New to be owner of Flex 6500 and AT auto

Steve WU3I

Want to do this right.  Ordered my 6500 today and have the AT-Auto and Tokyo Hy-Power hl-2.5Kfx.  I want to hook them up right the first time and am asking for the collective wisdom of the group.  The 6500 will be on my LAN so it can be used remotely.  I want to use the tuner and amp as they are now operating on my icom756PRO3 in full automatic operation.  If you have done this already please let me know.  Thanks in advance.  Steve WU3I

Mark WS7M

Hi Steve,

I do not have Tokyo Hy-Power amp but I do have HF-Auto tuner and SPE amp.

I'm hopeful someone here can direct you on interfacing the Tokyo so it band switches correctly.  I do this on my 6500 and SPE by the use of an USB-RS232 adapter that goes between the 6500 and the SPE amp.

The SPE amp understands Flex CAT commands so when configured correctly my SPE amp perfectly follows all frequencies that the transmit slice of the 6500 goes to.

The HF Auto which is very much like your AT Auto is a mostly forget device where it is put in Auto mode.  The only snag in this great plan for me is how to take the SPE amp on/offline when remote.  There is no way in Flex SSDR to control this amp.  SSDR will soon control the Power Genius amp but that does not do many of us any good.

So I have two solutions and these might give you some ideas for the Tokyo but I'm completely unfamiliar with that amp:

1) When I am on my LAN and when I am remote over a good internet connection I can run the SPE USB control software over the internet. I use a server/client product called VirtualHere which allows you to forward USB ports over the network.  So far this as worked very well as long as the internet connection is reasonable.  With this tool I can completely control ALL FEATURES of the amp so I can turn it on/off, take it on/offline and even change the power out and set the Flex drive level.  This is my preferred current method.

2) When I'm operating perhaps using an iPhone or iPad where I cannot run the SPE utility I have a very simple web page hosted by a raspberry Pi.  On that web page I have controls for some relays.  In effect I can turn the amp on and off.  So to tune on a new band, I turn the amp off.  This lets tune power get to the HF Auto and do its tuning at say 10 watts.  Then I turn the amp back on.  It is pretty much instant on so we are talking 30 seconds for this whole process.

Neither of these are optimal but they are what I have for now.

In my case and I think yours the HF auto tuner should not be tuned at a kilowatt.  So there needs to be some way to disable the amp.  I tried disconnecting the keying line but if the amp thinks it is online and does not get keyed and sees RF it seems not to allow it to get out to the HF auto.  Not sure why.  So the answer has been turning it off, or better using the USB utility.

I hope you get some answers for the Tokyo.

Mark - WS7M

Steve WU3I

The SPe is a future addition a friend is getting a power genius and I am buying his SPE.  If you connect the SPE directly to the 6500 will this allow remote control of the amp as in stand by and operate and power on and off?  Connecting the amp to the PC and using Team Viewer will allow that and it is fairly easy.  Thanks for the input

WX7Y

You just need a FTDI USB serial port cable with the USB plugged into the back of the 6500 and it will follow the Radio when it is plugged into the DB-9 Serial port on the Tuner.

The same with the AMP I think, but may need a Null adapter, I don't have the AMP so I don't know for sure. 

Both need to be set as serial Communication connection and not CI-V communication.


Not sure how you have the 756Pro so not sure if there is more your asking about, if you run the AT-Auto with the CI-V interface then you will have to run DDUTIL on a computer connected to the AT-AUTO as the FLEX does not have a CI_V interface.

Bret 
WX7Y

Jerry - NG6R

Hi Steve,

I have the Tokyo Hy-Power HL-1.5KFx amp and successfully configured its interface to the Flex 6600.  Band tracking can be implemented by connecting an FTDI USB serial cable (DB9 male on one end and USB-A on the other) from the RS-232 port on the THP amp to the Flex radio.  That RS-232 port supports Kenwood radios and you need to select Kenwood on the BAND SELECT front panel control.  Careful to make sure the cable is FTDI.  

 

You must place a null modem adapter in series with that cable, which effectively reverses pins 2 and 3 of the DB9; it won’t work without this pin reversal.  Alternatively, you can purchase an FTDI null modem serial cable that has this null modem feature already built in.  Just look for “null modem” (as well as “FTDI”) in the description of the serial cable.

 

The following issue is somewhat related to setup.  Having transitioned from the IC-756ProIII also, I was surprised when the THP amp would go into reflected power overload and shutdown when the input power was raised much above 25W, especially in CW, even though SWR was quite good.  After several dead ends, I found the solution.  I went into FlexRadio Settings=Radio Setup=TX=TX Delay and changed the default zero entry to 20ms.  That solved the problem and the amp has been happy since.

 

Jerry – NG6R

Mark WS7M

Hi Steve,

To my knowledge, standby, online is not part of the CAT protocol between Flex and SPE.  I wish it was.

So as I mention above when I'm remote I use either my little web page to turn the amp on/off or if possible I use the SPE USB control panel.

Jerry - NG6R

Steve,

The HL-2.5KFx combines access to several manufacturers’ unique interfaces via a 15-pin rear connector.  This is different from the HL-1.5KFx, which uses a separate connector for each manufacturer; Kenwood uses the 9-pin RS-232 connector.  So, an additional cable segment will be required from this 15-pin connector to a DB9.  The pinouts for constructing (or purchasing) this additional serial cable segment are shown on page 18 of the amplifier’s instruction manual which can be found here:

http://www.ab4oj.com/dl/thp/hl2_5kfx/manual_hl2_5kfx_complete_schematics.pdf