SkantiControl(1)              Linux User's Manual             SkantiControl(1)

NAME
       SkantiControl - a program to control the Skanti TRP8000 series
       transceivers with look & feel similar to the CU8000 control unit.

SYNOPSIS
       SkantiControl [ --lang=<language code>  |  -l <language code> ]

DESCRIPTION
       CAVEAT EMPTOR
              This program has been thoroughly tested only on the author's
              personal TRP8255.  The Skanti TRP8000 REMOTE CONTROL
              COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL manual seems to be valid for all models,
              but in some of them the behavior of some commands may not be
              correct (for example the power setting in a TRP875x). This
              manual (or at least the 2A revision) is in fact far from
              complete.

              Therefore, if you find errors and/or omissions of any kind in
              this manual, or behavior of the program different from what is
              expected or documented here, please report them.

       BEWARE OF
              When using the program pay attention to the following details:

              • The CU8000 to which the microphone is connected LOSES PRIORITY
                and  gets  disconnected  from  the TU when a remote command is
                sent to it  and  reacquires  it  only  following  the  RELEASE
                PRIORITY  command  or  after  a  5s  timeout  without  further
                commands. During this time the microphone, AUX and PTT  inputs
                connected  to  the  CU8000  are deactivated. Since in order to
                read the status  (S-Meter,  PWR-Meter,  tune  status)  in  the
                current  implementation  it  is necessary to continuously send
                commands to the CU, the activation of this  function  prevents
                putting  the  RTX  into  transmission in the normal way. To do
                this, one could use  the  corresponding  remote  command  (the
                [TRANSMIT]  button or the equivalent hamlib command), but then
                the audio signal would necessarily have to come from the TELEX
                input. In short: if you intend to operate in voice or  digital
                modes,  disable  the  Read  Status  option.   Operating  in CW
                instead this is not necessary.

              • To operate in digital modes (FT8, PSK31, etc.)  with  the  RTX
                set  in  USB mode, connect the audio signal and the PTT to the
                AUX input (it  is  advisable  to  use  the  "LINE  TRANSFORMER
                BOARD",  if available) and disable the option mentioned above.
                If you intend to work with WSJT-X using the integrated hamlib-
                compatible server for frequency control (in this  case  it  is
                recommended  to  use  the  "RIG"  mode)  you must also set the
                "Transceiver"  option  to  "Disabled".  For  the  same  reason
                explained  above  it  is  also  advisable  not  to use the PTT
                command via hamlib, but a dedicated serial or  parallel  port.
                At  least  this  is  what  the author did to work with his own
                TRP8255 in conjunction with WSJT-X.  If  anyone  wanted,  they
                could check if it is possible to avoid all this, and with what
                consequences, by using the TELEX input.

       QUICK START GUIDE
              Before executing the program for the first time, install in your
              system  the  fonts  provided  in  the  Fonts subdirectory. Under
              Linux, if the installation is done using  one  of  the  provided
              Debian  packages  this is automatically done; under Windows them
              must be manually installed, or at least must  be  installed  the
              Digital  Dream Fat and the DejaVu Sans Mono fonts, since chances
              are that the Arial fonts are already installed in the system.

              Under Linux, the program executable and files are  automatically
              installed  in  the  proper  locations  by  the  provided  Debian
              packages.

              Under Windows,  the  program  folder  now  can  be  put  in  any
              location,  but  the  program  executable must be in that folder,
              since its location is used to discover  the  location  of  other
              files. You can create a launch icon on the desktop.

              At  first  start  of  the  program,  go  to the Options menu and
              configure the Serial port submenu item. If the serial port where
              the CU8000 is connected is not one of the first two  (ttyS0  and
              ttyS1  for  Linux,  COM1  and  COM2  for Windows and ttyAMA0 and
              ttyUSB0 on Linux on a Raspberry PI), or it is a USB one,  select
              the  Custom  submenu and write the name of the wanted port, e.g.
              /dev/ttyS4 or /dev/ttyUSB0 for Linux or \\.\COM11  for  Windows.
              The  /dev/  prefix  under  Linux  and the \\.\ under Windows are
              optional. If omitted, they will be automatically added.

              The serial speed defaults to 2400 baud since this is the default
              speed of the CU8000, so it is not required to go  to  the  RS232
              speed  submenu  of  the Options menu to set it, at least if your
              CU8000 is in the  standard  configuration.  Otherwise,  see  The
              RS232 speed submenu in the Options menu.

              The configuration is automatically saved every time an option is
              modified.  An  exception  to  this  are  the  starting  size and
              position of the main window, which are  saved  only  at  program
              end,  read  and  restored  at  program start. See also the BUGS,
              LIMITATIONS AND REMANING THINGS TO DO section.

                     NOTE. If you use a USB serial port under Linux  and  have
                     more  than  one  of  them,  it  is  wise  not  to use the
                     /dev/ttyUSBx names, since the enumeration of the USB  bus
                     may assign different names from one boot to another (what
                     now   is   /dev/ttyUSB0  at  the  next  boot  may  become
                     /dev/ttyUSB1 and so on). Use instead the names  found  in
                     the  /dev/serial/by-path/  folder,  that  are  unique and
                     persistent  across  reboots.  The  names  found  in   the
                     /dev/serial/by-id  folder  also  are  persistent,  but if
                     there are two or more equal USB serial ports, these names
                     may be not unique.

              Then click on the [Supply ON/OFF]  button  in  the  lower  right
              corner of the main window. This button only starts and stops the
              program's connection with the CU8000, does not switch ON and OFF
              the transceiver. The program should connect to the Skanti CU8000
              and begin to work.

              If not, double-check the configured port, the serial connections
              and  make  sure  that  in  your  CU8000  is installed the remote
              control version of the firmware  and  that  the  remote  control
              feature  is  enabled in the configuration PROM. Under Linux also
              check that the user running the program is member of  the  group
              to  which  the  serial  port  belongs,  in Debian and Ubuntu the
              dialout group. If not, in a terminal  as  superuser  do  adduser
              user  dialout  where  user is the name of the user that will use
              the program, then reboot the system. This is not mandatory,  but
              it is the easiest way to be sure that the change goes in effect.

              If  all  goes  as  it  should,  then you can configure the other
              options in the Options menu as desired. See  below  The  Options
              menu for more informations.

