Vertex Standard VX-1700 Series Product guide

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
VX-1700
CAT O PERATION
R EFERENCE B OOK

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
COM
GPS
RS-232C “Cross” Cable
OVERVIEW
The CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) System in
the VX-1700 provides control of frequency, memory,
and other settings using an external personal com-
puter. This allows multiple control keystrokes to be
fully automated as a single mouse click or keystroke
operation on the computer keyboard.
To use computer control of your VX-1700 transceiver,
a D-SUB 9-pin cross cable (“null modem”) will be
required for connection of the VX-1700 transceiver
to your computer’s serial (“COM”) port. Be sure that
the serial cable has the proper gender and number
of pins (some COM ports used a 9-pin rather than a
25-pin configuration). If the computer uses a custom
connector, you may have to construct the serial cable;
in this case, refer to the technical documentation
supplied with your computer for correct connections.
The illustration below shows an example of CAT sys-
tem connections.
Vertex Standard Co., Ltd. does not produce CAT
System software, owing to the wide variety or per-
sonal computers and operating systems in use world-
wide. However, the information presented in this
chapter explains the serial data structure and
opcodes used by the CAT system. This information,
along with the brief programming examples supplied
later, is intended to assist the developer in writing
programs.
NOTE
The CAT system protocol is available from Lot
028 or later products.
When the SELCALL or ALE function is activat-
ing, you cannot use the CAT system protocol.
When using the CAT system protocol, it is neces-
sary for you to change the DIP switch setting of
the VX -1700.
Page 1

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
VX-1700 MODIFICATION
1. Turn off the VX-1700 by pressing and holding the
[POWER]switch of the VX-1700 for one second,
then turn off the External DC Power Supply.
2. Disconnect the DC Cable from the DC INPUT
Jack on the VX-1700 rear panel, and then dis-
connect all cables from the VX-1700.
3. Referring to Figure 1, remove the four screws from
the side of the transceiver (two screws for each
side), along with four screws affixing the bottom
case; remove the bottom case.
4. Referring to Figure 2, slide the S4002 and S4003
switches to the “A” position.
5. Replace the bottom case with its eight screws.
6. Connect the all cables to the transceiver.
IMPORTANT NOTE
Please be careful to avoid short-circuit to any
metal object.
Be careful to prevent injury from any sharp cor-
ners.
Please practice standard grounding techniques
and do not touch semiconductor components un-
necessarily to avoid breakage or damage by static
electricity etc.
NOTE
Do not forget to return the S4002 and S4003 switches
into the “B” side when using the GPS.
Figure 1
Figure 1
GPS-INTERFACE Unit
or
ALE Unit
MAIN Unit
Cooling Fan
Page 2

