Frequently Asked Questions

The RIGblaster Advantage, Pro, Duo, Plus-II and Nomic models come with cables and instructions for any radio that uses an 8 pin screw on microphone connector or an RJ45 8 wire Modular telephone style jack. To use any of these models with a 4 pin metal screw on jack radio you need to order our 4 Pin to 8 Pin Conversion Kit.

An important feature of the RIGblaster Advantage,Pro and Plus-II is that all the features of your microphone will work. All the wires are connected through. The only functions that we intercept are the microphone audio and PTT. The grounding is also maintained for rigs with common or separate PTT and microphone grounds.

You can use any microphone that currently works with your radio with the exception of several Yaesu and Icom radios (see FAQ #7 below).

You may also easily adapt one brand of microphone to another radio by switching our plug in jumpers around accordingly. We cannot guarantee this possibility. Some microphones have built in pre-amps or require power from the radio in order to operate properly This may make that mic. incompatible with another brand or type of radio.

The RIGblaster Pro has a electret microphone bias circuit built in to all the use of an electret microphone when the microphone is directed to the sound card and it is disconnected from the radio.

As far as we know all model RIGblasters (except the Plug & Play) will work for sound with every radio that was ever made as long as the cables fit in to the radio.

There are some new radios that work but their supplied microphones do not. These microphones have microprocessor control of PTT that do not use PTT switch contacts to activate the radio. Those microphones will not work with our interface or any other interface.

Icom V-8000, IC-2100H, IC-2200H, IC-2800H, IC-207H, IC-208H, IC-2710H, IC-2720H, & IC-2725E using the stock microphone such as the HM-133V, and the Icom IC-7000 using the HM-151 mic, have a peculiar PTT circuit. When they are plugged into the radio they disable the conventional PTT wiring on the radio's microphone jack and control PTT by a digital signal. This causes the RIGblaster to be able to control PTT only when the microphone is unplugged from the RIGblaster. The microphone works through the RIGblaster but the RIGblaster cannot activate the radio's PTT terminals as they are disabled by the digital mic.

The RIGblaster works perfectly when the microphone is unplugged from the RIGblaster. The work around for this problem is to use any normal microphone such as the Icom HM-118 or HM-103 that has a conventional PTT circuit. Also you can simply unplug the High Function ICOM microphone when using the RIGblaster in digital modes. The Icom mics that incorporate this digital method of PTT are the HM-98, HM-133 & HM-151 however there may be others. Icom only told us about these two microphones.

This is not an issue with a RIGblaster Nomic model as the microphone must be unplugged to use a Nomic (no mic.).

There are some older radios (mainly Icom VHF mobile) which may not work with the Nomic as their PTT circuit has very high current demands compared to modern radios. The Nomic opto-isolator may need to be switched for a solid-state relay if you must use one of the older radios with a Nomic. We have instructions available or can perform the modification for you.

Our other RIGblaster models (except the Plug & Play) use a mechanical relay for PTT which can cope with these older radios.

The Yaesu FT-90, FT-100, FT-1500, FT-1802, FT-2600, FT-2800M, FT-7100, FT-7800R, FT-7900R, FT-8000, FT-8100, FT-8500, FT-8800 & FT-8900 have a Modular 6 microphone jack so our standard cables do not fit. These are the only radios we have seen that use this somewhat unusual microphone jack and PTT circuit. The optional Yaesu Modular 6 Custom Microphone Cable is necessary to use a RIGblaster with these radios. You will not be able to plug the microphone that matches these radios into the RIGblaster, however your computer will be able to pass audio to the radio and you will be able to operate digital modes. The Yaesu Modular 6 Custom Microphone Cable will only allow you to plug the RIGblaster into the radio's microphone connector.

Only the RIGblaster Plug & Play is designed to interface to a transceiver's data jack/accessory socket. Many newer radios use the 6 pin mini-din connector which mates directly with the Plug & Play's data cable. Other radios will require an adapter and you can check compatibility at this page http://www.westmountainradio.com/pnpradiomatrix.php

You can use the Nomic with back panel jacks but we do not supply ready made cables for that purpose. You may wish to make your own using one of our stripped and tinned cables. If you go in to a line input on the back of your radio your will probably have to remove a 100 ohm voltage divider resistor R2 to increase the audio level.

The rear panel connections on some radios may work, but others will have certain problems. Rear panel data, phone patch or auxiliary jacks may leave your microphone hot while transmitting with the computer causing illegal emissions the CW/data portions of a band. This problem is avoided, with our standard direct microphone jack connection. Rear panel inputs may not function with VOX and they may not work on many modes. Some will work on FM but not SSB others may work on LSB not USB, beware of this before spending time making your own cables for rear panel connections. As we recommend the microphone jack will always work properly!

You can see why we use the microphone jack in order to make the RIGblaster Advantage, Pro, Duo & Plus-II models compatible with all rigs by avoiding problems with rear panel jacks!

Yes you can use any RIGblaster with any radio provided you can plug in the cables.

RIGblaster Advantage, Pro and Plus-II models work with an 8 pin microphone jacks and RJ45 Modular radios. A 4 pin conversion kit is available to make these RIGblasters work with Ten Tec and older radios that use 4 pin screw on microphone connectors.

