Hi all, Finally figured out what the issue was; but first to answer the questions and comments I got from several of you. Thanks to all for sending in a reply. 1. In answer to Alan's (WA4SCA) question: I actually have 2 FT-847 radios and I knew about the serial number versus the bi-directional CAT issue and once I dug through all of my notes I found your decoder for the serial number. I bought my first one new in 2000 and it had a serial number of 0G340454; the second one I bought used and has a serial number of 0M450025. So if I understand everything correctly, the build year was 2000. So that didn't seem to be the issue. Alan also asked if I am using a tuner; nope. No tuner. 2. In answer to Charlie's (KB8CR) and also Bill's (VE3NXK) question about baud rate being used in the radio: I did play with the baud rate to match what the Comm port and SatPC32 were set for. And I always went slower until something worked and then tried higher speeds. Eventually I was able to get things to work correctly at 9600. More on this in a bit. 3. In answer to Pedro's (LU7ABF) comments: I was able to get things to work correctly but I will take a look at the 2 links you sent. Something to play with in the future. 4. In response to Bob's (KB3PMR) comment: Your suggestion to call StarTech was going to be on the list for Monday if I didn't get things to work. Sounds like they were helpful with your questions. 5. And in response to Paulo's (PV8DX) suggestions: Although you have a different radio than mine, the suggestions were helpful. The most helpful was the screen shot of the Comm port settings that you were using; more in a moment. In addition to the StarTech cable, I also tried an older USBGear adapter that I have. At first, both cables were showing the same issue. Finally I decided to try my RTSystems software and the USB-65 cable to see if I could just talk to both radios. Yep, I could talk to both radios with no issue and was able to download the previously loaded memories. I was worried that the serial interface inside the radios had gotten damaged somehow. At that point I took a look at what Comm port settings the USB-65 cable was using. In my case, once I plugged it in. it used Port 5, 9600 bps 8 bits No parity 1 stop bit. I had been trying to use 2 stop bits based on what the FT-847 manual (0008J-MK) was indicating what the CAT byte uses. Once I changed to using 1 stop bit, everything worked just fine. So it was probably me not understanding the manual correctly. I did try to use 57600 but the radios just didn't seem to respond and never went into CAT control, so I went back to 9600. For those that might have the RTSystems cables, it worked just fine also with SatPC32 and the FT-847. The USB-65 cable is not just for programming the radio but can be used for other things. So basically I have 3 different USB/Serial adaptercables I can use for CAT control. Thanks again everyone. It has been quite a while since I tried using CAT control and had to get back into the groove for the end of June for Field Day. 73,Charlie Sufana AJ9NOne of the ARISS mentors In a message dated 2024-05-31 15:54:15 Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Hi all, I am trying to use a newly purchased StarTech ICUSB232FTN (1 port FTDI USB to RS232 Null Modem Adapter) to have SatPC32 control my Yaesu FT-847. For whatever reason, I have not been able to get SatPC32 to control the radio. Has anyone had experience with using this adapter that might have a few tips to pass along? I don't know if it is the adapter itself or a step I might have missed in getting SatPC32 and the FT-847 to work. The adapter when plugged in thinks it is in Com4 so I set SatPC32 to be in Com4 with a delay of 20 and baud rate of 57600. I have also adjusted the radio to use 57600 and have adjusted Com4 to be 57600. But it could be some other settings would work better, so I am open to suggestions. I am using Windows 10 and version 12.8d of SatPC32. Thanks in advance. 73,Charlie Sufana AJ9N
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