS3:1; Sets Macro Memory #3 to 1
 Note: Memory values DO NOT persist between sessions

DDMT - Tests a Macro Memory (0-9) for 0 or 1 & executes a macro based on condition
 Form: DDMT P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 ;
 Parm: P1 = memory (0-9)
 Parm: P2 = : colon separator
 Parm: P3 = nnn macro to execute if memory = 1
 Parm: P4 = : colon separator
 Parm: P5 = nnn macro to execute if memory = 0
 Uses: DDMT3:005:006; if Macro Memory #3 = 1 execute macro #5 else execute macro #6
 Note: nnn macro numbers must be 3 digits each
 Note: Memory values DO NOT persist between sessions

DDPA - Set KPA500 Fan Speed
 Form: DDPA P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = fan speed to set (0-6)
 Uses: DDPA4; set fan speed to the 4th speed setting.

DDPD - Loads/Closes PSDR (toggle)
 Form: DDPD ;
 Note: Uses PSDR file location on the Setup tab

DDPL - Sets Auto Drive to Low Power
 Form: DDPL ;
 Note: PTT must be in Operate prior to execution

DDPP - Enables/Disables DDUtil PTT
 Form: DDPP P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 for Enabled, 0 for Disabled
 Uses: DDPP1; Enables the Auto Drive PTT in DDUtil

DDPQ - Sends serial string with embedded ";" to the Serial Macro Port
 Form: DDPQ P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = string to send (DDPQS01;)
 Note: Use for K9DUR Voice Keyer remote Trigger
 Note: Voice Keyer macro to activate (S01-S10).

DDPS - Sends serial string to the Serial Macro Port
 Form: DDPS P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = string to send
 Uses: DDPSHELLO WORLD; sends the string Hello World to the SerMacPort

DDPT - Toggles the PTT function in DDUtil
 Form: DDPT :

DDRB - Sends Denkovi Relay Board a values between 0-255
 Form: DDRB P1 P2 P3;
 Parm: P1 = decimal digit(s) 0 - 255
 Parm: P2 = ":" colon separator
 Parm: P3 = decimal digit(s) 0 or 1
 Uses: DDRB7:0; Turns on relays 1, 2 and 3 only
 Uses: DDRB7:1; Turns on relays 1, 2 and 3 and also band data
 Note: Uses binary notation (128 = 10000000 = relay #8)

DDRE - Enables the Rotor
 Form: DDRE P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 for Enabled, 0 for Disabled (DDRE1;)

DDRR; - Sets rotor interrogation interval
 Form: DDRR P1 ;
 Parm: P1 Index of rotor interval drop-down combo box (0=none)
 Uses: DDRR1; sets interval to 1 second
 Note: Values are from 0 to 6 which equates from 0 = None to 6 = 10 seconds

DDRT - Toggles the RTS line of the SerMacPort on/off
 Form: DDRT P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 0 for off, P1 = 1 for on
 Uses: DDRT1; sets the SerMacPort RTS line to on

DDRV - Sets the SteppIR antenna to the Reverse direction mode (Beam only)
 Form: DDRV ;

DDRW - Display the Rotor sub window
 Form: DDRW ;
 Note: DDU v1 & 2 only

DDSC - Activates the SteppIR Calibrate function
 Form: DDSC ;

DDSD - SteppIR Antenna Disable Frequency Update Flag 
 Form: DDSD P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 0 Enable tuning, 1 Disable tuning
 Uses: DDSD1; Disable antenna tuning
 Note: Use this macro to temporarily disable the antenna tuning function. 
 Note: V3 only

DDSE - SteppIR Antenna Enable/Disable 
 Form: DDSE P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1 for Enabled, 0 for Disabled
 Uses: DDSE1; enables the SteppIR antenna functionality
 Note: This macro checks the Enable check box on the Other tab. 

DDSF - Announces PSDR Frequency using Speech Synthesis
 Form: DDSF ;

DDSH - SteppIR Antenna Home Elements function
 Form: DDSH ;

DDSM - Announces PSDR Mode using Speech Synthesis
 Form: DDSM ;

DDSO - Sets Offset: for the active rotor
 Form: DDS0 P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = -180 to 180 degrees
 Note: DDSO5; for +5 degrees offset, DDSO-5; for -5 degrees offset

DDSP - Turns the Rotor to a specific heading
 Form: DDSP P1 P1 P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 000 to 359 (DDSP180;)

DDSR - SteppIR Antenna Restart Tuning function
 Form: DDSR ;
 Note: Use to restart antenna after a element retraction (home) function
 Note: V3 only

DDSS - Announces PSDR S-Meter reading using Speech Synthesis
 Form: DDSS ;
 Note: Reading is peak for a 2 second period.

DDSX - Selects the active rotor (1, 2, 3)
 Form: DDSX P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 1, 2, or 3
 Uses: DDSX2; selects rotor #2

DDTA - Appends text to Status Bar
 Form: DDTA P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = Plain text
 Uses: DDTA 1234;
 Note: Can be used with DDTM to add text to existing
 Note: DDU v1 & 2 only

DDTF - Set Power Master watt meter Forward Trim
 Form: DDTF P1 ;
 Uses: DDTF8; Sets forward trim to 8.

DDTG - Toggles 2 macros
 Form: DDTG P1 P2 ;
 Uses: DDTG2021; toggles macros 20 and 21

DDTM - Add user text to Status Bar
 Form: DDTM P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = Plain text
 Uses: DDTAHello Radio;
 Note: DDU v1 & 2 only

DDTR - Set Power Master watt meter Reverse Trim
 Form: DDTR P1 ;
 Uses: DDTR4; Sets forward trim to 4

DDTS - Sets the VFO A/B Tune Step
 Form: DDTS P1 P2 ;
 Parm: P1 = VFO A/B, P2 = Tune Step index (zero based)
 Uses: DDTSA01; sets VFO A to 10 Hz tune step.

DDVA - Sets TX VFO = VFO A
 Form: DDVA ;

DDVB - Sets TX VFO = VFO B
 Form: DDVB ;

DDVR - Sets Tuning Knob Variable Tuning rate on/off (toggle)
 Form: DDVR ;

DDWW - Sends commands to DXLab WinWarbler to execute any of it's 32 message macros.
 Form: DDWW P1 ;
 Parm: P1 = 0 - 31
 Uses: DDWW30; will execute DXLab WinWarbler macro #30