[aprssig] RE: MacAPRS + D7a

[Jason Winningham]

On Dec 30, 2005, at 12:54 PM, KC2MMi wrote:

>> Been trying to get my new D7 working with my new Powerbook.
>> I am using a
>> USB->Serial converter that shows up as /dev/tty.usbserial0 .
>
> I'd MOST STRONGLY suggest that first you try using the radio with a  
> Wintel PC
> (sorry) that has a real hardware serial port on it. In the Wintel  
> world we see a
> lot of problems caused by USB/Serial adapters that simply don't  
> work 100%
> properly. The fastest way to make sure that your cable & radio  
> configuration are
> correct, is to try them on a machine that has a real serial port so  
> that is
> simply not an issue.


These usb/serial problems are largely confined to wintel boxes.  If  
he were trying to get it to work on a windoze box your suggestion has  
much merit, but he isn't.

If the device has Mac OS X drivers, it's probably gonna work.  I'm  
going to go out on a limb and guess he's got a Keyspan device  
(because of the device special file name), in which case he's in good  
shape.  I rate a Mac with a Keyspan serial adapter as being just as  
good as a wintel box with a hardware serial port.

If you happen to have a computer with a real hardware serial port  
handy, fine, go test with it, but I wouldn't go to a whole lot of  
trouble to get one, especially if you haven't checked these things yet:

> Other problems: Plain defective cables, even from Kenwood. Or  
> pins2/3 cross
> wired, triple check the pin outs and cables if they are home wired.  
> Then swap
> pins 2/3 and try again anyway, the diagrams and nomenclature are  
> often unclear.

Yep, check all these things at least twice.

It would be terribly convenient if there was another ham in your  
neighborhood with a working cable you could borrow for a few minutes.

-Jason
kg4wsv

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