Re: PTT connect of IC-208H with Digirig mobile

Thank you Stephen for much needed information.?

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I did resolve my PTT issue by doubling back to my COMM Port assignment and realizing that a different port was assigned than I had originally taken note of.?

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Best wishes - 73,?

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Rick AE4IX

Re: PTT connect of IC-208H with Digirig mobile

#9284

开云体育

On 3/25/2025 11:40 AM, Richard Current via groups.io wrote:

What is the appropriate PTT configuration for a IC-208H using Digirig mobile with VARA FM?

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Tks and 73,?

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Rick

The IC-208H is one of the few current radios that still has the industry-standard 6-pin mini-DIN rear-panel "data port".?? [Details on the DIN port are here on my website:?? ? ]

You do not need the second serial "CAT" cable connected on the DigiRig.?? You only need the primary 4-conductor TRRS cable terminated in the 6-pin mini-DIN plug.??

NOTE:? To achieve the highest speeds VARA-FM FAST is capable of, you need to have the DigiRig cable designated as "9600 baud" that connects to the wide-band discriminator output of the DIN port. The standard DigiRig cable used for HF operation will limit you to the slower-speeds-only of VARA-FM.? Finally, in the radio menus, you need to find "Packet Speed" or something similar and set it to "9600" to open up the TRANSMIT audio bandwidth.

This cable carries PTT to the DIN socket in addition to TX and RX audio.?

You DO need to have the driver for the in the DigiRig installed.? The driver will create a virtual COM port in Windows - you will have to use the Windows Device Manager to discover what COM number is created by the driver. (The COM number can be changed in the Windows Device Manager if it conflicts with some other serial device? (either physical or virtual)? already on your system.)

Then, in VARA, go to "Settings...", ? "PTT..." ,?? check "COM" in "PTT Via",?? and then pull down the COM port # list and choose the matching COM port number discovered above.? You will have to experiment with the "PTT Pin" to discover whether the "RTS" or "DTR pin should be used. ?

To actually try the PTT control, close the "PTT..." dialog, select "Settings", "Soundcard..." instead and use the red "Tune" button to see if the transceiver actually goes into TRANSMIT.?

Stephen H. Smith??? wa8lmf (at) aol.com
Skype:??????? WA8LMF
EchoLink:? Node #? 14400? [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]
Home Page:?????????

30 Meter?? APRS-over VARA? Frequency?? Details Here:
????

- APRS over VARA? --
??

"Studio B" Ham Shack on Wheels
??

-
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PTT connect of IC-208H with Digirig mobile

#9283

What is the appropriate PTT configuration for a IC-208H using Digirig mobile with VARA FM?

?

Tks and 73,?

?

Rick

Re: VARA FM "Soundcard Input Device missing in action !"

#9282

On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 01:51 PM, Bill Vaughn Kj7BIH wrote:

... I'm sticking to the NARROW mode (1200 baud) and frequencies because of the known issues with 9600 baud on the 991a.

Bill;

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There's no need to limit your connections to VARA FM gateway (and P2P) stations that are set up for 'NARROW' mode. VARA FM stations that are configured for 'WIDE' mode will automatically negotiate a connection with any calling station that is set for 'NARROW' mode, and complete the session at the best throughput possible for the slower station.

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With the mismatch in speed settings, the negotiation phase at the beginning of the session is likely to take a bit longer, but not so much as to justify avoiding connections with that station.

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So long as you're using the built-in sound card system on the FT-991A (which simply won't support full-throughput VARA FM WIDE connections), you should keep your VARA FM modem software configured for 'NARROW' mode (on the VARA FM Settings" screen), to minimize the negotation time when connecting to stations set for 'WIDE' mode.

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Mark - AD7EF

Re: VARA HF resetting Data mod on IC-7100 and IC-7300 #ic7100

#9281

My apologies for the delayed reply folks. It was the default setting. I’d somehow missed fixing that on the 7100. Once I set Data MOD, that cleared it up.

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Thank you very much for the assistance.

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9280

Thanks for the suggestion Kenneth! That sounds like a useful tool. But ... when I tried to download it, I got a warning from Windows that it contains a virus and I shouldn't open it.? Not feeling brave, I didn't try it.? Should I open it anyway?? It'd be interesting to see data on the USB Ports - and the history especially.?

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9279

Final (I hope!) addendum on this subject of setting up VARA HF on a new laptop:

I realized, after finally getting Winlink working, that the reason the VARA setup had not worked earlier on the new laptop was that I had used the same serial port as had worked on the old computer.? The Winlink "VARA HF WINLINK Settings" indicated that COM6 (in my case) was the serial port - and it appeared to be grayed out, so I didn't realize it could be changed. It wasn't until I used the "VARA HF - Radio-only" mode that the serial port was blank - and when I clicked to set it, the only option was "COM7". As soon as I clicked that, the rig immediately changed frequency and the whole Winlink-VARA system began working correctly.?
I suppose that's because the COM6 port had already been used for the USB audio CODEC Inputs, but I saw no indication of that in the VARA Setup process - and COM 6 worked fine with the other computer..

