Nick Taylors blog

I’m happy that I’ve managed to get my Icom IC-2820 radio and Kenwood RC-D710 TNC/data terminal to work together so I can now use the “left side” of the 2820 for APRS on 144.39 MHz and use the “right side” for D-STAR and conventional voice communications. This configuration passes GPS data from the GPS in the IC-2820 to the RC-D710 which in turn sends back APRS data which is transmitted by the 2820. I’ve also upgraded the GPS antenna to a waterproof active antenna from Gilsson (#MCX180) which has a straight through MCX connector and fits, with a little trimming.

To do this, you’ll need the following (if you’re not making your own cables):

• Icom IC-2820 D-STAR radio
• Kenwood RC-D710 TNC/data terminal/control panel
• Kenwood PG-5J interface kit for RC-D710
• Kenwood PG-5G programming cable (to connect to a PC running Windows)
• Kenwood MCP-2A, “Memory Control Program” software (a free download)
• A PC running Windows for the MCP-2A software
• 6-pin mini-DIN cable that comes with the PG-5J
• A data cable with 2 mini-stereo jack plugs (the RC-D710 came with such a cable, but with only one jack plug)

After the usual preparation (checking items, installing powerpole connectors on the power cable, etc.) I powered off the radio and TNC, and connected the 6-pin mini-DIN cable from the main unit of the 2820 to the “data” socket on the PG-5J interface unit. I then connected the RJ-45 cable between the PG-5J and the RC-D710 panel. Finally, I had to connect the mini-stereo jack cable from the RC-D710 panel to the main unit of the 2820. I assumed that there would be a mini-jack at each end of the cable, but, no! Fortunately, I had two of these cables and I chose to connect them together. It’s a very small cable, with what seems like 3 strands of very thin copper in 3 cores (it’s a stereo cable). My soldering ability wasn’t up to the job, so I gave up and used a terminal block, which works nicely for testing (I’ve ordered a 10ft ready-made cable from Monoprice).

Next, I connected the RC-D710 to my PC and upgraded the firmware (it was v1.x and v2.01 is current), and then used the MCP-2A software to read the default config. This software is the only way to change the configuration elements on the RC-D710. I upped the levels as described in this article, viewed the other configuration items and set my callsign info, as well as some custom messages, setup smartbeaconing, etc. and on the IC_2820 I made sure in the data function that “G-D” was on (this sends GPS data via the stereo data cable to the D710), and in the menus (GPS sentence) I set RMA and GGA to on. In the packet menu, I set the packet operation band to “left” so the APRS data will only transmit on the band I have set to 144.39 MHz.

I feel I’ve only just scratched the surface, and will experiment a little more to optimize the configuration, but my first impression is that this will prove to be a great setup.

I’ve mentioned this before, but now I’ve almost completed the antennas and cabling from my shack in the basement to the Diamond X6000A on the roof, the Diamond X50A in the attic, and the yet to be installed Alpha Delta DX-EE. This should give me good coverage from 40m up to 23cm.

I really like the Times Microwave products, and the connectors work well with their cabling, obviously. I’ve used LMR-400 [LMR-400 specs - PDF] and LMR-400 Ultraflex [LMR-400-UF specs - PDF] for VHF/UHF and I use Belden 8267 for HF. The connectors I’ve used are the TC-400-NMC N-connector [TC-400-NMC - PDF] and the EZ-400-UM PL-259 connector [EZ-400-UM - PDF]

I usually source cabling from Ham Radio Outlet and get the Times connectors from Hutton Communications.

While up on the roof, winterizing the swamp cooler, I decided to swap-out my Diamond X50A dual-band antenna with a tri-band Diamond X6000A, which I’ve had sitting in the garage for a while. It was just in May that I installed the X50A.

It was an easy install, though I did install a second chimney bracket (a Channel Master 9067) as the X6000A is much longer, and I also re-terminated the co-ax using N-connectors rather than PL-259s. I’m glad to make the move to N-connectors, as well as having better impedance characteristics, they seem better quality than the PL259s (I especially like the Times Microwave TC-400-NMC that I’m using on my LMR400 cable).