You can use some other type or brand of microphone with a different type or brand of radio if you configure the jumpers correctly, you don't have to solder anything just use our jumpers as a patch to make the appropriate connections for microphone audio, microphone ground, PTT and PTT ground. We do not have support for doing this but you should be able to figure it out if you have the microphone wiring diagrams that came with your microphone and radio. Be careful not to hook up anything else besides audio and PTT. You will have to have a standard dynamic microphone and microphone jack to mix radios and microphones. Amplified or electret microphones may be a problem.

Note that you will have to re configure the RIGblaster jumpers when you switch radios and microphone cables.

Only the RIGblaster Pro allows you to use your node-radio's microphone to join a QSO on an EchoLink node.

The special microphone audio loop-through circuitry on the RIGblaster Pro, as well as a fully implemented sound device (card) with MIC-IN, LINE-IN & LINE-OUT jacks are required.

Our other model RIGblasters can be used to set up your own node but you will only be able to access it with a separate radio (e.g. your HT).

Only the RIGblaster Pro allows recording via your radio microphone.
You will also require a sound card/sound device which has LINE IN,LINE OUT and MIC IN jacks.

Our other model RIGblasters can play pre-recorded voice wave files, for instance in N1MM Logger, but you will need a computer microphone to record them.

This appears to be a bug in recent Linux distributions e.g. Ubuntu.

There is further information on resolving this problem here:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=771010

and here (specifically for the RIGblaster Plug & Play in Ubuntu):
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?s=4cbf57a7b8ed134b7d858b157061c4f3&p=9793586#post9793586

The question should be, will my computer work with ham radio sound card software. The RIGblaster only needs to be compatible with the audio output of your computer. It also is automatically controlled by the simple on/off signal of a serial port for PTT control and audio switching, no data flows, just on or off. The software compatibility has the much more complicated task of communicating with your computer Far and away the best way to tell if your computer will work is to install some software and try it!

Download whatever software for whatever mode you are interested in from the links here on our web site or search the web. You will be able to install and run software without a RIGblaster with a simple receive audio connection between your radio's audio output and your computer's audio input.

Make sure you try "transmitting" with the software. You will not actually be on the air but you should be able to hear the transmit audio tones coming from your computer. If you can receive signal and hear the transmit audio tones with your computer, it works. We highly recommend doing this before buying a RIGblaster. You will be all ready to go when you get your RIGblaster and you will know what to expect when you actually get on the air.

Note: if you are interested in only PSK31 try Airlink Express or Digipan; for RTTY try MMTTY; for SSTV try MMSSTV; for MFSK16 and multi-modes try FLdigi & MultiPSK.

If you are unsure about what to try, try them all, but that will keep you busy for some time. If you would like our recommendation there isn't a bad one in the bunch. All the programs on our links are great.

Yes, most laptops are quite suitable for our RIGblaster range, as long as they have sound they will work.

The only difference with a laptop is they usually do not have line inputs so you have to use the microphone input. The line output is usually referred to as "headphone". Unfortunately some netbooks only have a single 4 pin audio jack. You would most likely need a "Y splitter cable" to bring the audio signals out to stereo jack sockets before you could hook up many of our RIGblasters.

The RIGblaster Advantage contains a USB "sound card" so even if your laptop/netbook has no sound, or you do not have a splitter cable this would be a perfect choice.

If your computer has sound and audio jacks then it will work with our entire range of RIGblasters including the RIGblaster Advantage (with built-in USB sound).

For computers with no sound (rarely seen these days), our RIGblaster Advantage is the correct choice.

Your computer must have the Windows, Mac OS or Linux sound card driver software properly installed for your computer hardware.

We do not write or supply software for the RIGblasters. We only provide a very up to date collection of ALL of the transmit/receive ham radio sound card software that we could find on the Internet.

We do try to work as closely as possible with all the ham radio sound card authors and we have been instrumental in developing new software. We do not have ANY business arrangements with any of the software authors. We only make a hardware interface that is compatible with all 3rd party sound card ham software that we are aware of.

Our hardware is greatly software independent, it will work with all present and probably all future ham radio sound card software. This software was written by many very talented and dedicated hams and it comes in the form of demos, freeware and shareware.

Almost every operating mode is now supported by freeware. Our DVD is included for free with a RIGblaster, as a convenience, simply to make it easy as possible to get started.

We are not in a position to properly support all of the software but we try. The original author of the software is the only persons that can really help. Try not to ask us about software as we do not know what the author of the software should know. Usually there is all you need on the authors web site or included in the software's help files. In the spirit of our hobby you should experiment and learn. We do have a good working relationship with most of the software authors and we hope that you support their efforts with your encouragement and/or purchase their software.

There is software on our DVD for microphone equalization, noise gating and speech compression for use with the PRO. These programs are available for professional studio use but there are inexpensive and free programs.

We do not write or supply software for the RIGblasters therefore we do not sell it.

Sound card software that works with a RIGblaster is either free, cheap or expensive, it depends on the author, not us.

There are no licensed commercial applications on our DVD.

