I am very interested in the hampod, but I think it takes the only computer
interface port. If you can use both a hampod and a computer at the same
time, it would be an option.
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Alan R. Downing
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 10:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hex Beam and accessible rotor, part 3: making the Ham IV
accessible
Rob makes a perfect solution with his Hampod. Why not just go with it?
Alan - N7MIT
Alan R. Downing
Phoenix, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Howard, W A 9 Y B W
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 6:25 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hex Beam and accessible rotor, part 3: making the Ham IV
accessible
I talked with Mosley about four or five years ago and they were not making
that talking rotor control box any longer due to parts not being available.
Howard #3, W A 9 Y B W
----- Original Message -----
From: "Oriano" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2015 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: Hex Beam and accessible rotor, part 3: making the Ham IV
accessible
>I gather that Pro Search owned by Mosley Electronics is no longer
>making the talking rotor controller. I had one of these back in the
>1980s and it interfaced nicely to a Ham iv rotor. Unit had a nice
>keypad for entering the beam heading followed by a "go" button to
>start rotation. It was a stand-alone unit, no PC required.
>
> Oriano v e 7 d y z
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Jim Kutsch, KY2D
> Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2015 4:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Hex Beam and accessible rotor, part 3: making the Ham IV
> accessible
>
> This is part 3 of the description of my hex beam and accessible rotor.
> As I said at the end of part 2, I already had a Ham IV rotor from the
> 1980s. At that time, I had a custom synthetic speech board that spoke
> a three digit number to indicate the beam heading. A push button was
> added on the front of the control box just under the brake button.
> That button can be pushed with the thumb while other fingers operate
> the brake and clockwise or counter clockwise buttons. But,
> unfortunately, the external aluminum box with the speech circuit was
> lost in one of my many moves.
>
>
>
> Prior to the Ham IV, I had a few CDR rotors and before that an
> Alliance Tenna-rotor. These were very light duty rotors designed for
> TV antennas but work quite well for VHF and UHF beams. Both had either
> a large knob with a tactile line on it or had a large arrow for the
> knob. Spin the knob to the desired heading and he indicator moved in
> discrete "ker-chunks" until the antenna heading matched the direction
> of the knob. These were great for blind operators.
>
>
>
> With all that as background and also considering that I had not used
> any kind of rotor at all since 1990, I set out to see what was new for
> those of us who can't see the rotor indicator. I found some references
> to rotors for blind hams in Norm's Rotor Service and on Handi-hams. I
> also read about several list members taking the glass cover off the
> indicator on Yeasu rotors and using them successfully. But, I also
> found a lot of references to computer control and driving the rotor
> control from logging programs.
> Since I was trying to catch up on 25 years of missed experience with
> the technical progress of accessible rotors, and rotors in general for
> that matter, I became very interested in the PC control.
>
>
>
> I found Easy-Rotor-Control at http://easy-rotor-control.com/ in Germany.
> They have computer interface boards for over 90 rotors, including my
> old Ham IV. The rotor control is available in RS232 or USB. Some
> rotors require additional interface boards but they are available on
> the same website.
> The
> Easy Rotor Control, called ERC, is only available in kit form. The USB
> version I bought cost 79 Euros. It can be installed inside the rotor
> control box or in an external box if there isn't enough room inside
> the rotor box.
>
>
>
> The kit building isn't very complicated. It's 3 relays, some
> integrated circuit chips, and a few discrete components. Although I
> built many kits before losing my sight, I am not a printed circuit kit
> builder any more. I had help from a local ham who built the kit and
> installed it in my rotor control box. He said it only took a couple of
> hours and most of that was drilling holes in the Ham IV control box to
> mount the ERC and allow access to the USB and power connectors. The
> ERC does require a source of 12 VDC which isn't available in my rotor
> so I connect it to my shack 12 Volt supply. Basically, except for the
> mounting screws, the only connection to the rotor controls are wires
> to the brake, clockwise, and counter-clockwise buttons and to the
> feedback wires from the rotor that indicate its direction.
