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113 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
113 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
5 years ago
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ArFO - Arduino Frequency Oscillator
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A (mobile) remote head for your ham transceiver.
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# History
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```
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8-Feb-2020: Repository Creation, Intitial Commit, Alpha Versions
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````
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# About
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ArFO is an Arduino-based program that interfaces with an external display, external controls, and your ham rig;
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to allow you the convenience of a remote head for rigs that do not feature one. It is written in Arduino and
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commands your rig using it's CAT/CI-V connection. ArFO is a continuation/reboot of PiFO; a previous project
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that sought to do the same thing.
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In addition to being able to control your operating mode, VFO, and a few other select options; ArFO also provides
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"advanced logic" for an otherwise older rig. When possible, it uses it's own programming rather than rely on the
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rig's internal functions. Planned features include a memory function, similar to what the proof-of-concept PiFO
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was; that will allow you to expand on the memory preset functions of older rigs as well as the ability to carry
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your memory presets with you between rigs. ArFO stores the frequency information and sends it to the radio as
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a frequency for the VFO.
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ArFO will use it's own internal logic when necessary, meaning older rigs will get some new features. This means
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some limitations (like CI-V WARC band data) are irrelevant to ArFO as we can calculate and process things
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ourselves.
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# Why The Change To Arduino
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When I originally came up with the idea for PiFO; the Raspberry Pi seemed like the easest development solution. With
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existing software in it's repositories the original idea was just a basic python script to interface with these.
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However as I began developing it I found a lot of limitations in the existing solutions that did not perform the way
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I thought they should, or wanted it to.
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The other problem with the RPi is the amount of time it takes to boot. Even with a basic installation of Rasbian;
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20 seconds was how long it took to become active without getting in to the OS and really stripping things down.
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When I created [HiFiLOGIX](https://gitlab.com/dewdude/hifilogix) I decided to go with the Arduino platform due to
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almost negligable boot-up time; the goal was to have it booted and ready to go within the 4.5 seconds it took for
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the stereo to activate it's speaker output relay.
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The (relative) success of getting HiFoLOGIX to work and armed with new knowledge of Arduino; I decided it should be
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possible to build PiFO in a way that works entirely on a microcontroller. We don't need a full OS; and this means
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no long boot times.
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# Hardware
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Though I have not gotten to the full design of a "reference" remote head; I am shooting for the following:
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* easy-to-read seven-segment LED displays with a minimal amount of information
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* one (or more) rotary encoders for spinning the VFO/channels
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* dedicated buttons for functions that don't require you to navigate a menu
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* onboard level converters for your rig's communication protocol
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* two cables to the head; power and communications
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Currently development is occuring on an Arduino Mega2560 and a simple 7404 based level converter for CI-V. This is
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actually the same converter used in the RPi version. If the code allows; the final product may contain an ATMega328.
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All hardware is planned to be integrated in to the head, meaning you should only need a power and communication
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cable going to your radio.
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I will post full pictures and a schematic as I get further along in the development.
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Usage of onboard USB controllers in newer rigs will depend on how difficult it is to implement. Unlike the RPi;
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the AVR based ATMegas do not feature native USB support and only offer serial communications. So plugging a rig's
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USB in to the thing won't work. The chip that handles serial-to-USB on the board would have to be reprogrammed to
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act as a USB host and understand all the various serial-to-USB adapters on the market. While USB controllers are
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available as an external module; the goal of this project is to keep costs to a minimum. No one wants to spend
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$300 on a remote head accessory!
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Additional display types may be supported depending on demand or user-submitted code. The project is open-source; you
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are welcome to contribute code.
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# Current DEV Status
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Development offically started on 5-FEB-2020 with working out the physical interface betweent he rig and the radio.
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This has been fully tested and I'm able to send and receieve bytes.
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The current phase of development is largely focusing on the communication library for CI-V. In it's current state,
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the software is able to detect, receive, and filter CI-V data packets and able to process iCom's BCD data in to a
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decimal format that can be worked with by the rest of the software. Currently this just displays the frequency to
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the serial port on the Mega2560 connected to the USB adapter. The radio is currently using one of the remaining
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hardware serial ports.
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*Current Development Version*
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# License
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Copyright 2020 Jay Moore
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Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted
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provided that the following conditions are met:
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1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
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list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
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2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions
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and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
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THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
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WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
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DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
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EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
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DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
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LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
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THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
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