IC-275/IC-475 MODIFICATIONS FOR SATELLITE PACKET OPERATION

provided to VY2DCS by Roy, W0SL

With additional information added to Roy's original instructions in Italics. As always this information is provided for your information. You are responsible: 1. to verify the information in your equipment manuals, and 2. for any modifications you make to your equipment.



Index:

9K6 Digital Operation by W0SL

Here is the way I cabled out the IC-475 & IC-275 rigs for 1200 bps and 9600 bps. All I have to do is turn off the unwanted TNC. You can't leave both of them on or you will transmit both audio tones at the same time.  The AQS and ACC are the sockets on the rear of the sets.

BE CAREFUL OF AQS PIN 13 AND ACC(1) PIN 7.  They carry 13.8 volts and can damage things if accidentally shorted to other pins! I cut them off on the solder side of my cable plugs.

By the way it will be necessary to disable the beep tone that occurs when you depress a key on the IC-475. The beep tone is sent through the speaker system and will interfere with the 1200 bps data signal otherwise. The beep tone is disabled by rotating R348 (Beep Sound Level Adjustment) counter clockwise. See Section 9, p42 of the users instruction manual for a photo.

In my IC-475, I have also changed out the FL4 (Muratta CFW455-E) for a wider filter. The CFW455-E is a +/- 7.5kHz (15kHZ) filter. I first tried using a CFW455-D, a +/- 10.0kHZ (20kHz) filter with a definitely noticeable, but not terrific improvement. I then changed out this filter for a SFH455-D Gaussian shape filter designed for data reception. There seems to be a further small improvement with this filter but not such that I can place numbers on it. In addition the S-Meter must be recalibrated if you want it to read correctly with this last filter. It reads low. I think the CFW455-D is the way to go and still have the S-Meter still behave.

73, Roy -- W0SL


TNC-200  PINOUTS AND CONNECTIONS TO IC-475 & IC-275 FOR 9k6 OPERATION

FUNCTION         TNC RADIO     PORT IC-475 AQS     IC-275 AQS
TX AUDIO             1                 -                2 ##
GROUND               2                 9                -
                     2                 -                1
PTT                  3                 -                7
RX AUDIO             4                 5 #              -
RF DCD               5                 -                -

NOTE:   The 13 PIN AQS PORT is used for 9k6 Packet Operations

# The existing shielded lead from the AQS socket pin 5 is re-terminated inside the IC-475 to Pin 9 of  IC6 through a 5 to 10 mfd non-polarized capacitor. This lead is labeled AQAO on plug P13 on the IC-475 schematic of the Main Board.  The lead can be easily removed from the plug housing by CAREFULLY, and slightly lifting the plastic retaining tab on the side of P13. IC6, Pin 9 is available on a bare wire between P13 and IC6 (they are about 1 1/2 inch apart). The wire comes out on the component side of the board, travels about 1/2 inch on the surface and goes back in the board. It is easier to solder the capacitor to this bare wire than the IC itself and much more desirable I think. The other capacitor lead is slipped into the female P13 sleeve just removed from P13. Nothing is cut! The bottom of the rig is removed to get access to P13 and IC6.

I asked Roy for some additional direction and he sent the following information to me:

PIN 5 of the AQS PORT has a shielded cable running from it to a plug which is designated as P13. This plug is near PIN 9 of IC6 (FM Discriminator output ). By careful bending of a small plastic tab on the side of the plug, the shielded cable and its female connector sleeve can be removed from the white plastic plug housing. The female sleeve is slipped over one of the leads of a 5 to 10 mfd non-polarized capacitor. The other lead of the capacitor is soldered to a bare wire on the board which runs to PIN 9 of IC6. This is done so you do not have to solder directly to PIN 9 of IC6. The bare wire is not removed to do this. This provides a convenient access to PIN 9 of IC6 of the IC-475. The capacitor is used for DC blocking purposes. This setup / modification allows you to use PIN 5 of the AQS Socket for 9.6 Kb audio reception without having to make changes to the wiring of the AQS Socket wiring.

## Transmit audio can be input on AQS socket PIN 2 without modification. It goes to P12 on lead AQTN and drives Q33 through trim pot R152. Q33 provides plenty of gain to modulate the rig and does not seem to distort the transmit audio. You can adjust the transmit gain either in the modem or by using R152. I use R152 because I use the modem to drive both the IC275 on UO22 and the IC475 on local 9600 bps packet. That way I can independently set the transmit audio level for both rigs and switch the TNC between them.

