Serial to USB issue

[freakydekey]

I have looked in the forums and I am a newbie. I tried not to post without looking really hard. I have appropriate software and cables. The cables I have are USB. I can't seem to get a PC connection to my radios. One is a tk-370 and the other is tk-3160. I have a tk-353 on the way. Just looking for some general advice. I appreciate the help.

[whitesox4life]

Double check that you are selecting the correct COM port. Are you using DOS program or Windows program? That should be asked first. That will determine my answer.

[freakydekey]

For the 3160 its windows based and for the 370 its DOS based. I don't know which comm port to choose since USB isn't a labeled port. Thanks for helping me through this.

[freakydekey]

I went into device manager and made changes in the window based one based on the information found (com 7). Now I get a check transceiver type error. I've been made aware that I won't be able to program with a usb cable with the DOS program it only allows com 1 and com 2. So I am still troubleshooting the 3160.

[Thayne]

You can see what com port is assigned to a usb-serial converter by looking a the device drivers in "My computer" some older kenwoods only let you choose com1-4 but the 3160 will go to any com port up to the 20's.

[freakydekey]

I now have the correct com port selected in the program. Now I am getting a select transceiver type message. This is on the 3160 windows based. I cant connect to the 370 because it only allows com 1 or 2 and my cable is on 7. If I can get the 3160 to connect this would be a great start.

[kg4uad]

Originally Posted by freakydekey

I now have the correct com port selected in the program. Now I am getting a select transceiver type message. This is on the 3160 windows based. I cant connect to the 370 because it only allows com 1 or 2 and my cable is on 7. If I can get the 3160 to connect this would be a great start.

in the matter of the tk-3160 try (k) series on my 2160s it doesnt really matter what type, some are europe or asian types im pretty sure (k) is us market but youll be fine. on the tk-370 try and install kpg-27d on c: drive then try and access it via ms-dos program in windows, once you get the com port straight you should be able to program via usb. remember windows controls usb functions so its hard on dos based programs to do what your trying. i have several laptops and i have been successful in programing motorola and kenwood radios that use dos based programming via usb only through ms-dos prompt and not all of my laptops will do it, your gonna have to solve your com port issue thats number one.

if all else fails go on ebay and pick up an after market serial port connector programming cable for $9 bucks and youll be fine with the tk-370, and your already there with the 3160 just select a type and read or write to the radio youll be fine.

good luck

kg4uad

[ramal121]

With the cable plugged in, you can go to the device manager in windows and change it from com-7 to
com-1 or com-2 (provided either are not already in use by another device). I did that because as you found out, some programs only allow com port choices up to com-4.

MS DOS does not support USB, it has no idea what that is. Whether windows can provide the crutch for USB support in a DOS window I don't know, but kg4uad has had luck. Not all programs will run correctly under a DOS shell and will require the computer to be booted up with DOS OS, in which case a USB cable is outta the question.

What is the exact error message you get on the 3160, "Model type mismatch"? If that is the case, you are connected to the radio. Read it and see what it says.

[TBennettcc]

If you already have a COM port 1,2,3,4, etc., change one of them to a higher number (if it's not currently being used by anything else), and then change your USB-to-serial adapter to the lower port number. No reboots should be required.

Instructions to change your COM port numbers:
HOW TO: Change the COM Port Number in Windows 2000

[freakydekey]

For the 370 I went into device manager and changed it to a lower com port i chose 2. I went into the software chose com port 2 then read from radio. I get an error message saying it cant connect to com port 1 as the program requested and it closes the program. So i changed it to com port 1. I restart the software and change the program to com port 1 and it says programmer cant connect to com port 2 and closes the software. It reverses when I change it. I might just order the serial cable and try that. I got an 353 and the respective software and I am having the same problem.

The 3160 error I get is please check transceiver type. Not sure still how to go about this issue. I appreciate the help and I'm learning a alot from the help.

[freakydekey]

I reinstalled the KPG-82 and I am now connected to my 3160!