Hi Everyone,

I've got my KPC 3+ and with any new toy, I'm anxious to get it up and running as soon as possible. Given our upcoming class this Saturday, I wanted to be sure my computer could talk to the device before then. During my set up I ran into a couple of little problems, so I thought I'd mention them to save you some hassle.

1. First problem was the cables. I'm a relatively inexperienced ham, as well as a novice with homebrewed electronics. So, seeing the cable kit was a surprise. The good news is that the manual documents how to wire up the radio to tnc device. However, I do not have one of the 3 major brands they mentioned (I've got a little wouxun ht). I did some digging and found that the wouxun uses the same wiring setup as the kenwood.

2. Given the short time, and my ability to make mistakes, I decided to put the wiring project on the side for now, and I did some more digging to find a pre-made wire. I found that Power Werks (www.powerwerx.com) has a wouxun to tnc cable available. I was really impressed with them. They had the cable in the mail shortly after I made the order. Further more the cable arrived a day earlier than expected. If you're looking for a quick fix for Saturday, they can probably deliver.

3. RS-232 x& USB cables. I didn't have any problems with the USB to RS-232 conversion cable, however be aware that using an older OS might require manually installing drivers for the device. Also, if you are having connection problems, you might find your RS-232 cable might be a Null Modem cable.

What worked for me was a USB to RS-232 converter. The 9 pin side was male. This connected to the female end of the RS-232 cable. The other end of this cable was female, and to finish the connection I used a 25 pin to 9 pin converter. Make a note of this prior to going to the cable store.

Finally, the documentation does discuss how to wire up the pins. So, it is possible to make a cable with 25 pin male side and a 9 pin female side. I'll post the results of this future project when I get to it. Cables and Connectors on the Berlin Turnpike was great for this part of the project.

4. Power. This one bit me. I bought a variable voltage (3V-12V) wall wart. At the 3V setting, enough power was getting to the TNC to light the power led, but nothing else happened. When I realized my error, switching to 12V fixed everything. Again, Cables and Connectors had a big selection of wall warts.

5. Hyperterminal. This is the software Kantronics recommends for connecting to the modem. The manual is very detailed, but I still had some problems getting past the "TO CHANGE THE BAUD SETTING PRESS (*)", I pressed * many times, but without luck. I worked around the problem by using Tera Term. It is a little easier to use than Hyperterminal, and it might help you. Tera Term is free to download (hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA002416/teraterm.html).

Once connected using Tera Term, I had no problem following with the device. Tonight was my first attempt at communicating with the device, and there is a lot more to learn. I'll post my solutions to any other problem that I might encounter.

Mike
KB3IXO

Hi Mike,
Thank you for sharing your experience.

It sounds that you will be a "Pro" by the time we hold the Data Comm & APRS Workshop next week.