There was a lot involved in getting this working so I thought I would write a post about getting the Yaesu FT-891 to work digital modes (FT8 in this case) with a new Mac the only has USB-C ports. There are probably other ways to do it but I think what I am describing will be the lowest cost route.
The SignaLink USB will work with virtually any computer that has an available USB 1.1, USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port and is running one of the following supported Operating Systems: Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.x, Windows 10. May 30, 2012 For example, my iMac cables directly to the K3 for all sound card modes, while an old non-USB Signalink provides audio isolation between the iMac and a FT-1000D using the same software. Since the Mac already has a decent-enough sound card built-in, and transmitter keying accomplished via VOX, there's little left to do.
First, here are the settings in the FT-891 menu system that I ended up using:
- 05-06 CAT RATE – 9600bps
- 05-07 CAT TOT – 100msec
- 05-08 CAT RTS – ENABLE
- 07-12 PC KEYING – RTS
- 08-01 DATA MODE – OTHERS
- 08-03 OTHER DISP – 1500Hz
- 08-04 OTHER SHIFT – 1500Hz
- 08-05 DATA LCUT FREQ – OFF
- 08-07 DATA HCUT FREQ – OFF
- 08-09 DATA IN SELECT – REAR
- 08-10 DATA PTT SELECT – RTS
- 08-11 DATA OUT LEVEL – 50 (some sites recommended 10 for this, I hardly received any signals at 10, use the WSJT-X waterfall colors to calibrate this)
- 08-12 DATA BFO – USB
- 16-14 DATA DATA GAIN – 50 (this is the default, I didn’t change it)
- There’s also WDH on the FUNCTION-1 menu, I am not sure that this effects DATA mode(I think 08-05 and 08-07 override it) but you can set this to max (3000Hz)
See the Yaesu FT-891 Advance Manual for information on these settings.
Next step is to get CAT control working. I would have an antenna or dummy load connected to the radio as if you don’t have all the settings right there’s the possibility of it going into transmit mode. The FT-891 has a USB-B port on the back, most commonly used on printers. I tried using an old USB printer cable and a USB-C adapter to the Mac but this didn’t work. I’ve had issues with a couple of USB devices using the adapter so it may work for you. I ended up purchasing a USB-C printer cable(USB-B on one end and USB-C on the other). After obtaining the cable, OSX requires the Silicon Labs UART driver for the serial communication between the Mac and the radio to work. The driver can be found here:
https://www.silabs.com/products/development-tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers
It’s a fairly standard Mac driver install and may require security authorization and a reboot to get it fully working.
For logging software I’m using RumLogNG which is a free logging program for Mac. You can install it now and test the CAT control functionality. Here are the CAT settings for RumLogNG that I used:
While you’re in the settings for RumLogNG, click on the UDP tab and setup the UDP server the WSJT-X will use for CAT control. Here’s are the settings:
Now is a good time to create a new log file in RumLogNG, otherwise contacts from WSJT-X won’t log due to not having a log file.
WSJT-X can be downloaded here. I’m not going to go into all the configuration options for this program, it’s heavily documented on the Internet. To configured communication between RumLogNG and WSJT-X I used the following settings on the Radio tab: Paint tool sai.
To pass the QSO’s to the log, set the following setting the UDP Server section on the Reporting tab:
This completes the software configuration. The final part took me the longest which is getting the audio into WSJT-X. It took me the longest mostly due to being cheap. I first tried using an old PS/2 keyboard cable to plug into the data port of the FT-891. These cables only have 4 of the pins wired and of course missing the ones we want. The official CT-39A cable is almost $20 but it’s the same connector used on old PS/2 mouse and keyboards. I purchased a 10ft PS/2 extensions cable (male to male, in case I screwed up I’d have 2) and cut it in half. The extension cables have all 6 pins. I cut in half an 3.5mm AUX audio cable and connected the red cable of one to the DATA Out Receive Audio, and the red of the other to the DATA In Transmit Audio and both the white and shield cables to the GND of the PS/2 connector. Here’s the pinout of the male plug:
The female pinout can be found on page 64 of the FT-891 Advance Manual.
Here’s what my cable looked like, pluged into a USB-C Sound Card adapter for Mac:
In the Audio section of WSJT-X configure the send and recieve to USB Audio. I’ve seen some mention of going into Applications->Utilities and Audio MIDI Setup to configure the USB Audio to use 48kHz but mine was already set to that by default. Another post had mentioned setting it to 41000Hz if you had issues but I didn’t need to do that.
