Manager - A standard PC comes equipped with an 8-bit parallel port which can be used to switch auxiliary
equipment such as antennas, bandpass filters and power amplifiers. Ham Radio Deluxe supports the parallel port via a fully configurable manager and monitor displays.Typical uses of this option are to switch antennas, either automatically as the frequency changes, or by selecting an option from the Parallel Port pane of the selection window.
Simon has included details in the AuxiliarySwitching.pdf file and these details are repeated here. See the Introduction section for access to the PDF.
Technology
The parallel port sends 8 bits at a time. The layout of the parallel port pins is shown at left.
The data pins are shown in red; D0 is pin 2, D7 is pin 9.
To indicate that a bit has a value of 1, a charge of 5 volts is sent through the correct pin. No charge on a pin indicates a value of 0. This is a simple but highly effective way to transmit digital information over an analog cable in real-time.
The parallel port sends 8 bits at a time. The layout of the parallel port pins is shown at left.The data pins are shown in red; D0 is pin 2, D7 is pin 9.
To indicate that a bit has a value of 1, a charge of 5 volts is sent through the correct pin. No charge on a pin indicates a value of 0. This is a simple but highly effective way to transmit digital information over an analog cable in real-time.
Definitions:Each definition consists of:
· [X] Enabled selection – if not checked then the definition is ignored when Ham Radio Deluxe detects a new frequency. The definition is still shown in the selection window if this option is enabled.
· Title – a description of the antenna or component that will be switched when the entry is selected.
· From – the lower end of the frequency range.
· To – the upper end of the frequency range.
· Port – the LPT port to be switched by the definition.
· D0-D7 – the parallel port data bit settings, each bit is either 1 (on) or 0 (off). D0 is pin 2, D7 is pin 9.
Port Address - The default port addresses for LPT1, LPT2 and LPT3 are 0378, 0278 and 03BC respectively. If your computer has a different configuration just select the address that corresponds to the port. You will find the port address via the Device Manager settings display located in the System control panel applet.In this Windows XP example, the base address is 0378.
Various - The options are:
· Auto-switch: as the frequency displayed by Ham Radio Deluxe changes, a lookup is made against the parallel port definitions and the parallel port switched to the configuration for the first definition in the list which matches the new frequency.
· Selection window: displays a Parallel Port pane in the main Ham Radio Deluxe selection window.
· Auto-switch: as the frequency displayed by Ham Radio Deluxe changes, a lookup is made against the parallel port definitions and the parallel port switched to the configuration for the first definition in the list which matches the new frequency.
· Selection window: displays a Parallel Port pane in the main Ham Radio Deluxe selection window.
Monitor - The monitor window is started from the Tools Parallel Port menu. The monitor shows the current state of the data pins for a selected parallel port, allows you to select a definition and also toggle the data pins directly.The Definition field shows the definition that matches the current pin selection (if any).