West Mountain Radio RIGblaster duo User manual

RIGblaster duo
One mic
One pair of speakers
One pair of headphones
One Computer
TWO radios!
OWNERS MANUAL
West Mountain Radio
www.westmountainradio.com
34 Smith Street, Norwalk, CT 06851 tel [phone] fax [phone]
Rev 1.1 – March 2009

2
PREFACE
Thank you for buying the RIGblaster duo . Whether you are upgrading from another RIGblaster ,
another sound card interface, or this is your first interface, we think you will be pleased with the
capabilities of the duo. After building over 25,000 RIGblaster sound card interfaces we are pleased to
introduce an interface designed especially for a station with two radios that makes a station neater,
simpler, more efficient and easier to operate. It features a receive monitor switching, mixing and
amplification system patterned after an aircraft audio panel. We hope that you find it makes your station
better in every way.
Integrating the audio and switching of a station with two radios is complex but we have made every
effort to make the RIGblaster duo as easy to operate and toinstall as possible. Front panel controls
are laid out to be intuitive and ergonomically correct. You should be able to understand the operation
simply by looking at the controls. You only need to become accustomed to having a single mic, a
single pair of headphones and using a master volume control.
Front panel status indicators show at a glance, signal routing, audio source and status of PTT, CW and
FSK control and keying. In addition to seeing the position of the transmit-select switch, optional
external LED indicators are available to be located at each radio to make it obvious which radio is ready
for transmit.
In many ways the installation is actually simpler than other model RIGblasters except that each radio
has its own connections. The installation will be well worth the effort as you will have your station
totally integrated.
This manual is written with a step-by-step approach explaining how to connect and use the primary
features first, and then later the advanced options. You may not want nor need some of the advanced
options so you may ignore them if you wish. Of course if you understand and know what you want to
do, feel free to continue into the manual as we explain how to add more and more functions and
features. It depends on your desire to experiment; in the spirit of Amateur Radio; that’s what it is all
about!
The RIGblaster duo was conceived as a platform to support all Amateur Radio sound card software,
keying and rig control software, even software that has not yet been written.

3
CONTENTS
PREFACE................................................................................................................................................... 2
CONTENTS................................................................................................................................................ 3
PLEASE NOTE: ......................................................................................................................................... 4
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT STATION GROUNDING:................................................................ 4
UNPACKING ............................................................................................................................................. 5
PANEL DESCRIPTION............................................................................................................................. 6
FRONT PANEL...................................................................................................................................... 6
PANEL DESCRIPTION continued............................................................................................................ 7
PANEL DESCRIPTION............................................................................................................................. 8
REAR PANEL ........................................................................................................................................ 8
PANEL DESCRIPTION continued............................................................................................................ 9
CHOOSE A MOUNTING LOCATION .................................................................................................. 10
INSTALLATION PLANNING ................................................................................................................ 10
INSTALLATION AND CONNECTIONS: BASIC FEATURES ........................................................... 11
STEP 1: INSTALL MICROPHONE WIRING JUMPERS.................................................................. 11
STEP 2: CONNECT AUDIO CABLES ............................................................................................... 12
OPERATING BASICS............................................................................................................................. 12
SOUND CARD SOFTWARE OPERATION .......................................................................................... 14
STEP 1: INSTALL SOFTWARE......................................................................................................... 14
STEP 2: SETUP TO RECEIVE SIGNALS USING SOFTWARE...................................................... 14
STEP 3: SET UP TO TRANSMIT USING SOUND CARD SOFTWARE ........................................ 15
STEP 4 -TEST THE USB VIRTUAL COM PORTS........................................................................... 15
TRANSMIT WITH SOUND CARD SOFTWARE: ................................................................................ 16
CW CABLING AND SETUP .................................................................................................................. 17
RTTY FSK CABLING AND SETUP ...................................................................................................... 17
RIG CONTROL CABLING AND SETUP .............................................................................................. 18
STATION HOOKUP DIAGRAM............................................................................................................ 20
STATION HOOKUP DIAGRAM (optional features & functions, in red).............................................. 21
JUMPER DIAGRAMS: MICROPHONE AND RADIOS....................................................................... 23
FOR 8 PIN ROUND SCREW ON MICROPHONES AND RADIOS ONLY .................................... 23
JUMPER DIAGRAMS: RADIOS ONLY................................................................................................ 24
FOR RJ45 MODULAR SQUARE CONNECTOR RADIOS ONLY.................................................. 24
FEATURE SELECTION JUMPER BLOCK OVERVIEW..................................................................... 25
DEFAULT SETTINGS: FEATURE SELECTION JUMPERS, DIAGRAM...................................... 25
MIC ELECTRET BIAS JUMPER – P8 ................................................................................................... 25
RX MUTE JUMPER – P9 ........................................................................................................................ 26
PC RX FUNCTION ASSIGN – P5 .......................................................................................................... 26
RADIO A RX CHANNEL ASSIGN – P6................................................................................................ 26
RADIO B RX CHANNEL ASSIGN – P7................................................................................................ 27
VIRTUAL COM PORT SERIAL SELECT – P4..................................................................................... 27
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS .................................................................................................................. 28
INDEX ...................................................................................................................................................... 29
WARRANTY ........................................................................................................................................... 30

4
PLEASE NOTE:
In this manual we will refer to the sound device on a computer as “Sound Card”. We understand many
computer sound devices are integrated onto the motherboard of the computer, or can be external. We
will stick to the more familiar wording “Sound Card”. Note that RIGblasters do not have built in
sound. If they did it would mean that you would have to disable the internal sound system in your
computer to use most Amateur Radio sound card software, because most programs cannot select the
computer audio device. All RIGblasters leave your computer sound fully functional just as it was
before, yet you have full capabilities will all Amateur Radio sound card programs and operating modes.
The words “Radio”, “Transceiver” and “Rig” as used within this document are synonymous.
Throughout this manual any reference to using a computer is worded for a Windows® computer. You
may have to interpret the wording to suit a Mac OS® or Linux® computer to fully understand references
to using a computer.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT STATION GROUNDING:
Interconnected electronic equipment, such as an Amateur Radio station, is a system. Interconnected signal
cables must only carry the signals (RF, audio, power or control) they are meant to. They should never be
allowed to be power ground interconnects!
Your station making up this system must be grounded properly at a single point! All desktop computers,
monitors and printers have AC power cord ground connections. The computer AC ground must be
connected to the station ground at a single point. If you radio grounds are not connected to the same physical
location, and AC ground potential; that ground current will be superimposed on the desired signal.
Simply connect the radio grounds, station grounds and AC grounds together at the same physical point. Do
not daisy chain the grounds from one unit to another! This will not only make all the equipment work
properly as a system but it will be much less likely to have damage from a nearby lightning strike.

5
UNPACKING
Items included with the RIGblaster duo
1 DC power cord with Powerpole battery connector
1 CD-ROM WMR Collection of Third Party Software
2 Microphone Cables (3 foot RJ45 to 8 pin screw on)
1 Microphone Cable (3 foot RJ45 to RJ45 Modular)
1 USB A to B Interface Cable
8 1/8 inch (3.5mm) Stereo Mini Plug 6’ Patch Cords
1 Owners Manual (not pictured)
1 Patch Cord Label Set
1 Accessories Kit (that contains)
11 White Wire Jumpers
2 Adapters – 1/8 inch (3.5mm) Mini (female) to ¼ inch Plug
4 3M Adhesive Pads (not pictured)
Optional accessories
6 foot microphone cables
External LED indicators (show radio ready to transmit).
FSK keying cables (radio specific)