Ok I bought the digirig mobile kit with what is supposed to be the proper cables from giga parts to just read the single audio cable is only for 1200 baud not the 9600 baud required for vara fm and winlink. The ftm 400 xdr does not support cat control so I didnt buy the cable. I really wanted to like this product but it seems too unreliable.
Jim, please see my explanation regarding the cables in another thread. As I mentioned, you are all set for Vara with the kit you purchased.
Please elaborate on your statement regarding reliability.
9600 isnât required for vara and/or winlink.
yes, a properly tuned, strong signal from both radios involved will result in a faster transfer using vara âwideâ.
it is not required however.
a vara narrow user can connect to a vara wide provider and vice versa.
while i did purchase a vara registration, iâve yet to hit the max speed in either hf or fm.
close though 
as for reliability, the digirig i purchased here, configured for the intended radio, has been reliable. cables stay plugged without wiggle. usb âdevicesâ stay detected by the OS. audio levels do not rise or fall with varying operating environments.
sweet
kb0wlf
Well i have not been able to get the digirig to work with the ftm 400 for several days i see the radio transmitting but dont hear it. I tune my ht to same frequency nothing I try to auto tune it will do 1/10 and disconnect and thats it. Sometimes it has as far a 10/10 and comes back as no signal. (Vara-fm) Ihave followed the troubleshooting videos with no luck. I have tried on both my base and mobile rig and with 2 different PCâs.
Letâs address one issue at a time. Received audio first.
With âlistenâ checkbox checked in Control Panel, do you hear the static from the radio in computerâs speakers?
Yes I hear it
Great, my understanding that PTT is working too.
Now, the final element is the transmit audio. Were you able to hear the digital tones with the regular headphones plugged into Digirigâs audio socket?
Will have to try it. Im currently at work will attempt tomorrow and will advise you
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Yes, I am hearing tone through headphones. while Iâm here will I need to change the baud rate in the driver to 1200 in order for it to work
With audio coming out of Digirig and PTT working you should be getting the signal on the air which you should hear on the monitoring radio tuned to the same frequency. Signal getting on the air doesnât guarantee that youâll have a successful link because that also require a good RF link to the remote station operating the same mode.
Please let me know if you donât hear the signal on the monitoring radio.
Re. baud rate: Do you mean in the driver for the serial port? Since we are not using CAT control the the data lines of the serial port are not utilized. COM is only used for triggering the PTT. In the context of cables discussion 1200/9600 baud describes the bandwidth of the audio signal coming from the radio.
Okay will try when I get a chance at work will let you know the out come
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Ok its transmitting now when I click the auto tune. It goes through the 10 attempts and increases in volume each time im presuming thats normal. I get back no signal. Im starting to belive 59 miles is to far away for the closest gateway.
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Yes, sounds like the issue is with the RF link quality. If you have a chance drive your setup closer to the repeater to test it out.
Do you hear other operators traffic on the digipeater from where you are?
No donât hear anything at all
Thatâs another indication that you might be too far from the digipeater. Before data exchange has any chance to succeed you need to have a reliable two-way audio between your station and remote station.
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Well thanknyou for all the help. Hopefully I can try again closer to a gateway
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You are very welcome. Everything being equal, you might get better results with a high gain directional antenna.
Well my base station unit is down in a valley and I was trying mobile when I was testing things with your help
I have the same problem with Winlink & Vara-FM.
I am currently using the Free trial version of Vara-FM, just to see if / how all this worksâŚ
After I realized my DigiRig was working, I discovered I could NOT hear any other digital stations, and they apparently could not receive my signals either! (Being to far away from anyone else!)
Then⌠I also discovered that using the Free trial version of Vara-FM, it wonât connect to any Digi-peaters! I think many people run into this problem too, before realizing the problem is with Vara.
I have the paid version of Vera. So I donât think that could be the problem. But who knows I can transmit? But I do not hear any type of digital sounds PERIOD I just left a High spot in my area to see if I could pick up any signals and try it again. Nothing I get
APRS no problem through my radio So not sure what the issue is. And my radio is aprs ready so not using digi rig for that.