Our DVD is simply a collection of Amateur Radio - Sound Card Software that we include FREE with every RIGblaster (except the Nomic experimenter). You can purchase the DVD separately for about $10 which is less than our production and manufacturing cost as we have spent hundreds of hours collecting, updating and organizing our DVD. We think you will appreciate that when you get it, and you will understand why we lose money selling it for only $10.00.

We hope our DVD makes it easier to get on the air with all of the great ham sound card software that has been written.

Any software that uses a sound card for transmit. If the software controls PTT via a serial port or is controlled via a serial port that will work the PTT also, check the software features.

On most newer computers with Windows 7 you won't have to do this at all as Windows will silently install the adapter cable driver in the background.

On Windows XP and earlier the following procedure outlines how to install the software drivers necessary for the USB cable hardware to communicate with a Windows PC. (Mac and Linux drivers are available on the DVD)

It is recommended to run the driver before installation from the DVD AND before ever plugging in the USB cable. By using the the pre-installation program, and then plugging in the USB cable to the PC, will allow Windows® "Found New Hardware®" "Plug and Play Wizard®" to automatically install the driver.

WARNING: Be sure to complete all prompted screens (as many as 13). If the driver installation is aborted or not completed, the install will fail. It is very difficult to fix a canceled, incomplete, aborted or discontinued installation and may result in the unit to not perform through the USB port.

Insert the West Mountain Radio DVD into the DVD drive.
Plug in the USB cable to an available USB port on the PC. (Ideally a port that will stay available for this application)
A "New hardware found" Windows Plug & Play Wizard window should pop up. Complete all screens as prompted.

It depends on your operating desires, your budget and to some extent which radio you have.

For simple EchoLink operation, a RIGblaster Nomic may be all you require. It uses your existing sound-card and provides "serial port PTT". With the supplied USB to RS-232C adapter you no longer even need a real serial port on your computer.

Our newest model, the RIGblaster Advantage is probably your best choice for HF digital modes and VHF/UHF packet. It boasts an impressive range of features you won't find on lesser competitive brands including a single USB connection which provides your computer with a virtual serial port, a USB sound-device and powers the RIGblaster.

Other great features of the RIGblaster Advantage include a CI-V/CAT port, CW & FSK jacks, front panel audio-level controls (both RX & TX), serial port or VOX PTT and a footswitch jack. External speakers may also be hooked up for monitoring receive and transmitted audio.

The RIGblaster Pro is the right choice if you wish to use your computer sound card for advanced tasks such as processing your transmit audio in real time, record voice keying files from your radio microphone or record both sides of your QSO. It also has separate CW and FSK jacks and permits use of a headset microphone in addition to your main microphone.
The RIGblaster Pro is the only model which will support joining an EchoLink QSO using your radio microphone.

For SO2R, the RIGblaster Duo is the model to get. You can easily share a microphone, computer sound card, speakers and headphones between two radios. A simple A/B switch allows easy radio changeover. Two CAT/CI-V ports are provided which function irrespective of the A/B switch position. Audio mixing between radios is accomplished using front panel switches and a master level control for the two built-in 3W stereo amplifiers.

The RIGblaster Plus II is the recommended model for those on a budget who wish to use their existing sound card but still allow connection of your radio microphone. An easy to configure USB interface is provided (which also powers the RIGblaster) along with a CAT/CI-V port, a footswitch jack and CW keying jack. PTT is either serial operated or VOX.

For those who prefer to use the accessory jack on their radio then the RIGblaster Plug & Play is the right choice. This RIGblaster uses your existing sound card and uses a single USB connector to provide power and serial port PTT. There is also a CAT/CI-V port, a CW keying jack and transmitted audio monitor jack. We have a range of adapters to allow the Plug & Play to operate with many popular radios.

You may use practically ANY radio with all RIGblasters! Our RIGblaster Pro, Advantage, Duo and Plus-II work with both 8 pin screw on radios and with RJ45 equipped radios, as supplied.

We have 4 pin screw on adaptor kits as an option for all models. The Nomic comes standard with a microphone cable for 8 pin screw on microphone connector radios and RJ45 microphone connector radios. There is an optional cable available for radios with 4 pin screw on microphone connector and a cable for several Yaesu radios with a 6 pin telephone like modular microphone connectors. Note that you will not be able to use a Yaesu Modular 6 microphone with a RIGblaster but you could use any brand of microphone if the plug fits.

Other than the Plug & Play, all RIGblasters are universally compatible, you can switch rigs by switching the microphone cable and plug in jumpers. Radio to computer interfaces from other companies must be sold or thrown away when you need a different connector for a different radio!

You need a compatible radio: see "Will it work with my radio?".
You need a computer in your ham shack with or without a sound card: see; "Do I need a sound card inside my computer?".
An available serial port or USB jack: see: "Do I need a serial port?".
There is also digital mode software available for Mac & Linux computers (Google "FLDigi").