              From  version  0.99  there  is also a TCP server compatible with
              hamlib  net  rigctl,  listening  by  default  at   the   address
              127.0.0.1:4538,  whose  implementation is currently only partial
              and approximate, a little more than the bare minimum  needed  to
              make  it  work  with WSJTX 2.7.0, FLDIGI 4.2.06, GRIG 0.9.0, XDX
              2.92, QSSTV 9.5.11 and XLOG 2.0.25. Tests has been  made  mostly
              under   Linux.   When   another   application  connects  to  the
              SkantiControl server, the NET "LED" at the top left of the  main
              window  lights  up,  and then switches off when all clients have
              disconnected.

                     NOTE. Some of the commands and/or buttons may do  nothing
                     on  your  TRP8000  if  that  function  is disabled in the
                     configuration PROM (e.g. the [VERY NARROW] button) or the
                     relevant option is  not  installed  (e.g.  the  [SQUELCH]
                     button).  This  manual assumes a fully open configuration
                     PROM and all options/features available.

       USING THE PROGRAM AND FUNCTIONS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE REAL CU8000
              Most of the buttons should behave as those in the  real  CU8000,
              e.g.  pressing  [RX],  [TX],  [ENTER]  the  receive frequency is
              copied in  the  transmit  frequency.   Some  buttons  have  also
              autorepeat,  as in the real CU8000. If you find differences with
              respect to the behaviour of the real CU8000, please  report.   A
              few commands however do not have been yet written/completed, see
              the  BUGS,  LIMITATIONS  AND  REMAINING THINGS TO DO section for
              more informations.

              Some  buttons  and  controls  however  have   different   and/or
              additional capabilities or only exists in the program and not in
              the real CU8000:

              • The  tuning  can  be done not only with the usual [TUNE ↓] and
                [TUNE ↑] buttons but also with the mouse buttons and the mouse
                wheel. Pressing the left mouse button over one of the  RX  and
                TX  frequency  digit decrements that digit, pressing the right
                mouse button increments  that  digit,  in  the  Skanti  CU8000
                spirit (decrements at left, increments at right). Rotating the
                wheel  with  the  cursor over one of the abovementioned digits
                has the same effect. Rotating the mouse  wheel  anywhere  else
                increments  or  decrements  the  frequency by the tune rate in
                effect. This is the fastest  tuning  method,  since  a  single
                character  must  be sent to the CU8000. Since the TX frequency
                can be set only in 100Hz  steps,  when  the  RX  frequency  is
                incremented  or  decremented in 10Hz steps and the Transceiver
                submenu is set to Deferred update or Immediate update ,or  the
                [TX=RX]  button  is  pressed,  the  TX frequency is set to the
                nearest 100Hz value.

                Instead of the mouse wheel you can use also the sdrgadgets VFO
                tuner V2, which has been tested and found to work directly out
                of the box. The button integrated in the knob, at least in the
                default configuration, has been found to  type  a  space  with
                autorepeat  (which  starts  too  soon,  in the author's humble
                opinion), so in this program  in  all  modes  except  CW  that
                button  makes a RX/TX switching as the keyboard SPACE BAR key.
                Or at least makes that if you can press the button fast enough
                to not start the autorepeat feature.

              • The [TX=RX] and the [RX=TX] buttons copy the RX  frequency  to
                the TX frequency ([TX=RX]) or the TX frequency to RX frequency
                ([RX=TX])  allowing  a  quick return from split frequency mode
                when the Transceiver submenu is set to Disabled.  If  the  RX
                frequency  is set in 10Hz increments and the [TX=RX] button is
                pressed, the TX frequency is set to the nearest 100Hz value.

              • The tune rate can be selected either  by  pressing  the  [TUNE
                RATE]  button  or  by clicking on the corresponding "LED". The
                behaviour is however different: when  using  the  [TUNE  RATE]
                button,  the  behaviour  is  the  same  of  the CU8000, so the
                figures lower than the chosen tuning step are left active  and
                displayed.  By  clicking  on  the  corresponding  "LED", these
                figures are reset to zero and the 10 Hz one, if  present,  not
                displayed anymore.

                Example: being at 10Hz step, frequency 12345.67 kHz:

                • clicking   the   [STEP]  button:  step  becomes  100Hz,  the
                  frequency stays at 12345.67 kHz and clicking on the [TUNE ↑]
                  button the frequency becomes 12345.77 kHz;

                • clicking on the "LED" under the 100Hz figure:  step  becomes
                  100  Hz, the frequency is reset to 12345.70 and displayed as
                  12345.7 (no more 10Hz figure) and clicking, as above, on the
                  [TUNE ↑] button, the frequency becomes 12345.8 kHz.

              • Pressing once the [SET TIME] button starts, as usual, the time
                input on the TX frequency display. Pressing it one  more  time
                sets the TX frequency display to the current PC time, possibly
                converted  to  UTC time if the Use UTC time option is checked.
                [ENTER] then writes the new time to the  Skanti  CU8000.   The
                state  machine  of  the  [SET TIME] button has been revised to
                closely follow the behaviour of the real CU8000,  so  pressing
                [RX]  after  [SET  TIME]  the  wakeup  time can be entered and
                pressing [RETURN] after [SET TIME] the "Enter  dormant  state"
                command  is isuued. Pressing [RCL] after [SET TIME] issues the
                "Read wakeup time" command, but the time is only shown in  the
                CU TX display, so a warning message about that is displayed in
                the  message display and after a 5s delay the normal operation
                is resumed.

              • The message display shows informations and/or hints about  the
                command  being  executed or status/info messages (e. g. tuning
                and reduced power status) or information messages (e.g.  those
                coming   from   the   Read  XX8000  version  and  Read  TU8000
                configuration submenus). Double-clicking on it clears display.

              • The [TRANSMIT] button allows to remotely put  the  transceiver
                in  transmit mode when the priority is assigned to the program
                and not to the CU8000, e.g. when the Status reading submenu is
                enabled. See also the Release priority submenu  in  the  Other
                commands  menu.  The  button  caption  becomes RECEIVE when in
                transmit mode and returns to TRASMIT when the RTX is put  back
                in receive mode.

              • Some  commands  can be issued also using the keyboard. See the
                KEYBOARD COMMANDS section for more informations.

