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Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

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Phil Hystad-3

Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).

This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.

73, phil, K7PEH

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Don Wilhelm-4

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

Phil,

Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth
connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good
quality, it should work just fine.
I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution
that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting
for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it
should work.

Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels
and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but
fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching
voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB
to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do
not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters
designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those
offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4
will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety
Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>
> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>
>

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alsopb

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

I have some empirical data that the K3 works at TTL levels (0 to 5 V).

73 DE Brian/K3KO

on 4/12/2013 22:30, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Phil,
>
> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth
> connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good
> quality, it should work just fine.
> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution
> that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting
> for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it
> should work.
>
> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels
> and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but
> fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching
> voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB
> to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do
> not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters
> designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those
> offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4
> will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety
> Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the
>> dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not
>> have to be dongle style).
>>
>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think,
>> though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define
>> additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration
>> would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
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Phil Hystad-3

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm-4

Don,

I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150. Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75 range.

I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am wondering if anyone else has experience.

73, phil, K7PEH

On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Phil,
>
> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good quality, it should work just fine.
> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it should work.
>
> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>>
>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

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Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Don Wilhelm-4

The "gold standard" for RS-232 levels is the 1489 -- once literally
every serial port had a 1488 and a 1489 handling driver and receiver
duties, respectively.

.... and while technically the levels are +3 to +15, and -3 to -15 with
any voltage between +3 and -3 being "undefined" the 1489 worked fine
with TTL levels.

... and I'd expect the Bluetooth adapter to be built right onto DE-9 or
DB-25, so the cable lengths should be really short.

-- Lynn

On 4/12/2013 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels
> and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but
> fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages.
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Iain MacDonnell - N6ML-2

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Phil Hystad-3

I think you'd need one that takes power from an external source, since
you can't rely on power supply from the DE-9 ports. Some of the
products I see have a mini-USB connector for external power supply -
seems to almost defeat the purpose :)

73,

~iain / N6ML

On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 5:23 PM, Phil Hystad <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Don,
>
> I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150. Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75 range.
>
> I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am wondering if anyone else has experience.
>
> 73, phil, K7PEH
>
>
> On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Phil,
>>
>> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good quality, it should work just fine.
>> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it should work.
>>
>> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>>>
>>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
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> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Phil Hystad-3

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

All the RS232/Bluetooth devices I found use external power supplied power. Most have a USB connector so that they are powered from any USB hub. Some also allow an external power supply connection.

On Apr 12, 2013, at 6:27 PM, iain macdonnell - N6ML <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I think you'd need one that takes power from an external source, since
> you can't rely on power supply from the DE-9 ports. Some of the
> products I see have a mini-USB connector for external power supply -
> seems to almost defeat the purpose :)
>
> 73,
>
> ~iain / N6ML
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 5:23 PM, Phil Hystad <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> Don,
>>
>> I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150. Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75 range.
>>
>> I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am wondering if anyone else has experience.
>>
>> 73, phil, K7PEH
>>
>>
>> On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Phil,
>>>
>>> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good quality, it should work just fine.
>>> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it should work.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Don W3FPR
>>>
>>> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>>>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>>>>
>>>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> Elecraft mailing list
>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Oliver Dröse

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Phil Hystad-3

Phil,

if you know how to tell the hot from the cold end of a soldering iron you
can build one yourself. I already described it in the German FUNKAMATEUR
magazine back in 2011 and FUNKAMATEUR is also selling a kit. It plugs
directly onto the RS-232 port of the K3 (power taken from the RCA connector)
but of course can also be put into a small plastic enclosure and wired
externally. Works like a charm with my KX3, too! K(X)3 utility works with
it, too, of course. ;-)

Sorrily I did not find the time yet to put it in English on my website
(http://www.dh8bqa.de/). Hope to be able to do it this summer, there are a
lot of projects developed and built and a few of them published, too, that
are not up there yet ... time, time, time. ;-)

Concerning the OS: There are no dependencies to the OS from the BT adapter
itself! As soon as you detect it from your PC, MAC, etc. the OS will install
a virtual COM port that can be used then. Drivers are normally included in
the OS yourself or the BT adapter software on the PC side. This way I am
doing real wireless contesting using N1MM and the K3 internal voicekeyer
started through CAT commands, no wires between notebook and radio. :-) A few
DXpeditioner's I know already switch over to the BT adapter, too, after they
experiences trouble with USB interfaces during their expeditions in the
middle of nowhere. They are happy campers now. :-)

Besides the radio side you can also use it on the PC end if the latter does
not incorporated a BT module yet. A BT USB-adapter is another choice there,
too.

You can find it in FUNKAMATEUR's German webshop at
http://www.box73.de/product_info.php?products_id=2384 SMDs are all
premounted so not really much to do yourself. For the kit building manual
take a look here: http://www.box73.de/download/bausaetze/Baumappe_BX-132.pdf
(the pictures should be good enough to give you an idea about it all).

