Author Topic: IC706, Display stays blank  (Read 4201 times)

dj4mz

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IC706, Display stays blank
« on: 2010-10-05, 21:59:50 »
Hi everybody,

I use my remoterig setup with an Icom IC-706MKIIG for quite some while with almost no problems. I still use FW 2.06 and the two RS232 ports are used for CAT and rotator.

Sometimes (maybe every 10th time) it happens that when switching on the TRX the display stays blank. Powering the TRX off and on again helps in the majority of cases. I have the impression that it is dependent on how long you press the power button: short -> display stays blank, approx 0.5s -> display ok. But I can live with that.

I remember one time where it took maybe 10 to 20 times power cycling the TRX until the display came up, until today....

Today exectly the same thing happend again and it took me half an hour to get the display running! And during "testing" I recongized some "strange" things. Even though the display didn't show anything I was able to control the TRX, e.g. switching from memory to VFO, tuning VFO etc. When switching off the TRX the SIP LED sometimes stayed on and the status page of both RRCs showed SIP status connected. After felt 100 times of power cycling the TRX and the RRCs on both sides the display came up and everything worked as expected.

So then I started operating and just in the middle of a QSO I recognized that even though I was transmitting the green RX LED was lighting, no TX LED! After finishing the QSO I tuned the VFO: audio changed, display not! Well now the display was on but didn't react on status change of the TRX.

It all looks like a "one way propagation" for the display port. I can control the TRX and I even can opperate the TRX but the display isn't updated (in on or off state). BTW: actual frequency can be read out via CAT, so the body of the TRX is also fully operational.

Has anybody here ever seen this strange behavior? And if so are there any suggestions what may be the cause for it?

vy 73 de Simon (DJ4MZ)

dj4mz

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Re: IC706, Display stays blank
« Reply #1 on: 2010-10-06, 09:35:36 »
Hi Mike,

it would be nice if you can answer the following questions. I hope the answers help me understand what happened and maybe can help to trace what happens/happened.

As far as I understood from other threads in this forum the PTT info is sent from control side to radio side as SIP INFO. This can explain that I was able to transmit even though the display was blank or frozen.

1. What about all other communication of the display? Are all events (e.g. turning of the VFO knob, pressing of a button) also sent via SIP INFO or are they sent via the seriall protocol of the display? If SIP INFO is used, then what is sent via the control protocol
2. Is there any difference how TX and RX data from the display is handeled?
3. Is there any difference how COM0 for the display is handeled compared to COM1/2? The latter ports were working without problems!

BTW: Is the documentation of the control protocol available publicly?

This all looks very strange to me, especially as it work perfectly up to now. I will try again today in the evening and hope everything works fine today.

CU on the band,
Simon (DJ4MZ)