‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  
EXACTLY ZERO REFLECTED POWER AND A PERFECT 1 1 SWR, BUT IT SHOULD BE CLOSE,
SAY 1R2 1 OR 1R5 1.  I ONCE WOUND A 9 1 TOROIDAL BALUN FOR A BEVERAGE
RECEIVING ANTENNA.  A 450 RESISTOR WAS USED TO TEST IT, AND WHAT A DELIGHT
IT WAS TO SEE A 1 1 MATCH ON THE ANTENNA ANALYZER.  THERES SOMETHING VERY
REASSURING, MAYBE EVEN THRILLING, ABOUT SEEING THEORY AND PRACTICAL
APPLICATION MERGE.  POWER LINE NEUTRAL FAULT IVE ENCOUNTERED AN UNUSUAL
SAFETY PROBLEM, WHICH SEEMS TO HAPPEN MO

HINTS KINKS  STEVE SANT ANDREA, AG1YK, HK ARRL. ORG  RIGBLASTER INTERFACE,
MYSTERY BALUN, AND NEUTRAL NO LONGER  TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DATA SOCKET  TO
CONNECT YOUR COMPUTER AND RADIO FOR DIGITAL MODES, THERE ARE SEVERAL
WORKABLE OPTIONS, BUT SOME ARE MORE CONVENIENT THAN OTHERS.  WHEN CHANGING
FROM OPERATING SSB TO PSK31, DO YOU NEED TO LOWER YOUR MICROPHONE GAIN AND
DISABLE THE SPEECH COMPRESSOR?  WHEN YOU LATER RETURN TO SIDEBAND, HOW LONG
DOES IT TAKE YOU TO RESTORE THOSE PILEUP BUSTING SETTINGS?  A GOOD DIGITAL
INTERFACE SETUP ALLOWS YOU TO CHANGE MODES WITH MINIMAL ADJUSTMENTS.  ON
THE COMPUTER SIDE, YOU CAN USE THE BUILT IN SOUND CARD, OR ADD A SECOND
SOUND CARD DEDICATED TO DIGITAL MODES.  IF YOUR SHACK COMPUTER DOES DOUBLE
DUTY AS A MEDIA CENTER, A SECOND SOUND CARD MEANS YOU NO LONGER NEED TO
ADJUST VOLUME AND LINE IN SENSITIVITY WHENEVER YOU SWITCH FROM PLAYING
MUSIC AND VIDEOS TO DIGITAL MODES AND BACK.  IN ADDITION, MANY SECONDARY
SOUND CARDS CONNECT VIA A SINGLE USB PLUG, WHILE YOUR MAIN SOUND CARD
TYPICALLY REQUIRES ONE CABLE EACH FOR AUDIO INPUT AND AUDIO OUTPUT.  ON THE
RADIO SIDE, YOU CAN CONNECT VIA THE MICROPHONE INPUT AND HEADPHONE/ SPEAKER
OUTPUT, OR USE THE SIX PIN MINI DIN DATA SOCKET IN THE BACK OF MOST CURRENT
TRANSCEIVERS.  THE DATA SOCKET OFFERS FIXED LEVEL AUDIO OUTPUT, ALLOWING
YOU TO FREELY ADJUST THE RADIOS FRONT PANEL VOLUME TO MONITOR RECEIVE.  THE

DATA SOCKET AUDIO INPUT IS NOT AFFECTED BY COMPRESSION OR MICRO PHONE GAIN
SETTINGS, SO YOU CAN LEAVE THEM AS IS WHEN SWITCHING BETWEEN SSB AND
DIGITAL MODES.  THE RIGBLASTER ADVANTAGE MODEL COMBINES A USB SOUND CARD
WITH RIG CONTROL CAT.  ITS MANUAL ONLY DESCRIBES SETUPS BASED ON THE RIG
MICROPHONE AND SPEAKER CONNECTORS, WHILE I WANTED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE
MINI DIN IN THE BACK OF MY RADIO.  UPON INVESTIGATION, I FOUND THAT HOOKING
UP THE ADVANTAGE TO THE DATA SOCKET IS ACTUALLY VERY EASY.  ALL YOU NEED IS
A HOMEBREW CABLE, A SIX PIN MINI DIN CONNECTOR MOUSER 806 KMDAX 6P, AND
APPROPRIATE JUMPER SETTINGS.  FOR THE CABLE, START WITH A CAT 5 COMPUTER
NETWORK CABLE, CUT THE CONNECTOR OFF ONE END, AND SOLDER THE LEADS TO A SIX
PIN MINI DIN CONNECTOR USING THE CONNECTIONS SHOWN IN TABLE 1.  INSIDE THE
RIGBLASTER ADVANTAGE SEE FIGURE 1, USE THE INFORMATION IN TABLE 2 TO
CONFIGURE P1, WHICH IS THE TWO ROW, 13 PIN HEADER INSIDE THE RIGBLASTER.
NOTE THAT WE DO NOT USE ANY OF THE PROVIDED INSTANT SETUP CONNECTORS.
INSTEAD, THE CABLE DESCRIBED IN TABLE 1 MAPS PINS 1, 2, 3, AND 5 OF THE
DATA SOCKET TO CORRESPONDING PINS ON THE P1 OUTPUT SIDE, AND FROM THERE WE
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