开云体育

ctrl + shift + ? for shortcuts
© 2025 开云体育
  1. Softrock40
  2. Topics

using Hamlib rigctld with RXTX Ensemble in Windows

 

In an effort to use the RXTX Ensemble with JS8call, I've been trying to figure out how to make a connection through rigctld. I can control the Ensemble suing console commands and rigctl -m 2509. What I can't seem to get right the the rig specifier, or -r parameter of the rigctld deamon. I've tried about every piece of the libusb description and various names with no luck, so I'm hoping someone here has done this before and knows the answer.Talking to folks on the JS8call group got me close, but not quite. I still get an error trying to open the rig.

TIA and 73,
Brent AB1LF
 

Good morning,

I would like to talk to whoever has assembled this equipment RXTX Ensemble.
I have two kits of these purchased from Tony Parks, which are still in
storage. Is it worth assembling them? I have uBITX v4 that I still need to
finish assembling it, but it is working.

73's by Rubens Py2pvb
+55 18 9 9819 2225


Em dom., 13 de set. de 2020 às 23:35, Brent DeWitt <bdewitt@...>
escreveu:

In an effort to use the RXTX Ensemble with JS8call, I've been trying to
figure out how to make a connection through rigctld. I can control the
Ensemble suing console commands and rigctl -m 2509. What I can't seem to
get right the the rig specifier, or -r parameter of the rigctld deamon.
I've tried about every piece of the libusb description and various names
with no luck, so I'm hoping someone here has done this before and knows the
answer.Talking to folks on the JS8call group got me close, but not quite.
I still get an error trying to open the rig.

TIA and 73,
Brent AB1LF
 

I have two kits of these purchased from Tony Parks, which are still in
storage. Is it worth assembling them?
Rubens,

Modern SDRs are popular because of their wide bandwidth.
The performance of Softrocks within the "narrow" bandwidth compares well with these.
After all the soundcard ADC is 16 bits, only recently have wideband SDRs reached this level.
If you have a use for your Ensembles yes, build them.

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

Since this is a Softrock group, I'm sure you'll get lots of favorably biased answers, including mine. I've been using two RXTX Ensembles (40-20 mtr, 15-10 mtr) for about 10 years as my everyday radio, mostly CW and BPSK31 modes. When the Sun had bad acne, I worked almost half the way around the world on that 1 Watt. Until recently, I used Windows PCs as the host, but I'm now splitting the duty with a Raspberry Pi, just for fun. I've never actually used a uBITX, but I've looked at the design fairly carefully.

The uBITX and Softrock RXTX Ensemble are a bit of an "apples and oranges" comparison, so it depends a bit on what you want to do with the rig. Here is my thought on the differences.

uBITX:
- Stand alone box (no external computing power needed).
- 10 Watts out
- All HF bands covered in one box
- CW and SSB only (no digital modes)
- Fully assembled

Softrock RXTX Ensemble
- Requires external sound card and computing power.
- 1 Watt output
- Build for 2/3 specific bands
- Comes as a bag of parts
- Operates just about any mode your software can think of

To be honest and as a life-long engineer and experimenter, I can't think of any reason not to build all of them if you already have the kits. Doing that, you can become your own best advisor!.

Have fun and 73.
Brent AB1LF
 

Rubens, whether it is worth depends on personal taste. I have a ubitx ver. 3, which is very similar to ver.4 except for the audio chip. Both versions need some mods, as you know, to be fully compliant above 17Mhz SSB (spurs) and for odds harmonics. It is a clever design but. It is a different animal compared to the Softrock RXTX. The Softrock puts out just 1w instead of 10w or more of your ubitx (on 10m probably it will deliver 2w btw). But the Softrock is an SDR. Being based on a SI570 (low phase noise) I believe it has a very good close-in dynamic range (depending more on the soundcard than the oscillator), it has any kind of DSP, NR, Notch, AGC? etc that as such the uBitx as such cannot provide. That is why I have used an Softrock RX Ensemble with an RXTX changeover with my uBitx. The uBitx receiver is fine but the Softrock does everything I need. The IP3 of the mixer I guess is very good as well.
By the way, I was just too lazy to build one so, years ago I bought a 15-12-10m version and recently I ordered one for 40-30-20m. I just think they are well thought products.

