Yaesu FT-991A User Manual

CAT Operation Reference Manual

YAESU MUSEN CO., LTD.

CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) Operation

Overview

The CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) System in the FT-991A transceiver provides control of frequency, VFO, memory, and other settings such as dualchannel memories and diversity reception using an external personal computer. This allows multiple control operations to be fully automated with single mouse clicks, or keystroke operations on the computer keyboard.

Using the RS-232C Cable (Refer to figure 1)

The FT-991A transceiver has a built-in level converter, allowing direct connection from the rear-panel CAT jack to the serial port of your computer without the need of any external boxes.

When using the RS-232C cable, set Menu item “028 GPS/232C SELECT” to “RS232C”.

You will need a serial cable for connection to the RS232C (serial or COM port) connector on your computer. Purchase a standard serial cable (not the so-called “null modem” type), ensuring it has the correct gender and number of pins (some serial COM port connectors use a

9-pin rather than 25-pin configuration). If your computer uses a custom connector, you may have to construct the cable. In this case, refer to the technical documentation supplied with your computer for correct data connection.

Using the USB Cable (Refer to figure 2)

Note: A USB driver is required for remote control from a computer. Download the driver from the Yaesu website (http://www.yaesu.com).

The FT-991A transceiver has a built-in USB to Dual UART Bridge, allowing direct connection from the rear-panel USB jack to the USB jack of your computer without the need of any external boxes.

You will need a USB cable to connect to the USB jack on your computer.

YAESU MUSEN does not produce CAT System operating software due to the wide variety of personal computers and operating systems in use today. However, the information provided in this chapter explains the serial data structure and opcodes used by the CAT system. This information, along with the short programming examples, is intended to help you start writing programs on your own. As you become more familiar with CAT operation, you can customize programs for your operating needs and utilize the full operating potential of this system.

Connection

	Pin No.	Pin Name	I/O	Function
		N/A	---	---
		SERIAL OUT	Output	Outputs the Serial Data from
				the transceiver to the computer.
		SERIAL IN	Input	Inputs the Serial Data from the
				computer to the transceiver.
		N/A	---	---
		GND	---	Signal Ground
		N/A	---	---
		RTS	---	---
		CTS	---	---
		N/A	---	---

Personal Computer

FT-991A

COM

GPS/CAT

RS-232C “Straight” Cable

Figure 1

Personal Computer

FT-991A

USB

USB

USB Cable

Figure 2

1	FT-991 CAT Operation Reference Book

CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) Operation

Control Command

A computer control command is composed of an alphabetical command, various parameters, and the terminator that signals the end of the control command.

Example: Set the VFO-A frequency to 14.250000 MHz.

FA	014250000	;
		
Command	Parameter	Terminator

There are three commands for the FT-991A as shown below:

Set command: Set a particular condition

(to the FT-991A)

Read command: Reads an answer

(from the FT-991A) Answer command: Transmits a condition

(from the FT-991A)

For example, note the following case of the FA command (Set the VFO-A frequency):

To set the VFO-A frequency to 14.250000 MHz, the following command is sent from the computer to the transceiver:

“FA014250000;” (Set command)

To read the VFO-A frequency, the following command is sent from the computer to the transceiver:

“FA;” (Read command)

When the Read command above has been sent, the following command is returned to the computer:

“FA014250000;” (Answer command)

Alphabetical Commands

A command consists of 2 alphabetical characters.

You may use either lower or upper case characters. The commands available for this transceiver are listed in the “PC Control Command Tables” on the following pages.

Parameters

Parameters are used to specify information necessary to implement the desired command.

The parameters to be used for each command are predetermined. The number of digits assigned to each parameter is also predetermined. Refer to the “Control Command List” and the “Control Command Tables” to configure the appropriate parameters.

When configuring parameters, be careful not to make the following mistakes.

For example,

when the correct parameter is “IS0+1000” (IF SHIFT):

IS01000;

Not enough parameters specified (No direction (+) given for the IF shift)

IS0+100;

Not enough digits (Only three frequency digits given)

IS0_+_1000;

Unnecessary characters between parameters

IS0+10000;

Too many digits (Five frequency digits given)

Note: If a particular parameter is not applicable to the

FT-991A, the parameter digits should be filled using any character except the ASCII control codes (00 to

1Fh) and the terminator (;).

Terminator

To signal the end of a command, it is necessary to use a semicolon (;). The digit where this special character must appear differs depending on the command used.