Mahalo (Thank you) again for all the suggestions!

73, Tom AH6KW

Re: VARA FM "Soundcard Input Device missing in action !"

#9278

On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 01:51 PM, Bill Vaughn Kj7BIH wrote:

I have VARA HF working consistently on my Yaesu Dx10 to send Winlink messages...

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Several folks on my ARES team want me to support VARA FM so I'll need to get my Yaesu FT991a which supports VHF/UHF...

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I manually set the 991a to the right frequency as CAT does not work to set the frequency as in VARA HF. When I Start the connection, I can see the radio transmit and I can hear the signal on the HT. All I hear on the HT is a squeal--no typical analog handshaking.

The VARA log reports "Soundcard Output Device missing in action !" (and Input Device)...

Bill;

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You say "All I hear on the HT is a squeal"... I've never heard the VARA FM request-for-connect data bursts described this way. I would describe it as a short "buzz" (kind of like a noise burst) each time the transmitter keys.

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For the transmit sound-card device you have selected on the "Playback" tab, is the description for the FT-991A device the same as it was for the Dx10? The transmit device selected in the control-panel should not have the "Default" (check-mark - Windows system sound output) badge on it... it should have either the telephone-handset "comm device" badge, or no badge.

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Unless your transmit audio is set up properly, the station you're trying to connect to won't transmit at all. Is the RMS gateway (or P2P) station you're trying to connect to close enough that you would hear the response on the HT?

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Can you post a screen-shot of the (legacy) Windows "Sound Control-Panel, with the "Playback" tab displayed?

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Mark - AD7EF

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Re: VARA FM "Soundcard Input Device missing in action !"

#9277

On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 01:51 PM, Bill Vaughn Kj7BIH wrote:

Several folks on my ARES team want me to support VARA FM so I'll need to get my Yaesu FT991a which supports VHF/UHF.

Bill;

?

Here is a very precise guide for setting up the FT-991A to use the built-in USB sound-card system for VARA FM (NARROW) data-comms… posted on the “Yaesu FT-991A not working with VARA FM” topic of this this (VARA-MODEM) groups.io:

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/g/VARA-MODEM/message/7915

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Mark - AD7EF

Re: VARA FM "Soundcard Input Device missing in action !"

#9276

A very easy solution for VARA FM WIDE mode is the Alinco DR-135 with the Repeater Builder Alinco 9600 interface.? This is for 2m.

Bob W0EG

Show quoted text

On Sun, Mar 23, 2025 at 4:51?PM Bill Vaughn Kj7BIH via <billva=[email protected]> wrote:

I have VARA HF working consistently on my Yaesu Dx10. I've been able to fine-tune the sound card settings and learned a lot about VARA in the process so I'm familiar with VARA.

Several folks on my ARES team want me to support VARA FM so I'll need to get my Yaesu FT991a which supports VHF/UHF.

I installed and set up VARA FM and PTT works. I'm using a separate HT that can monitor the frequency. I'm sticking to the NARROW mode (1200 baud) and frequencies because of the known issues with 9600 baud on the 991a.

I manually set the 991a to the right frequency as CAT does not work to set the frequency as in VARA HF. When I Start the connection, I can see the radio transmit and I can hear the signal on the HT. All I hear on the HT is a squeal--no typical analog handshaking.

The VARA log reports "Soundcard Output Device missing in action !" (and Input Device).

I think the Soundcard setting in VARA FM are set to the right Windows 11 ports. I made sure these ports have any audio enhancements turned off (just as in VARA HF).?

?

Before I invest more time and money in this radio, I would like to know how others have solved this problem.

Thanks

VARA FM "Soundcard Input Device missing in action !"

#9274
Edited

I have VARA HF working consistently on my Yaesu Dx10 to send Winlink messages. I've been able to fine-tune the sound card settings and learned a lot about VARA in the process so I'm familiar with VARA.

Several folks on my ARES team want me to support VARA FM so I'll need to get my Yaesu FT991a which supports VHF/UHF.

I installed and set up VARA FM and PTT works. I'm using a separate HT that can monitor the frequency. I'm sticking to the NARROW mode (1200 baud) and frequencies because of the known issues with 9600 baud on the 991a.

I manually set the 991a to the right frequency as CAT does not work to set the frequency as in VARA HF. When I Start the connection, I can see the radio transmit and I can hear the signal on the HT. All I hear on the HT is a squeal--no typical analog handshaking.

The VARA log reports "Soundcard Output Device missing in action !" (and Input Device).

