SERIAL COMMANDS

This page describes the "KISS Mode" communications protocol used by the PC control software, to completely control the Exciter. These commands are also reasonably easy to learn, and so can be used to control the Exciter using any "dumb terminal" or Terminal Emulation software set to 19200-N-8-1. The author's preference is good old Win 3.1 Terminal.EXE. Hyperterm (urgh!) will also work. The mathematical calculations required are easy if you use the SPREADSHEET provided.


Axx ADD
Add offset of xx resolution steps, where xx is "00" to "FF" in two hexadecimal characters.
In Sweep Generator mode, sets the sweep dwell time (time per step). Resolution is about 1/12 milliseconds and range is under 1ms (1ms = A0C) to over 20ms (20ms = AF8).
B BEACON
Command to enter beacon text, where up to 120 bytes of data and commands can be entered. The data consists of HEX-ASCII character pairs. <CR> and <SPACE> are permitted, and the last character must be "FF". Data entry mode is terminated by the tilde character " ~ ". The message is permanently stored and the unit is reset on exit.
Fhhmmll FREQUENCY
Set frequency to this value times the resolution. The value hhmmll is a 24 bit binary number expressed as six hexadecimal characters, "00" to "FF".
H HELP
Simple help message listing these commands (also resets microcontroller).
Knnnn KEY
The beacon mode keying baud rate, where nnnn is 0x0000 to 0xFFFF. Resolution is 31.25ms, but is dependent on the symbol clock generator frequency (typically 32 Hz). Hence K0001 gives a baud rate of 32 baud - 3 sec dot QRSS requires K00C0 and JASON (11.8 sec symbols) K02F0.
In Sweep Generator mode, sets the frequency increment in resolution steps (as for the F command), but range is limited to K0000 to KFFFF (over 5 kHz/step).
Mn MODE
Sets the beacon mode, where n is a number 0 to 6.
0 Beacon Off Continuous carrier controlled by A, F, T, W and X commands
1 ASK On-Off single frequency keying, beacon message in Morse
2 FSK Continuous carrier FSK keying, beacon message in Morse
3 DFSK Dual frequency on/off keying, beacon message in Morse
4 MFSK Eight frequency bit-mapped scanned MFSK mode (e.g. MT-Hell)
5 HELL On-Off single frequency bit-mapped keying (e.g. Feld-Hell)
6 MFSK/IFK MFSK data frequency shift in resolution units (e.g. JASON)
Pp PORT
Sets Port D outputs PD2, PD3, PD4 according to value least significant bits of value "p" as follows:
      0 PD2=0 PD3=0 PD4=0     4 PD2=0 PD3=0 PD4=1
      1 PD2=1 PD3=0 PD4=0     5 PD2=1 PD3=0 PD4=1
      2 PD2=0 PD3=1 PD4=0     6 PD2=0 PD3=1 PD4=1
      3 PD2=1 PD3=1 PD4=0     7 PD2=1 PD3=1 PD4=1
"p" values above 7 work, but upper bits are ignored.
R REPORT
Requests a message giving the current settings. Reports A K M W and F.
S STORE
Store current settings. Saves FREQUENCY, OFFSET, MODE and KEY.
Sweep mode settings are not saved.
T TX
T turns the transmitter on.
Wmm WIDTH
Sets number of sweep steps, where mm is "00" to "FF" in two hexadecimal characters. Typical value is W14 for 20 steps. 50 baud 170 shift RTTY with 2125 Hz MARK can be simulated with W02 AF8 K07E5 F0062B1. The start frequency for the sweep is set by the F command, sweep dwell time by the A command, and the sweep step size by the K command.
W00 turns off the sweep.
X RX
X turns the transmitter off.


Copyright � Murray Greenman 1997-2005. All rights reserved. Contact the author before using any of this material.