RIGblaster plus USB rig to sound card interface OWNERS MANUAL 5TH EDITION RADIO WEST MOUNTAIN http://www.westmountainradio.com 1020 Spring City Drive, Waukesha, WI 53186 tel 262.522.6503 fax 262.522.6504 © 2008 West Mountain Radio, All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contents of Package 1-RIGblaster plus (NOTE: COVER IS LOOSE SO YOU MAY EASILY REMOVE IT TO INSTALL JUMPERS) 1- Accessory Zip Lock bag.
RIGblaster plus
RIGblaster plus USB radio to sound card interface STEP by STEP INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS Thank you for purchasing a RIGblaster plus. We hope that it provides many hours of amateur radio enjoyment. FOR MAXIMUM ENJOYMENT PLEASE PROCEED IN ORDER, STEP BY STEP! DO NOT CONTINUE TO THE NEXT STEP UNTIL YOU HAVE CORRECTLY COMPLETED THE STEP YOU ARE ON. NOTE: IF YOU CALL FOR SUPPORT WE WILL TO NEED TO KNOW WHAT STEP OF THIS MANUAL YOU ARE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH.
Next tune in a signal for the mode and program you have installed and are running. For PSK31 it is best to tune to 14.07015 USB. Open the sound card “Recording Control” panel and select whichever input you are using, mic. or line. Slide the slider up until see the recieve signals on the software’s waterfall display.
TIP: The diagrams depict the actual appearance of the jumper block in the RIGblaster. The black squares with the wires depict where the black and white wire jumpers go. A black rectange denotes where a blue shunt jumper goes. A circle denotes that no jumper is installed on that pin. After completing the jumper Installation you may put the cover on. Carefully align the cover, making sure that the side screw holes line up. Be careful not to put force on the potentiometer level control adjustment shaft.
If you used and connected the DB9M to DB9F cable to a real serial port continue to step 5. If all you have on your computer to use for serial control is a USB socket then you must use the supplied USB to DB9 converter cable instead. Continue to the next step. 4. USB CABLE DRIVER INSTALLATION: (Skip this step if you connected an actual RS232 serial port on your computer) The following procedure is to install the software drivers in order to make the USB cable hardware communicate with your computer.
Set the RIGblaster VOX / AUTO switch to AUTO. Put the software into transmit (TX) and check that your radio automatically switches to transmit and shows PTT activation (It may be normal not to see any RF output until you complete the next step). Continue to the next step only if you have computer PTT control working properly. 6. CONNECT THE TRANSMIT AUDIO: Connect one of the supplied 1/8” stereo audio cables from your sound card’s line output (laptop headphone output) to the RIGblaster’s audio in.
With an FM rig you must set the audio level using a deviation meter or by comparing the level of your transmit audio to other stations by using a second receiver. For operation with the EchoLink System® use their 9999 test server to check audio levels. The sound card sliders should end up between 1/4 and 3/4 of the way up and the RIGblaster audio level control set between 1/8 and 7/8 of the way up. You should be able to achieve a happy balance between controls when they are all set properly.
Keyboard CW keying can co-exist with an external keyer if you wire the keyer keying output in parallel with the RIGblaster’s keying output and plug both into a single straight key jack. This is one way that you may send CW with both a keyboard and a paddle. You may not use the built in keyer in your radio unless your radio has two CW key jacks, one for a paddle and another for a straight key. This is because external computer keying is in the form of Morse code character output, not paddle dotdash closures.
9. WORK LOTS OF DX AND HAVE FUN: You are on the air! Try all the modes, not just one; experiment! THIS COMPLETES THE STEP BY STEP SETUP SECTION OF THIS MANUAL...... FOR MORE INFORMATION: CONTINUE READING AND/OR VISIT OUR WEB SUPPORT PAGE: http://www.westmountainradio.com/supportplu.htm MICROPHONE JUMPER INSTALLATION NOTES The jumper diagrams and charts in the back of this manual should be checked against the microphone wiring diagram in your radio’s owner’s manual. Simply make sure that mic. audio, mic.
Basic station hookup diagram. Note: This diagram is a basic sound card station hookup and does not show a connection for to key CW or for FSK. That connection is user supplied and requires an 1/8” mini jack to connect the key out of the RIGblaster to the radio’s straight key input for CW or FSK keying terminals for RTTY TRANSMIT AUDIO: Use the supplied 3.5 mm, 1/8” stereo phone plug patch cord from computer’s line* output to RIGblaster’s audio in.