Typical station hook-up diagrams for "8 pin round" and "RJ45 modular" microphones ...
advantage_hook_up_8_pin_round.pdf
advantage_hook_up_rj45.pdf

Yes, and all of our RIGblasters are USB capable, that is they either plug directly into a USB port (RIGblaster Advantage, RIGblaster Plus-II, RIGblaster Plug & Play and the RIGblaster Duo) or they are packaged with a USB to Serial Port Adapter (RIGblaster Nomic and RIGblaster Pro).

All of the software was written for serial port control so it will work directly with a USB to Serial Port Adapter as well. With the USB to Serial Adapter you can add the function of a serial port to a computer that doesn't have one.

This and almost all USB to Serial Adapters have limited support for RTTY/FSK transmission. We have only found one program that will do RTTY/FSK and that is MMTTY using the addin EXTFSK. See our RTTY Links page for more on this.

All of our RIGblaster products (except Plug & Play) come supplied with all the cables you need -right out of the box- to get on the air with almost any amateur transceiver.

With the RIGblaster Advantage, Duo, Pro & Plus-II models we supply at least one of our universal bi-directional "mic" cables which allows connection to either "8 pin round metal" or "RJ-45 modular" style microphone jacks.

Cables supplied with the RIGblaster Advantage:
(1) 8-pin Screw-on Custom Mic Cable, 3 ft
(1) 1/8" Stereo Mini Plug Patch Cord, 6 ft
(1) USB A to B Interface cable

Cables & adapters supplied with the RIGblaster Pro:
(1) 8-pin Screw-on Custom Mic Cable, 3 ft
(6) 1/8" Stereo Mini Plug Patch Cord, 6 ft
(1) DB9M to DB9F Serial Cable, 6 ft
(1) USB to RS232 Male Adapter

Cables & adapters supplied with the RIGblaster Duo:
(2) 8-pin Screw-on Custom Mic Cable, 3 ft
(1) RJ45 to RJ45 Mic Cable, 3ft
(8) 1/8" Stereo Mini Plug Patch Cord, 6 ft
(1) USB A to B Interface Cable
(2) 1/8" Mini to 1/4" Adapters

Cables & adapters supplied with the RIGblaster Nomic:
(1) 8-pin Screw-on Custom Mic Cable, 3 ft
(1) RJ45 to RJ45 Mic Cable, 3ft
(2) 1/8" Stereo Mini Plug Patch Cord, 6 ft
(1) DB9M to DB9F Serial Cable, 6 ft
(1) USB to RS232 Male Adapter

Cables supplied with the RIGblaster Plus-II
(2) 1/8" Stereo Mini Plug Patch Cord, 6 ft
(1) 8-pin Screw-on Custom Mic Cable, 3 ft


The RIGblaster Plug & Play may require an adapter to fit your transceiver's data jack. Many newer radios already have the 6 pin mini-din connector in which case you most-likely will not need an adapter.

Check the following page for compatibility with your radio:
http://www.westmountainradio.com/pnpradiomatrix.php

We also have a range of optional cables for many radios. These include rig control (CAT/CI-V), fixed-level audio, FSK and CW keying.

Check our online shop for any custom accessory cables that you may need or want.

Yes, all current models of RIGblaster can be configured for CW or FSK keying via the serial port.
(The Nomic can be configured for CW keying only)

Many hams use our RIGblasters with the popular RTTY program MMTTY for true FSK keying.

The RIGblaster Pro has separate CW and FSK jacks while the others use the same jack for both purposes. The Duo has 2 sets of CW/FSK jacks for each radio but both CW jacks and both FSK jacks are operated together.

The RIGblaster Advantage can also perform full-break-in or semi-break-in CW from any sound card based Morse program. The program doesn't even have to support serial port keying because the Advantage has its CW keying jack logically "OR'ed" to the VOX circuit (only in VOX position).

FSK and CW keying are controlled by the DTR serial line. If your software can activate DTR for either function, and your radio supports it, the RIGblaster will key for your transceiver.

You will require optional cables for CW or FSK. See our website shop for available cables for your radio.

If you microphone's PTT button works with your sequencer the RIGblaster will also. The RIGblaster simply does the same thing as your mic's PTT button.

The RIGblaster Pro has two PTT RCA jacks, in and out, they may be separated by removing a jumper to accommodate a sequencer control loop.

If you are not sequenced and have been doing it manually you may run WSJT safely. WSJT was written by an avid VHF operator; Joe made sure that his software has transmit and receive delays built in to eliminate the problem. WSJT will operate safely with a station that should be sequenced, but isn't. WSJT will also work properly with a station that is sequenced. This is not necessarily the case with other sound card programs, be careful if you run any other software and you station needs sequencing.

The RIGblaster can make it easier to hook up a sequencer as it provides header pins to easily intercept the PTT line to your radio's microphone jack. Be aware that a sequencer connected only to a microphone jack PTT connection is NOT SEQUENCED for break in CW or MOX button operation!

In general your station should have a good, single RF ground. This is not the same as AC ground.

For some situations a good RF ground may be difficult to achieve and the use of a properly balanced antenna may help if you suffer from RF in the shack.

There should be no need to ground a RIGblaster directly.

For models with USB connectors, the supply and ground comes from your computer. Your computer should be grounded to the same AC outlet as your station's power. Having your computer on a different house wiring circuit is a bad thing for your ham station in many respects, especially lightning damage.