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
CAT DATA PROTOCOL
Serial data is passed at RS-232 levels via the SI (Se-
rial Input) and SO (Serial Output) pins of the GPS
jack (pins 2 and 3, respectively) on the rear panel of
the transceiver. The serial data format is 4800 bits/
second; each byte sent consists of one start bit, 8
data bits, no parity, and two stop bits (4800, N, 8, 2).
CAT DATA (ONE BYTE, SENT LEFT-TO-RIGHT)
All commands sent to the transceiver must consist
of blocks or five bytes each, with up to 200 ms be-
tween each byte. The last byte sent in each block is
the instruction opcode, while the first four bytes or
each block are arguments: either parameters for that
instruction, or dummy values (to pad the block out to
five bytes).
5-BYTE COMMAND BLOCK (SENT LEFT-TO-RIGHT)
There are 15 instruction opcodes for the VX-1700.
Notice that several instructions require no specific
parameters, but every command block sent to the
transceiver must consist of five bytes.
The CAT control program in the computer must con-
struct the five-byte block by selecting the appropri-
ate instruction opcode, organizing the parameters, if
any, and providing unused (dummy) argument bytes
for padding (dummy bytes may have any value). The
resulting five bytes are then sent, opcode last, to the
SI (Serial Input) pin of the GPS jack on the rear panel
of the transceiver.
Example: Tune to 14.250.0MHz:
First, determine the opcode for the desired in-
struction (see the CAT command table). These
opcodes should be stored in the program so they
can be looked up when the user requests the cor-
responding command. In this case, the instruc-
tion is “Set Receive & Transmit Frequency” so
the opcode is “0Ah” (small “h” letters following
each byte value indicate hexadecimal (base 16)
Values).
Build the four argument byte values from the de-
sired frequency by breaking it into 2-digit blocks
(reversed BCD “packed decimal” format). Note
that a leading zero is always required in the “hun-
dreds-of-MHz” place (and another in the “tens-
of-MHz” place, if below 10 MHz).
The resulting 5-byte block should look like this
(again, in hexadecimal format):
Send these five bytes to the transceiver (Sent Left-
to-Right: 00 50 42 01 0Ah).
START BIT 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 STOP BIT STOP BIT
BYTE 1
ARGUMENT
BYTE 2
ARGUMENT
BYTE 3
ARGUMENT
BYTE 4
ARGUMENT
BYTE 5
COMMAND
OPCODE
BYTE 1
00
BYTE 2
50
BYTE 3
42
BYTE 5
0Ah
OPCODEDATA/ARGUMENT BYTES
BYTE 4
01
BYTE 1
00
0
100’s
Hz
0
10’s
Hz
BYTE 2
50
5
10’s
kHz
0
1’s
kHz
BYTE 3
42
4
1’s
MHz
2
100’s
kHz
BYTE 4
01
0
100’s
MHz
1
10’s
MHz
Page 3
Connected with , , , and .
GPS Data Input.
N/C (Lot. 1~25)
GPS Data Output (Lot. 26 & 27 :
When the firmware is updated.
GPS Data Output (Lot. 28~)
Connected with , , , and .
GPS Data.
Connected with , , , and .
Connected with , , , and .
Connected with , , , and .
N/C (Lot. 1~25)
GND (Lot. 26~)
GPS Jack
(As Viewed From Rear Panel)

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
CAT COMMANDS
COMMAND
Memory Recall
Memory Write
Memory Hide
Recalls Last-used VFO
Set Receive & Transmit Frequency
Set Transmit (only) Frequency
MODE
PTT
VFO RX´TX
Step Operation Frequency
TX Power Set (Low)
TX Power Set (Mid)
TX Power Set (Hi)
Status Update
Read Meter
Read Flags
OPCODE
(HEX)
02
03
05
0A
8A
0C
0F
85
8E
18
28
48
10
F7
FA
1
CH
CH
–
F1
F1
M
T
–
D
–
–
–
U
–
–
2
–
P2
–
F2
F2
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
3
–
–
–
F3
F3
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
–
–
–
F4
F4
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
PARAMETER BYTES PARAMETER DESCRIPTION
CH = 01h to C8h
01h: Memory Channel “1”, C8h: Memory Channel “200”
P2 = 00: Write the current VFO data to the Memory Channel
P2 = 01: Hide the Memory Channel
CH = 01h to C8h
F1 ~ F4: Frequency Digits (BCD format)
Example: 01 23 45 67 = 12.3456 MHz
F4 F3 F2 F1
F1 ~ F4: Frequency Digits (BCD format)
Example: 01 23 45 67 = 12.3456 MHz
F4 F3 F2 F1
M = 00: J3E (LSB), 01: J3E (USB),
02: A1A (CW-W), 03: A1A (CW-N),
04: AM (A3E),
08: J2B (LSB-W), 09: J2B (USB-W),
0D: H3E (2182 MHz MODE),
0E: J2B (LSB-N), 0F: J2B (USB-N)
T = 00: Transmitter “off”, 01: Transmitter “on”
Copy the current VFO receiving frequency to the transmit
frequency
D = 00: 1 Step Up, 01: 1 Step Down
U = 00: Not used, 01: Memory Number,
U = 02: Operating Data, 03: VFO Data
See Next page for details
See Next page for details
See Next page for details
Legend: Send all commands in REVERSE order
form that shown! Commands that duplicate a front
panel button are named with all caps. Parameter
variables are named to reflect their format: eg., “CH”
indicates a memory number, from “01h” to “C8h” (1
to 200 decimal). “–” indicates a padding byte. Value
is unimportant, but it must be present to pad the block
out to exactly five bytes.
Page 4

