Data structure for the ICOM IC-R2 Scanner - OoCities

Background to Cloning an ICOM Radio.BackgroundIcom equipment has provision for computer control and management.The full implementation can be used for two purposes:•= to 'clone' the configuration of a radio. That is, to set up the operationalparameters of a radio (frequencies, modes, scanning rates etc) either bycopying them from another radio of the same type (cloning) or by usingsoftware to send them to the radio. This process is called 'cloning' theradio. It generally involves turning the radio off after the cloning process iscomplete, and turning it back on to reinitialise.•= to control the radio while it is operating e.g. to tell the radio to change toanother frequency or mode, or to obtain details from the radio such asreceived signal strength.The Icom IC-R2 receiver only allows for 'cloning' by computer. It does not allowfor operational control.The CI-V SystemThe current ICOM standard system for communication between computer andradio is called the ICOM Computer Interface Version 5. This is commonly calledthe CI-V interface standard.The CI-V system allows for a computer to communicate, through it's serialcommunications port, to an Icom radio.In its full implementation, the CI-V system allows up to four radios to becontrolled from the same cable and computer interface. Icom has developed theCT-17 interface to allow up to four radios to be connected to one computer.Cloning uses the same protocol, but it is assumed that there will only be oneradio communicating with one computer (or two radios communicating with eachother) and the interface hardware can be simpler. Often the hardware is installedinside the plug for connection to the computer, with the hardware drawing itspower from the computer's serial port. Icom has developed the OPC-478interface for cloning from a computer.6