              • To allow entering a negative BFO offset  using  the  on-screen
                buttons,  when  the  Set  BFO frequency submenu is selected, a
                small [+/-] button is  shown  at  the  right  of  the  [ENTER]
                button.  To  store in the CU8000 the current BFO frequency use
                the Store BFO frequency submenu item  in  the  Other  commands
                menu.  The current BFO frequency can be also modified with the
                [BFO ↓] and [BFO ↑] buttons. The current BFO frequency is also
                stored in the state files saved and restored when a state file
                is reloaded.

              • If you want to use the Skanti transceiver  in  digital  modes,
                e.g. FT8, it is advisable to connect the audio/PTT coming from
                the  PC  to  the  AUX  audio/PTT  input and disable the Enable
                status submenu. When the Enable status submenu is checked, the
                priority is never released to the CU8000, so the PTT
                 must be operated with the remote command, i.e. the [TRANSMIT]
                button and the TX audio must come from the  TELEX  input.  The
                same  holds  for  phone  operations.   In  CW  mode the key is
                instead active whether the Enable status submenu is checked or
                not.

       THE MENU TREE
         The File menu.
           This menu contains the submenus dealing with  the  file  management
           and the Exit submenu.

           The Load state submenu.
             This  submenu  is  active only after the program has successfully
             connected to the CU8000. It allows to load in the program and  in
             the CU8000 a previously saved state (frequency, mode, etc.).

           The Save state submenu.
             This  submenu  is  active only after the program has successfully
             connected to the CU8000. It allows to save the current state in a
             file. That state can  then  be  reloaded  using  the  Load  state
             submenu.  If  the  saved  state file name is "F500-XXXXXX.dat" or
             "F2182-YYYYYY.dat", then the buttons [2182] and [500], of  little
             or  no use in an amateur environment, are renamed [XXXXXX] and/or
             [YYYYYY] and these two states can be reloaded by clicking on  the
             corresponding  button.  XXXXXX and YYYYYY must contain only legal
             characters in a file name and can be of any length, but only  the
             first  six  characters are shown in the button caption. If XXXXXX
             and/or YYYYYY are omitted (i.e. the file name is "F2182-.dat"  or
             "F500-.dat") then the buttons are by default renamed [CH1] and/or
             [CH2].

           The Save channel submenu.
             This  submenu  is  active only after the program has successfully
             connected to the CU8000. It allows to save the current state in a
             file, but in the "Channels" subdirectory. The state  files  saved
             in  that  subdirectory  are  read  at  program  start and used to
             dynamically build the Channels menu, allowing to restore a  saved
             state with a few mouse clicks.

           The Manage states submenu.
             This  submenu  is  always  active.  It  shows a very minimal file
             manager that  allows  to  rename,  copy,  move  to  the  Channels
             directory  and  delete  the  stored  state  files from within the
             program.

           The Manage channels submenu.
             This submenu is always active.  It  shows  a  very  minimal  file
             manager that allows to rename, copy, move to the States directory
             and delete the stored channel files from within the program.

           The Reload channel directory submenu.
             This  submenu  is always active. It allows to rebuild the Channel
             menu item in case that is deemed required. The channel  directory
             should be reloaded and the relevant menu items rebuild every time
             that  directory  is  modified,  adding,  removing  or  renaming a
             channel. This submenu has been added as a security in  case  that
             would  not  happen  or  the  channel  subdirectory is modified by
             another program.

           The Exit submenu.
             This submenu is always active and allows to  close  the  program.
             The program can also be closed with the window decoration button.
             Before  the  closing is actually done, a confirmation window pops
             up. The connection to the  CU8000,  if  already  established,  is
             automatically  terminated,  so  there  is  no  need  to  manually
             terminate it with the [SUPPLY ON/OFF] button before exiting.

         The Other functions menu.
           This menu contains the less used CU8000  functions  and  is  active
           only after the program has successfully connected to the CU8000.

           The Read TU8000 configuration submenu.
             This  submenu  reads  the TU8000 configuration and displays it in
             the message display. An example,  taken  from  the  author's  own
             TRP8255,  may  be  "X1A345SF".  The  meaning  of  these  codes is
             explained in the section 4.5.1  of  the  Skanti  "TRP8000  REMOTE
             CONTROL COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL" manual.

           The Read CU8000 version submenu.
             This  submenu  reads the CU8000 firmware release date and version
             and shows it in the message display. An example, taken  from  the
             author's  own  TRP8255,  may  be  "910910-920"  (CU8000  firmware
             version 92.0 dated 10 september 1991).

           The Read TU8000 version submenu.
             This submenu reads the TU8000 firmware release date and  version.
             An   example,  taken  from  the  author's  own  TRP8255,  may  be
             "860708-310" (TU8000 firmware version 31.0 dated 8 july 1986).

           The Read ON hours submenu.
             This submenu allows you to read the accumulated power hours since
             the last battery replacement. The  command  to  read  this  value
             remotely  only  works partially, in the sense that the command is
             accepted, but the value is only shown on the CU RX display and  a
             timeout  of  7s is activated. To avoid incurring the timeout, the
             value is shown for 3s, after which the command is terminated.

           The Switch antenna OFF submenu.
             This submenu issues the "Switch antenna off" command. The antenna
             gets disconnected and the TX disabled. Both the  CU8000  and  the
             program  display,  instead of the TX frequency, the current time.
             Don't know what is the difference, if any, from the  [TX  ON/OFF]
             button.

           The Program receiver tune step submenu.
             This  submenu allows to define the programmable tune step to use,
             in the range 0.1 ... 99.9 kHz. To actually use  it,  remember  to
             check  the Enable prog tune step submenu in the Options menu (see
             below).

           The Read BFO frequency submenu.
             This submenu allows to read  the  BFO  frequency  stored  in  the
             CU8000. The value is shown in the message display.

           The Set BFO frequency submenu.
             This submenu allows to define a new BFO frequency. To store it in
             the  CU8000  use the Store BFO frequency submenu (see below). The
             BFO frequency can also be modified with the [BFO ↓] and  [BFO  ↑]
             buttons.

           The Store BFO frequency submenu.
             This  submenu  allows  to  store  in  the  CU8000 the current BFO
             frequency.

