I have a DR-735T and the Digirig mobile. I bought the Yaesu 81x cables to get the 6-pin for the back of the radio… I’m having trouble finding info on how to make this work. DR works fine as far as I have sound card and com port configured… just not getting any settings to key the radio… wondering if i need a different cable or if an easier route would be the RJ45 cable for the Mic port?
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I checked the manual for Alinco DR-735T and it doesn’t show the pinout for MiniDin6 connector. We can assume that there was no reason for them to get creative with what is pretty much an industry standard, though I was surprised in that department before (I’m looking at you, FT-891).
To confirm the pinout for PTT you can simulate it by shorting the contacts on TRRS side while MiniDin6 side is plugged into the radio. Refer to below video for more info and please report your findings. In the software the PTT needs to be set to RTS of Digirig’s COM port.
The less attractive connection alternative is via mic jack. The pinout is provided in the manual and it matches that in ICOM mobile radios with RJ-45 connector:
Thank you! I am not getting any TX by the shorting method. I am seeing audio levels and tested via WSJT-X. Now digging through the manual for how to use (engage) the rear 6-pin port. If I fail… I’ll just order the RJ-45 cable. It ‘should’ work so I’m going to keep messing with it and will report.
Todd KB7RQQ
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For good measure, here is the pinout for 9600 baud cable so you can test continuity and rule it out as the problem:
The connections may be mirrored depending on your perspective.
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Interesting… My ‘TIP’ is going to PIN-6 in the above drawing.
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Do other connections match the schematic? Possibility you are looking at the pins up side down or mirrored?
Other pins match the schematic perfectly. (with cable end oriented just like the picture) In the numbering provided in the image, the Tip is connected to PIN-6.
Seems a bit weird so I checked it quite a few times to make sure. I can drop the cable back in the mail if you’d like to have a look at the cable? Not a big deal to me. I’ll get this working eventually 
Oh, that makes sense. You have 1200 baud cable (all black), not 9600 baud (green molding on MiniDin6 side). Here’s the pinout:
Oh! Sorry about that. The green cable looked like it had 8-pins so I didn’t try it. I’ll give er a go when I get home.
Yes, there is also a MiniDin8 cable in Yaesu FT-8xx kit, it’s for serial CAT control. Recently green molding is used on TRRS side of that cable. The pinout should be like this:
OK… yeah the green cable won’t work for me as it won’t plug into the radio. Should I order the RJ-45 to get the Alinco going?
[EDIT]: I read my initial reply and I see that I’m circling back to my original conclusion. I’d give PTT test another try though. This would really be unusual to not have a standard pinout there.
From what I can find in the manual the 1200 or 9600 baud MiniDin6 cable should work with your radio:
I don’t see any connections for CAT control or mentions of serial CAT functionality in the manual. There is a good possibility that the radio doesn’t support it. Interfacing through the mic connector in front will not give you more functionary, but will have downside of mic port occupied.
I did try the TNC ON mode and didn’t get anything different but I am not sure I tried the ‘short PTT’ method in that mode. I’ll check PTT again tonight and make sure I tried that in TNC ON mode.
Would be weird, but not suprising if not standard. Have a couple of DR-135 and 435’s running Allstar nodes and the 9-pin serials are pretty standard and work great.
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And thanks again for all of your time! Very cool product… I had to choose a weird radio 
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So what was the final out come. Can the 6 pin din work on the right VFO?
You might not need a different cable. Try these steps:
- Verify the MiniDin6 connector pinout for PTT using a shorting method. If that works, configure Digirig software for PTT via RTS of the COM port.
- If shorting doesn’t work, consider using the RJ45 cable for the Mic port (confirmed pinout in the manual).
The real question is about the 6 pin din plug on the Alinco supporting xmit. As one who might buy the radio, it would be nice to know.
Greetings,
I can confirm that the Yaesu FT8xx cable does indeed work with the Alinco DR735T.
I recently got my Yaesu FT 891 successfully configured for CAT and audio with the digirig and used it with VARAHF/Winlink.
I just happened to have my new Alinco sitting nearby, remembering that I wanted to try out the ACC port on the back. After changing menu setting 32 to set TNC “ON” I moved on to the software side.
Using VARA FM I set everything up in the Settings menu and could NOT get it to key the radio.
I tried everything.
Then I second guessed everything.
Then I started over. More than once.
Finally, I found what worked. In the VARAFM Settings Menu under “PTT”
I noticed that I didn’t have “RTS” set to “COM” with the proper COM port for the Digirig selected. Once I set it to the correct COM port it keyed the radio flawlessly.
I was feeling pretty proud of myself for figuring it out until I reread the entire thread and noticed the last sentence of K0TX’s initial response.
Oh well, at least I got it working…I’m happy.
FWIW,
Mike
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