Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Piexx - TS-940 Interface Board

Category: Interfaces, Radio to computer, amp, rotor, coax switch, internet

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Piexx - TS-940 Interface Board
Reviews: 15MSRP: $89.95
Description:
All you need to interface your TS-940S to your PC
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.piexx.com/cgi-bin/piexx.cgi?p=home
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00154.5
NT6U Rating: 2012-10-27
Should have bought it sooner. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have operated for over 3 years now without any problems. Easy to install, point and click for frequency / band changes with my N3FJP's logging software. My frequency, band is all copied to my logging program with the click of my mouse. Very pleased with my $$ spent for ease of logging. Again it was easy to install.
W4DTB Rating: 2011-08-28
Best interface money can buy... Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The TS-940SAT Interface Board is an all around upgrade for my 940.

Piexx delivered the board in three days (after choosing 7 day shipping). The service was great and the product even better. I was quickly able to install the board, no soldering required!

I attached the RS-232 Pigtail to a converter into HRD. No settings required, I has Radio Control capabilities (including PTT). I attached my homebrew soundcard interface and was able to use Digital Master flawlessly. There is little PTT Delay, and it is awesome to not have to manually enter frequency data!

Other reviewers found that the LCD flashed when under PC Control, and I saw no-such thing.

Overall, a great product that brings the 940 into par with today's radios (OK, Almost).
K2QB Rating: 2011-03-07
Easy Install and Does What It Says Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well I might be late coming to the party but just installed my PIEXX interface board in my TS-940S. Installation was straight forward as per the enclosed instructions. Total install time was around 40 minutes only because one needs to be VERY careful removing the brackets and inside enclosures and then reassembling them. Don't want to pinch any of those little wires and besides the old rig ain't what she used to be! Plugged it in via a serial-to USB converter, fired up Logger32 and bingo....frequency is displayed and after trying a couple of different settings within Logger32 for Kenwood radios...eveything works as described. Logger32 logs the actual freq for QSO's and can click on a DX spot and the 940 instantly switches to the freq and mode. It's like having a brand new radio again!
W3DDF Rating: 2010-06-22
Works Great! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just received the Piexx interface for my 940 and it was very easy to install. I am using HRD 5.0 and it worked just fine. Had no issues connecting the computer and HRD to the 940. Highly recommended.
K9CTB Rating: 2010-02-26
Great Alternative Interface! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Initial impression and installation:

I say "alternative" because, like the guys say here, it *is* possible to find an original IF-10( ) and IF-232 pair, but they're really expensive, and they're no longer made. So you're stuck waiting and paying e-bay-ized prices, or going with the Piexx. Even if the Kenwood product was still available, the Piexx would be a very competitive choice. With the Kenwood stuff being out of production, the Piexx board is a no-brainer for anyone looking to control the TS-940 with a PC.

I consider myself having "moderate" computer knowledge, and the single-page installation instructions are a breeze to follow - even for me!

I needed the enclosed EPROM as my socket was empty, but there *was* a socket, so installation of the Piexx-provided EPROM was simple. The socket is close to the rear wall of the digital-A board enclosure, so care must be taken when pressing the new EPROM into place, but it's a common-sense thing. One additional thing I did was to add support to my board. On my particular installation, the front-facing portion of the Piexx board rests with some pressure on the two white connectors on the front (facing the front panel of the rig). This may not be the case in all installations, but I added small spacers to the two stand-offs which are used to mount the Piexx board. This way, there is clearance and it doesn't look as if the Piexx interface is stressed nor the two connectors from the digital-A board. I just used what was in my junk box. I made sure I had clearance to replace the top of the shielded box and I was done! It is possible to pinch or break wires when replacing the cover. It is also possible to do so when replacing the speaker/control box in the button-up phase, so good common-sense care must be taken during the reassembly. I'm all thumbs and I'm a weak-eyes-Yokum to boot, but I was able to get things reassembled without a problem. I know having a big piece of wire strung out the rear of a great rig like the '940 doesn't sit well with some people, but to me, it's ham radio! Besides, I didn't want to drill any holes on anything to permanently mount the DB9 connector. The "pigtail" is just fine, and if properly routed, it won't chafe on anything.