           The Test alarm submenu.
             This submenu allows to test the alarm signal generator. The alarm
             signal is only sent to the BF amplifier and can be heard  in  the
             loudspeaker.  To stop it, use the Stop alarm submenu (see below).
             This command has a 7s timeout, so an attempt has been made to get
             around this feature (maybe a bug?) by resending the command every
             3 seconds. Since during the test the  CU  is  not  responsive  to
             commands  apart  the  "Stop alarm" and the "Status reading" ones,
             the program buttons and controls are disabled and reenabled  only
             when  the  "Stop  alarm"  command  is  issued with the Stop alarm
             submenu item.

           The Stop alarm submenu.
             This  submenu  stops  the  generation  and,  if  applicable,  the
             transmission  of  the  alarm  signal  and  reenables  the program
             buttons and controls.

           The Send alarm submenu.
             This submenu allows to send the alarm signal.  USE IT ONLY  ON  A
             DUMMY  LOAD!   Before  the  alarm  signal  is  actually  sent,  a
             confirmation windows pops up.  The alarm signal is sent  also  to
             the BF amplifier and can be heard in the loudspeaker. To stop it,
             use  the  Stop  alarm  submenu (see above). This command has a 7s
             timeout, so an attempt has been made to get around  this  feature
             (maybe  a  bug?)  by resending the command every 3 seconds. Since
             during the alarm signal sending  the  CU  is  not  responsive  to
             commands  apart  the  "Stop alarm" and "Status reading" ones, the
             program buttons and controls are disabled and reenabled only when
             the "Stop alarm" command is issued with the  Stop  alarm  submenu
             item.

           The Set option register submenu.
             This  submenu  allows to define and store the 8 bits contained in
             the Option register. The value must be entered in binary. For the
             meaning of these bits see the TRP8000 manual.

           The Set preset register submenu.
             This submenu allows to define and store the 8 bits  contained  in
             the Preset register. The value must be entered in binary. For the
             meaning of these bits see the TRP8000 manual.

           The Set guard register submenu.
             This  submenu  allows to define and store the 8 bits contained in
             the Guard register. The value must be entered in binary. For  the
             meaning of these bits see the TRP8000 manual.

           The Fill TU8000 scan buffer submenu.
             This submenu should allow to enter a number of frequency pairs in
             the  scan  buffer.  The  scan  buffer  functions are not too well
             understood by the author, so unexpected  behaviours  may  happen.
             This  command  also  has the 7s timeout whis is not too simple to
             get around. The only workaround found so far  is  to  enable  the
             status  reading  feature using the Status reading submenu. When a
             timeout expires and in the subsequent command a DLE is  received,
             the program refuses the command and tries to reconnect the CU.

           The Advance scan buffer pointer submenu.
             This submenu should allow to advance the scan buffer pointer. The
             scan  buffer functions are not too well understood by the author,
             so unexpected behaviours may happen. This command also has the 7s
             timeout whis is not too simple to get around. The only workaround
             found so far is to enable the status reading  feature  using  the
             Status  reading  submenu.  When  a  timeout  expires  and  in the
             subsequent command a DLE is received,  the  program  refuses  the
             command and tries to reconnect the CU.

           The Reset scan buffer pointer submenu.
             This  submenu  should allow to reset the scan buffer pointer. The
             scan buffer functions are not too well understood by the  author,
             so unexpected behaviours may happen. This command also has the 7s
             timeout whis is not too simple to get around. The only workaround
             found  so  far  is to enable the status reading feature using the
             Status reading  submenu.  When  a  timeout  expires  and  in  the
             subsequent  command  a  DLE  is received, the program refuses the
             command and tries to reconnect the CU.

           The Self test (auto) submenu.
             This submenu allows to start the automatic self test. These tests
             do not check the transmit operations, so it is safe to start them
             at all times. For more informations on the  performed  tests  see
             the TRP8000 manual.

           The Self test (manual) submenu.
             This  submenu  allows  to  start the manually-advanced self test.
             WARNING! SOME OF THESE  TESTS  KEY  THE  TX  ON  FREQUENCIES  NOT
             ALLOWED  TO  AMATEUR  SERVICE,  SO USE IT WITH CARE AND ONLY ON A
             DUMMY LOAD!  To switch to the next/previous test use the  [DIMMER
             ↓] and [DIMMER ↑] buttons. These buttons are disabled when a test
             starts  and  reenabled  when  the  test finishes. To end the test
             sequence, press the [ENTER] button. After a delay, hopefully long
             enough to allow  the  completion  of  the  reset  procedure  that
             follows,  the  program  will  try to reconnect to the TU8000. For
             more informations on the performed tests see the TRP8000 manual.

           The Self test from... (auto) submenu.
             This submenu allows to start the  automatic  self  test  starting
             with  the  selected  test  number.  These  tests do not check the
             transmit operations, so it is safe to start them  at  all  times.
             For  more  informations  on  the  performed tests see the TRP8000
             manual.

           The Self test from... (manual) submenu.
             This submenu allows to  start  the  manually-advanced  self  test
             starting  with  the selected test number.  WARNING! SOME OF THESE
             TESTS KEY THE TX ON FREQUENCIES NOT ALLOWED TO  AMATEUR  SERVICE,
             SO  USE  IT WITH CARE AND ONLY ON A DUMMY LOAD!  To switch to the
             next or previous test use the [DIMMER ↑] and [DIMMER ↓]  buttons.
             These  buttons are disabled when a test starts and reenabled when
             the test finishes. To end the test sequence,  press  the  [ENTER]
             button.  After  a  delay,  hopefully  long  enough  to  allow the
             completion of the reset procedure that follows, the program  will
             try  to  reconnect  to  the TU8000.  For more informations on the
             performed tests see the TRP8000 manual.

           The Re-read configuration from CU8000 submenu.
             This submenu is available only  when  the  CU8000  firmware  92.0
             option  is  enabled.  It  allows  to  re-read  the  CU8000 status
             (frequency, mode, etc.) in case that is deemed necessary and  set
             the program accordingly.

           The Release priority submenu.
             This  submenu  allows  to release immediately the priority to the
             CU8000 without the need to wait  5s  for  the  internal  priority
             timeout to expire.  WARNING: the priority CANNOT BE RELEASED when
             the  Status  reading  submenu  is  checked,  since  commands  are
             continuously sent to the CU8000  and  the  released  priority  is
             immediately  again  grabbed.  If  this command is issued with the
             Status reading submenu enabled, a warning message will  be  shown
             in the message display.