The PRO model has many more connections than our other models so it has much more extensive ground isolation. It uses an isolated wall supply, a isolated DC to DC converter, three opto-isolators, three shielded audio isolation transformers and three relays!

This is not an issue with most of our models as they are powered by the USB or serial-port on your computer.

With the RIGblaster Pro and Duo (as with any 12 VDC station accessory) it is extremely important to have a solid and reliable 12 V negative return connection for your radio's power feed. If the negative lead powering your radio accidentally becomes disconnected and a RIGblaster or other station accessory is connected directly to that same 12 V power supply negative connection, 20 amps or more will go through part of the RIGblaster and through a circuit in your radio that wasn't designed for that much current. That may burn out the RIGblaster and possibly your radio, voiding warranties. Carefully follow the simple precautions on our support page and the instructions provided with our DC cord set.

Using the wall cubes that we supply with 120V and 230V RIGblaster Pro/Duo you do not have to worry about this. Wall cubes are separate power supplies, independent of your other power supply providing full ground isolation.

Only our Nomic has to be disconnected to hook your microphone back up, that is why we call it a "no" "mic".

All other RIGblaster models allow completely normal operation of your station while connected. The audio quality will be the same.

Some Yaesu microphones using a 6 pin modular plug, and some Icom microphones which use a digital PTT signal cannot be attached to a RIGblaster in which case you would need to unplug the RIGblaster from the radio before resuming normal phone operation. Other microphones could be used with these radios which would alleviate the problem.

These days most computers have no serial port available so most of our current line of RIGblasters have been designed for USB.

The RIGblaster Pro and RIGblaster Nomic are our only models which have a serial DB-9 style connector.

We supply USB to RS-232C DB-9 adapter cables with these units so they can be operated either from a real serial port or a USB port.

The Nomic and Plug & Play use an optoisolator to control the PTT of a solid state radio.

The other RIGblasters uses an relay contacts to keys PTT, even tube rigs should work.

The microphone PTT button also controls the relays. Most digital mode software is able to control PTT via the serial port's RTS or DTR lines. You will have automatic PTT control and automatic audio switching.

The RIGblaster Advantage, in addition to serial port PTT, contains its own VOX circuitry which will trigger the radio's PTT line when it "hears" an audio signal.

Many people want to be able to use computer generated Morse Code but also have the facility to jump on the hand key or paddles when in QSO.

All RIGblaster CW keying jacks can be paralleled with a hand key or electronic keyer output with a simple stereo 3.5mm double adapter or "Y cable". The keying circuit within the RIGblaster is either an open-collector or optoisolator output which will not suffer damage from being "shorted".

Very important: This method will not work with tube rigs that use grid-block or cathode keying. You will destroy your RIGblaster if you attempt to do this on these older radios!

Similarly, if using an electronic keyer make sure it is designed to work with modern solid-state radios with a "pull-to-ground" output.

Most of our RIGblasters are now powered from the USB jack on your computer so this isn't an issue for them.

The RIGblaster Pro can be ordered in 120VAC, 230VAC and 12V DC models.

Do not order a 12 Volt without reading our 12 VDC operating precautions.

The 12 Volt model is a is exactly the same as the other models except that it comes only with a DC cord. We offer a 12 Volt version only to save on international shipping. The 120 VAC models have a 120 VAC to 12 VDC wall power supply with a standard US plug. The 230VAC models have a 230 VAC to 12 VDC wall power supply with a European style plug, we do not offer other plugs.

Any version of Pactor (arq mode) is not realistically possible with any model RIGblaster (or any other sound-card based interface) on a Windows platform.

This is mostly due to timing issues within Windows but also because Pactor II & III are proprietary modes belonging to Spezielle Communications Systeme GmbH & Co. KG (SCS) who implement it on their own range of data-modems.

Since the advent of WinMOR and the RMS Express software, radio e-mail using the Winlink 2000 system can be realized very successfully using a RIGblaster and can achieve speeds in-excess of Pactor-II on good circuits.

NB. Pactor-1 (fec mode) is possible in certain software but has limited use.

Unfortunately, many times the Windows' default drivers do not work properly, so we recommend that you unplug the Plug & Play and download the latest drivers from http://www.westmountainradio.com/content.php?page=supportpp#windows

After installing the latest drivers, please reconnect your Plug & Play to your PC and the green power LED should now be illuminated.

There are two methods of achieving this on the RIGblaster Advantage.

If you are using serial port keying then you simply have to unplug the mic cable (otherwise PTT may be held active) and set your radio for full break-in operation in the CW mode.

Some software programs don't do a very good job of serial port keying under Windows. This isn't really the program's fault but more to do with timing issues within Windows so the preferred method is to configure your software for audio tone CW (MCW) and use the Advantage in VOX mode.

The RIGblaster Advantage has been designed with a special VOX circuit which logical OR's the DTR (keying) and RTS (ptt) circuits. You still have to unplug the mic cable to prevent PTT being held active, but you will find your generated Morse much more accurate.

