Computer- Radio connection

[VK5MAT]

Hi all,
I would like to use my computer to program my handheld but I'm having trouble getting my computer to interface with my Yaesu vx5r.

I'm using a usb cable which appears to have installed properly on the pc. At least device manager says it is detected and the driver is working.
There is no communication with the radio, I put the radio into clone mode and get an error on the radio and the computer sees nothing.
Same result with a couple of different software packages. I'm beginning to think the cable may be faulty.

Has anyone got any hints and tips on this?

Cheers,
Darren

[VK3DXE]

What COM port are you using? A lot of radios seem to only like talking to COM port 1.

[VK5MAT]

Thanks, i just tried it on com port 1 but still no luck.
Interestingly I have another usb cable running a ft897 with no problems, unfortunately the radio uses a different plug hence the need for another cable.
Darren

[VK2GOM]

Hi Darren,

Are you going direct to your serial port, or via a USB to serial converter? Or in fact is your lead terminated in a USB? What is showing under 'Ports' in your Hardware Profile in Windows?

I have a similar cable (via USB converter) for my VX6R, and that took a bit of fiddling to get going.

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK5MAT]

Hi Rob,
The cable is usb-3.5mm. It shows up in device manager as "Prolific usb to serial bridge".
The pc seems to be seeing the cable, but the radio is not connecting.
Darren

[VK2FJCM]

Any chanced you could try this on another computer? Are there any issues with the version of the operating system you are using?

[VK5MAT]

I've tried it on two computers, one with XP and one with Vista. Same problem on both.
I'm wondering if the cable I got (ebay) is not for the Yaesu, maybe it's for a Wouxun, Baofeng and the 3.5mm plug is possibly wired differently?
Darren

[VK2MUS]

Hi Rob,
The cable is usb-3.5mm. It shows up in device manager as "Prolific usb to serial bridge".
The pc seems to be seeing the cable, but the radio is not connecting.
Darren

did you set the com port speed correctly - it must match the serial speed of the radio (try 4800)
John

[VK4APN]

Hi Rob,
The cable is usb-3.5mm. It shows up in device manager as "Prolific usb to serial bridge".
The pc seems to be seeing the cable, but the radio is not connecting.
Darren

Try a Google search on fake counterfeit Prolific usb to serial bridge.
It may supply an answer....

[VK5MAT]

No go at 4800 unfortunately. Nothing in the vx5r manual tells a baud rate and there is no menu option to set it.
I wouldn't be surprised if it is not a genuine prolific chip in the cable as it was an ebay purchase from china.
That being said, a cd came with it containing the driver and it appears to have installed with no issues. Device manager says it is working correctly but I don't know if that is infallible!
Darren

[VK2GOM]

Hi Darren,

Try even using different USB ports.

I say this since I got an eBay generic cable recently for my IC-2820H, and could simply not get the radio talking to it. I very nearly consigned it to the 'doesn't work' pile and give up, but I tried a different USB port on the other side of the laptop, and it connected to the radio fine, first go, with no other settings changed.

Got to be worth a shot?

Also, check in the Yaesu manual there are no buttons you are meant to press on the radio to get it into PC communication mode... some you have to hold down a combination of buttons and power up to get it to start talking.

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH

[VK5MAT]

Hmmm.....I tried a different usb port and it attempted to work, but I got a "receive timeout" error.
Darren

[VK6ADF]

Also, check in the Yaesu manual there are no buttons you are meant to press on the radio to get it into PC communication mode... some you have to hold down a combination of buttons and power up to get it to start talking.

Depending on the software being used it usually tells you what steps have to be done to get the radio to clone mode but just in case you press the F/W button while turning the radio on and then the MR/SKP/SC button to get to clone receive mode then send the data from the PC, or the VFO/DW/SC button to send data from the radio to the PC. This info you have probably already seen in the manual.

From memory when I use to clone mine, the USB data cable showed up as a com port so you might have to just double check that the baud rate for that com port has not defaulted to 9600baud and change it to a higher value if it has.

[VK5MAT]

Yep, it does default to 9600 but I have tried 4800 and 38400 also with no luck. I tried these rates only as they are yaesus options in my 897. The vx5r manual has no mention of baud rate.
Darren.

[VK6ADF]

Just as a matter of interest, what software are you using for the VX5r. When I had mine I used EVE. Can't remember if there was a baud rate setup for it.

[VK5MAT]

I've been trying "chirp" and "vx5 programmer".
Darren

[VK4TIM]

Hi there,

I hate using USB programming cables to program devices like radios, mainly because you have no idea what com port the PC will assign it. It could be assigned COM7 one day and COM13 the next, then the next time COM5 and so on.

My advice is to go into Control panel, Device manager, and look at Ports COM and LPT and have a look at what it says, you might have some odd COM ports showing.
In a couple of cases I've clicked on the odd numbered COM port, then clicked "properties" and "Advanced" and where it has a COM port number specified, manually re-allocate it to say COM 3 or COM4, so you know which virtual COM port has been assigned to the USB programming lead.

If you can see that your USB programming lead has been assigned say (virtual) COM4, then you will need to ensure that your programming software is set to talk to COM4, otherwise it will never find the radio.

There's no substitute for a genuine COM port! It was a criteria I had in mind when I bought my last laptop PC.

[VK5MAT]

The computer is seeing the cable ok and says it is working. I can assign com ports in the software and in device manager to match.
When I try to transfer data i'm now getting a timeout error. I have no idea what the com port should be configured as to suit the vx5r, ie: baud rate, parity, stop bits etc. Does Yaesu use the same data format for all its radios or can it vary from model to model?
Darren

[VK2FJCM]

Darren,

What software are you using? I have a VX7R and use Commander software from: http://www.kc8unj.com/vx7.html and it works a treat. I note there is a version for the VX5.
I have used the official ADMS software years ago and seemed to recall having some communication issues with programming. Worth a shot?

[VK2GOM]

If you can set port specifics up, 9600, 8, none, 1 is the usual.

After that, just play with enabling different flow controls and baud rates.

It can be frustrating, but the only way is trying all permutations until you come across the setup that works.

73 - Rob VK2GOM / GW0MOH