           The Reset RTX submenu.
             This  submenu  allows  to reset the RTX. After a delay, hopefully
             long enough to allow for the completion of the  reset  procedure,
             the program tries to reconnect to the CU8000.

           The Restore current state submenu.
             This  submenu  allow  to restore in the program and in the CU8000
             the current state (frequency, mode, etc.) in case  something  has
             messed  up.  Hopefully  the  use  of  this  submenu will never be
             required.

           The Exit Chan/Scan modes submenu.
             This submenu allow to exit the  channel  scan/scan  buffer  state
             (and,  if the firmware v80 is used, the channel mode) and restore
             the normal operations. The same effect is obtained by  loading  a
             new channel (see the Channels submenu).

           The Reconnect to CU submenu.
             This  submenu  allows to terminate the current connection and try
             to reconnect the program to the  CU  and  is  useful  whenever  a
             timeout  expires (some remote commands have a 7s timeout) and the
             CU resets. Hopefully the  use  of  this  submenu  will  never  be
             required,  since  when  a DLE is received from the CU the program
             tries to reconnect to the CU.

           The Start dormant state submenu.
             This submenu activates the state in which, after the CU is turned
             off with the [ON/OFF] key,  the  transceiver  will  automatically
             turn  on  again at the time set with the SET WAKEUP TIME command,
             which is accessed via [SET TIME] [RX].  It  goes  without  saying
             that,  for  this  feature  to  have  any chance of working, it is
             necessary to keep the power supply turned on. It is also possible
             to read the wake-up time set via [SET TIME] [RCL], but the  wake-
             up  time  is  not sent to the remote controller but only shown on
             the CU display. After giving this command, wait for  the  program
             to turn off before turning off the CU.

           The Band scan window submenu.
             This submenu shows a window allowing to scan a frequency interval
             with  programmable start, end, step, mode and bandwidth, making a
             graph  of  the  results.  Since  to  speed  up  as  possible  the
             operations  the  CU  programmable step feature has been used, the
             frequency step can be set only in 100 Hz intervals from 100Hz  to
             99.9  kHz.  Beware  that scanning a wide frequency range in small
             steps may require a very long time. Note  that  the  higher  scan
             speed  is  obtained  using the 100Hz and 1kHz steps, which do not
             require the use of the slower programmable step feature. The scan
             data can be saved in CSV format for importing in a spreadsheet or
             suchlike. The saved CSV files can be also reloaded in the program
             window, but beware that this function is NOT a general  CSV  file
             reading  utility, it can read only the files saved by the program
             itself. In the saved CSV files the first line contains  a  string
             describing the parameters used for that scan. The signal strenght
             data  are  written  in the CU original format, i.e. as an integer
             number from 0 to 20. The frequency data instead are written as  a
             real number down to 1Hz.

         The Options menu.
           This menu contains the program configurations and options.

           The RS232 Port submenu.
             This submenu allows to select the serial port to which the CU8000
             is  connected.   If  that serial port is not one of the first two
             (ttyS0 and ttyS1 for Linux, ttyAMA0 and ttyUSB0 for  Linux  on  a
             Raspberry  PI  and  COM1  and  COM2 for Windows) or is a USB one,
             select the "Custom" submenu and write  the  name  of  the  wanted
             port,  e.g.  /dev/ttyS4 for Linux or COM11 for Windows. The /dev/
             prefix under Linux and the \\.\ prefix under Windows is optional.
             If omitted, it will be automatically added.

                  NOTE. If you use a USB serial port under Linux and have more
                  than one of them, it is wise not  to  use  the  /dev/ttyUSBx
                  names,  since  the  enumeration  of  the  USB bus may assign
                  different names from  one  boot  to  another  (what  now  is
                  /dev/ttyUSB0 at the next boot may become /dev/ttyUSB1 and so
                  on). Use instead the names found in the /dev/serial/by-path/
                  folder,  that  are unique and persistent across reboots. The
                  names  found  in  the  /dev/serial/by-id  folder  also   are
                  persistent,  but  if  there are two or more equal USB serial
                  ports, these names may be not unique.

           The RS232 Speed submenu.
             This submenu allows to select the baud rate used  to  connect  to
             the  CU8000.   Only  two baud rates are possible on the PC-CU8000
             connection: the default 2400 baud and  300  baud  which,  besides
             being  too slow, requires a compatible CU8000 and the change of a
             jumper in it. It is recommended to use the 2400 baud speed.

           The Inter-character delay submenu.
             This submenu allows to select  the  delay  inserted  after  every
             character  sent  to  the CU8000. On the author's CU8000, with the
             92.0 firmware version, no delay is required, so the default value
             for that configuration is 0.  If errors in sending  the  commands
             to  the  CU8000  show  up,  try to increase that value. The delay
             value previously used was 10ms.

           The TCP Server address:port submenu.
             This submenu allows you to set the IP address and port  on  which
             the  hamlib net rigctld compatible TCP server listens. By default
             the server listens on port 4538 of the localhost address, so  the
             value found in this entry will be 127.0.0.1:4538. Note that there
             are no authentication or encryption of any kind as this server is
             designed  only  to  connect other programs to SkantiControl, e.g.
             WSJTX, FLDIGI and XLOG, on the same machine. Therefore, pay a lot
             of attention if you want to use this feature for what it was  not
             designed  for,  that  is  to  control  a  remote  TRP8000 via the
             internet.

               NOTE. The implementation so far made in  this  version  of  the
               hamlib  rigctld commands is far from complete and has only been
               tested with WSJTX 2.7.0, FLDIGI 4.2.06, GRIG 0.9.0,  XDX  2.92,
               QSSTV  9.5.11  and  XLOG 2.0.25.  For WSJTX, if you want to use
               one of the split modes, which  is  highly  recommended,  it  is
               advisable  to  use  the  RIG one because in the FAKE IT one the
               transmission  frequency  is  rewritten   at   each   reception-
               transmission switchover, consequently forcing an automatic TUNE
               which,   in   addition   to   slowing  down  switching,  causes
               unnecessary wear to the transceiver and remote tuner,  if  any.
               Remember   that   the   transceivers   of  the  TRP8000  series
               automatically  recall  the   antenna   tuning   at   the   next
               transmission   after  each  modification  of  the  transmission
               frequency.