Sorrily it's only in German right now but at least for the webshop Google
translator should help. For the moment it is not in their special US webshop
yet that you can find at http://www.box73.com/ If there is enough interest
from oversea's buyers I am sure they could/would include it there as well.
But you can also buy from the original German shop, of course. ;-)

Vy 73 & have fun, Olli - DH8BQA
K3, KPA500, KAT500, KX3, etc.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Hystad" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Cc: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2013 2:23 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

> Don,
>
> I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field
> a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a
> very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150.
> Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75
> range.
>
> I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on
> Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am
> wondering if anyone else has experience.
>
> 73, phil, K7PEH
>
>
> On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Phil,
>>
>> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth
>> connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good
>> quality, it should work just fine.
>> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that
>> I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for
>> something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it
>> should work.
>>
>> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels
>> and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but
>> fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages.
>> Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232
>> adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not,
>> particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed
>> for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered
>> for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle
>> anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific
>> adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle
>>> style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to
>>> be dongle style).
>>>
>>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though
>>> I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define
>>> additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration
>>> would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
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>

W4JBB

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Phil Hystad-3

I recently tried this with some no-name BT transceivers. Using just the
BT in my Mac, I could not connect to the devices. I did not try going
through a serial-to-USB adapter as that would occupy another USB port
which is what I was trying to eliminate.

I also tried experimenting with a Logitech M315 mouse. I couldn't get
the mouse to connect to the Mac either. I did not try using the USB BT
transceiver that came with the mouse. Again, that would occupy a USB
port which I'm trying to keep from doing.

Apparently, what you try to connect via BT needs to be an Apple device -
I could be wrong, this is just my experience.

I have not tried this on my Boot Camp partition.

73,
Joel - W4JBB

On 4/12/13 7:23 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:

> Don,
>
> I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150. Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75 range.
>
> I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am wondering if anyone else has experience.
>
> 73, phil, K7PEH
>
>
> On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Phil,
>>
>> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good quality, it should work just fine.
>> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it should work.
>>
>> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>>
>> 73,
>> Don W3FPR
>>
>> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>>>
>>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>>
>>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

Phil Hystad-3

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Oliver Dröse

Oliver,

Thanks for the information. I will take a look at your web site. My high-school era German gets me by when I am in Germany (especially since almost everyone seems to speak English very well) but not up to the test of translating (although Google might help). I tried translating some German Physics papers published in the 1920s when I was in graduate school and that did not go very well as I remember -- too slow.

73, phil, K7PEH

On Apr 13, 2013, at 2:12 AM, Oliver Dröse <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Phil,
>
> if you know how to tell the hot from the cold end of a soldering iron you can build one yourself. I already described it in the German FUNKAMATEUR magazine back in 2011 and FUNKAMATEUR is also selling a kit. It plugs directly onto the RS-232 port of the K3 (power taken from the RCA connector) but of course can also be put into a small plastic enclosure and wired externally. Works like a charm with my KX3, too! K(X)3 utility works with it, too, of course. ;-)
>
> Sorrily I did not find the time yet to put it in English on my website (http://www.dh8bqa.de/). Hope to be able to do it this summer, there are a lot of projects developed and built and a few of them published, too, that are not up there yet ... time, time, time. ;-)
>
> Concerning the OS: There are no dependencies to the OS from the BT adapter itself! As soon as you detect it from your PC, MAC, etc. the OS will install a virtual COM port that can be used then. Drivers are normally included in the OS yourself or the BT adapter software on the PC side. This way I am doing real wireless contesting using N1MM and the K3 internal voicekeyer started through CAT commands, no wires between notebook and radio. :-) A few DXpeditioner's I know already switch over to the BT adapter, too, after they experiences trouble with USB interfaces during their expeditions in the middle of nowhere. They are happy campers now. :-)
>
> Besides the radio side you can also use it on the PC end if the latter does not incorporated a BT module yet. A BT USB-adapter is another choice there, too.
>
> You can find it in FUNKAMATEUR's German webshop at http://www.box73.de/product_info.php?products_id=2384 SMDs are all premounted so not really much to do yourself. For the kit building manual take a look here: http://www.box73.de/download/bausaetze/Baumappe_BX-132.pdf (the pictures should be good enough to give you an idea about it all).
>
> Sorrily it's only in German right now but at least for the webshop Google translator should help. For the moment it is not in their special US webshop yet that you can find at http://www.box73.com/ If there is enough interest from oversea's buyers I am sure they could/would include it there as well. But you can also buy from the original German shop, of course. ;-)
>
> Vy 73 & have fun, Olli - DH8BQA
> K3, KPA500, KAT500, KX3, etc.
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Phil Hystad" <[hidden email]>
> To: <[hidden email]>
> Cc: <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Saturday, April 13, 2013 2:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms
>
>
>> Don,
>>
>> I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150. Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75 range.
>>
>> I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am wondering if anyone else has experience.
>>
>> 73, phil, K7PEH
>>
>>
>> On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Phil,
>>>
>>> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good quality, it should work just fine.
>>> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it should work.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Don W3FPR
>>>
>>> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>>>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>>>>
>>>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________
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>>
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>>
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>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
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>>
>> -----
>> E-Mail ist virenfrei.
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>

Phil Hystad-3

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by W4JBB

Joel,

About the issue of always expecting Apple devices for BT on a Mac...

