[HCARC] Connecting Yaesu FT-450AT For RTTY/PSK31

[Kerry Sandstrom]

Gary,

When I have played with PSK-31 I used a cable from the receiver output of my 
transceiver to the "line input" on my computer.  I used a second cable from 
the "line output" on my computer to the microphone input on my transceiver. 
That is all that is required.  I used the transceiver VOX to go to XMIT when 
the the computer was ready to send a PSK signal.  All computers don't have 
"line in " and "line out" so you may have to use "microphone" and "speaker" 
jacks on the computer.  The biggest problem is matching the levels between 
the transceiver and the computer sound card.  I found it was easier when I 
used the "line in" and "line out" jacks on the computer and my transceiver 
had  "pnone patch in" and "phone patch out" jacks which had comparable 
levels.  I made up my own cables from RG-174/U cable and Radio Shack RCA 
phono plugs and miniature phone plugs, but I suspect you could find them 
ready made to match the connections on your transceiver and computer.

Some people will tell you that you shouldn't use VOX because computers 
generate tones for various things at odd times which would key the 
transceiver when you don't want to.  I never ever had that problem.  My 
transceiver never went to XMIT except when it was supposed to.  They say you 
should use a separate RS-232 output from your computer to key the PTT line 
on your transceiver.  Most if not all new computers don't have an RS-232 
serial output anymore.

So, you can do it the easy way with a couple of audio cables or you can drop 
big bucks on an interface box like RigBlaster.  As long as you have a good 
antenna setup and don't have a problem with RF in nthe shack, I don't 
believe you would be able to tell the difference between the two approaches. 
It will work with PSK-31, RTTY and several of the other computer based 
digital modes that use a sound card to provide the interface between the 
transceiver and the computer.

Like so many things in ham radio, there are people who will always find a 
complex solution to a simple problem and there will always be manufacturers 
who will take advantage!

By the way, I haven't been on PSK-31in several years primarily because the 
contacts are almost always "canned" messages and no real communications 
between operators takes place.  As far as I'm concerned it is not ham radio! 
(Personal opinion!)

Kerry