Here's the method outlined for use with the MRP40 software:

1. Configure MRP40 for sound-card TX only.
2. Put RIGblaster Advantage into "VOX" position.
3. Set VOX delay to minimum.
4. Put radio into CW mode full break-in.
5. Remove "mic" cable from Advantage (or PTT will be held active).
6. Make sure you have a stereo 3.5mm cable from the CW keying jack on the Advantage to the CW keying jack on your radio.

MRP40 can be downloaded from http://www.polar-electric.com/Morse/MRP40-EN/

This method also works with other software including FLdigi ( http://www.w1hkj.com/Fldigi.html ), MultiPSK ( http://f6cte.free.fr/index_anglais.htm ), MixW ( http://mixw.net/ ) and DM780 ( http://dm780.ham-radio-deluxe.com/ ).

Mainly for convenience, but also safety!

Imagine if your home's 120 VAC wiring had different types of plugs and sockets in every room, and on every light and appliance. That would be a nightmare wouldn't it? This is what you probably have now with your 12 VDC connections; think about it. The purpose of the RIGrunner is to standardize all of your 12 VDC connections using Anderson Powerpole® Connectors according to the ARES RACES standard for DC power connections. Anderson Powerpole® Connectors are widely used by hams, and are the best choice for clubs and emergency groups to standardize on. See our links for amateur radio groups that are using Powerpoles®.

You can connect 12 pieces of equipment to a RIGrunner. Connect as many transceivers and solid state amps as you need on one RIGrunner provided you do not exceed the 40 amp maximum capacity by transmitting on more than two radios at a time.

Each and every connection has it's own easy to replace fuse. Each piece of equipment is individually protected, unlike other power panels. The RIGrunner uses easy to find, inexpensive, standard automotive, ATC/ATO blade fuses. ATC/ATO fuses are available in 10 values from 1 to 40 amps. We have even provided blown fuse indicator LED's on each fuse to quickly and conveniently locate a blown fuse. No need to ever pull a fuse out just to check it.

The RIGrunner has our precision window comparator circuit that accurately and effectively monitors your DC power source. There are LED status indicators and an audible alert. Our system will clearly warn of a bad alternator, bad power supply regulator or a low battery condition. Voltage is checked closely for a proper operating condition. The audible alert will get your attention without looking at the RIGrunner. The alert may be easily configured to warn of a low battery instead of the default overvoltage warning or it may be disabled altogether for a visual-only alert.

You can plug and unplug your equipment "hot" as Powerpole® connectors are insulated and polarized. It is prudent to turn off your equipment before making or braking the connection. With other products that use cheap binding posts, good luck hooking or unhooking something with your power supply on!

Anderson Power Products Powerpole® connectors are simply the best and highest quality DC connectors made. They don't break, get loose, get stuck, short out, go in backwards or ever go bad and they are made in the USA. They are more costly but they are worth it. Our low prices make them even better.

They have a flat wiping contact system that allows for minimal contact resistance at high current,and a wiping action that cleans contact surfaces during connection. We have measured a pair of them at less than 0.05 volts drop @ 25 amps. A 1' piece of #12 wire has triple that voltage drop.

The interchangeable genderless design simplifies connection possibilities. You can hook batteries to power supplies, batteries to radios, batteries to batteries, power supplies to radios, etc., with the same genderless plugs.

Color coded modular housings provide visual color coding that match the wire and plug polarity.

They have silver and tin plated copper contacts with stainless steel retaining springs.

Polarized housings prevent electrical damage from connectors being mated incorrectly.

The series we use are mounted to our board with #10 buss wire that has a 45 amp 25 degree C rise rating. With the RIGrunner's 40 amp fused circuit we are using them very conservatively.

Recessed, shielded connections avoid shorts when power source plugs are left unplugged and they may be safely plugged in hot without load.

They may be soldered or crimped, the housings snap together. They may be disassembled if you snap them together incorrectly.

The UL94 V-0 housing material connectors meet strict UL flammability ratings.

We know that from our testing and from technical articles about electric R/C aircraft competition that the 45 amp Powerpole® connectors will easily survive operating intermittently at close to 100 amps. They are not permanently damaged until almost 200 amps.

Using Powerpole® Connectors!

Make sure you understand that the whole idea is to standardize ALL of you 12 VDC power connections. Your home station,your mobile, portable, club, contest, emergency.....whatever should have the convenience of Powerpoles® on every 12VDC cable. If every radio and every power source you have has Powerpole® connectors, you will easily be able move your equipment around between, home, bench, car, club or wherever. If you belong to a radio club that is active with portable or emergency communications, try to get your entire club to standardize on Powerpoles®. If you are already using Powerpole® Connectors but you did not use the ARES RACES standard, you may have to snap them apart and re-arrange them to conform, your club members should do the same.

If you do not have Powerpole® Connectors on all of your equipment put them on! See our OpTips and Support pages for help on how to properly install Powerpoles®.

Power supply cables to supply your RIGrunner and station are available from us as an accessory.

