LP-StepLink is a freeware application that gets transmit freq data from TRX-Manager through OLE or Commander from DXLabs through DDE, and then relays it to the SteppIR control box by "emulating" a Kenwood radio over a computer serial port. This allows connecting any rig supported by TRX-Manager or Commander to SteppIR with a consistent interface, and at the same time allows computer control and logging. The antenna tuning follows freq adjustments either at the rig, or from the logging program. This program can run in the background, and the only input from the user is to specify the com port the SteppIR box is connected to and the source program for frequency.
Unlike using a Y cable to control the SteppIR, using LP-StepLink has several advantages...
Simple one-cable interface.
Use with any rig supported by the logging programs
Allows the SteppIR to be controlled by multiple rigs by following the
rig selection in the logging program
Fixes retuning of SteppIR in split mode by only supplying transmit
frequency to the SteppIR
Adds hysteresis to prevent SteppIR from retuning constantly at the
middle of the SteppIR 50 kHz tuning windows
LP-StepLink works with any SteppIR antenna including the verticals, and MonstIR. All that is required is a 3-wire female-to-female null modem serial cable and a spare COM port on your computer. Shown below are LP-StepLink normal and setup windows.
For more information, check out....LP-StepLink Help.
LP-StepLink ver. 1.1 is available for download on the Downloads
page.
In response to recent changes in the serial interface on the SteppIR controller, I have created a software Virtual Control Panel (VCP) which will allow control of the supported serial control functions on the SteppIR controller. These functions include...
Set Frequency
Set Direction (Normal, 180, Bi-Directional, 3/4
wave)
Home
Calibrate
Enable xcvr interface
Disable xcvr interface
Frequency Status
Direction Status
Motor Activity Status
There are three "views" available for the program. The compact view shown above, the diagnostic view that's shown below and a full view that looks like the diagnostic view without the Received String window. The diagnsotic view shows the hex responses from the controller for troubleshooting. To keep things familiar, I chose to copy the basic SteppIR controller with a few exceptions. Because of the way commands are implemented, I was able to change the 180 and Bi-Dir to two separate buttons to eliminate the need to cycle through Bi-Dir when reversing the beam. I also used a more visible red TUNING indicator as opposed to an asterisk.
The SteppIR VCP always shows the current status of the SteppIR it's
controlling. When new frequencies are sent to the controller, or when
functions such as 180, Bi-Dir and
3/4
are sent, the status LED indicators only change when the command has
been
received and accepted.
The Setup screen allows selection of com port, baud rate, status polling rate and antenna type. The antenna type determines the allowable tuning range of frequencies sent to the controller. When sending frequency data to the SteppIR controller's DataOut port, strange frequencies can wind up being displayed if they are outside the controllers design range. No SteppIR currently tunes 80m, but a future option for the BiggIR will include this feature.
The real advantage of the SteppIR VCP is in remote control of the
SteppIR
antenna. This can be done by using the above SteppIR VCP at the remote
site, and controlling it with a remote desktop program like pcAnywhere,
WinVNC or Windows XP Remote Desktop. It can also be done by connecting
the SteppIR controller to a serial device server at the remote site and
then running the SteppIR VCP at the home site using a virtual com port.
Refer to my remote control section on this site for details on serial
device
servers.
The VCP only works with controller firmware versions 3Axx and
61xx... where xx designates the number of elements you have, ie. 01,
02, 03 or 04. 3Axx is for regular beams, and 61xx is for the MonstIR.
Another way is through the remote telnet function of TRX-Manager. NOTE: The TRX versions have not been updated yet to support 3Axx or 61xx... so this info is for reference only. Laurent, F6DEX and I have worked out a nifty system that allows full control of the SteppIR controller with minimal bandwidth. I developed a pair of programs called SteppIR-VCP-Master and SteppIR-VCP-Slave. In TRX-Manager terminology, the Master copy of the program runs on the home computer, and the Slave copy runs on the computer at the remote site.
My programs connect to TRX-Manager thru OLE linking at each end. Actions initiated on the Master program (left) are echoed in the Slave program (right). All indicators at the Master site are actual SteppIR controller status indications. I don't "assume" that commands were received. There is about a one second delay between sending a command and getting a confirming response... depending on network connection.
As an aid in diagnosing trouble, I have provided To/From windows on each program to show the actual data sent and received. This data can also be viewed in the TRX-Manager Terminal window if desired. I chose plain language commands to make easy diagnostics possible. The functions supported are the same as with the direct serial version of the program, and include all functions provided on the serial port of the SteppIR controller. These are frequency, motor running status and direction status. In the example below, the Master is sending the data string 21050M0D1 to the Slave. This indicates the following:
Frequency 21050 kHz
Motor run Off (M0 = off, M1=run) Tuning indicator
would be red if motors were running.
Direction "180" (D0=Normal, D1=180, D2=Bi-Dir,
D3=3/4 vertical)
As in the regular version, frequency control can track TRX-Manager (Auto Tune) or be selected manually. The "Band" buttons are set 50 kHz above the bottom edge of the respective band, and the UP/DN buttons increment the frequency by 25 kHz for each click. Rapid clicking will allow the frequency to be moved up in multiples of 25 kHz quickly, without having to wait for a response. The SteppIR controller remains in Gen. Freq. mode at all times. Important parameters are saved in both programs to minimize hassles when rebooting. I plan to add an "always on top" option to the Master program to allow the program to always be visible if desired.
The standard direct serial version is available in the downloads section. For more detail, check out the N8LP SteppIR VCP help file.
To download the non-TRX SteppIR VCP go to the downloads page.