The X6000A is a big bugger, at over 3m long, but it’s specs are impressive:

Band

2m/70cm/23cm

Gain (dB)

6.5/9/10

Max Power Rating

100/60

Wind Rating

112 MPH (no ice)

Height (feet/meters)

10.5/3.05

Connector

Type-N

Element Phasing

2-5/8l, 5-5/8l, 6-5/8l

So it’s about a 2dB gain over the X50A on 2m and 70cm. Of course, it now opens up the world of 23cm to me, which I’m looking forward to when I get my Icom ID-1 – D-STAR too! Of course, it’s an omnidirectional antenna, so I won’t get fantastic gain in any direction but I think it’ll be a great place to start on the 23cm band.

Installation Instructions are here (PDF link)

Continuing my project to have at lease least a dual-band 2m/70cm radio in the vehicles we use to travel to remote places, I got around to installing the Kenwood TM-D710 into the Dodge Ram. A few weeks ago, I read a review of the Green Light Labs GPS-710, a compact GPS that can attach to the rear of the D710s control panel. I installed that, too.

The Kenwood TM-D710 is a great radio. I didn’t think there’d be much improved over the TM-D700 (which I also own), but I like the new software and interface, it’s a little more logical to use.

The Green Light Labs GPS-710 is a very compact and sensitive (20 channel SiRF-III chipset) GPS unit. It simply attached attaches to the rear of the D710 control panel with strong adhesive strips. A small jumper cable connects it to the panel for power, and another small lead delivers the NMEA output. After it was connected, there are just a couple of settings to change in the radio and It Just Works.

Installing the radio was also quite easy. There were already some hold holes in the transmission tunnel console, where I suppose a radio was previously mounted. I reused most of the holes, and found some good stainless steel hardware to use with the supplied bracket.

Next, running the power and antenna cables was quite easy. There’s a bulkhead hole, complete with rubber weatherproofing above the clutch pedal. I simply ran the cables (and props to Diamond antenna who provide small plugs on their cables just for this purpose) through the bulkhead hole and cable-tied them above the pedals and ran them into position. The cables simply pushed up into the console, but I cable-tied them inside to keep them secure.

Next I mounted the control panel on the dash, using the supplied bracket and adhesive stand. It seems to be sticking well enough as I write this.

Finally, I had to run the control cable from the radio, being behind the glove box and up onto the dash. The Dodge Ram has a reasonable easy way to do this on the passenger side, it’s a bit busy on the drivers side, but Kenwood provide a long cable so the passenger side worked well. This cable is completely hidden except from the glass to the radio, which is about all you could hope for unless you drill the dash.

Finally, I tidied things up and gave it a test. Worked first time!

KD0AIC-12 is on the air!

A few days ago I bought a DV-Dongle, a device which plugs into your USB port (Mac or PC) and allows you to connect over the internet to the D-Star network via D-Star gateways. Once connected, you can have a D-Star digital voice conversation without a radio. I thought it would be particularly useful when I’m on the road and outside the coverage area of a D-Star repeater.

I bought the DV-Dongle from Ham Radio Outlet here in Denver, and it’s not just plug and play.

Firstly, for Mac users, you have to download some virtual com port drivers from this site, and then restart.

Next, download the tarball here, which installs the software (mostly Java).

Now it installs into a folder called “DVTool”, and when I tried to start DVTool.jar, it looked like it worked, but it didn’t. There was some error complaining about “can’t find ascpserialdimac”. So I tried starting from the command line, using dvtool.sh and everything worked.

Just in time for me to get into the Thursday evening W6DHS D-Star net.

In the corner of the garage I’ve had a High Sierra HS-1800/Pro for about a year. I’d procrastinated as I knew the install would be a little “mechanical”, involving drilling the bodywork of the Green D90.

But, having recently attained my General Class license, I though I should just get it done.

Having purchased the “Platinum Package“, I had everything I needed to install the antenna.

Firstly, I lined up the mount at the rear of the D90 (making sure I had garage clearance), and had the top 2 bolt locations line-up in the rear interior and the bottom 2 line-up inside the wheel-arch outside the truck. I braced the nuts and bolts with a couple of sheets of aluminum on the non-visible sides. Next, I drilled holes for the ground, power and co-ax. The ground is a short run below the antenna to the exhaust bracket. The power runs in the top of the bracket to the interior. The co-ax runs a little higher and into the interior with a female-female SO-239 connector.

With the bracket mounted and the basic cabling laid, I added powerpole connectors to all the electrical connectors.

