PorkControl for Yaesu FT-817ND

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PorkControl is a Java-based software controller for the Yaesu FT-817ND (and older FT-817) radio transceiver. It is currently in beta and released under the GNU GPL v2. PorkControl supports all platforms that the RXTX serial library supports, this includes Windows, Linux and MAC OSX. PorkControl is not endorsed or supported by Yaesu.

PorkControl is used to control frequency and other features without using the fiddly controls on the unit itself. It currently also supports:

Interactive point and click control.
Manual-entry frequency control.
Automatic radio control to access repeaters based on the UK Repeater List.
Favourites (including frequency, mode, tone and offset).

There are no longer active plans to integrate PSK31 functionality, unless there is demand. Personally I prefer fldigi or MultiPSK.

> If you use PorkControl or have suggestions for new features, I'd like to hear from you!

Before You Install PorkControl

Before installing and using PorkControl make sure you have everything on this list:

Awareness and understanding of the warnings (see below).
PC running Windows, Mac OSX or Linux (see note 1).
Yeasu FT-817 or FT-817ND (see note 2).
RS232 serial port or USB-to-Serial adaptor.
Serial port drivers installed and working.
CAT Cable CT62 (see note 3).
Power supply for radio (see note 4).
Java Virtual Machine (version 6 preferred) installed and working.
Optional: Software and an adaptor cable (see note 5) if you intend to do data modes.

Note 1: PorkControl has been tested on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Your platform must be supported by the RXTX library. The library is included and should work automatically.

Note 2: PorkControl has been tested on the FT-817ND. It might work with other models. Any use (even with the same model) is at your own risk anyway.

Note 3: Clone CT62 cables are available at: http://www.g4zlp.co.uk/unified/YaesuCAT.shtml.

Note 4: Either a battery or at least 2000 mAh transformer at 12V if you plan to transmit. The charger can be used (with NO batteries) for receive only.

Note 5: The CAT cable and PorkControl are only used to configure the radio, they do not actually produce or process data signals such as PSK31. This is possible using software and additional cables to hook the sound card input and output lines to the data port on the FT817. Be aware that the transmit button in PorkControl will not enable the transmission of sound on the rear connector. The radio has to be in Digital Mode (which can be set using PorkControl) and then the PTT line has to be grounded (using a relay, for example).

Warnings

Please note that PorkControl is released in an incomplete state, and some features may be missing or broken. The program is believed to work OK as provided, but the source code includes unimplemented features that are incomplete and untested. If you want to use the control class in your own programs, it is strongly recommended that you test carefully or contact the author first. If you won't be touching the source code, you can probably ignore this warning.

The FT817ND is capable of receiving and transmitting on frequencies that may require a license, may require specific equipment and/or where unauthorised use may be illegal. In particular, use of amateur radio frequencies requires training and a license in most countries. Some frequencies (such as those used by CB and marine radio) are intended for use by specific equipment and as such the FT817ND is not legally suitable and may also present a safety risk to yourself and others. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that the software/hardware is used properly and legally. The author accepts no responsibility whatsoever. You have been warned.

The FT817ND is software-calibrated when leaving the factory. It is theoretically possible to corrupt these settings when using software control - although this should not normally happen. It is strongly recommended that these settings are manually backed up up BEFORE connecting the radio to a computer. To do this, hold [A], [B] and [C] whilst powering the radio on. Copy all 76 settings carefully. To move between settings turn the [SEL] knob. Switch off the radio when done, do not press the [F] key. Corrupted calibration will result in an un-optimised radio, poor performance and the possibility of damage. The radio will have to be sent back to Yaesu. You have been warned.

Although the FT817ND will receive when powered from the battery charger alone, it will not transmit. Do not click the transmit button unless you are using the internal batteries or connected to a power supply providing at least 2 Amps. Failure to do this will break the CAT connection, which might be dangerous to the radio, PC or any USB bridges. Also, the PTT might stay down, causing problems if remote controlling the radio. You have been warned.

Installation

Be aware of warnings.
Download the zip file below.
Unzip into a folder. Keep all the files together.
Download the CSV version of the UK Repeater List, from http://www.ukrepeater.net/ and save it as repeaterlist.csv in the folder.
Check that repeater list is properly formatted, the current version has an error near the bottom. When you try to open it, search for the four digit number shown in the error and delete (or correct) the lines affected.
If you are running MAC OSX, see MAC OSX section below.

Radio Config

By default, PorkControl talks to the radio at 38400 bps. You might need to configure this on the radio (Option 14 "CAT RATE").

Using PorkControl

Double click the PorkControl.jar file. This has been tested and works in Windows and Mac OSX.

If it does not run, try running the following command from the PorkControl directory:

java -Djava.library.path=. -jar PorkControl.jar

If you get port access problems, try running as root/administrator (ie. using sudo). It is best to change the permissions of the serial port to avoid this. (If you are running MAC OSX, see MAC OSX section below.)

Select the COM port that the CAT cable is connected to and then click Load.

To set frequencies, use the frequency button. To browse frequencies:

Left click a digit to increment.
Right click a digit to decrement.

To use other features, click relevant parts of the GUI or simulated LCD display.

Mac OSX

The included RXTX driver uses lock files that are expected to be in the directory /var/lock. If this directory does not exist, create it first and then set the permissions.

Run the following commands to create the lock directory:

sudo mkdir /var/lock
sudo chmod 755 /var/lock

Make sure to run the software as root. This problem is expected to go away in the next version of the RXTX driver.

If you dont want to do this, you might want to consider installing VirtualBox and use a cut-down version of Linux (see below). You can then redirect the USB port to the virtual machine and control the radio from Linux.

Getting Up and Running with Debian GNU/Linux

Debian is a good choice, as you can get up and running quickly:

Install Debian (using the 'net-inst' CD-ROM is usually fastest).
Add 'non-free' to the end of each source in /etc/apt/sources.list
Run 'sudu apt-get update'.
Run 'sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre' to install Java.
Optional: Run 'sudo apt-get install fldigi' to install PSK31 software.

Modules

PorkControl is supplied with two working modules:

UK Repeaters. This allows searching for repeaters and automatic configuration of the radio to use the repeater. This requires the UK Repeater List csv file.
Bookmarks. This allows the radio settings to be stored. For example, particular frequencies or stations.

More modules are planned to support call logs and bandplan browsing. There is no current time frame for completion.

PorkControl modules are classes implementing a specific interface. Modules need to provide a JPanel getter (which appears in a tab) and a constructor that takes the PorkControl object. This allows for GUI access and radio control. For more details, contact the author or see source files in package net.tonychung.ham.porkcontrol.modules.

Supported Features

Not all features are yet supported. Click and see, nothing should break (hopefully).

Copyright

PorkControl - An interactive radio control program for the FT817ND

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, U

Download

This contains all the required files, including the RXTX library and native libraries. It does not include the UK repeater list: download that from http://www.ukrepeater.net/!

Download (ZIP)

MD5: 310197e8f7e5a764e002499fbec04c66