SR Pro - Radio Logging Support (Getting Started)

Radio Settings Panel Help

Port Settings

Comm Port….(sic)

This is where you can choose which com port to use. When you select a port from the list, it must not be in use by another program. If it is already in use, you will receive an error message.

Baud

Be careful to choose the baud setting that is both, the fastest speed possible without seeing errors. Errors will happen if the speed is too high for the cable you are using. Some cables and lengths can handle higher baud rates than others. I’m sure you already understand the consequences of choosing the wrong speed.

In my case, the default baud rate works fine with my BCD396XT using the supplied serial cable with an extra cable in-line with it.

Radio Cmd Area

In order to receive information from a radio during recording, you need to tell the radio which serial command you want to use to retrieve the data.

Radio Type

You can currently choose between Icom and Uniden radio types. This list will probably be increased to more types in the near future.

Cmd Code

The various commands are listed here. You can choose from a list. This list changes depending on the radio type you selected.

Uniden Item #

Certain Uniden radios use a serial protocol (set of rules) that provides a list of return items separated by commas, just like as in a CSV format file.

This recorder allows one to choose which (sub items) to use in the log.

When you change this number, you will see the results displayed below in the “Test Reply Area” every time you press the Test Cmd button.

In the screenshot (above), the test reply area shows the result of “FCC             ”. You can see that in the RAW data above the result, the word FCC is embedded in the raw reply after the 6th comma. All you have to do to choose a reply sub-item is to look at the raw data and count the commas until you find the sub-item you are interested in.

Test Cmd button

The Test Cmd button allows you to send the selected serial command to the radio. The recorder automatically receives the reply block from the radio and the reply is displayed in the Test Reply Area for you to look at.

This button just sends one command to the radio. Multiple commands can be sent using the Job List (explained below).

Test Reply Area

This area (near the bottom of the Radio Settings panel), is where the radio’s reply is shown. In the case of Uniden radios, the Raw results are shown first, followed by the individual Uniden sub-item. The sub-item is shown in the next area below Raw called “Result”.

When you change the Uniden Item # you are choosing which sub-item to use and you can see the result field change every time you send the new command to the radio.

Job List

The job list is the final place to put your tested commands when you are satisfied that the command is working and that you have chosen the proper sub-item for Uniden radios.

What is in this list is what will be added to the log during a recording. If the list is empty then you will not be retrieving (or logging) any data from a radio.

Job List Display

The order that commands are listed in this area determines the order that they will appear in the log (and on the main panel) during a recording. The order of these items can be changed using the Move-Up and Move-Down buttons.

Add Cmd to Job List

This is how you add items (radio commands) to the job list. You first test the command then you press this button when you are satisfied that the command is set up properly and the correct sub-item is chosen.

Each new item you add to this list will be appended to the bottom.

The same item can be added multiple times if you desire, (but why would you?).

Test Job

Every time you press this button, the entire job list is processed and each result is listed in the test reply area. I advise using this button every time you change something in the job list so you can make sure it works as you want it to during a recording session.

Move Up, Move Down

This changes the order items are listed and processed in the job list.

Delete, Delete All

If you select an item in the list, then you can delete it individually. If you press Delete All, the entire list will be cleared.

If you make a mistake and want to restore what you used to have, use the Cancel button in the upper right of the panel and try it all again by re-opening this panel.

Automatic Fetch Switch

This is the main switch that turns automatic radio logging on and off.

Automatic logging requires the recorder to operate in VOX mode (of course).

During a recording, when a sound is detected, the recorder begins sending out the commands in the job list and retrieving their results and keeping the results internally. When the event ends (after the VOX hold time expires), this information is put into the log file at the end of the current log record.

It’s important to understand that if you don’t use a long enough VOX hold time, you run the risk of trying to send a new command to the radio before a previous command is allowed to finish. If this happens (from too low a baud rate, too short a VOX-Hold time, or too many radio commands), the results are unpredictable. But I think I can predict that there will be missing results in the log if events happen too fast for the radio to keep up with.