>
>
>
> With the ERC installed and connected by USB to a PC, the next step was
> calibration. Again, sighted help was necessary for this part.
> Calibration involves moving the rotor to certain headings as requested
> by the software.
> It records the rotor feedback value for every 30 degrees of rotation.
> Once calibrated, the rotor can then be controlled from the PC. Using
> Easy-Rotor-Control's "Rotor-Control" software, the user can enter an
> antenna heading in an edit box and press enter on the "go" button and
> the rotor will move to that heading. There is also a place on the
> screen where it displays the current heading. It requires using the
> Jaws curser to find it or reading the entire screen but a Jaws script
> could be written to read that screen area. I didn't do so because I
> don't use the ERC software, only the hardware.
>
>
>
> I wanted more than manual rotor control from my PC. I wanted an
> automatic interface with my logging software. I use ACLog. It was
> already interfaced with my Elecraft KX3 for reading band, mode, and
> frequency and placing that in the log. It also runs a DX spotting
> window with voice announcement of any needed countries that are
> spotted. after moving to the DX spot window and arrowing down to the
> station I want to work, pressing enter will place that station's call
> sign in the log and will move the KX3 to the band, mode, and frequency
> where the station was spotted. This is all very helpful in chasing
> that needed DX entity. But, the beam still needs to be moved to point
> to the correct heading. By the way, ACLog does calculate the beam
> heading and display it in the DX spot window, along with the distance
> to that station.
> However, the formatting is inconvenient for reading by Jaws and the
> miles and beam heading are read as a single string of numbers.
>
>
>
> So going back to more internet research, I found "PST Rotator software
> for antenna rotators" at http://www.qsl.net/yo3dmu/index_Page346.htm
>
>
>
> This software costs 20 Euros to license. It creates a bridge between
> logging programs and computerized rotor controls. If your rotor
> already has a PC interface, all you really need is this package to
> interface your logging software with your rotor. In my case, I first
> had to add PC control to the old Ham IV but many newer rotors already
> have a computer interface.
> The PST Rotator software interfaces with many, many logging packages,
> including ACLog which, as stated earlier, is what I use. Once PST
> Rotator is configured to know what logger and what rotor interface is
> being used, everything becomes automatic. When a call sign is entered
> in the logging package (either manually or because it was selected in
> the DX spot window, PST Rotator calculates the antenna heading and
> moves the antenna to that heading. Although you seldom need to go to
> it, if you switch over to the PST Rotator window, you can select short
> path or long path and you can enter headings manually in an edit box.
> Also, the author has a feature for blind operators. If you press
> control+b, the current beam heading is read aloud through Microsoft
> SAPI speech. This is helpful if you want to "watch" the beam turn by
repeated pressing of control+b.
>
>
>
> PST Rotator is even further automated if you wish to take advantage of
> the features. It can be configured to automatically start the program
> when your logging software is started and to exit when your logging
> software is closed.
>
>
>
> So far, I'm very pleased with the combination of ACLog, the old Ham
> IV, Easy-Rotor-Control, and PST Rotator. The only issue I have is that
> I haven't managed to calibrate the counterclockwise end stop
> correctly. I can't turn the beam further North than 5 degrees and if
> something between
> 0
> and 5 is requested from the software, the rotor continues to try to
> turn past it's endpoint. This could cause damage so I have to be
> careful and listen to the ERC relays. If they don't drop out, I have
> to override any software requested heading between 0 and 5 with
> something 6 or higher. I'm sure this can be resolved. I just haven't found
the magic incantation yet.
>
>
>
> Finally, there are probably way easier ways of doing what I did but,
> for me, figuring something like this out is a big part of the fun of
> ham radio.
> Integration of Hardware systems with software systems and seeking
> accessibility can be really fun. In cases like this, Google is your
> friend.
> There's an amazing amount of information on the internet if one just
> takes the time to look and to sort out the junk from the treasures.
>
>
>
> Have fun and good DX.
>
>
>
> 73, Jim, KY2D
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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