[Ham-Mac] Yaesu 857 and Mac, what do I need?

[Dick Kriss]

LA6UOA,

Randy K9BCT's recommendation will probably with a Yaesu; however, note he
has to operate in VOX mode.  For a number of reasons I do not care to
operate digital modes in VOX.

The primary reason I selected the SignaLink SL-1+ interface was due to its
unique Auto-PTT feature.  The SL-1's Auto-PTT detects a transmit signal from
the Mac and closes the PTT line to the rig.   This was an easy way close the
PTT line and let me get away from having to operate in the VOX mode.

The secondary reason for selecting he SL-1+ interface was for an extra $10
Tigertronics delivered it with a cable with an already soldered 13-Pin DINN
plug to interface to the back of my Kenwood TS-570S(G).  They supply cables
of other rigs too.  Life is too short for me to every solder another 13-Pin
DINN plug.

A few words of caution regarding the use of the Griffin iMic.  I use the
iMic on the transmit side ONLY to retain the Mac internal sounds but found
it near useless on the receive side with a Kenwood TS-570S(G) and the
SignaLink SL-1+ interface.  Yes, I know the iMic is an A-D converter;
however, in my setup it acted like a major attenuator to the audio output
from the rig.  The signal level output from the iMic was too low to be
detected by the G4 and the cocoaModem software.  For this reason I use a
simple stereo phone plug from the output of the SignaLink SL-1+ interface to
External Microphone/Line-in port on rear if the G4 and it works perfect.  I
gave up trying to use the iMic in the receive path.  Some things are just
too hard. 

Some Mac users have had very good luck with iMic for receive with other
rigs, so my recommendation is for you to borrow one and try it before you
spend the money.  FYI, I tried both versions of the iMic and had the same
receive problem.  

If you buy a used iMac, try to get the older version with the chipset the
supports 8, 16 an 20 bits.  The newer iMic uses less expensive chipset that
only supports  8 and 16 bits.  The old and new version look identical.  One
way to determine the version is use your OSX Audio MIDI Setup.app and check
the properties.   The cocoaModem software is setup to handle either 16 or 20
bits. 

Before you do anything ...... think about how you are going to close the PTT
line between your computer and the rig.  This will set the stage for you
other interface decisions.

You can get by without an interface by using a patch cable between your
rig's Ext Speaker to the External Microphone/Line-in port on your Mac.  This
is a good way to SWL and check out the digital modes.  If you really want to
transmit, put the rig in VOX and hold your Microphone up the Mac's internal
speaker.  Be very careful with your drive levels to keep the rigs ALC to
zero so you do not become a QRM generator.

Sorry about the long winded response to a simple question.

73, Dick AA5VU


On 4/24/06 2:09 PM, "Randy Terrell" <terr3846 at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> #1. Buy yourself an Imic Audio to USB interface off ebay!   Works great
> and really convenient to use the front USB port for both transmit and
> receive audio.  Basically retired all
> my sophisticated interfaces and just use the Imic direct to both
> FT-1000 and TS-2000X in VOX mode.  cocoModem by Kok Chen is the way to
> go for the Digital modes.
> 73,
> Randy, K9BCT
> On Apr 24, 2006, at 4:42 AM, Euphoria wrote:
> 
>> Hello gurus!
>> 
>> Sorry for the bad spelling, folks. I might try this in Norwegian,
>> but... ;-) (Hey! Any other norwegian hams that operate with Macs out
>> there?)
>> 
>> I have just bought a Yaesu FT-857 and I really wont to scrap the
>> winbox i use with my old Kenwood TS440. I have 3 Macs in my house and
>> why use other systems? ;-) I have OSX 10.4-6 on all macs, and their
>> modern G4's.
>> 
>> So here's my questions:
>> 
>> 1. What do I need to connect my radio to the Mac?
>> 2. Just bought a CT-62 cable. It's in the mail now. What Serial to
>> USB-interfaces do you recomend?
>> 3. What software do you use for operating the radio on the Mac? (Is
>> MacLoggerDX as great as it looks?)
>> 4. Is there anything else I should know about? (Connectionspeeds,
>> ...anything!)
>> 5. In my transfere to Mac, I would like to convert my logg-database
>> from Ham radio deluxe to a Mac-format. I'm planning on buying
>> MacLoggerDX, and would like to convert what I have in the HRD-log to
>> that program. Any suggestions on how to do that?
>> 
>> I hope you can answer and help me out here. I *REALLY* wont the winbox
>> out of my chack!
>> 
>> Best 73's!! LA6UOA / Trygve:-)
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> 
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