73 de Franco iz2oos

Il lunedì 14 settembre 2020, 14:48:37 CEST, Rubens Kamimura <rubens.kamimura@...> ha scritto:

Good morning,

I would like to talk to whoever has assembled this equipment RXTX Ensemble.
I have two kits of these purchased from Tony Parks, which are still in
storage. Is it worth assembling them? I have uBITX v4 that I still need to
finish assembling it, but it is working.

73's by Rubens Py2pvb
+55 18 9 9819 2225


Em dom., 13 de set. de 2020 às 23:35, Brent DeWitt <bdewitt@...>
escreveu:

In an effort to use the RXTX Ensemble with JS8call, I've been trying to
figure out how to make a connection through rigctld.? I can control the
Ensemble suing console commands and rigctl -m 2509.? What I can't seem to
get right the the rig specifier, or -r parameter of the rigctld deamon.
I've tried about every piece of the libusb description and various names
with no luck, so I'm hoping someone here has done this before and knows the
answer.Talking to folks on the JS8call group got me close, but not quite.
I still get an error trying to open the rig.

TIA and 73,
Brent AB1LF
 

On 14/09/2020 03:34, Brent DeWitt wrote:
In an effort to use the RXTX Ensemble with JS8call, I've been trying to figure out how to make a connection through rigctld. I can control the Ensemble suing console commands and rigctl -m 2509.
There are two things you need to make this work;

- some program to convert the IQ audio streams used by the RXTX to and from the baseband audio used by js8call;

- some way to control the RXTX frequency and PTT.

What platform are you using?

73
Nick
 

Thanks for the reply Nick,

I'm on Windows 10 for most things. As I mentioned earlier, I'm trying to make a control connection between JS8call and the Softrock Ensemble. I can use CFGSR or HDSDR to tune the rig and pipe the audio directly to JS8call and receive just fine. I can also manually use CFGSR to HDSDR for PTT, then start TX on JS8call. I'm trying to "skip the middle-man" if you will. I can also control the Softrock from the command line CAT using rigctl.exe, but that's even more of a pain. What I'm missing is how, under Windows 10, is the proper entry for the "-r" rig parameter on rigcltd startup. No luck yet.
 

Hi Brent,
Here's hoping for bad acne (at 64). Thanks for your encouraging post. I have 1 RXTX to build and 2 more on order. I looked at your Qrz page. What a neat setup. I will be sending a personal email in a bit.
Lately I have been an unorganized unfocused twit. Like the Butterfly sampling here and there and never focusing. It does not help that I am working at the same time and dont have huge blocks of time. But I dearly love to build and understand what I build.
Thanks for your encouraging post.

I am liking also what Franko is posting too! In wonderful Milano Italy! I wanted to travel there on leave from the Nato Base in Naples while waiting for a US Submarine to arrive in La Madalena..
I do wonder what folks get out of Ft8.. give me a key! As bad as my CW is!

Guy N1GMM
 

It really depends on what your operating goals are.

The uBITX is a self-contained radio. It works on all the HF bands with 10W
output on the lower frequency bands, falling off to about 2W on 10 meters.
(There is a modification to increase output on the higher frequency bands.)
You don't need a computer to operate it. It's a decent SSB radio as
supplied, and works well for digital modes if you add a computer interface.
It's a so-so CW radio as supplied because of the wide filter and the lack
of full break-in capability. It's mediocre in terms of strong signal
handling; it's fine for casual operation but won't stand up on a crowded
band during a contest.

The Ensemble RXTX is an SDR that requires a computer and a sound card to
use. It works on one to three ham bands, depending on which band version
you have. Output is limited to 0.5-1 watt as supplied. (You can add an
external amplifier for more power; I've had good results with the 10W
linear amplifier module from QRP Labs.) You get the flexibility of SDR: the
ability to receive a large segment of the band (depending on the sound card
you use), a waterfall display, and very sharp and flexible filtering.
Operating in just about any mode is possible, depending on the software you
use, and you can operate digital modes with no additional hardware. The
receiver dynamic range is better than the uBITX even with a cheap sound
card, and can approach contest-grade with a high quality interface.

So, if you just want a simple radio so you can sit down and operate, or
something self contained that you can take into the field, you may be
happier with the uBITX. If you want a higher performance radio with
additional capabilities and are willing to make the effort to get
everything to work, the Ensemble RXTX could be the radio of your dreams.