Plugging in the tuning module (basically a fancy switch that moves the antenna up and down, and altering it’s electrical length while showing the SWR), I could see the antenna was working – I could also hear it working!

I knew I wouldn’t like the HS way of tuning the antenna, so at the same time I bought a “Turbo Tuner“. This would enable me simply to hit the tune button on my IC-7000, wait a few moments, and have the Turbo Tuner find the lowest SWR for the frequency I require. As the Turbo Tuner has great reviews, I thought it’d be a great way of doing this.

Alas, I ran into problems almost immediately. Despite triple-checking the connections (one to the CI-V port, the other into the tuner port), and the settings (basically the baud rate and the CI-V address) I could not get it to work. After more experimenting I decided to do a factory reset on the IC-7000 to see if that would help. But that meant loosing all the information I had stored in memory… I had a cup of tea and a think…

As luck would have it, the mail showed up, complete with CI-V leads and my IC-7000 cloning software – perfect timing! A couple of days ago I ordered the WCS7000 software from RT Systems. As soon as I installed the software, I had the rig backed up and performed the reset.

Voila! It worked! The tuner was tuning. But not quite right. The instructions suggest that for the HS1800/Pro antenna the direction should be “normal” and the stall current should be “750ma”. After some experimenting, I had to change the dip-switch settings so the direction was “reverse” and the stall current was “500ma” (so the antenna would reverse direction when it reached the end of its travel).

That seemed to fix things, but then my radio started playing up. I’d read some background on how final stages can be destroyed by ill-using antenna controllers. But I’d done my research and the Turbo Tuner shouldn’t do this! My IC-7000 display was wavering and when I hit PTT most times it would restart.

Then I realised that I’d be transmitting all morning, and the antenna was moving up and down and the rig needs a good 13.8V to work correctly. So I started the D90 and all was well again, phew!

I dressed in the cables, and am ready to give it a good test tomorrow!

Background Info:
Wikipedia Overview
Bob Bruninga’s Site
APRS Wiki

Position Updates:
The Google Maps based, and nicest looking – aprs.fi
Easy to use, and my preferred mobile site – db0anf.de
The dated, but still useful findu.com
A different approach on the interface – k6ib.com

I’ve finally got around to installing by base station 2m/70cm antenna no more using the crappy mag-mount!

The Diamond X-50A antenna was my antenna of choice after sizing up the chimney stack and reading some good reviews.

I also needed a way of mounting to the chimney – I sourced a 5ft mast from Home Depot and a Channel Master 9067 chimney mount.

Finally, from Ham Radio Outlet (one of the few brick and mortar stores I still visit), I bought 65ft of LMR-400 (PDF specs) and 30ft of LMR-400 Ultraflex (PDF specs). These cables are made by Times Microwave and so far seem to be exceptional quality.

I bought this coax as the loss figures for VHF and UHF were the lowest I could find.

The install wasn’t too difficult. I installed the Chimney Mount to the chimney (be careful of the stainless steel straps, they’re sharp and I have the scars to prove it), pulling the straps with pliers before crimping them to the brackets. The brackets then adjust with a pair of bolts, making the last bit of tightening possible with just a wrench.

Once the mount was installed, I simply installed the mast, which tightens with 4 bolts to the clamp, and popped the antenna on top. I also drilled a hole in the mast to mount a screw through the clamps to stop the mast rotating. Now it got windy, and I called it a day for now…

The next day was about cabling, so with my 65ft of LMR-400, I attached a PL-239 and climbed up to the roof again to install.

Of course, the PL-239 would not fit through the mast – damn! The mast, after all, was designed for TV antennas and a smaller connector would fit through easily. Still, I needed a short patch lead, so I chopped 1m of cable off, threaded it through and attached a new plug. After securing everything, and double-checking all the nuts and bolts, I walked the cable across the roof (I’ve not yet found a good way of securing cabling on the roof), and down the side of the house closest to the basement window where my office/shack is located.

I quickly popped the cable through the window, attached another PL-239 and connected it to my IC-7000 via an SWR meter and threw out a test transmission.

I’m happily seeing S9/S9+ from the local repeaters on VHF and UHF, with an SWR of as close to 1 as I reckon is possible. Now I’m looking forward to participating in some of the Denver area Nets more frequently.

Next step, lightning protection! We get a lot of lightning here in Denver, and currently the manual disconnect will have to do, but getting some expensive copper from the roof and into the ground is a high priority.