The point of this project was to be able to get quick contacts from my car for Parks on the Air. I’m going to be hitting quite a few parks soon and for the less interesting ones I figured I would just work FT8 from the car and then move on to the next. For power I have wired some anderson power pole connectors to the power terminals I have setup for my car audio system. I bought a bunch of ham stick antennas at the club swap meet and then ordered a magmount for my car and adjusted the 20m hamstick to resonance at 14.074MHz. I could only get 1.9 SWR but that was good enough. I tested this setup from my driveway and found it works pretty well.
I’m heading out on a Parks on the Air adventure soon and I’ll be posting on how this all works in practice.
I have had numerous requests for information regarding mods I have made to my Signalink USB, so decided it might be appropriate to write a short article describing these mods, and include a few pictures.
RTTY Interface
My present radio, an IC-7700, like many of the newer radios, requires you operate your radio in RTTY Mode, in order to take advantage of the special receiver filtering available for RTTY. When operating in the RTTY mode, only direct “FSK keying” will work (AFSK will not), and like so many other transceivers, the direct FSK keying line is wired to the same accessory jack on the back of the radio that provides the audio in/out connections for the digital modes, like PSK. When your Signalink cable is plugged into the accessory jack, you cannot access the FSK keying line.
To solve this problem, I mounted a 1/8” mini-phone jack in the back panel of the Signalink USB. I wired the jack, thru a 2.2k current limiting resistor, to a 4N32 opto-isolator. The output of the 4N32 is jumpered directly to the Signalink’s cable header, accessing the FSK keying line, and ground leads, going to the radio. The 4N32 is mounted to the inside back panel with a small piece of double-sided sticky tape.
For RTTY operation, I prefer MMTTY and N1MM logger software. MMTTY’s options, allows you to select direct FSK keying via a Serial/Com port TxD lead, so all you need to do is extend the TxD lead and ground from your computer to a 1/8” mini-phone plug, and plug it into the back of the Signalink. If you set MMTTY's options to output both FSK and AFSK, the AFSK audio tones are detected by the Signalink's VOX circuit, and places your radio in 'Transmit'. The FSK keying on the Serial Port TxD lead turns the 4N32 on and off to provide the actual 'hard' FSK keying. Now, you can simply change between PSK and RTTY modes, without any problems.
I have included three pictures below that describe this simple mod.
Signalink Performance Improvements
While attempting to use our Signalink USB’s for remote access using Skype, several friends and I discovered there was audible tones, and trash in the noise floor. Upon searching the web for an explanation, we discovered Peter-OZ1PIF’s article describing several mods that improve it’s performance.
Here’s a link to Peter’s Web page describing his research and mods for the Signalink USB::
http://www.frenning.dk/OZ1PIF_HOMEPAGE/SignaLinkUSB-mods.html
I wish to thank Peter OZ1PIF for all of his wonderful work.
For those of us in the USA, interested in making Peter’s mods, I will provide a Mouser Parts List at the end of this write-up. The improvement in lowering the noise floor and frequency response is well worth performing these mods.
Since I did not have a small inductor to place in series with the 5V USB power, I chose to just bypass the 5V supply line with a 100uf tantalum cap, which seems to work well. A small inductor could easily be constructed by winding several turns around a ferrite bead or small toroid core.
The audio matching transformers I used (ETAL P-3356) were provided by a friend who purchased it from Farnell. Same may be purchased for GBP 2.30 from Farnell. As an alternative, I am providing the part number for the Triad xfmr that Ed, K6ED used when performing his mods. Bend the transformer leads to match the pads on the pc board, and tilt the transformer, so you can solder the inside leads, then bend it down and solder the leads closest to the edge of the PC board. Any good quality transformer should do the job. The Signalink pc board is stenciled showing the primary winding side. Make sure you install the transformers in the proper direction.
The three 220pf disc ceramic caps are used to bypass the USB lines coming from your PC. They are located on the bottom of the PC board. Peter used SMT components, but I am “OLD” and found the disc ceramic caps easier to work with J
Mouser P/N Quantity Description Price
553-TY304P 2 600 ohm Matching Xfmr $5.56
80-T356A475K10AT 1 4.7uf 10V Tantalum Cap $0.34
80-T351F336K10AT 1 33uf 10V Tantalum Cap $0.73
Signalink Usb Driver For Windows 10
80-T350J107K010AT 1 100uf 10V Tantalum Cap $2.75
81-DE2B3KH221KA3B 3 220pf disc ceramic Cap $0.14
I have included a couple of pictures showing the yellow tantalum capacitors, and transformers I used.
Good Luck, and I am sure you will be happy with the improved performance of your Signalink.
Thanks Again Peter.
73’s Frank, K7SFN
Signalink Usb Driver For Mac Os
Inside Rear Wiring Detail Rear View
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K6ED's Triad Transformers Bypass Filter Cap Mod K7SFN's ETAL Transformers