You may certainly have as many transceivers hooked up as you like, even one on each of our twelve outputs. You could have all 12 transceivers hooked up, turned on and in receive. The consideration is how many can you transmit with at the same time. The answer is probably two, one on SSB and one on FM. Two 100 watt rigs running CW or FM (continuous carrier) might take out the 40 amp fuse. An HF 100 SSB transceiver and a 160 watt FM station should be possible. If you transmit on two or more radios at the same time, you will have to estimate the total average current draw an try and keep it below 35 amps. Remember that this is average current, steady state current draw cannot exceed perhaps 35 amps but an SSB duty cycles could exceed 40 amps without blowing a fuse. Whatever you do, the worst thing that could happen is that you will blow a 40 amp fuse.

The RIGrunner comes supplied with a range of fuses installed. This assortment will probably be usable for most stations. Do not feel for any reason that you cannot change the fuses installed. Every RIGrunner output is safe up to 40 amps but the total is also 40 amps.

You MUST have a fuse in each position that is in use. ANY ATTEMPT TO BYPASS OR SHORT ACROSS THE FUSES WILL BE DANGEROUS AND VOID THE RIGRUNNER WARRANTY. Since the maximum available automotive fuse is 40 amps, the RIGrunner will be protected as long as any value ATC/ATO fuse is installed. You should choose the correct fuse for your equipment.

Standard ATC/ATO automotive blade fuses are used. They are available at auto stores, super markets and even drug stores. These fuses are available in 10 values ranging from 1 amp to 40 amps.

The DC input should have a fuse that is appropriate for your power supply's rating. If you will be using a smaller power supply you may wish to use a lower value fuse than the 40 amp value supplied. Ideally all of the outlets should have a fuse that is the next higher value above the maximum current draw of the unit on that fuse. If the unit to be plugged in already has a fuse on it?s power cord you may match that value or go one or two values higher. Sizing each fuse for each unit is desirable but not absolutely necessary. Having a higher value than the minimum will simply give less protection for that unit, too low a value will blow out prematurely, of course.

We could have put a cheap little 1" 25V meter on the front but we figured that would be useless. Since most radios are designed for 13.8 VDC +- 15 %, 11.73 V to 15.18 V. On a tiny little 24 V meter that range is displayed as an unresolvable pointer needle width.

We decided to provide a precision expanded scale comparator with accurate indication of an under voltage, normal or overvoltage condition. It uses a National Semiconductor LM3914, temperature compensated and voltage regulated, precision window comparator, calibrated with 1% precision resistors.

We have chosen voltage windows of < 11.5 V as under voltage, 11.51 V to 14.99 V as a normal or nominal 13.8 V and an overvoltage condition as >15.0 V. Our logic selecting these points is based on the following. Aircraft or automotive alternator systems, when properly operating, are between 13.8 V and 14.3 V. A resting, charged, lead acid battery is a nominal 12.0. An AC powered 12V DC supply should be set to 13.8 V +- 0.1 V. If you battery or alternator or power supply is inside our "normal" window it is GOOD. Car alternators can and will go haywire, power supplies can stop regulating, especially in the presence of RF. Anything over 15 V is BAD! Even though your radio might tolerate 15.2 volts we opted for a more conservative 15.0 as our overvoltage point. Low voltage of less than a rated 11.73 V will not hurt your radio but it may lose phase lock or operated improperly. We picked 11.5 as a definite indication point that your battery is going dead and that you should cease operation.

In addition to LED indicators we also included a 70 dB SPL audible alert. This alert is normally set with a jumper block to sound off with a high voltage warning. If you are running strictly battery power you may move our internal jumper for a "low alert", alerting you of a dying battery and possible improper operation of your radio. You may for some reason wish to disable this alert altogether, that is easily done by simply removing the jumper.

The comparator circuit is reverse polarity protected and safe to 35 volts maximum.

No, not if you have a full set of fuses in it and you connect it to less than 35 volts. Even if you hook it up backwards you will not hurt it. You can DEFINITELY damage your equipment with the polarity backwards. We do not have reverse polarity protection on the RIGrunner outputs. Powerpole® connectors are polarized making it impossible to plug them in backwards provided you assemble them correctly in the first place.

If you defeat the fuses, especially the input fuse you can destroy everything, or even start a fire. Our product warranty is void if you do this: we will be able to tell. We make it very hard to jump out the fuses, don't even think about trying!

Since ATC fuses have color coded transparent cases, we put the LED blown fuse lights under the fuses. If you have a blown fuse with a load on that fuse it will light up and should be visible in normal room lighting, you can spot the problem right away.

It should be located where it is easy to get to and central to all the units that will be connected to it. Remember that the power supply cable has all the current on it so if you have a choice put it close to your power source. It should be in a cool dry location, this is especially important with a mobile setup.

Powerpole® connectors come in two pieces, an insulated body and metal terminal. You may use our inexpensive crimp tool or you may solder them on. Crimp or solder the terminals on each wire. Click the terminal inside an appropriately colored housing Slide the housings together to match the standard orientation and correct polarization.

For full details see our RIGrunner Optips and Support pages.

Our RIGrunner Support Page

The only tools you should need is our Gardner Bender GS88 crimper, or equivalent and a pair of wire strippers.

Many transmitters and especially VHF amplifiers have a substantial amount of RF floating on the DC power leads. It is possible that the RF will get in to another piece of equipment and cause a problem. If RF gets in to a power supply regulator circuit this can cause loss of regulation and overvoltage. Our suppression should eliminate any problem with RF.

