Configuring the TS-590S for Computer USB Radio Control

(K3CT editing notes appear in parenthesis. User input appreciated.)

The Kenwood TS-590 codec features have been tested with a Windows 7 computer using SO1V
and SO2V modes. It is unlikely that two Kenwood audio codec radios can be used together in a
SO2R configuration because only one audio device can currently be selected. This is being
considered as a future program enhancement. (It has been tested in SO2R configuration with a
second Kenwood interfaced with a SignaLink USB. I don’t understand this statement by K4SKB.
Need to contact him.)

In the TS-590 radio menus, select the following options:

Item 62 select USB Port Baud Rate = 57600

With the radio turned on and the USB cable connected, open the Windows Device Manager,
expand the Ports selection to view the USB COM port. The Kenwood USB COM port is the
“Silicon Labs CP210x USB to UART Bridge (COMX). If the assigned COM port is greater than
COM8, right click on the device and select Properties. Click on the Port Settings tab and then
click on the Advanced button. Click on the "COM Port Number" dropdown and change the COM
port number to an unused port that is less than COM9. If you changed the COM port
assignment, turn the radio off, wait several seconds, and then power on the radio. Verify that
the COM port number changed to the intended port. If it doesn't, the selection wasn't made
correctly or a computer restart may be necessary.

Using the program Configuration window for the radio COM port, configure the radio
communications as shown below.

Exit and confirm that the radio communications functions correctly.

The virtual radio COM port exists while the radio has power applied to the DC terminals. Exit
N1MM Logger before disconnecting the radio from the power source. Failure to do this will
cause the program to be unresponsive because the hardware has been removed.
Configuring the TS-590S for Computer USB Audio Codec Use
In the TS-590 radio menus, select the following options:
Item 63 Select IO input line for data communications USB
Adjust Items 64 and 65 for levels as needed.
Set Item 68 to ON if you wish to record QSOs.

N2IC has noticed that hardware PTT prevents the USB radio Codec from being switched by the
software. We are working with Kenwood for a solution.

N2IC also reported that radio menu 64 has no effect when the speech processor is ON.
Kenwood has been contacted.

(Next paragraph may need revision: The Kenwood audio codec driver needs to be installed.
Need to consider all versions of Windows. The next paragraph may need revision.)
It is not necessary to install the AURA10 Virtual com port to use the Kenwood USB port, when
the cable is plugged in Windows will load the appropriate driver and it will appear in the
selections as “USB Audio Codec”.

Windows 7 (need a snapshot with “USB Audio Codec”, K4SKB has another USB audio codec
installed, check with Steve if the options are correct. Especially the recording channels.)

The Windows Volume Control Panel sliders for Speaker, Wave or SW Synth and the radio ACC
radio menu option "USB MOD Level" both control the SSB audio level. Users may find that
setting the radio "USB MOD Level" to maximum and controlling the SSB levels with the
Windows Volume Control Panel to be the best.
Turn on the TS-590 Monitor, place the radio in one of the SSB modes, and turn on VOX. Pressing
CTRL+SHIFT+F1 will start the audio recording. Press Esc to end the recording. Timing the start
and stop of the message will eliminate the receive noise at the beginning of the message.
Pressing F1 will play the message that was just recorded. Use either the Windows Volume
Control Panel sliders or the radio ACC menu option "USB MOD Level" to adjust the playback
level. The USB MOD Level does not change the recording level. After the levels are set correctly,
the other function key messages may be recorded using CTRL+SHIFT+F# where # is one of the
function keys.

When the Config , Record QSO's option is checked, all QSO's will be recorded. Both sides of SSB
QSO's are recorded if the radio monitor is turned on. Only the RX side of CW QSO's will be
recorded because the CW sidetone is not digitized by the audio codec. (need a user to verify
this) (This may be a limitation of the radio.)

Users can not play back the QSO's by right clicking on them in the log unless the playback
device is manually set to the computer sound card. To do this, open the Windows Sounds and
Audio Devices window. Select the Audio tab, note the current selection of the Sound Playback
device and change it to the computer sound card then click Apply. When you are finished
listening to the audio files in N1MM Logger, change the sound device back to the previous
selection and apply. This is current limitation of the N1MM Logger program because it expects a
computer sound card to be used for all audio functions including SO2R. This also means that in
SO2R the audio codec device can not be used for one radio and a computer sound card for the
second radio.

The number of recording bits in the snapshots above is functions with the 8 or 16 bits selection.
Five seconds of recording in 8 bit mode generates a 40k recording file while the 16 bit selection
will increase the file size to approximately 85k bytes. The sample rate is selector was tested and
functions at the 8000, 16000 and 48000 selections. There really should be no need to sample
with anything except the 8000 rate. This will reproduce audio frequencies accurately up to
about 4 KHz.

For the Kenwood TS-590S users that must record SSB voice files with an external program, I
recommend 8KHz sample rate and 8 or 16 bits of resolution. The file format according to the
Windows Properties is "PCM audio" single channel (mono).

If you have problems with record or play back of audio, open the Windows Sounds and Audio
Device Properties window and make sure the Audio and Voice tab record and playback devices
are set to the device displayed in the N1MM snapshots above.

To eliminate the Windows sound effects from transmitted on the radio, open the Windows
Sounds and Audio Devices window and select the "No Sounds" scheme on the Sounds tab.
Configuring for AFSK RTTY and PSK using the Kenwood USB Codec
Version 1.66G or newer must be installed to be able to select the USB Codec device.

Configure the N1MM Logger Audio tab snapshots above. Then use the screen snapshots below
to configure N1MM Logger and MMTTY.

(probably better to have a new snapshot of a single MMTTY configuration)

MMTTY Window Option, Setup, Demodulator tab

MMTY Window Option, Setup, Misc tab

MMTY Window Option, Setup, SoundCard Tab

After everything is set, click on the HAM button in the MMTTY window.

(What is the AFSK tone center? Maybe ~1500Hz)

In the N1MM Digital Setup, window place a checkmark on the "Use Auto TRX Offset in D1/D2"
options. This will place the radio on the correct frequency when Bandmap spots are selected.

The Windows Volume Control Panel sliders for Speaker, Wave or SW Synth and the radio ACC
radio menu option "USB MOD Level" both control the RTTY transmit audio level. The MIC Gain
on the radio front panel has no effect.

Users can experiment to determine if there is any difference in the RTTY decoding when
selecting 8 or 16 recording bits in the Configurer, Audio tab. The higher 16 bits resolution may
be better.

Revision History:

3/23/2011 – K4SKB - Initial document.

3/31/2011 – K3CT – Edits to remove references for non-Kenwood radios. Add comments for
future edits.

4/2/2011 – K3CT – Some additional edits.