Operation:

I read others' reviews, and I gotta say I was worried, but operation was a breeze as well. When buttoned up, I set up HyperTerminal (4800-N-1) and plugged 'er in. Issuing the "if;" command got me a return. It looks like garbage, but it's probably valid, especially if somewhere in the returned data, you see digits showing what's on your display (in my case, 3947 KHz - the "Green Frogs", what a great bunch of guys, but I digress). There is no "screen echo" so you might think it's not working, but if you see a buncha numbers and your display figures are buried in there somewhere, it's prolly working. Just to check, go ahead and QSY a few kc and issue another "if;" command. The new frequency should be in that buncha numbers. You're home free! Don't expect some sort of "sign-on" screen when you power up, it's not gonna be there. But it still works. It's just the bare-bones kenwood interface in a nice, easy-to-install board.

I am a huge fan of Simon's Ham Radio Deluxe program and I couldn't wait to try it. Selecting "Kenwood" and "4800" and "Com1" was all I needed. Worked like a champ right away! There is some time lag between moving anything and seeing the results on the screen, but I expect that at 4800 baud. It is not as fast as using HRD with my Icom 746Pro, but it's running at 19,200! I talked to Chris at Piexx about changing to 9600 baud, and he stated that although 9600 works, he recommends staying at 4800 since this is the Kenwood standard. I left 'er there and HRD works like it should. I didn't notice any display flicker on my setup here.

Future:

I bought the interface to run my TS-940 with MARS ALE, and as of this review, I am not there yet. I wanted to make it clear that the Piexx interface does what it says it will do, and it does so with a very simple installation procedure. I recommend the board highly to anyone who wants to use their '940 with a logging program, some of the digital programs like HRD or MixW, and I have no issues believing the interface will work flawlessly with ALE.

Final impression:

If you're looking to give computer control to your TS-940, you can wait for an IF-10( ) to become available and pay 3 times what it's worth, or you can call Chris and company. Your choice, but I have to say that since I use two other Piexx products and have found the support and the product to be flawless, my choice was clear.

Best of luck and 73!

Neil X
K9CTB / NNN0ZVU
Indianapolis
W5DQ Rating: 2009-04-29
Doesn't work no matter what I do Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought a PIEXX TS940 Interface board direct from PIEXX. I hooked it up to my 940 and the results were disappointing. The interface would communicate for about 15 seconds and then hang. This was continously repeatable. Before someone chimes in that it's operator error, I am a qualified electronics technician (25 years experience) and a professional system engineer so I know a thing or two about testing and troubleshooting. Analysis indicated what appeared as a buffer hanging up on the interface board. Contacted PIEXX, discussed the problem and agreed to send the interface back to them to test. They checked it out and reported a bad UART chip, supposedly the first one they had ever experienced. Get interface board back in the mail. Ok so now I am really excited because it is supposed to be fixed. Put the interface board back in the 940 and Holy Crap Batman! The 940 goes beserk when powered up with this piece of crap installed. The display flashes on and off, the receive goes nuts, 940 tries to go into XMIT and it certainly does NOT communicate with the PC.

So now I am really stumped. Is my 940 at fault? So I found a Kenwood IF-10B board on eBAY for a NICE (as in extortion level) price. I took a gamble and bought it. Installed it in the 940. Hooked up an aftermarket serial interface (forget the source company) that worked just fine with my TS440 to the 940's accessory port to communicate with the IF-10B board. VIOLA! Everything works just as advertised. The CAT software communicates with the 940. All commands work. Everything is kosher in Denmark. So now I have a piece of crap PIEXX board that cost me $100 and is worse now than when I first tried it. What a rip off!
VE7ABC Rating: 2006-10-22
Works as it should Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After getting hyperlink up and running properly (thanks for the hint Chris)and experimenting with Ham Radio Deluxe, everything worked as it should. Works perfectly and the after sales service was good. A great addition to the TS940.