On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 8:48 AM Rubens Kamimura <rubens.kamimura@...>
wrote:

Good morning,

I would like to talk to whoever has assembled this equipment RXTX Ensemble.
I have two kits of these purchased from Tony Parks, which are still in
storage. Is it worth assembling them? I have uBITX v4 that I still need to
finish assembling it, but it is working.

73's by Rubens Py2pvb
+55 18 9 9819 2225


Em dom., 13 de set. de 2020 às 23:35, Brent DeWitt <bdewitt@...>
escreveu:

In an effort to use the RXTX Ensemble with JS8call, I've been trying to
figure out how to make a connection through rigctld. I can control the
Ensemble suing console commands and rigctl -m 2509. What I can't seem to
get right the the rig specifier, or -r parameter of the rigctld deamon.
I've tried about every piece of the libusb description and various names
with no luck, so I'm hoping someone here has done this before and knows
the
answer.Talking to folks on the JS8call group got me close, but not quite.
I still get an error trying to open the rig.

TIA and 73,
Brent AB1LF
 

Brent>I'm trying to make a control connection between JS8call and the Softrock Ensemble. I can use CFGSR or HDSDR to tune the rig and pipe the audio directly to JS8call
Are you actually using HDSDR as an IQ processor?
From what you say it seems to me you are not feeding audio from HDSDR with VAC. Unless JS8call has IQ processing you will not have any image suppression.
Or, have I got it wrong?

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

Hello Brent

I use quisk here (on linux) as the middle man. It responds to hamlib commands...



"To connect an external program to Quisk using Hamlib, configure your program to use "Hamlib NET rigctl" (rig 2). Then go to the Quisk "Remote" config screen for your radio and set "IP port for Hamlib" to 4532. This assumes you are not using the rigctld daemon program. If you are, set the Quisk port to 4575 and tell rigctld to control quisk on port 4575. Now changing the frequency on one program will change the other."

So js8call (or wsjtx) controls quisk, which in turn controls the RXTX.

I do not know if HDSDR can do this; Alan G4ZFQ would probably know.

BTW quisk is also available for windows and it is well supported.

HTH

73
Nick

On 14/09/2020 21:02, Brent DeWitt wrote:
Thanks for the reply Nick,
I'm on Windows 10 for most things. As I mentioned earlier, I'm trying to make a control connection between JS8call and the Softrock Ensemble. I can use CFGSR or HDSDR to tune the rig and pipe the audio directly to JS8call and receive just fine. I can also manually use CFGSR to HDSDR for PTT, then start TX on JS8call. I'm trying to "skip the middle-man" if you will. I can also control the Softrock from the command line CAT using rigctl.exe, but that's even more of a pain. What I'm missing is how, under Windows 10, is the proper entry for the "-r" rig parameter on rigcltd startup. No luck yet.
 

set the Quisk port to 4575 and tell rigctld to control quisk on port 4575.
So js8call (or wsjtx) controls quisk, which in turn controls the RXTX.
I do not know if HDSDR can do this;
Nick,

As far as I know not like you describe. Although if the authors are asked they may well look into it.
HDSDR can be controlled by CAT from WSJT-X or DDE but I do not really know much about "Hamlib NET rigctl". Looks like a CAT++ "upgrade"?

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

Hello Alan

For a softrock all you need is to be able to change frequency and control PTT.

quisk acts as a cut-down hamlib server which can be accessed on 127.0.0.1 port 4532 by the client app e.g. wsjtx etc. Hamlib NET rigctl is the rig type (2) configured in the client.

sdr-shell can also be controlled in this way by the client app.

73
Nick

On 15/09/2020 12:33, Alan G4ZFQ wrote:
set the Quisk port to 4575 and tell rigctld to control quisk on port 4575.
So js8call (or wsjtx) controls quisk, which in turn controls the RXTX.
I do not know if HDSDR can do this;
Nick,
As far as I know not like you describe. Although if the authors are asked they may well look into it.
HDSDR can be controlled by CAT from WSJT-X or DDE but I do not really know much about "Hamlib NET rigctl". Looks like a CAT++ "upgrade"?
73 Alan G4ZFQ

1 - 13 of 13