Does SmartCAT supercede VSPManager and/or com0com?

Ken - NM9P

I am reading the SmartCAT documentation and have a question. Since SmartCAT seems to be able to create and define virtual serial ports, does this mean that the 6000 series will not need to have com0com or VSPManager or other VSP software? Will SmartCAT do that for us? BTW, I love the way that multiple virtual PTT ports can be defined. I have several programs that try to key PTT directly through the serial port and these conflict with one another on my 1500. (or am I missing something?)

Tim - W4TME

The virtual serial port capability included in SmartSDR CAT can replace other virtual serial port driver software packages. While you can use multiple serial port driver packages, like VSPManager and Com0Com on the PC at the same time, you may want to experiment and see if you can reduce the complexity of your virtual com port configuration by using just one solution. However I strongly recommend that if you decide to remove a previously existing virtual com port driver, that you follow the specific uninstall directions for that driver. You may also want to remove the actual com ports before removing the driver itself.

Ken - NM9P

Thanks. But now that spawns another related question: Will SmartCAT also define Virtual Ports that can also be used on my 1500 as well? Or will I need to define those with VSPManager, as I have done already.

Tim - W4TME

You must define a "Shared" port under SmartSDR CAT, which is really a virtual com port pair for use with other FLEX series radios.

Ken - NM9P

Awesome. It will be nice to be able to simplify things. SmartCAT seems to be simpler than the others, too. Thanks! Can I download SmartCAT now and get started setting up all the ports for my Flex 1500 before my 6500 arrives, or do I need to wait until installing SmartSDR?

Tim - W4TME

SmartSDR CAT comes with every release of SmartSDR for Windows (as per the documentation description).

BobT

Quick comment on how CAT works. It must discover a 6x00 radio on the network before ports can be created. Once created, shared ports can be used without the 6x00 radio being powered up. BobT

Tim - W4TME

This is a great point and one I overlooked in my description. Thanks, BobT

DonS

On my setup it shows ports 4 & 14 created in device manager. So based on this information I can setup port "pairs" but I still do not have the capability to use VAC for the digital modes applications. Is that correct and if so I am wondering what others are doing or are they using the internal sound card of the pc or some external device and how do you interface to the radio? Is the interface through the DB 15, excuse me I mean the DE 15 connector? thanks Don - kx9q

Tim - W4TME

This is a great conversation that's separate from the main topic, so I created a new topic to continue the discussion. Please reference the new topic here: Questions about digital mode operation

W4YXU

A couple of nits to pick about "SmartSDR CAT User Guide" 1. Install / upgrade instruction has a perceived ambiguity: ....2.1 UPGRADING SMARTSDR CAT SmartSDR CAT is automatically upgraded when a new version of SmartSDR for Windows is installed. ================= No user interaction is required to install SmartSDR CAT.(?) ================= ....2.1.1 SmartSDR CAT Upgrade Procedure Due to the virtual serial driver that is installed with SmartSDR CAT, ================== if you have an existing version of SmartSDR CAT installed on your PC it must be manually removed (uninstalled) (??????) ================== using the procedure below before installing a new version of SmartSDR CAT. 2. 3.2.2 Serial Ports Tab ... ... ... Figure 2, SmartSDR CAT Setup Form, Serial Ports Tab. The “Physical Ports and/or Foreign Virtual Ports” display on the Serial Ports Tab is strictly informational, it has no functional purpose other than to display ports discovered on the computer. It will display if enumerated any hardware COM ports installed in the computer and any virtual ports not created by the FlexRadio virtual serial port driver. The “Available Flex Virtual Ports” list displays any additional FlexRadio virtual serial ports created by the user. I find that SmartSDR CAT seems to disagree: a. Does not show any ports already in use. b. Does not see ports created by VSPE (except for the 2 in use by PSDR!) To repeat - nits!

Tim - W4TME

The documentation has been changed in the upcoming CAT documentation. Also, if Windows will not properly enumerate the COM ports, SmartSDR CAT will not show them. This is a Windows / virtual com port driver issue.