PTT, KEYING & SWITCHING: Use the supplied DB9M to DB9F serial cable connected between the RIGblaster’s serial jack and computer’s com port. If you do not have a RS232 COM port on your computer then use the USB to DB9 serial adaptor cable. (note the USB cable requires a driver installation: read manual first) RECEIVE AUDIO: Use the upplied 3.5mm, 1/8” stereo phone plug patch cord from radio’s speaker or line out to computer’s line* input. MICROPHONE: Use the supplied Mic. cable.
The primary adjustment is mic. gain which sets the amount of audio amplification for the microphone. A speech compressor basically makes loud speech softer and soft speech louder, reducing the range between soft and loud. If your rig has transmit shift or audio equalization you can adjust the tone quality of your microphone audio. An ALC circuit is provided to minimize the possibility of too much audio over driving the rig, causing flattopping or splatter.
NOTE: if you run your sound card turned all the way up, and compensate by turning the RIGblaster down, you may distort the sound card output and have poor quality signal. A similar thing will happen if you set your radio’s RF drive/ power control for low power and then try to turn up the RIGblaster and computer to compensate. VOX OPERATION To set up for VOX operation, instead of automatic serial control, you need to understand the switching within the RIGblaster. In the AUTO mode your mic.
PTT IN/OUT RCA foot switch jack: Used to connect a PTT switch to key your radio’s PTT via the RIGblaster and to activate PTT on the RIGblaster. This jack is directly connected to the RIGblaster’s PTT IN connection. It does not close connection when the RIGblaster’s PTT circuit is activated by a computer. It be used to control an amplifier or sequencer that activated by the PTT switch on your mic. LEVEL ADJ adjustment control: To match the nominal output of the computer to your radio’s mic. jack.
PWR red LED: This simply shows that 12 VDC is applied. The RIGblaster must be on in order for your mic. to work through the RIGblaster. The RIGblaster has no on/off switch since the power consumption is less than 0.2 watts in the AUTO position. It will run for about 50 years for the price of a power switch. The RIGblaster has extensive surge protection and it is not necessary to ever turn it off.
TROUBLESHOOTING If you have installed the RIGblaster following the steps in this manual you need not go back to a previous step that was completed successfully. The problem is isolated to the step that you have found the problem on. Please be sure you know which step of this manual you are stuck on before contacting us for support, it will be a big help. Most problems are software related and are fixed with a mouse! To avoid software problems it helps to read software documentation or help files.
8 PIN SCREW ON MICROPHONE JUMPER DIAGRAMS Alinco, Kenwood, SGC, Elecraft 8 pin screw on Pin # Connection 1 Microphone audio 2 Push to talk, PTT 3 Direct blue shunt jumper 4 Direct blue shunt jumper 5 Direct blue shunt jumper 6 Direct blue shunt jumper 7 Mic. common (Ground) 8 PTT common (Ground) Icom 8 pin screw on Pin # Connection 1 Microphone audio 2 Direct blue shunt jumper 3 Direct blue shunt jumper 4 Direct blue shunt jumper 5 Push to talk, PTT 6 PTT common (Ground) 7 Mic.
RJ45 MODULAR TEL. STYLE JUMPER DIAGRAMS NOTE: To use these diagrams with these radios you must plug the your RJ45 mic. in to the back “mic out” jack of the RIGblaster. Using the supplied mic. cable, screw the 8 pin plug in to the front of the RIGblaster and plug the RJ45 end in to your radio’s RJ45 mic. jack. Be sure to use the correct diagram for your brand radio, as follows, and observe that PTT & MIC.
SERIAL KEYING JUMPER DIAGRAM EXAMPLES Here are some examples of serial control jumper options. There are other possibilities, but the default should be fine for the casual operator. Depending on your choice of software you may need one of these examples. The idea is to match the PTT and various keying options of the software you intend to use. Even though we tried to make it as flexible as possible, you may not be able to configure it to work with two programs that require different configurations.
RIGblaster WARRANTY The RIGblaster is warranted against failure due to defects in workmanship or materials for one year after the date of purchase from West Mountain Radio. Warranty does not cover damage caused by abuse, accident, misuse, improper or abnormal usage, failure to follow instructions, improper installation, alteration, lightning, or other incidence of excessive voltage or current.
20 RIGblaster plus