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by VE7ABC on 2006-10-13

I purchased this interface to go with a 940 I recently picked up.
Installation was very easy even for a non-technical person. I did have a problem with getting the rig and the computer to talk to each other though. An email to Chris and his quick reply cured that problem. Great after sales service. Hyperlink solved almost everything. It works on all the logging software I have with the exception of Ham Radio Deluxe. I will have to experiment more and find out what the problem is with that program.
Like another reviewer mentioned there is a slight flicker in the display, but it is not objectionable. In fact, unless I stare at the display, it is not really noticealbe.
I enjoy my radio(s) being hooked up to the computer. It opens up another aspect of the ham hobby. A good investment and addition to the 940, and it didn't break the bank.
73..de..VE7ABC
K3LL Rating: 2006-07-29
Works Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had previously owned a 940 and sold it in 2000 when I moved into a townhouse and went QRT. I had the stock Kenwood interface (built my own level converter).

I just purchased a used 940 (from eham classifieds) and knew I would need this board.

Before I purchased the board (and the radio) I emailed Piexx with a few questions. They responded quickly with the answers.

The next day I ordered the board and it arrived in less than a week.

Installation was a breeze and everything was up and running in short order.

I used HyperTerminal to test everything before running my logging program.

A few comments/suggestions:
1. I wished the board used the existing connector on the radio to plug into the computer. The ribbon cable hanging out of the back of the radio is a bit awkward. BUT, the supplied cable did plug directly into the computer.

2. It would be nice if the documentation showed the signals on the DB-9 connector. These can be looked up elsewhere, it would just be nice to have it all in one place.

3. It also would have been nice it the documentation included some of the basic radio control commands for testing. Again, these are available elsewhere, but would be nice to have it all in one place.

All in all a great product. Before installing mine, I also changed the data rate from 4800 to 9600 using the solder pads on the board.
G7SYW Rating: 2006-04-11
Great piece of kit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought a used TS-940, took it home and started playing with my new toy. As I already had my Yaesu under CAT control to make logging easier I decided that the Kenwood would have to have a CAT interface fitted.

I found a reasonably priced unit on ebay and set about connecting it to the socket on the back of the radio - to my dismay it didn't work after trying just about every port setting on the PC. After playing around I called my local radio shop who explained that this radio needs an optional interface board to use the CAT functions - nothing about this in the Kenwood manual...

I set about locating an interface board but found many reports that the Kenwood goes bad on a regular basis, that's when I decided to try the Piexx. Once it had arrived here in the UK, I read the brief but comprehensive instruction sheet and set about installing it into the radio. Just 25 mins later I have a radio under CAT control.

The unit comes with a very generous length of ribbon cable that connects to the PC and an extra PROM to install in the radio if needed. Installing it is a breeze - unless you are deliberately being stupid there's no way you can get it wrong!!

Other reviews mention extra noise on RX but I haven't found this problem, I have noticed a very slight flicker on the digital display when running under CAT control but it's nothing serious.

Overall, a brilliant piece of kit and now there's no more forgetting to enter the correct frequency in my PC based log. hi hi
W4VD Rating: 2006-03-13
Great Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was surprised to get mine on Monday after only ordering it on Friday.

It should take the average ham no more than 30 min to install taking his time. There is no way you can install it wrong.

I was very concerned about noise from this unit as some have experienced and hesitated buying it, before installing it I listened to the reciever in a dummy load, then installed it and all thru the spectrum it was completely quiet, this unit is not causing any noise whatsoever in this radio, that much I am relieved to report.

I did notice one glitch, on the Ham Radio Deluxe Beta 3.3 ver I have a slight flickering of the 940's display when connected, however this is a software issue, not a Piexx or a 940 problem, I can close the app and the flickering stops.

I use the rig interface that came with the Winlog32 I have used since 2001, it works fine for loggin and no flickering of the display like on HRD, the Interface "look" is not as fancy as HRD but the display acts normal so that's what I will stick with, Winlog32 has a builtin cluster and you can click on the spots and the rig goes to them, really neat. Also the rig interface on Winlog32 has a ton of memories you can program for mode and freq so there will be no more spinning the dial when QSYing from band to band, it's like having the auto mode select the newer rigs use (and I miss on the 940).

I would highly recommend this product if you have a 140 or a 940 and use PC logging it's the best 100 bucks you will spend, the clicking and pouncing on the DX via the cluster is great!

This is one product that does what it says it will