The IC275 can be used for other modes with the TNC hooked up to the AQS port but:

**** YOU MUST TURN THE TNC OFF ******

when using the rig for other modes of operation. Otherwise the TNC data Carrier will also modulate the rig causing interference in the form of a hiss.

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 1200 PSK Operation by W0SL

IC275/475 CONNECTIONS FOR 1200 BPS Packet WITH TAPR PSK MODEM   By Roy, W0SL

FUNCTION         PSK MODEM           IC475         IC275
                   PORT              ACC(1)       ACC(1)
____________________________________________________________
UP/DOWN           UHF 5                1*           -
GROUND          UHF 1 & 2              2            -
                  VHF 2                -            2
PTT               VHF 3                -            3
Tx AUDIO          VHF 1                -            4
Rx AUDIO          UHF 4                5            -
                  VHF 4                -            5


NOTE: THE ACC1 PORT (8 PIN) is used for 1200 baud Packet

* A wire is added from the mic connector pin 3 to ACC1 - PIN 1 - in IC-475. The MIC connector PIN 3 is available on a small circuit board immediately behind the mic socket. The socket is wired to this board via a small ribbon cable. ACC1 - PIN 1 - is not connected to anything so the new wire must be soldered directly to PIN 1 of ACC1. Fortunately it is on the side of the socket nearest the side of the rig and is accessible with a bit of care. This wire is necessary only if you don't want to access it through the mic socket. I like all my cables on the rear of the set. Also - this wire is needed only if you are using the PSK modem UP/DOWN pulsing capability to keep you rig tuned to the downlink signals.

FROM: Roy Welch, W0SL - Minor additions and changes to text.

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9K6 Terrestrial Packet by VY2DCS using the IC-275

If you wish to JUST use the IC275 for 9.6 Kb Terrestrial Packet then the Rx Audio wire from the TNC must be connected to AQS SOCKET PIN 5 of the IC-275. The internal modifications to the IC-275 are the same as that described by Roy, W0SL for the IC-475. The following describes in greater detail the minor modification required to use the IC-275 for 9.6 Kb terrestrial packet: This information is taken primarily from Roy's (W0SL) package on how to connect the IC-475 and IC-275 pair to a TNC for 9600 bps satellite operation. I have added additional information on how to obtain Rx Audio from the IC-275 which was not presented in Roy's original modifications paper.

Note: Creative use of an in line  5 PIN DIN switch box  will enable you to use the DSP2232 - or similar TNC setup - for 9k6 satellite operations OR 9k6 Terrestrial  Packet operation using the IC-275 (or IC-475). In addition, I have set the switch box up in order to allow me to use Port 1 of the 2232 with the TS-690s and Port 2 for 1200 AFSK Terrestrial packet with the IC-275 as well! This permits HF, VHF, UHF or gateway operation between two of those bands when the DSP-2232 is not in use for satellite operations.

If you are interested in the details for such a setup, let me know.


CABLE CONNECTIONS FOR 9.6 Kb PACKET OPERATION USING THE IC-275

TNC RADIO PORT                   IC275 AQS SOCKET
FUNCTION                             PINOUT
_________________________________________________________
TX AUDIO                               2#
GROUND                                 1
PTT                                    7
Rx AUDIO                               5*
Rf DCD                                 -

# Transmit audio (Tx Audio) can be input on AQS socket PIN 2 without modification.
The shielded lead from PIN 2 goes to P12 on lead AQTN and drives Q33 through trim pot R152. Q33 provides plenty of gain to modulate the rig and does not seem to distort the transmit audio. You can adjust the transmit gain either in the modem or by using R152. I use R152 because I use the modem to drive both the IC-275 on UO22 and the IC-475 on local 9600 bps packet. That way I can independently set the transmit audio level for both rigs and switch the TNC between them - Roy, W0SL.
* Received audio (Rx Audio) can be obtained from AQS PIN 5 with a minor modification to the IC-275.
A shielded cable runs from AQS PIN 5 to a plug designated as P13 on the Main Board. PLUG 13 is near PIN 9 of IC6 (FM Quadrature Discriminator AUDIO Output) which is also located on the Main Board. The existing shielded lead from AQS socket PIN 5 is re-terminated inside the IC-275 to PIN 9 of IC6 (MC3357P). A 5 to 10 mfd non-polarized capacitor is used to re-terminate the shielded lead to PIN 9. The capacitor is used for DC blocking purposes. This setup / modification allows you to use PIN 5 of the AQS Socket for 9.6 Kb audio reception without having to make changes to the wiring of the AQS Socket itself. NOTHING is cut. The following information has been adapted for the IC-275 from the original text supplied by W0SL for the IC-475 by VY2DCS.