             The TUNE when remote changes frequency submenu.
               This  submenu  allows  you  to  choose  whether  when   another
               application,   connected   to  the  SkantiControl  TCP  server,
               modifies the transmission frequency, the antenna tuning  (TUNE)
               is  automatically  invoked  or  not by the program. This can be
               useful or detrimental, depending on the program.  For  programs
               like WSJTX, where the frequency, once chosen, remains fixed (in
               the  NONE  and  RIG  split  modes,  at  least), this is useful,
               otherwise it would be detrimental, as for any  modification  of
               the transmission frequency would be automatically called by the
               program  the antenna tuning. For the same reason in WSJTX it is
               advisable to use the RIG split mode and not  the  FAKE  IT  one
               (see above).

             The CU8000 firmware 92.0 submenu.
               This submenu is enabled only after the program has successfully
               connected  to the CU8000. If selected, after verifying that the
               CU8000 firmware is really version 92.0, the use of the  command
               to  read  the status of the CU8000 available in that version is
               enabled. Otherwise, the last program  status  is  automatically
               saved on disk and reread at the next start. When this option is
               selected,  the  file  of  the  last status is still read at the
               start of the program, but not reloaded into the  CU8000,  since
               not all the parameters are returned by the "Read CU8000 status"
               command  (e.g.  the  stored  frequency  of  the BFO is not) and
               others  are  not  readable  at  all  (e.g.  the  value  of  the
               programmable tune step).

             The Transceiver submenu.
               This submenu is enabled only after the program has successfully
               connected  to the CU8000. It has three sub-submenus, Disabled ,
               Deferred update and Immediate update. If set to  Disabled  the
               RX and TX frequencies are independent as on the real CU8000 and
               split  operation  is  possible. If set to Deferred update after
               about 1s has elapsed after the last change in the  RX  (or  TX)
               frequency  the RX (or TX) frequency is copied to the TX (or RX)
               frequency. If set to Immediate update the RX (or TX)  frequency
               is copied in the TX (or RX) frequency every time the RX (or TX)
               frequency changes.

                    NOTE.  If  the  Transceiver  operation  is required, it is
                    suggested to use  the  Deferred  update  mode,  since  the
                    Immediate  update  slows  down somewhat the operations: at
                    every change in RX frequency, the TX frequency  also  must
                    be  rewritten  and  keep  in  mind that the maximum serial
                    speed is only 2400 baud.   When  split  operation,  either
                    local  or  remote,  is wanted, select the Disabled option.
                    This is required by some program, e.g. WSJTX.

             The Status reading submenu.
               This submenu, if checked,  starts  polling  the  CU8000  status
               (received  and transmitted signal level, antenna tuning status,
               etc) every 500ms and  displays  two  bar-meters,  one  for  the
               received  signal  strength  and  one for the transmitted signal
               power. In the received signal  strenght  meter  an  approximate
               translation  of  the  signal  level  in  S  units  and  in  the
               transmitted  signal  meter  a  percentual  indication  of   the
               tranmitted  power  are also displayed. Although beautiful, this
               slows down the program and prevents to release the priority  to
               the  Skanti  CU8000,  so  the  microphone/PTT  connected to the
               CU8000 remains disabled, TX audio  must  come  from  the  TELEX
               audio  input  (for  TELEX  mode)  or AUX audio input (for other
               modes except CW) and the PTT must be operated using the  remote
               command, i. e. the [TRANSMIT] button.

             The Use UTC time submenu.
               This  submenu,  if checked, makes the program use UTC time when
               programming the CU8000 internal real-time clock  or  displaying
               the  time  in  the frequency display when the CU8000 and so the
               program  are  in  the  "TX  OFF"  state,  doing  the   required
               conversion  from  the  PC  local  time.  If unchecked, the time
               programmed and displayed will be the PC time as-is.

             The Enable prog tune step submenu.
               This, if checked, enables the programmable tune  step  feature.
               Doing  that,  a fourth state is added in the [TUNE RATE] button
               behaviour, which becomes  10→100→1000→programmable  step.  That
               state is shown in the program as well in the CU8000 as all step
               "LEDS" off. By default, the programmable tune step value is set
               to  10  kHz.  To define your own, see the Program receiver tune
               step submenu in the Other functions  menu.  To  enable  in  the
               CU8000  the  programmable  tune  step  the  bit 4 of the Option
               register must be set to 1, i.e. 00010000 binary or 16  decimal.
               That  is done automatically by the program when this submenu is
               checked.

                    NOTE. Using the programmable tuning step the time required
                    to change  frequency  slows  down  considerably,  probably
                    because  this  is an internal feature of the CU8000 and it
                    is actually necessary to rewrite the entire  frequency  in
                    the TU8000.

             The Always start in LP mode submenu.
               This  submenu,  when  checked,  precisely  does  what  it says:
               regardless of the power level set in the saved state,  or  read
               from the CU8000 itself, at program start the TX power is set to
               LOW.  This  feature is intended for those who have a non-Skanti
               automatic remote antenna tuner which does not like to  tune  at
               full power.

             The LED color submenu.
               This submenu has three sub-submenus, Red, Green and Yellow and
               allows  to  choose the wanted color for the simulated "LEDS" in
               the program. The default color is  Yellow ,  as  on  the  real
               CU8000.

             The Font magnification % submenu.
               This  submenu  allows  to define a magnification factor for the
               fonts used in the main and help  windows  of  the  program  for
               buttons,  labels,  etc. The main menu font is not affected. The
               need of that arises from the wide variations in font  rendering
               size  from  one operating system to another. While in Linux the
               design font size seems adequate, in Windows it is too small, at
               least in the author humble opinion. So this submenu  allows  to
               select  the  magnification  factor that better suit your taste.
               Six  magnification  factors  are  available:  100%   (i.e.   no
               magnification),  110%,  125%,  150%,  175% and 200%.  Since the
               font  used  for  the  RX  and  TX  frequency   may   not   need
               magnification,  there  is  also  a  Magnify  all  fonts option,
               enabled by default. If it is deemed not  necessary  to  magnify
               that font also, then uncheck this option.