I used to have a couple of non-Apple devices BT-connected with my Mac. One was my old Palm Pilot (which I still have actually stuffed away in some drawer) and the other was an old Cell Phone I had before the emergence of iPhone. But, that was a while back, maybe around 2005 to 2008 or so and I have not done any non-Apple BT connecting since then so their could be a problem. I should dig out my Palm Pilot and give it a try.

73, phil, K7PEH

On Apr 13, 2013, at 4:19 AM, Joel Black <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I recently tried this with some no-name BT transceivers. Using just the BT in my Mac, I could not connect to the devices. I did not try going through a serial-to-USB adapter as that would occupy another USB port which is what I was trying to eliminate.
>
> I also tried experimenting with a Logitech M315 mouse. I couldn't get the mouse to connect to the Mac either. I did not try using the USB BT transceiver that came with the mouse. Again, that would occupy a USB port which I'm trying to keep from doing.
>
> Apparently, what you try to connect via BT needs to be an Apple device - I could be wrong, this is just my experience.
>
> I have not tried this on my Boot Camp partition.
>
> 73,
> Joel - W4JBB
>
> On 4/12/13 7:23 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>> Don,
>>
>> I may try it but I was hoping someone had done some work to thin the field a bit. There are a number of different RS232/Bluetooth devices with a very wide price range from my brief googling. Wide is $25 to $150. Actually, only one I found at $150 and most seem to be in the $45 to $75 range.
>>
>> I am also preferring Mac versions and most of what I find seem to offer on Windows (not surprising) but a few on Linux and Mac but again I am wondering if anyone else has experience.
>>
>> 73, phil, K7PEH
>>
>>
>> On Apr 12, 2013, at 3:30 PM, Don Wilhelm <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Phil,
>>>
>>> Why do you not try it and report the results? If the bluetooth connection is good and the bluetooth to RS-232 adapter is of good quality, it should work just fine.
>>> I have not tried it, but in theory it should work. The only caution that I can state is that the quality of some consumer devices is wanting for something more robust. Find one that is sufficiently robust and it should work.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, many PC type devices do not conform to true RS-232 levels and speeds, and will work with some devices over short distances, but fail on other devices that expect the minimum RS-232 switching voltages. Others do not work at slow speeds - note the reports of USB to RS-232 adapter failures on this reflector - some work, and others do not, particularly with the slower data rate used by the K2. Adapters designed for industrial applications will likely work, but some of those offered for the consumer market may present problems. My Edgeport-4 will handle anything I have connected to it so far, but a garden variety Prolific adapter is very picky and fails at slow data rates.
>>>
>>> 73,
>>> Don W3FPR
>>>
>>> On 4/12/2013 6:09 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
>>>> Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be dongle style).
>>>>
>>>> This would be instead of using a Serial to USB adapter. I think, though I am not positive, that such devices come with driver to define additional serial COM ports. I was wondering if such a configuration would work with the Elecraft utility programs.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>> Elecraft mailing list
>>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>>
>>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

Phil Hystad-3

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Oliver Dröse

Oliver,

Google Translate seems to handle your PDF document pretty good using cut-and-paste in sections. I did not translate the entire document because of cut-and-paste, I would have to spend more time then I have right now. I tried Google Translate Toolkit but apparently it does not handle PDF documents. I am guessing because it coughed up "internal error" after two attempts and then reading a little bit showed that Google Translate Toolkit does not appear to handle PDF.

73, phil, K7PEH

On Apr 13, 2013, at 2:12 AM, Oliver Dröse <[hidden email]> wrote:

Dr. William J. Schmidt, II

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Phil Hystad-3

<< Has anyone used a Bluetooth to RS232 Serial adapter, such as the dongle
style that could plug into a 9-pin connector (but, it does not have to be
dongle style).>>

No, but I use a blue-tooth connected headset and it works great for moving
about the shack whilst chatting (VOX on)!

Dr. William J. Schmidt - K9HZ / J68HZ/ 8P6HK/ ZF2HZ

Owner - Operator
Big Signal Ranch
Staunton, Illinois

email: [hidden email]

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Phil Hystad
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 5:10 PM
To: [hidden email] Reflector
Subject: [Elecraft] Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
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Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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aj4tf

Re: Bluetooth and Elecraft Rig Serial Comms

In reply to this post by Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT

The MAX232 generates its own RS232 voltage levels from a +5V input. It has two drivers and two receivers on one chip, the receivers are good to +/- 30V.