apache-labs.com

hey folks
used to have a flex and could use a usb relay board to change antennas when i switched bands. come across the usb/bcd check box under general, oc control,hf tab, dug out a usb board and plugged into the computer and enabled the check box, shows the usb board to select, whan i change bands it switches some relays on and off, anyone done that with thetis software? since it changes some relays i assume there is a place to change some stuff around, can anyone tell me or shoot me in the right direction?
Thanks

Interesting! I had not realized that any sort of USB support had been added!

Searching the Git repository, I found this reference: https://github.com/ramdor/Thetis/pull/121

As that commit reference suggests, it would appear that this feature is only to provide Yaesu style BCD band data. I'd recommend you Google "yaesu bcd band data" and confirm that is what your USB relay board is doing.

It does not appear this can be used for antenna switching by itself. Of course you can buy or build any number of Yaesu BCD driven antenna switching boards.

It was something Doug put in a while ago, but it needed re-writing as it left many open ended issues, which I did sometime last year.

It is a binary coded decimal output based on band

GEN, 60m, 2m, WWV, VHF0-13, SWL bands = 0 (0000)
160M = 1 (0001)
80M = 2 (0010)
40M = 3 (0011)
30M = 4 (0100)
20M = 5 (0101)
17M = 6 (0110)
15M = 7 (0111)
12M = 8 (1000)
10M = 9 (1001)
6M = 10 (1010)

and that will be sent to the relay board. It mimics the Yaesu BCD band data. Well, except that a N/A band should ideally be, according to Yaesu, 15 (1111) but I guess for Doug's requirement he wanted all to be off in that state. Rick asked the same question over on Discord which I answered with the same info.