2	FT-991 CAT Operation Reference Book

CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) Operation

	Command	Function	Set	Read	Ans.	AI
	AB	VFO-A TO VFO-B	O	X	X	X
	AC	ANTENNA TUNER	O	O	O	O
		CONTROL
	AG	AF GAIN	O	O	O	O
	AI	AUTO INFORMATION	O	O	O	X
	AM	VFO-A TO MEMORY	O	X	X	X
		CHANNEL
	BA	VFO-B TO VFO-A	O	X	X	X
	BC	AUTO NOTCH	O	O	O	O
	BD	BAND DOWN	O	X	X	X
	BI	BREAK-IN	O	O	O	O
	BP	MANUAL NOTCH	O	O	O	O
	BS	BAND SELECT	O	X	X	X
	BU	BAND UP	O	X	X	X
	BY	BUSY	X	O	O	O
	CH	CHANNEL UP/DOWN	O	X	X	X
	CN	CTCSS/DCS NUMBER	O	O	O	O
	CO	CONTOUR	O	O	O	O
	CS	CW SPOT	O	O	O	O
	CT	CTCSS	O	O	O	O
	DA	DIMMER	O	O	O	X
	DN	DOWN	O	X	X	X
	DT	DATE AND TIME	O	O	O	X
	ED	ENCORDER DOWN	O	X	X	X
	EK	ENT KEY	O	X	X	X
	EU	ENCORDER UP	O	X	X	X
	EX	MENU	O	O	O	O
	FA	FREQUENCY VFO-A	O	O	O	O
	FB	FREQUENCY VFO-B	O	O	O	O
	FS	FAST STEP	O	O	O	O
	FT	FUNCTION TX	O	O	O	O
	GT	AGC FUNCTION	O	O	O	O
	ID	IDENTIFICATION	X	O	O	X
	IF	INFORMATION	X	O	O	O
	IS	IF-SHIFT	O	O	O	O
	KM	KEYER MEMORY	O	O	O	X
	KP	KEY PITCH	O	O	O	O
	KR	KEYER	O	O	O	O
	KS	KEY SPEED	O	O	O	O
	KY	CW KEYING	O	X	X	X
	LK	LOCK	O	O	O	O
	LM	LOAD MESSEGE	O	O	O	X
	MA	MEMORY CHANNEL TO	O	X	X	X
		VFO-A
	MC	MEMORY CHANNEL	O	O	O	X
	MD	MODE	O	O	O	O
	MG	MIC GAIN	O	O	O	O
	ML	MONITOR LEVEL	O	O	O	O
	MR	MEMORY READ	X	O	O	X
	MS	METER SW	O	O	O	O
	MT	MEMORY CHANNEL	O	O	O	X
		WRITE/TAG
	MW	MEMORY WRITE	O	X	X	X
	MX	MOX SET	O	O	O	O
	NA	NARROW	O	O	O	O
	NB	NOISE BLANKER	O	O	O	O
	NL	NOISE BLANKER	O	O	O	O
		LEVEL
	NR	NOISE REDUCTION	O	O	O	O
	OI	OPPOSITE BAND	X	O	O	O
		NFORMATION
	OS	OFFSET (Repeater	O	O	O	O
		Shift)

	Command	Function	Set	Read	Ans.	AI
	PA	PRE-AMP (IPO)	O	O	O	O
	PB	PLAY BACK	O	O	O	X
	PC	POWER CONTROL	O	O	O	O
	PL	SPEECH PROCESSOR	O	O	O	O
		LEVEL
	PR	SPEECH PROCESSOR	O	O	O	O
	PS	POWER SWITCH	O	O	O	X
	QI	QMB STORE	O	X	X	X
	QR	QMB RECALL	O	X	X	X
	QS	QUICK SPLIT	O	X	X	X
	RA	RF ATTENUATOR	O	O	O	O
	RC	CLAR CLEAR	O	X	X	X
	RD	CLAR DOWN	O	X	X	X
	RG	RF GAIN	O	O	O	O
	RI	RADIO INFORMATION	X	O	O	O
	RL	NOISE REDUCTION	O	O	O	O
		LEVEL
	RM	READ METER	X	O	O	O
	RS	RADIO STATUS	X	O	O	X
	RT	CLAR	O	O	O	O
	RU	CLAR UP	O	X	X	X
	SC	SCAN	O	O	O	O
	SD	SEMI BREAK-IN DELAY	O	O	O	O
		TIME
	SH	WIDTH	O	O	O	O
	SM	S METER	X	O	O	X
	SQ	SQUELCH LEVEL	O	O	O	O
	SV	SWAP VFO	O	X	X	X
	TS	TXW	O	O	O	O
	TX	TX SET	O	O	O	O
	UL	UNLOCK	X	O	O	O
	UP	UP	O	X	X	X
	VD	VOX DELAY TIME	O	O	O	O
	VG	VOX GAIN	O	O	O	O
	VM	[V/M] KEY FUNCTION	O	X	X	X
	VX	VOX	O	O	O	O
	XT	TX CLAR	O	O	O	O
	ZI	ZERO IN	O	X	X	X