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
DATA RETURNED FROM VX-1700
The VX-1700 returns the “00h” command when the VX-1700 accepts a command, and returns the “F0h” com-
mand when the VX-1700 does not accept a command via the SO (Serial Output) pin of the GPS jack on the rear
panel of the transceiver.
Furthermore, the following three commands report the various operational and internally-stored settings of VX-
1700.
STATUS UPDATE COMMAND (10h)
Returns the portion of the RAM table according to the receiving parameter (U).
U = 01 (Memory Number: 1-byte)
Reterns the defining current operating memory
channel number (01h ~ C8h).
U = 02 (Operating Data: 19-byte)
Reterns the defining current operating conditions
in the current VFO or memory.
This 19-byte data consists of 1-byte current indi-
cating memory channel number, followed by two
9-byte transmitter and receiver data (described
at the right) for either the VFO or Memory cur-
rently in use.
19-BYTE DATA FORMAT
1-BYTE MEMORY DATA ASSIGNMENT
U = 03 (VFO Data: 9-byte x 2)
Reterns the defining current VFO’s transmitter
and receiver data.
18-BYTE DATA FORMAT
9-BYTE VFO (TX & RX)DATA ASSIGNMENT
BAND Data (Byte
“0”): The 0.03 ~ 30
MHz transceiver op-
erating range is di-
vided into 10 bands,
represented in hexa-
decimal format in the
table at the right.
Frequency Data (Byte “1” - “4”): The 4-byte fre-
quency data is comprised of eight fields, from
MSB to LSB. For example, a binary vale of 0000
0000 0001 0101 1011 1110 0110 1000 is 15BE68
(HEX) = 14.250.00 MHz as follows:
MODE Data (Byte “6”): The
mode data is represented in
hexadecimal format in the
table at the right.
1-BYTE
MEMORY DATA
9-BYTE
TX DATA (VFO OR MR)
9-BYTE
RX DATA (VFO OR MR)
9-BYTE
VFO TX DATA
9-BYTE
VFO RX DATA
BYTE 1
OPERATING FREQUENCY 9-BYTE
Field 1
MSB
0000
0
Field 2
0000
0
BYTE 2
Field 3
0001
1
Field 4
0101
5
BYTE 3
Field 5
1011
B
Field 6
1110
E
BYTE 4
Field 7
0110
6
Field 8
LSB
1000
8
0015BE68 (HEX)= 1,425,000 = 14.250.00 MHZ
HEX CODE
00
01
02
03
04
05
MODE
J3E (LSB)
J3E (USB)
A1A-W
A1A-N
A3E
J2B
HEX CODE
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
BAND
0.03 - 1.8 MHz
1.8 - 2.5 MHz
2.5 - 4.0 MHz
4.0 - 7.5 MHz
7.5 - 10.5 MHz
10.5 - 14.5 MHz
14.5 - 18.5 MHz
18.5 - 21.5 MHz
21.5 - 25.5 MHz
21.5 - 30.0 MHz
BYTE
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9-BYTE DATA ASSIGNMENT
Band Data (BPF Selection)
Frequency Data
Not Used
Mode Data
Not Used
Not Used
BYTE
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9-BYTE DATA ASSIGNMENT
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Semi Duplex Memory Channel
Alpha Numeric Channel
Erased Memory Channel
Page 5