             The Enable all controls submenu.
               The  program by default tries to disable non-active buttons for
               the chosen mode and/or state (e.g. the AGC SLOW and AGC OFF  in
               TELEX  mode).  If you want to leave all keys enabled regardless
               of they are active or not, then check this submenu.

             The Show CU commands submenu.
               This submenu is useful only to debug an incorrect command  sent
               to  the  CU8000  or  to examine the syntax of the CU8000 remote
               commands. If checked, all commands sent to the CU8000 are  also
               displayed in the message window.

             The Show hamlib commands submenu.
               This  submenu,  if  checked,  shows  in  the message window all
               commands received and  transmitted  by  the  hamlib-net-rigctl-
               maybe-compatible server, for checking and/or debug purposes.

           The Channels menu.
             This  menu  contains  the  channels defined with the Save channel
             submenu of the File menu.

             The submenus of this menu are dynamically built from the  channel
             files  saved  (see  the  Save  channel menu). Choosing one on the
             submenus loads in the program and in the CU8000 the corresponding
             state. If no channel file is saved, this menu contains  only  the
             No channels defined item, which is disabled.

         The Help menu.
           This   menu   contains   the  submenus  dealing  with  the  program
           informations, i.e. show the copyright notice, the  built-in  manual
           and the program license terms.

           The About submenu.
             This  submenu  pops  up  a  window  showing  the  program author,
             copyright, version and the author of  the  translation,  if  any.
             Press on the [OK] button to dismiss it.

           The Manual submenu.
             This  submenu  pops  up  a  window  showing this manual, which is
             available also as text and PDF file and as a manpage under Linux.
             Press on the "OK" button to dismiss it. The PDF,  html  and  text
             versions,  including  the  text version displayed in the program,
             are machine-generated from the man page using  man,  col,  ps2pdf
             and  sed,  so may contain some little formatting issues. However,
             any errors are guaranteed to be original by the author.

           The GNU License submenu.
             This submenu pops up a window showing  the  license  under  which
             this  program is distributed, i.e. the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
             version 3. You may apply to this program,  at  your  option,  any
             later version of that license. The sources can be downloaded from
             the same page where You downloaded this program.

                  NOTE.  The  GNU  General  Public  License is always shown in
                  English, since this is the only version with legal validity.
                  The translations in other  languages  may  help  non-english
                  speaking  people  to understand what that license means, but
                  have NO LEGAL VALIDITY. The same  holds  for  the  COPYRIGHT
                  section below.

KEYBOARD COMMANDS
       As  said  earlier in the QUICK START GUIDE there are also some keyboard
       commands. These commands may be issued either in upper case or in lower
       case. The available commands are:

          + or ↑   Tune up (+ also sign for BFO frequency offset)

          - or ↓   Tune down (- also sign for BFO frequency offset)

               /   Change tune rate

               *   Invoke TX tune

               R   Set receive frequency

               T   Set transmit frequency

               U   Mode USB

               L   Mode LSB

               A   Mode AM

               C   Mode CW

               M   Mode MCW

               E   Mode R3E

               X   Mode TELEX

              .   Toggle between LOW, MEDIUM and FULL power

           ENTER   Same as [ENTER] button

       SPACE BAR   Receive/Transmit toggle

       The frequency value for commands R and T (or [RX] and [TX] buttons) can
       be entered either with the  keyboard  or  with  the  on-screen  numeric
       buttons.  The  same  holds  for  any  numerical parameter, e.g. the BFO
       frequency in the Set BFO frequency submenu of the Other functions menu.

       The menu  items  are  also  keyboard-selectable  in  the  usual  manner
       (ALT+the underlined letter/figure).

CONFIGURATION, STATE AND DOCUMENTATION FILES
       All  configuration  files are kept in the .SkantiControl folder of your
       home directory (Linux) or SkantiControl (Windows) directory, which  now
       can  be put in any location. See also the Quick start guide. The state
       files are kept in the States sudirectory,  the  channel  files  in  the
       Channels   subdirectory.   State   and  channel  files,  including  the
       LastState.dat file, are binary files which share the same  format,  the
       configuration  file  instead  is  a  XML text file that can be modified
       using any text editor. The configuration file Config.xml and  the  last
       state file LastState.dat are kept instead in the .SkantiControl (linux)
       or SkantiControl (Windows) directory. In case the program configuration
       has  messed  up,  delete  (or  move,  or  rename)  the  Config.dat  and
       LastState.dat files and the program at next start  will  recreate  them
       using the default configuration.

       If  the  program  does not find the new configuration file, it tries to
       see if it finds a configuration file in the old  format  and,  if  yes,
       loads and convert it to the new XML format.

       However,  the  program  tries  to  recognize  the  old  versions of the
       configuration file,  keeping  the  parameters  present,  assigning  the
       default  value to the missing ones and saving the updated version. Only
       if the file is really messed up gives up trying to understand something
       and sets and saves the default configuration. In all cases a window  is
       shown explaining what is happening.

       The  documentation  files, including the text, PDF and html versions of
       the manual and the GNU  license  v3.0  under  Linux  are  kept  in  the
       directory /usr/share/doc/skanticontrol.

       Under  Windows  all  these  files  are  kept  instead  in the directory
       SkantiControl, along with the other files and  directories  needed  by
       the program.

       The  text version of this manual and the GNU license v3.0, always shown
       in the authoritative english language version, are also  readable  from
       the program itself. See the submenus Manual and GNU License in the Help
       menu.   Last,   the   manual   pages   under  Linux  are  kept  in  the
       /usr/share/man/man1  (english   version)   and   /usr/share/man/it/man1
       (italian version). These two are the only man pages available so far.

              NOTE. The manual base versions are the man pages (SkantiControl-
              en.1  and  SkantiControl-it.1).  The  other formats are machine-
              generated from these. The most accurate versions are the PDF one
              and the text one; the html one leaves something to be desired in
              accuracy. So, if you cannot use the man page, it is  recommended
              to  use  the  PDF version or the text version, which is readable
              also from within the program.

INTERNATIONALIZATION (AKA I18N)
       In the 0.98 version the internationalization of the  program  has  been
       implemented,  using  the  Lazarus  built-in  i18n  feature. The program
       internationalization  is  enabled  by  default   using   the   language
       configured  in  the  system. If a translation in that language does not
       exists, then the fallback macaronic english version is used.

