Issues with Digirig and Icom IC-746 CAT

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1

Hi,

I’ve got an IC-746 and a Digirig, and I’m trying to get CAT control working. The audio and PTT (via serial port RTS) works great with wsjt-x, and I’ve made some FT8 contacts. I just can’t seem to get CAT to work.

I’m borrowing the radio and the Digirig from a friend who bought them from another guy as a package. My friend hasn’t actually tried the Digirig himself.

I did verify the Digirig is version 1.9, and I verified that it has the solder modifications to work with Icom CI-V. The serial port shows up in device manager, and I’ve installed the latest driver. Also the serial port RTS signal works to trigger transmitting.

I wanted to do the loopback test with Putty, but I’m not sure how that is supposed to work with the Digirig configured for half-duplex. My understanding is that if I opened a connection to the COM port with Putty then anything I typed would be echoed back to the screen without doing anything with the cable. However when I try Putty nothing shows on the screen when I type. Am I right that I should see something?

Thanks,

Dave
K0DJD

2

Yes, with Digirig in CI-V configuration you should get the characters you type printed back in the terminal even with no cable connected. You should also have the same results with CI-V cable only connected on Digirig’s side and also with cable connected on both ends. Try all three scenarios.

3

Hey Dave-
Quick question-Is your control cable an 8 pin DIN or a 3.5mm plug? I purchased cables from Digirig and it is the DIN type but found that the IC-746 also has a 3.5mm CI-V jack as well. Just wondered which one you are using. Thank you!
Scott
KA2OOB

4

The kit recommended for IC-746 includes both cables:

5

Yes, I have the recommended kit with both cables. The 3.5mm plug is used for serial CI-V data which does CAT rig control. The DIN cable has pins for input and output audio as well as a push to talk.

Dave
K0DJD

6

Ugh-I modified my Digirig 1.9 for CI-V operation and double checked my soldering-It’s not giving me half-duplex in a terminal. Not sure what to do now. It seems O can recognize the Digirig and I receive audio through WSJT-X but I don’t believe the device is working properly. Any ideas? I’ll keep researching.
–Scott
KA2OOB

7

Scott,
No worries, we’ll sort this out.
Can you please share the picture of the back side of the PCB as well as the ports listing of the device manager showing Digirig entry there?