I am another newbie – sort of. I’m using the ft-857 of the ft-8xx family and note that Vara HF seems to work and sets the radio onto the proper frequency for the station chosen. However it does not set the radio freq. on Vara FM. So I have to manually tune it …
Is that normal? Shouldn’t Vara FM also set the radio to the chosen system frequency?
Everything works great for FT-8 and WSPR and N1MM logger etc. Vara FM is my final hurdle.
Sorry to jump in here. Maybe this should be a new thread?
Dave,
What you refer to is a serial CAT control. Usually it support commands for setting frequencies, bands, other features of transceiver and can also be used for keying up the radio (PTT).
In VaraFM configuration you can find CAT configuration, but it only is used for PTT and none of other capabilities:
Maybe they will add more features later, but for now you’ll need to tune into the VaraFM frequency manually. With Digirig you can also use PTT via COM (RTS).
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Thanks. You confirmed my suspicions that FM vs HF provides less control features. It does make sense to me since many users are using hand held – HT s – with simpler interfaces. Or there is not room on the unit for added connectors etc. The PTT function does work with the 857. Now I know I can quit looking for the features/controls that are not there. Vara HF does look promising!
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