DONNER's Digital Interface Sales


For more information, click on the appropriate buttons or links below:

Return to the home page of Donner's Digital Interfaces

Click on the button above to go to a page that contains links to software for receiving the digital modes.

Have your callsign and/or name embroidered on a shirt or jacket. Also lots of ham radio graphics can be embroidered on the same items.

Contact us:

e-mail: n8st@worldnet.att.net

Mail:
Donner's 
P. O. Box 158
Hamersville, OH 45130
 
 
 

 
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

QUESTION:  Do I really need an interface to run digital modes?  I have a friend who just hooked two wires between his computer and radio and he runs PSK31 and SSTV without an interface.
ANSWER: No, you don’t absolutely need an interface.  However, if you only run wires between your computer and radio, you run the possibility of having both expensive pieces of equipment destroyed by a ground loop (which does happen often), or stray voltages, or single energy spike.  An interface offers you the protection of isolating the two from such spikes and stray voltages.  I have seen what a stray energy spike can do to both the computer and radio and it is usually terminal for both pieces of equipment.

QUESTION:  Why do I need an interface that is made for my radio?  Won’t just any interface do?
ANSWER:  Most radios have different pinouts on mic sockets or data ports.  Some need larger or smaller dropping resistors in the audio lines to bring the audio to a manageable level.  Some use blocking capacitors which will not allow feedback voltages from the mic line.  In short, most radios are different from others.

QUESTION:  Why don’t you use printed circuit boards in your interfaces?
ANSWER:  In a word … to keep the cost of the interface down.  The circuit used is small and has very few circuits on it, making point to point wiring a plus.

QUESTION:  What sockets do I plug into on my computer sound card?
ANSWER: Your radio’s receiver audio will go into the audio line input plug on your computer soundcard.  If your rig has too low of output to get a good waterfall or signal in, then you would switch to the mic input. This holds true on a few rigs.  The line output from the soundcard should go to the audio in on your rig.  It is recommended to use line output, unless there is no plug like that on your card.  Then you need to use speaker output and will have to improvise a “Y” or similar so you can hear your external computer speakers.
 
 

TROUBLE SHOOTING

  We can not supply answers for specific computer, radio, or software problems.  You should always consult the manual for your specific computer or radio, and the documentation that comes with whichever software programs you decide to use.  However, we have noted some general problems that seem to come up for first time interface users.  The list below may be helpful if you are experiencing problems.

PROBLEM:  When I plug the interface into the radio and computer, it immediately goes into transmit mode and locks in transmit.
SOLUTION:  The serial port on your computer is locked by some other software program (for instance, a digital camera program, or any program that uses that serial port).  Try rebooting your computer to unlock the port, or use a different serial port that isn’t controlled by a software program.

PROBLEM:  When I transmit, nothing happens.
SOLUTION:  Check your software setup. Make sure you have the comm port set for an available comm port.

PROBLEM:  I can hear signals through my radio speaker, but nothing appears on my computer screen and I don’t hear anything through my computer speakers.
SOLUTION:  Check your computer speaker settings to make sure you do NOT have anything set on MUTE.

PROBLEM:  My Push to talk doesn’t work.
SOLUTION:  Make sure you have the software set for an available comm port and for switching via RTS.  DO NOT USE DTR!

Summary:  In short, all our interfaces that you purchase are checked before being shipped.  More often than not, problems arise from not having a comm port on your computer set properly, sound cards that are not setup properly, or attempting to use a non-sound blaster pro or better sound card.  And in some cases problems arise from not reading the setup docs for software you are trying to use, or a general misunderstanding of how your equipment operates.