I think the Soundcard setting in VARA FM are set to the right Windows 11 ports. I made sure these ports have any audio enhancements turned off (just as in VARA HF).?

?

Before I invest more time and money in this radio, I would like to know how others have solved this problem.

Thanks

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9273

I might suggest you execute USBDeview which will tell you more that you ever want to know about any installed/uninstalled/connected USB device in your system. ?? I never recommend free shareware but this is one major exception.? USBDeview doesn't install, it is an executable, the well documented s/w is actually the help file, Windows only?? It runs on my big boy computer.

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9272

Thanks for the suggestions, Stu et al.,

I tried to post a message just as yours came in, Stu, but it doesn't appear to have made it to the group.?

In any event, I finally got VARA HF working on the new laptop and did a couple of successful Winlink sessions with it just after I posted the previous message!!

The key was discovering that the Winlink Sessions Menu in the uppper right corner has an option for "VARA HF - Radio-only"!? That's where? the option for assigning the COM port showed up.? For whatever reason, that option does not appear in a regular VARA HF Winlink session - at least not in the versions of Winlink and VARA HF installed on this new computer.??

Anyway - Thanks again to all for your help solving this problem!

73 es Aloha,

Tom AH6KW

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Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9271

On Winlink, click on "Open Session:" near the upper right portion of the window which will open the Vara HF Winlink Session window.

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Now, click on "Radio Setup" under the "Settings" menu.? This is where you assign the COM port for your radio along with the radio type, etc.??

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9270

Thanks for the clarification about the Device In/Out Ports, Tom.? I've checked (and re-checked!) all the serial port settings in both Winlink and VARA and in Device Manager on both laptops - both when VARA is running in a Winlink session and when it's running independently. Though all settings are the same on each machine, the rig control works fine on the old machine but doesn't work when I transfer the USB cable coming from the 7610 to the new laptop. I just spent a lot of time doing screenshots of all the settings screens in both programs on both machines and still can't find any differences.??

I could share the .pdf's of the screenshots, but it appears that will just confirm that I'm not looking at the right serial port setting on the new laptop.? Where do I set which of the two serial ports (Com6 and Com7 in my case) that the Silicon Labs Drivers have set up on both laptops is used by VARA??

Thanks again for your help!

Tom AH6KW

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? ? ? ?

Re: Optimizing VARA FM and an ID-4100 with a Digirig

#9269

I appreciate the pointers. I’ve not messed with VHF data since I had an APRS digipeater 15 - 20 years ago.

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I found this command to create a large .txt file in Linux:

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tr -dc "A-Za-z 0-9" < /dev/urandom | fold -w100|head -n 500 > bigfile.txt

This created a 50k text file. I didn’t notice any change in my upload speed but the download speed did increase by about 1 Mbps.

I played around with the ping command and auto-tune which adjusted the output level and recommended I adjust my speaker level (which I did).

Still playing around with it but I think I’m heading in the right direction.

73,
Joel, W4JBB

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9268

Did you install the Icom drivers on the new PC?

Re: VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9267

Hi Tom,

The devices chosen for “Device input”  and “Device output” are the AUDIO path to and from the radio.

Your problem is related to the Serial Port control.

Thomas  /WDT
KF7RSF/NNA0WL

VARA-HF doesn't control IC-7610 on new laptop

#9266

I'm trying to set up a new laptop for remote emergency comms using Winlink with VARA HF.? I've run the same configuration in Windows 10 on my home station laptop for several years, first with an IC 7300 and recently with an IC-7610.? I've installed the latest versions of Winlink, VARA HF, WSJT-X, etc. on the new Win10 laptop and carefully checked that all xcvr and computer setings are the same. When I transfer the USB cable to the new computer, everything, including FT8 on WSJT-X, works as on the home station laptop EXCEPT - the VARA HF does not communicate with the 7610. The audio input does appear to come through ok on the VARA screen meters, but when I try to Open a Winlink VARA HF session, the transceiver does not change to the Winlink frequency and nothing happens when I try to Start the connection or change to a different channel.?

Since WSJT-X works ok, it appears that the VARA "Device in" and "Device out" settings - which are identical to those on the station computer - must not be working correctly. I tried using a different USB port on both machines, and the VARA Soundcard Setup "Device input" and "Device output" names change appropriately, but the new laptop still won't control the rig.?

I removed and re-installed VARA on the new laptop but, even after checking and re-entering all settings, VARA still won't communicate with the xcvr.?

I'll appreciate any suggestions about what to try next!?

73 es Aloha,

Tom AH6KW?

Re: Optimizing VARA FM and an ID-4100 with a Digirig

#9265

Joel;

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You're sending and/or receiving fairly small messages with VARA FM. For these small messages, negotiation takes up a substantial portion of the session time.

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Sending/receiving messages of 40 Kbytes or larger will provide more meaningful VARA FM throughput data.

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Mark - AD7EF