Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 26, 2015, at 6:21 PM, Jim Kutsch, KY2D <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hello Jim my name is Fred Olver and my call sign is and nine BSO. I'm looking at buying a hex beam and so went back to read your three-part pieces on use of the hex beam and rotors and I found that I had archive the first two parts and can't figure a way to get to them could you repost the first two parts it was posted in April 2015 if that's any help thanks much 73 friend and nine BSO