Yes, we chose to ground the case of the RIGrunner to DC negative. This will be a safer setup in most installations.

Yes but with a few considerations. Like everything in a boat eventually the water and moisture will corrode the connections. In an airplane it would work on 28 VDC but our monitor circuit would not. Make sure an FAA certified aircraft mechanic is consulted before considering an aircraft installation. If you have a special requirement we can build on a custom basis, please contact us for 28V or ruggidized models.

There is no better way to know whether or not a battery will fail prematurely than doing a true capacity test. A CBA is the only inexpensive product that does a lab quality test that anyone can do. The computer does all the work. With a CBA you will find out if you "got what you paid for" when buying batteries. With a CBA you can intelligently make your next battery purchase. An RC pilot using a CBA can be sure that the next flight will not end up with a lost model because of a bad transmitter or flight battery, RC competitors can accurately select a winning pack.

Unlike voltmeters or simple battery testers, a CBA enables anyone, regardless of knowledge, to do a true lab test of any battery. You will be able to tell at a glance if a battery meets specs, needs to be rejuvenated or should be thrown out.

With a CBA and a charger you may cycle, condition, balance or rejuvenate battery packs and then see the results in a graphical display. If you use batteries in critical applications, a CBA is a must have.

Yes, any chemistry (type), any size (capacity) battery may be tested. The only battery limit that a CBA has is that the battery voltage must be less than 48 volts.

A CBA is primarily designed to test rechargeable batteries. Since it does a true discharge capacity test, disposable batteries will have to be thrown away after a complete test. Over time, it may however, more than pay for itself with the savings of knowing which brand of disposable batteries are best.

Those are the maximum ratings for discharge current and/or power dissipation of a CBA, never higher. This does not mean that you can test any battery at the maximum rates, there are considerations and limitations that depend on both the CBA and the battery being tested.

Do not expect to test a battery at a rate higher than a battery is capable of, many batteries simply cannot supply anywhere near 40 amps or 150 watts power without damage or destruction. Our documentation explains how to do proper tests. Our software is intended to be fail-safe to prevent mistakes. The CBA software guides the user to do tests correctly and makes it almost impossible to damage the CBA or the batteries it tests.

Our maximum power dissipation of 150 watts can be maintained throughout the test of a 1 amp-hour or less battery only. A battery with a capacity of 1 to 3.5 amp-hours may be tested up to 125 watts. Larger batteries may be tested as long as needed at 100 watts. To determine the wattage for a given test, multiply the no load battery voltage in volts times the discharge current in amps. Our software does this calculation automatically and will make sure you stay within these limits. For example: you may test a 1000 ma-hour 8 cell 9.6 volt NiCad or NmHi pack 15 amps or which equals approximately 150 watts. A big 75 amp-hour automotive Lead Acid battery can be tested at 8 amps, roughly 100 watts. This means the car battery would take about 10 hours to test and the smaller battery about 8 minutes. (See Recommend System to help calculate and recommend a system)

40 amps can only be reached and maintained throughout a full test with a battery that starts that test at more than 3 volts. To test near 40 amps the battery must be capable of this discharge rate and also have a very low internal resistance. Although 40 amps is possible we did not intend users to routinely test at that rate, it is the absolute maximum.

You only need to know the basic information about a battery that you wish to test. You must know the type of battery (chemistry), the capacity in amp-hours and either the voltage or the number of cells. The CBA will figure out the rest and run a test automatically. A CBA and its companion software is designed so most anyone can do a laboratory quality test and verify that a battery meets its specs or a CBA makes easy to compare battery performance between different batteries.

Test results are displayed graphically on your computer screen, simply look at the graph to read the capacity in amp-hours and see if that meets its ratings. If it does not come up to full capacity specs you will know how bad the battery is and you can determine if you should dispose of the battery.

Reconditioning a suspect battery is easy with a CBA, just charge it again and test it again. Each time you repeat this process the battery may get better and better. With each test graphically compared to the last, you will literally see the improvement. After trying reconditioning, if it does not improve and is still far below capacity you can be sure that battery will give you a problem soon.

To compare one battery to another simply test them both at the same test rate, Whichever battery has graph on top is the winner and you will see by how much, both graphically and with voltage and capacity readings.

All you need to know is the basic battery information (type and capacity rating) and a CBA does everything else.

CBA II owners may recalibrate and upgrade a CBA II and use the latest software to run the CBA II under Windows Vista 64 bit or Windows 7.

After this upgrade you will need to install the Windows Certified drivers automatically installed from Microsoft Driver Update. You will also need to download and install the newest CBA software version from the CBA Support page of our web site.

Click here to request a Recalibration.

Yes, please click here for further information and to obtain a Return Merchandise Authorization.

The CBA III comes with a 25A fuse pre-installed. If you want to test batteries up to 40A, your can replace the fuse with a 40A fuse. There is a single screw that holds the red plastic cover in place on the CBA III. Remove the screw and slip the plastic cover off to replace the fuse.

Change the menu item #14 [BEEP VOL] to a value under 10.