This minor modification can be done in the following way:

Place the rig upside down on its top cover, with the VFO tuning knob facing you, once the bottom of the IC-275 is off. The MC3357P CHIP or FM Discriminator Chip is located on the Main Board about 4 inches from the front of the rig on a line that bisects the tuning knob of the VFO. It is labeled IC6. PLUG 13 is about one half inch to the left and slightly behind MC3357P (IC6) as you view the Main Board and IC6 from the front of the rig. The PLUG is white in colour. PLUG 13 is aligned vertically to the front of the rig and contains 9 wires. The AQAO wire in my radio is the fourth (4th) wire from the end of the PLUG which is closest to the rear of the rig. The wire is BLACK in colour in my IC- 275a and is directly connected to AQS Socket PIN 5. Note that you count from the back side of the rig along the plug to get wire 4 (black).

The plastic retaining tabs for each individual wire on PLUG 13 are located on the left side of the jack in my radio. They appear as rectangular slim pieces which are vertically aligned in relation to the Main Board. Each wire has its own retaining tab. By careful bending of the appropriate tab on the side of the plug, the shielded AQAO cable and its female connector sleeve can be removed from the white plastic plug housing. Use a very fine, non conductive probe to do this. It came out easily in my radio. You may have to move a wire harness which runs beside PLUG 13 in order to see the retaining tabs clearly. There is a female sleeve attached to the end of the AQAO wire which was removed from the PLUG. The female sleeve is slipped over one of the leads of a 5 to 10 mfd non-polarized capacitor.

The other lead of the capacitor is carefully soldered to a bare WIRE (W64) located on the Main Board which connects to PIN 9 of IC6. PIN 9 of MC3357P (IC6) is the AUDIO OUTPUT of the FM Quadrature Discriminator section of IC6. W64 is located as follows:

PIN 9 OF MC3357P (when looking at the layout of the Main Board from the front of the rig when it is on its back - VFO KNOB is at the front) is the left rear most pin on MC3357P (there are 16 pins with PIN 1 being the pin to the front right of IC6 as you look at it from the front of the rig). Now look on a vertical line to the back of the rig from PIN 9. Three to five mm (3 to 5 millimeters) from PIN 9 along this imaginary line is the start of the bare wire which is labeled W64. It travels backwards on the Main Board for about half an inch or so immediately to the left of coil L23. The wire is located between JACK 13 and L23. The wire is directly connected to Pin 9. You do not need to cut this wire. The other lead of the capacitor is soldered to this wire (W64). It is much easier to solder one lead of the capacitor to this bare wire than to the IC itself. However, care MUST be taken in soldering this connection due to the wire's proximity to other components on the board.

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Additional Information:

I like the idea, initiated by W0SL, of using both the ACC and AQS sockets at the rear of the IC275/475 radios to interface to both a 1200 BPS and a 9600 BPS TNC. There is no switching necessary between the two systems other than to turn off the unused TNC. Roy wired the up/down control lead on the mic socket (pin #3) to unused pin #1 of the ACC socket and used the ACC socket to interface to his 1200 BPS TNC. He had no up/down control wired to the AQS socket. This is where my problem started, as I wanted to use AFC from my 9600 BPS TNC, via that AQS socket. Delving into the radio revealed that, unlike the spare pin on the ACC socket that was accessible from the top of the PC board, the spare pin #11 on the AQS socket was not. These sockets are mounted on the rear unshielded section of the PLL units circuit board. So to gain access to the bottom means one has to reluctantly partially remove the PLL unit. Closer examination revealed that this should not be all that difficult. So instructions follow:-

1) Prise off the top shield of the PLL board and pivot it on the metallic tape between it and the adjacent board shield. It is only necessary to pivot it about 90 degrees.

2) Remove the 5 PLL unit mounting screws.

3) Remove small co-ax plug (P1) from PLL board to J2 on RF YGR board.

4) One can then pivot the PLL unit in the same direction as its shield.... feeding the co-ax lead to P1 through the aperture in the chassis at the same time. There is no need to disconnect anything else.

5) The 2 unused ACC and AQS pins are now nicely assessable. Indeed pin #11 of the AQS socket has a PCB track out to a small PCB pad, so its quite easy to wire the 2 unused pins in parallel and thence to the mic socket.

6) Reassembly is the reverse of the above..ensuring that the small co-ax lead is eased through the aperture as the PLL unit is moved back into position. I hope the above notes may give others confidence in gaining access to that unused pin on the AQS socket. Ron, VK4BRG.

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Last Modified 9 June 1997 by VY2DCS