Array Solutions Bandmaster III User manual

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ARRAY SOLUTIONS
2611 N Belt Line Road
Suite # 109
Sunnyvale, TX 75182
USA
[phone] tel
[phone] fax
[email protected]
www.arraysolutions.com
Bandmaster III
Universal Band Decoder
Using USB (RS232) or band data (BCD) information, the Bandmaster III
converts that frequency/band data to allow meaningful automated control
of your station.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................... 3
1 Physical description .................................................................................................... 4
2 Bandmaster Hardware Configuration ......................................................................... 5
2.1 Radio configuration ............................................................................................ 5
2.1.1 ICOM .......................................................................................................... 7
2.1.2 KENWOOD................................................................................................ 7
2.1.3 YAESU ....................................................................................................... 8
2.1.4 ORION........................................................................................................ 8
2.2 Baud Rate............................................................................................................ 8
2.3 Interface type ...................................................................................................... 9
3 Connections............................................................................................................... 10
3.1 Computer interface............................................................................................ 10
3.2 Radio interface .................................................................................................. 10
3.2.1 ICOM ........................................................................................................ 11
3.2.2 RS-232 connections .................................................................................. 12
3.2.3 TTL connection......................................................................................... 13
3.2.4 YAESU BCD band selector...................................................................... 13
3.3 Bandmaster Output ......................................................................................... 14
4 Hook up..................................................................................................................... 15
5 Operations ................................................................................................................. 15
6 Bandmaster Configuration Software......................................................................... 16

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Introduction
The Bandmaster III universal band decoder is a highly integrated unit that not only decodes band
information using YAESU “band data” (note 1), but can sense band information for all bands from
160M through 6M, including 160M, separate 80M and 75M, 60M, WARC bands and 6M by
monitoring CAT (note 2) data going to and from the radio. The Bandmaster III also contains all
circuitry for level conversion thus eliminating the need for a separate CAT radio interface (note 3).
It supports radios from ICOM, KENWOOD, YAESU as well as other radios like the Elecraft K3 or
TENTEC ORION using CAT protocols from these manufacturers (note 4). You can even use the
decoder as a stand-alone unit where it will monitor the CAT commands, YAESU “band data” (note
1) or ICOM CI-V data from the radio and automatically switch to the band being used at that time
by the radio and this without any computers attached to the Bandmaster III or the radio! Or it
can be connected to your computer and used with your favorite logging or radio control program
as your CAT interface or level converter, thus replacing your existing converter (note 3) and
antenna selector.
Using the Bandmaster III software you will also have the ability to configure the radio interface
and set the frequency limits for each band, thus providing even a great deal more flexibility. The
Bandmaster III gives you two separate relay contact outputs for each band. One set of contacts
(The B contacts) switch to ground when activated and the other set (A) is switched to a
"Common" pin(13). This "Common" pin may be connected to ground or any voltage source you
desire.
Note 1: YAESU BCD Band Data information does not support 75M and 60M.
Note 2: CAT = Computer Aided Transceiver, CAT is used to control your radio via computer based software, these are
often stand alone software or can be integrated into logging software and/or satellite control software.
Note 3: ICOM CT-17 or YAESU FIF-232 or the KENWOOD IF10a/IF-232C.
Note 4: The K2 uses KENWOOD protocol and some of the TENTEC emulates an ICOM IC-735, the K3 produces Yaesu
Band-data.

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1 Physical description
The Bandmaster III is a fairly simple device. The front panel has a power LED and 12 LEDs
indicating the currently selected band. The back of the Bandmaster III has five connectors (figure
1 below) used for the various connections;
1. The Relay Output is a 25-pin D-sub connector used to connect the Bandmaster III to other
devices. A mating connector and shell are supplied with the unit.
2. The USB connector is used to connect the Bandmaster III to your computer.
3. The CI-V connector is a 1/8” phone jack used for Icom radios. When using any radio type
except Icom this connector will transmit a CI-V frequency data stream to allow automatic
band switching of Icom amplifiers (exception: The PW-1 will not work) and other Icom
accessories with non-Icom radios.
4. The Radio connector is a 9-pin D-sub male connector used to connect the Bandmaster III to
your radio (RS-232, TTL, BCD Band Data, etc).
5. The network connector is used to supply power to the Bandmaster III and the 4-Wireantenna
control network. The connector block has screw terminals for easy connection and is supplied
with the unit.
Figure 1 - Rear View

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2 Bandmaster III Hardware Configuration
In this section we will look at the different ways of configuring the Bandmaster III hardware.
The unit may (should) be configured via the Bandmaster III software (preferred method) or by
DIP switch settings on the Bandmaster III circuit board.
Note: When using the decoder with the optional 4-Wire Network control system you *must*
use the software configuration option.
Band Data: Yaesu / Elecraft Band Data users will configure the Bandmaster III for “Band Data”
as the Radio Model as shown in the following image (i.e.; Band Data should be chosen instead of
the radio model):
The interface type is automatically determined from the radio type. Switch settings are dependent
on which configuration mode you select, manual or software. A ‘0’ in the tables indicate OFF and
‘1’ indicates ON. Switch settings are:

