[Elecraft] Can I split or share my ACC port?

[Don Wilhelm]

Yes, something similar applies to the K2 and KAT100.
Chip, note carefully that the K2 ACC I/O cable depicted in the KPA100 
manual contains wires that connect to the PC - TXD, RXD and Signal 
Ground *only*.

The cable to the KAT100 does not contain any of those wires (other than 
a connection to the shield on pin 1).  The cable configuration that is 
depicted in the KAT100 manual is the equivalent of an effective "Y" 
cable specific to the K2/100 and the KAT100.

Note carefully that this is not a "splitter" - pins 2 and 3 are routed 
to the PC and pins 6 through 9 are routed to the KPA100. This is a cable 
that will put the correct signals in the right places, but it has 
nothing to do with an RS-232 "splitter".

Look carefully at the labeling on the K2 DB-9 connector - it is clearly 
labeled AUX I/O.  Do read that literally,   It is *NOT* an rs-232 
connector.  In addition to the 2 RS-232 level signals  for TXD and RXD 
(and signal ground) there are internal K2 signals to support an external 
KPA100, or the KAT100 or the KRC2 or the XV series transverters.

A 9 pin DB-9 connector does not equal an RS-232 serial port, it is just 
a connector with 9 pins - read the details in the instructions before 
making assumptions that can damage your transceiver.

As a parallel, my church bought a soundboard that had a DB-25 connector 
on the rear panel.  We could have assumed it was an LPT printer port, 
but that did not make much sense, so the next step was to assume that it 
was a full implementation of a serial port.  A review of the soundboard 
documentation revealed that it was just a 25 pin connector that could be 
used to connect special effects devices to the soundboard.

Bottom line - do not make any assumptions about the signals in a 
connector just because it "looks like" a typical computer connector.  It 
may be something entirely different, and connecting a computer port to 
that connector can do damage either to the computer or to the device you 
are connecting.

Know the interface that you are attempting to connect, and that has 
nothing to do with the connector - a 25 pin connector contains 25 
signals and may or may not be a printer connector, and a 9 pin connector 
is simply a 9 pin connector and may or may not be an RS-232 connector - 
unless you have information to the contrary, consider all those 
connectors as just connectors and divorce them from the pseudo-standard 
provided by the IBM PC (which did not meet the standards of the day when 
it was introduced).

73,
Don W3FPR

On 8/7/2012 10:04 PM, Chip Stratton wrote:
> Sounds like this applies to the K2 also?
>
> I have a K2 and KAT100. When used together no I/O port is left for rig
> control/data. Would a simple splitter cable be likely to cause problems
> between the K2 and KAT100 if the computer is in the mix too, or is that
> only likely to happen if if the computer tries to talk at the same time as
> the K2 or KAT100?
>
>