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How to Connect a Ham Radio to a PC

If you are a ham radio enthusiast and want to experience the fun and excitement of digital communications such as RTTY (radio teletype), PSK31 (text) or any one of the other available digital modes, you must connect your radio to your computer. With just a few electrical components and some simple software adjustments you, too, can participate in this area of amateur radio.

Things You'll Need

Shielded patch cords with connectors
Isolation transformers
Voltage divider
Sound card interface

Instructions

- 1
  Connect an isolation transformer with a shielded patch cord between your radio̵7;s headphone jack or audio output port and your computer̵7;s sound card input port. This connection will send a signal from your radio to your computer where your digital communication̵7;s-specific software will decode it and display it on your computer̵7;s monitor.
- 2
  Connect another isolation transformer and a 100-to-1 voltage divider with shielded patch cords between your radio̵7;s microphone jack or audio input port and your computer̵7;s sound card output port. This connection will send a signal from your computer to your radio, where it will be transmitted over the air.
- 3
  Adjust your computer̵7;s sound card output level to maximum transmit power and the automatic level control (ALC) to a point where it is starting to respond. Tune your radio to a strong signal, then adjust your sound card̵7;s input gain until the red line disappears from the display. Make all of your sound card adjustments through your computer operating system̵7;s ̶0;Mixer̶1; control application.
- 4
  Manually set your radio to ̶0;Receive̶1; to read incoming signals and to ̶0;Transmit̶1; to send them from your computer̵7;s keyboard to the radio and over the air. Alternatively, turn your radio̵7;s VOX (voice-operated transmit) on and automatically switch from ̶0;Send̶1; to ̶0;Receive̶1; as you communicate with another digital station.

Ham Radio