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Software mode
When configuring the Bandmaster III via software switches 1-4 set the 4-Wirenetwork address
of the unit. Each Bandmaster III on the network must have a different address. Switches 5-8 must
be in the OFF position. Instructions for the Bandmaster III configuration software are located in
section 6.
Address
SW #1
SW #2
SW #3
SW #4
1 1 0 0 0
2 0 1 0 0
3 1 1 0 0
4 0 0 1 0
5 1 0 1 0
6 0 1 1 0
7 1 1 1 0
8 0 0 0 1
9 1 0 0 1
10 0 1 0 1
11 1 1 0 1
12 0 0 1 1
13 1 0 1 1
14 0 1 1 1
15 1 1 1 1

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Manual Mode
The following table shows the switch settings for manually configuring the decoder. Note that no
Icom address can be set in the manual mode. You must turn the VFO knob on Icom radios when
first powering on the decoder for the band to be detected.
Switch #7 (OPT3) must be on to enable the manual configuration. The following tables show
the switch settings to select the radio type and baud rate.
Radio
SW #1
SW #2
SW #3
SW #4
Band data 0 0 0 0
Icom 1 0 0 0
Kenwood 0 1 0 0
FT840/890 1 1 0 0
FT847 0 0 1 0
FT920 1 0 1 0
FT1000MP 0 1 1 0
FT2000 1 1 1 0
Orion 0 0 0 1
Baud
SW #5
SW #6
1200 0 0
4800 1 0
9600 0 1
57600 1 1
Switch #8 – Program mode (Must be OFF)

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3 Connections and cable configurations
Using the Bandmaster III via the CAT interface by far gives you the most out of your
Bandmaster III. But if for different reasons you cannot, the Bandmaster III gives you the
flexibility of monitoring YAESU BCD “band data” from the radio. In this section we will look at
different ways of connecting your Bandmaster III and how to make the cables to connect your
radio to the decoder.
3.1 USB interface
A computer is not required for operation of the Bandmaster III, but the decoder is compatible
with most logging/control software. Connecting the Bandmaster III to a computer increases its
flexibility. To do so, simply connect a standard USB cable between the Bandmaster III USB
connector and a USB port on your computer. The USB interface in the Bandmaster III emulates
a standard COM port and you must configure the radio control in your logging software to use this
emulated COM port and set the baud rate to 9600 regardless of the radio baud rate. Any
required baud rate conversions are done automatically in the decoder. No other special settings
are required as the Bandmaster III is transparent to the logging/control software.
3.2 Radio interface
The Radio connector on the
back of the Bandmaster III is
used to interface the decoder to
the radio, thus giving the
possibility of the Bandmaster
III to be automatically controlled
by the radio. The Radio
connector is also used as the
output of the computer radio
interface toward the radio when
using the Bandmaster III as
your computer interface.
Figure 5: Radio connector pinouts

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3.2.1 ICOM CI-V
To make an ICOM CI-V connection to the Bandmaster III, simply connect a cable with 1/8”
phone plugs on each end to the Remote jack on the radio and the CI-V jack on the decoder.
When the Bandmaster III is connected to an ICOM radio via a CI-V connection it can replace the
ICOM CT-17 since the Bandmaster III contains all the required interface circuitry. The
Bandmaster III then monitors all CI-V data from the radio for frequency or band changes and
selects the appropriate band. The Bandmaster III can be used autonomously without any
computer attached to the radio. In this case, the radio still sends out commands indicating the
frequency whenever you turn the VFO knob or change bands.
3.2.2 RS-232 connections
Manufacturers using direct RS232c DB9 connections can be attached to the Bandmaster via the
J5 connector and a specially designed cable.
3.2.3 TTL connections
Some older radios, such as FT840 and FT890, use TTL signal levels (0-5V) instead of the
standard bipolar RS-232 voltages. Both types of interfaces are supported by the Bandmaster III.
Note: The pin out of the connector at the radio end may vary, check your radio reference manual
for proper hook up.
Bandmaster III
J5 pin out
Pin 2 Send Data
Pin 3 Receive Data
Pin 5 CTS (Optional)
Pin 7 Ground
Table 2: RS232 cable configuration for Radio connector

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3.2.4 YAESU BCD band selector
YAESU also offers BCD band data outputs on most models that can be used to control external
devices. The Bandmaster III can, via the Radio connector and a specially designed cable,
decode this information. The pins used on the Radio connector for this are;
Bandmaster
Radio pin out
Pin 1 Band Data A
Pin 6 Band Data B
Pin 8 Band Data C
Pin 4 Band Data D
Table 4: YAESU BCD input connections on J1
Table 5 below shows the YAESU band data selection in BCD mode, note that in this mode 75M
and 60M are not supported
Band
Co
de
160m 0001
80m 0010
40m 0011
30m 0100
20m 0101
17m 0110
15m 0111
12m 1000
10m 1001
6m 1010
Table 5; YAESU BCD band selection.