Radio Control
The SWLog suite of programs provides for the ability to directly or indirectly control a radio via a variety of methods: direct COM control or over TCP/IP. With this control, the logging program is able to read the frequency and mode from the receiver to aid with logging. SWLog can also tune the radio via the What's Playing Now (WPN) functions.
Radio Control Desktop
The Radio Control Desktop program provides the link between the logging program and the receiver. The receiver may be traditionally controlled over a serial port, be a modern SDR piece of software such as SDR Console, SDR#, or the WiNRADiO control program.
The Radio Control program provides information about the current state of the radio to the logging program so that it can be used to populate items like the frequency, filter, and mode being used to aid in lookups. This is quite useful for the What's Playing Now (WPN) functions. WPN can also provide tuning commands to the radio by clicking on a frequency.
This program is designed to supplement, rather than rather than replace, existing favorite radio or SDR programs. It is folly to attempt to replace an specialized program for a particaular radio or SDR and provide the same level of features and functionality. Thus the Radio Control program is intended to serve the SWLog logging program and to provide basic functionality along side a more full-featured, specialized program. And example of this is the Radio Control program running along side and working with the Flex-6000 SmartSDR software.
In a few cases, such as when using a native driver (see the next column), the Radio Control program may indeed serve as the primary program.
Supported Radio Models
The following receivers are native to the application, meaning that each has a custom-coded driver that only exists within the SWLog suite. These drivers are specifically tuned for the features of SWLog. In the case of SDR# and WiNRADiO, custom plug-ins are used as those programs are extensible via that method.
- ATS Mini (SI4732) Receiver
- CatSync
- Icom CIV-based (e.g. IC-R75)
- Icom PCR-100/1000/1500/2500
- Flex-6000 CAT
- Flex-6000 TCP
- Kenwood R-5000 (compatible with many other manufacturers)
- Lowe HF-250/250E
- Malahit DSP2/DSP3
- OmniRig v1
- SDR Console
- SDR# via a Serial Port Emulator plug-in
- Ten-Tec RX-320/320D/321
- Virtual/Demo (for setup or testing)
- WiNRADiO via the RCSBridge plug-in
- Yaesu Hex-based
- Yaesu Text-based
Ham Radio Control Libraries (HamLib)
Hamlib is an open source library that supports controlling over 220 types of radios. Although it is named HamLib, it also supports many receive-only radios. SWLog works with both HamLib interfaces - RS-232 serial ports and TCP networking.
Tuning Control - Knobs!
Nothing defines a radio better than a knob! The SWLog suite of programs supports two different input devices for tuning control: the Griffin PowerMate and the Icom RC-28. Both work with any type of radio (e.g. the Icom RC-28 can be used with a Flex or Yaesu!).
The Griffin PowerMate is no longer in production, but can still be found on secondary markets such as eBay. It is a 2000s-era USB device that was sold primarly as a volumne control back in the Winamp days. The PowerMate is very straightforward to use with SWLog. Its software, which runs just fine under Windows 11, maps the clockwise and counter-clockwise movements to keyboard commands and maps pushing down on the knob to another keyboard command. These commands are then interpreted by SWLog to tune the radio and to change the software VFOs within the Radio Control program.
The Icom RC-28 is a versatile tuning control device. While it was designed to be proprietary to Icom, SWLog has a custom-designed interface for it. No external software or configuration is needed. It is plug-n-play. It is a modern USB device that provides precise control over your radio's VFOs. The RC-28 is straightforward to use with SWLog, and its software, which runs just fine under Windows 11, maps the clockwise and counter-clockwise movements to keyboard commands and maps pushing down on the knob to another keyboard command. These commands are then interpreted by SWLog to tune the radio and to change the software VFOs within the Radio Control program.
USB to RS-232 Serial Port Adapters
In the days of yore, PCs came with a serial ports or one could use a PCI or PCI-E card to add up to 16 RS-232 ports. Today most PCs are notebooks and do not have a serial port; however, many radios still require RS-232 for control. The solution is to use a USB-to-Serial adapter. Not all adapters are created equal, so it is important to use a quality adapter. The following adapters have been tested and work well:
The Keyspan USB USA-19HS (now sold by Eaton/Tripp Lite) is the crème de la crème of USB-to-Serial adapters. It is a bit pricey, but it works well and is very reliable. A key advantage is that the accompanying software includes a decent diagnostics and debugging tool. It is available from Amazon and other sources.
An adapter based on the FTDI chipset is another reliable option for connecting modern PCs to radios with RS-232 ports. It is widely available and known for its compatibility and stability. If SWLog is being run on a Linux or MacOS system via a hypervisor with pass-through capabilities, an adapter with an FTDI chip is essential as the adapter must have native support in Linux or MacOS. This adapter has been tested under MacOS using UTM to a Windows 11 VM.