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
READ METER COMMAND (F7h)
Returns the meter deflection (00h ~ FFh) repeated
in four bytes, followed by one extra “padding” byte
(F7h), as follows.
During reception, the signal strength deflection is
returned. During transmission, the power output level
deflection is returned.
DATA RETURNED FROM VX-1700
METER BYTE
(00h - FFh)METER BYTE (00h - FFh)METER BYTE (00h - FFh)METER BYTE (00h - FFh)PADDING BYTE (F7h)FLAG BYTE
1
FLAG BYTE
2
FLAG BYTE
3
PADDING BYTE
(06h)PADDING BYTE (04h)
DESCRIPTION
LOCK is activated. (“LOCK” icon will be illuminated.)
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Memory Mode (“MEM” icon will be illuminated.)
Not Used
VFO Mode (“VFO” icon will be illuminated.)
BIT
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
DESCRIPTION
PTT line closed by CAT command.
Scanning, Priority, or Dual Watch is “paused”.
Scanning, Priority, or Dual Watch is “enabled”.
J2B filter: “Narrow” selected.
A1A filter: “Narrow” selected.
J2B operation selected “USB”.
Not Used
Not Used
BIT
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
DESCRIPTION
Not Used
TX output selected “10 W”.
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Antenna Tuner working.
(“TUNER” icon will be illuminated.)
Not Used
Transmission in progress. (PTT closed.)
BIT
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
READ FLAGS COMMAND (FAh)
Returns only the first three bytes (the Status Flags)
from the RAM table, plus two extra “padding” bytes
(06h and 04h).
The three bytes are treated as 12 one-bit flag fields:
a function is enabled (on) if a bit is “1”, and disabled
(off) if a bit is “0”. Most of the functions represented
by these flags correspond to the radio display.
First Flag Byte
Second Flag Byte
Third Flag Byte
Page 6

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
CODING EXAMPLES
Although Vertex Standard Co., Ltd. cannot offer to provide complete CAT control programs (owing to the wide
variety of incompatible computers used by our customers). We present here with a few examples of critical
CAT I/O functions, in BASIC. Note that not all forms or BASIC may support some of the commands, in which
case alternate algorithms may need to developed in order to duplicate the functions of those shown.
SENDING ACOMMAND
After “opening” the computer’s serial port for 4800
baud, 8 data bits, two stop bits, and no parity as I/O
device #2, any CAT command may be sent. The in-
struction opcode is sent last, with the first (MSB)
parameter sent just before it, and the LSB param-
eter (or dummies) sent first. The parameters are sent
in reverse order from that in which they appear in
the “CAT Commands” table. Note also that, in the
following examples, we are sending zeroes as
dummy bytes, although this is not necessary. If you
decide to send commands through a five-byte array,
the values or the dummy parameters need not be
cleared.
The following command could, for example, be used
to set the frequency of the display to 14.250.0 MHz:
PRINT #2,
CHR$(&H00);CHR$(&H50);CHR$(&H42);CHR$(&H01);
CHR$(&HA);
Notice here that the BCD values can be sent just by
preceding the decimal digits with “&H” in this ex-
ample. However, in an actual program, you may pre-
fer to convert the decimal frequency variable in the
program to an ASCII string, and the convert the string
to characters through a lookup table. If you send a
parameter that is out of range for the intended func-
tion, or not among the specified legal values for that
function, the VX-1700 should do nothing. Therefore,
you may wish to alternate your sending of commands
or command groups with a Read Flags or an Update
command, allowing the transceiver to let the com-
puter know if everything sent so far has been ac-
cepted and acted upon as expected.
Bear in mind that some commands specify “binary”
(as opposed to BCD-formatted) parameters. You can
send binary parameters without going through the
character/hex string conversion process. For ex-
ample, the CH parameter in the Command table is
binary. You could have the VX-1700 recall Memory
Channel “1-29” as follows:
PRINT #2,
CHR$(0);CHR$(0);CHR$(0);CHR$(29);CHR$(2);
READING RETURNED DATA
The reading process is easily done through a loop,
storing incoming data into an array, which can then
be processed after all expected bytes have been read
into the array. To read the meter:
FOR I = 1 TO 5
MDATA(I)=ASC(INPUT$(1,#2))
NEXT I
Recall from above that the meter data consists of
four identical bytes, followed by a “padding” byte, so
we really only need to see one byte to get all of the
information this command offers. Nevertheless, we
must read all five bytes (or 1, 18, 19, in the case of
the Update data). After reading all of the data, We
can select the bytes of interest to us from the array
(MDATA, in the above example).
Page 7

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
Page 8
NOTE

VX-1700 CAT OPERATION REFERENCE BOOK
CAT (COMPUTER AIDED TRANSCEIVER)OPERATION
Copyright 2008
VERTEX STANDARD CO., LTD.
All rights reserved
No portion of this manual
may be reproduced without
the permission of
VERTEX STANDARD CO., LTD.