Repeater Controller Program

Repeater Controller
for the PC

Written and complied
by KB5RYO (Scott)
Using Borland C++ ver. 3.0

Disclaimer

Not responsible for property damage due to
misuse or improper use or this program or
interface.
The program and interface information enclosed
is provided as is. It has been tested and found to
work as claimed on the author's system.

Author

KB5RYO
Scott Billingsley
1909 Fairview Rd.
Camden, AR 71701
(870) 837-1377

The Idea

This program started as an idea to use the surplus XT,
286 and 386 computers. These machines are found at nearly
every ham show and surplus markets for prices starting at
$10.00 and going up. With the price of a good repeater
controller going for more than $100.00, I though there
should be a better way.

I wrote the first draft of this program in QuickBasic
and found that the computer will do the job quiet nicely.
The problem was in the way QB handles AND and OR
statements. On rare occasions it would switch the PTT
line and the ID line. This would cause real problems with
the PA relays in older machines not to mention a lot of
complaints for users..hi So I re wrote the program in
C++ and it seems to be very well behaved.

C++ also allowed me to do things with the program
that QB wouldn't allow. Such as putting a pulse on the ID
line during the tail time for a courtesy beep. Also putting a
time-of-day clock on the screen, something that slows QB
down. It also makes for smaller .exe file and much faster
response.

The program is compiled using the native 8086
instructions. This should allow it to run on any machine
from an XT up. An XT will need a time of day board for
the clock to be accurate.

Writing this program has already made me think of
other features and uses for the base program. I hope you
have as much fun using it as I have writing it.

The Program
Repeater.exe is a DOS based program to control
repeater functions using a comport on a computer.
The features of the program are :

  • COR line input
  • PTT line output
  • Tone line input (for opt. CCST decode)
  • ID line output
  • Watchdog timer
  • Tail time with courtesy beep


The minimal requirements to run the program are :

  • XT or higher computer
  • 256k or higher ram
  • one disk drive
  • one comport
  • mono monitor (if you are interested in viewing the status)

As you can see the program was written to run on nearly
any computer. Of course all things being equal a fast computer
will give faster response time. But unless you start to talk
at the same time you key an XT would probably be faster than
you..

Repeater takes two command line arguments. These must
be present and in order or the program will abort. There are no
key functions or internal setup so booting form a .BAT file
will allow the program to run stand alone and remote. Once
it is running the only way to escape is to turn the computer
off. This was done so an accidental key press would not shut
the program down.

Repeater.exe takes two command line arguments. They
are: comport address in HEX and a call sign for the ID.
The format for the command line is:

Repeater 0x000 call sign

Where 0x000 is the base address of the comport in HEX,
i.e. 0x3f8 for standard com 1.
Don't forget the leading "0x" or the program will abort.
The program does not do address checking, it assumes
the address you enter is the address you want. This allows
you to use any none standard address as an control port.

"callsign" is the call sign you want the computer to send
on the ID line. All letters and numbers are recognized.The
character "/" is used for space. This allows the use of callsign/R
format to identify it as a repeater.

The arguments are entered with a single space between
them. Extra spaces or no spaces will cause the program to
abort.

Repeater.exe uses the following pins on the comport:
9pin  25pin  Des.Use
1 8DCDTone encode input
4 20DTRID output
5 7Ground
7 4RTSPTT output
8 5CTSCOR input

The screen shows the state of all lines and the time
of all timers.

If this sounds like something you are looking for you can
download it here...

If you find it useful or have a suggestion you can send me
an EMAIL.

Check back for time to time as I may be updating the program.
The current version is 111199.
I'm also going to be working on a cross band controller program.

10/17/2000..Due to interest, I am writing a version using the
parallel port...Please check back from time to time....
Thanks...Scott (KB5RYO)

Go back to the home page What I have in the shack Places to go and things to do A few pictures of the radios Repeater software