How to get FLdigi working on Flex 6400 and MacBook Air.

Bert

Ted (VE3TRQ), I found your posting outlining how to do this very helpful - THANK YOU!  But, because most of this is new to me, I have a number of questions.  First, the software that I have loaded on my Mac includes dogparkSDR, Fldigi and Loopback.  I started through the steps that you outlined and am stuck on step 2 (xDax - where do I get this software) and  step 3 (rigcntl - where do I get this software).   Also, I'm unclear as to how the software will communicate with the radio - will it require any interface cables or will this all be done wirelessly through dogpark SDR?  Thanks for helping!!

Ted VE3TRQ

You will need to get xDax and xCat from Mario, DL3LSM, at https://dl3lsm.blogspot.de/p/download..., then use them to expose devices for your digital apps. xDax will connect to one side of the Loopback device for TX and Rx.

RigCtlD is used by some digital apps, and is used if the app needs it. HamLib implements it, so if you don't use the HamLib libraries, you won't need to set that up,

All communication to the radio is done by xDax and xCat through your Ethernet network. dogparkSDR will run along side xDax and xCat, and does not need them. In fact, with my 6600M, I usually don't run dogparkSDR when I am home (which is pretty much all of the time). I just leave the 6600M GUI interface connected to the radio instead of dogparkSDR. Once your digital app is connected to the services exposed by Loopback and xDax/xCat, you don't need anything else.

John WA7UAR

Link to Ted's previous thread that Bert referenced:
https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/how-to-get-fldigi-working-with-flex-6300-on-windows...

Bert

Thanks Ted - downloaded xDax and xCat and successfully connected remotely to the radio.  I configured them exactly as you've shown ,however, it appears that nothing is being passed from the radio through Dax to the input (I don't see any deflection on the input level meter on the Mac sound tab). Interestingly enough, I can connect FLdigi through a usb sound card and it works (although I'd rather not run it this way).  Any thoughts?

Ted VE3TRQ

You do need to enable tx and rx Dax in the xDax application (click on the rx channel #, plus the tx channel #. Then on the radio (using front panel on an M, or using SSDR from Windows, or dogparkSDR from a Mac), enable the Dax channel you chose on the frequency menu (M model has it on the same menu with frequency and mode selection). Basically, you need to enable both sides of the Dax connection, on the radio and on the computer. Sorry I can't be more specific, I'm not in front of the radio or the MacBook. I really should draw a connection diagram with configuration points and software modules when I have the chance.

Bert

Making progress, Ted!  Got everything working but for some reason, both Dax and Cat seem to drop every few minutes.  Have to quit the application and start it again - then it runs fine for a few minutes and drops again.  Any thoughts?

Bert

One thing that I noticed is that if I bring up both Dax and Cat without FLdigi, the connection with the radio does not drop after a few minutes (has been up for over 15 minutes already).  So, I'm concluding that something in FLdigi is triggering the drop.  Perhaps there is a parameter that I haven't set correctly?

Bert

Well, so much for that theory - dropped after 4 minutes with nothing (no FLdigi) connected.  I wonder if something is related to smartLink.  It's been taking progressively longer to establish a connection with the radio (use to take a few seconds - that has increased at times to a minute or more for both Dax and Cat. 

Ted VE3TRQ

Are you local or remote? Smartlink isn't needed for local - the radio broadcasts on the local network, so various pieces of software (including SSDR, dogparkSDR, and Dax/Cat) will find it.
Verify you have no network issues - routers, switches, access points, wiring, etc. Having network drops will cause disconnects - which will be quicker and more frequent when you are passing more data.
Good luck troubleshooting :-) I was successful with 5G WiFi, but NOT 2.4G.

Bert

That solved that problem - changed to local and no drops!!  Appreciate all the help Ted and for hanging in there with me!!!