3	FT-991 CAT Operation Reference Book

CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) Operation

AB	VFO-A TO VFO-B
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	A	B	;
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
AC	ANTENNA TUNER CONTROL
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed	P3 0: Tuner “OFF”
	A	C	P1	P2		P3		;						P2	0: Fixed	1: Tuner “ON”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10			2: Tuning Start / Tuning Stop
	A	C	;
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	A	C	P1	P2		P3		;
AG	AF GAIN
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed
	A	G	P1	P2		P2		P2	;					P2	000 - 255
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	A	G	P1	;
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	A	G	P1	P2		P2		P2	;
AI	AUTO INFORMATION
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10	P1	0: Auto Information “OFF”
	A	I	P1	;											1: Auto Information “ON”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10	This parameter is set to “0” (OFF) automatically when the transceiver is turned “OFF”.
	A	I	;
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	A	I	P1	;
AM	VFO-A TO MEMORY CHANNEL
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	A	M	;
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
BA	VFO-B TO VFO-A
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	B	A	;
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
BC	AUTO NOTCH
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed
	B	C	P1	P2		;								P2	0: Auto Notch “OFF”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10		1: Auto Notch “ON”
	B	C	P1	;
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
	B	C	P1	P2		;
BD	BAND DOWN
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed
	B	D	P1	;
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7		8	9	10

4	FT-991 CAT Operation Reference Book

CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) Operation

BI	BREAK-IN
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: Break-in “OFF”
	B	I	P1	;										1: Break-in “ON”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
	B	I	;
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
	B	I	P1	;
BP	MANUAL NOTCH
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed		P3	P2=0
	B	P	P1	P2		P3		P3	P3	;			P2	0: Manual NOTCH “ON/OFF”			000: “OFF”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10		1: Manual NOTCH LEVEL			001: “ON”
																	P2=1
	B	P	P1	P2		;
																	001 - 320
	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
Answer																	(NOTCH Frequency : x 10 Hz )
	B	P	P1	P2		P3		P3	P3	;
BS	BAND SELECT
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	00: 1.8 MHz	06: 18 MHz		12: MW
	B	S	P1	P1		;								01: 3.5 MHz	07: 21 MHz		13: -
														02: 5 MHz	08: 24.5 MHz		14: AIR
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
														03: 7 MHz	09: 28 MHz		15: 144 MHz
														04: 10 MHz	10: 50 MHz		16: 430 MHz
	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
Answer														05: 14 MHz	11: GEN
BU	BAND UP
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed
	B	U	P1	;
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
BY	BUSY
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: RX BUSY “OFF”
														1: RX BUSY “ON”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P2	0: Fixed
	B	Y	;
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
	B	Y	P1	P2		;
CH	CHANNEL UP/DOWN
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: Memory Channel “UP”
	C	H	P1	;										1: Memory Channel “DOWN”
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
CN	CTCSS TONE FREQUENCY
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed
	C	N	P1	P2		P3		P3	P3	;			P2	0: CTCSS
Read	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10		1: DCS
													P3	P2=0 000 - 049: Tone Frequency Number (See Table 1)
	C	N	P1	P2		;
														P2=1 000 - 103: DCS Code Number (See Table 2)
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
	C	N	P1	P2		P3		P3	P3	;
CO	CONTOUR
Set	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10	P1	0: Fixed	P3	P2=0 0000: CONTOUR “OFF”
	C	O	P1	P2		P3		P3	P3	P3	;		P2	0: CONTOUR “ON/OFF”			0001: CONTOUR “ON”
														1: CONTOUR FREQ		P2=1 0010 - 3200
	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10
Read														2: APF “ON/OFF”			(CONTOUR Frequency:10 - 3200Hz)
	C	O	P1	P2		;
														3: APF FREQ		P2=2 0000: APF “OFF”
Answer	1	2	3	4		5		6	7	8	9	10					0001: APF “ON”
																P2=3 0000 - 0050 (APF Frequency: -250 - 250 Hz )
	C	O	P1	P2		P3		P3	P3	P3	;

5	FT-991 CAT Operation Reference Book