       If, for testing purposes or for any other reason it is wanted to  start
       the program in a language other than that configured in the system, use
       the switch --lang=<language code> or -l <language code> where <language
       code>  is  the  two-characters wanted language code, e.g. (for italian)
       execute the program as SkantiControl --lang=it or SkantiControl -l it.

       If someone wants to contribute a translation in their own (or  another)
       language  (now  only  the italian translation and the macaronic english
       default are available) is welcome. In the author's web page  a  package
       for  internationalization is available. Install the poedit (or similar)
       program, copy the  file  SkantiControl.po  to  SkantiControl.lang.po  ,
       where  lang  is the code of the new language (e.g.  SkantiControl.fr.po
       for French or SkantiControl.es.po for Spanish), open it with poedit (or
       whathever) and then start to do the translation.

       It is also possible to edit the .po file with any text editor, but  the
       resulting  file is not directly usable, since it must be first compiled
       into the .mo binary format, which poedit does automatically when saving
       the .po file and a  generic  text  editor  probably  not  (unless  it's
       EMACS),  so  it  is  required  to  manually compile such file using the
       msgfmt program. For an example, see the  SkantiControl.it.po  file.  If
       you  modify  the  .po  file  with  a  text editor and cannot compile it
       yourself, if you send me that .po file,  i  will  be  glad  to  do  the
       compile and send back to you the .mo compiled file so you can test your
       translation.   To  use the resulting .mo file, under Linux rename it to
       SkantiControl.mo    and    put    the    renamed    file     in     the
       /usr/share/locale/lang/LC_MESSAGES    folder,   where   lang   is   the
       abovementioned language two-letter code. Under Windows put  it  in  the
       Skanticontrol/locale folder without renaming it.

       Regarding  the  manual,  if you also want to translate it, the starting
       point  is  one  of  the  Linux  manual  pages,  SkantiControl-en.1   or
       SkantiControl-it.1  which  are  enclosed  in the i18n package mentioned
       above. The manual pages are text files  you  can  edit  with  any  text
       editor.  To  see  the  result,  however, a man page viewer is required.
       Under Linux there are many, under Windows if you do not want to install
       an entire set of Unix utilities (e.g. UnxUtils), you can  download  and
       try the mandoc program.

       In  the  i18n package the scripts used to to generate the text, PDF and
       html versions of the manual pages are also enclosed, as  shell  scripts
       for the BASH shell, although these can be used only under Linux, except
       having  an  installation  of  the Unix system utilities (or at least an
       installation of those used, i.e.  bash,  man,  ps2pdf  and  sed)  under
       Windows.  See  the CONFIGURATION, STATE AND DOCUMENTATION FILES section
       for more informations on the name  and  location  of  the  manual  page
       files.

              NOTE.  The  captions  of  the main window buttons and labels are
              intentionally excluded from the translation, since  the  program
              aims to reproduce the look and feel of the Skanti CU8000 control
              unit.

BUGS, LIMITATIONS AND REMAINING THINGS TO DO
       The  main bug that the author was aware of was that on some systems the
       position and size of the main window were not restored correctly at the
       beginning, even though in the configuration file the parameters  width,
       height,  X  and  Y  appeared  to  be  correct. Thanks to Mark G4FPH for
       reporting this issue and for the tests done. This bug may have  finally
       been  tracked  down (for the curious, it was a race condition caused by
       having mistakenly put some of the width and height restore code in  the
       FormCreate  procedure  instead  of  in  the  FormShow procedure), but a
       thorough testing is needed. If it is seen again, please report.

       There are  some  limitations  and/or  things  not  yet  implemented  or
       implemented   but   not   tested   due  to  various  reasons:  lack  of
       understanding of the documentation, lack of time, lack  of  options  in
       the author's own TRP8255, laziness of the program author.

       • From  the  0.98  build 400 version onward the SCAN command syntax has
         been completed and a try to circumvent the  7s  timeout  present  has
         been made.  A thorough check is however required.

       • Check  the  command  DUPLEX,  feature  which  is not available on the
         author's own TRP8255.

       • Study and understand better the SCAN BUFFER  commands  and  implement
         them correctly.

       • Thoroughly  check correctness of the state machine against the CU8000
         behaviour.

       • Study and understand one of the free Windows  installers  (e.g.  Inno
         Setup or NSIS) and provide Windows 32 and 64 bit installation files.

       There   are   also   some   problems   attributable  at  least  to  the
       incompleteness of the documentation, if not to a real v92  CU  firmware
       bug:  some commands, e.g.  the "Test alarm" one, work but after some 7s
       without  other  commands  issued  cause  a  RTX  reset  not  documented
       anywhere.

       The road to version 1.00 is still very long...

SOURCES, NEW VERSIONS AND CONTACT INFO.
       The  sources  (one  single  archive for all supported architectures and
       operating systems, available in  .tar.gz  and  .ZIP  formats)  and  new
       binary installation versions of this program can be found at the author
       website:

       http://www.i1epj.ham-radio-op.net/software.html#SkantiControl

       To  modify  and/or recompile the sources the Lazarus IDE for FreePascal
       and the jujiboutils and lNET packages are required. It  is  recommended
       to install them using the Online Package Manager provided in Lazarus.

       The SkantiControl author can be reached by email at

       i1epj@aricasale.it

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
       Dave,  G0WBX/G8KBV  is the original author of the Skanti TRP8000 series
       remote commands list used in this program.

       The idea of optionally substitute a user-configurable  channel  to  the
       500 and 2182 buttons came from Mark, G4FPH.

       The  main  window  objects  scale code is inspired by an example by Ari
       Hirviniemi for Delphi.

COPYRIGHT
       SkantiControl  -  a  program  to  control  the  Skanti  TRP8000  series
       transceivers.

       Copyright 2012-2025 (C) Giuseppe Perotti, I1EPJ, i1epj@aricasale.it

       This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
       under  the  terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
       Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at  your
       option) any later version.

       This  program  is  distributed  in the hope that it will be useful, but
       WITHOUT  ANY  WARRANTY;  without   even   the   implied   warranty   of
       MERCHANTABILITY  or  FITNESS  FOR  A  PARTICULAR  PURPOSE.  See the GNU
       General Public License for more details.

       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
       with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

THAT'S ALL, FOLKS!
       At least until the next version...

Version 0.99 build 380            06/04/2025                  SkantiControl(1)
