Reaction Tune with Opto Scout 40 & R30 Works !

tumegpc · Sep 3, 2018

I emailed Icom tech support last week inquiring the use of the Opto Scout 40 for Reaction Tuning with the R30.Their response was that they were unaware of any testing done with the R30 so they couldn't confirm if it was possible.

So I got rid of the old Opto Scout 40 NiCd battery pack and switched it for a 9V battery, so far it seems to be working fine. And it's a heck of a lot lighter too. My next mod was to make a interface cable using a 3.5 stereo plug to a 2.5 mono plug that would fit the Scout 40. I Changed the serial setting in the R30 to CI-V(Echo Back ON) then connected the cable and did some testing using a FRS radio . Happy to report that it worked !

bgav · Sep 3, 2018

That’s great that it works, suspected that it would.

Unfortunately it’s 2018 and I was able to do that 15 years ago with my Opto Scout and AOR8000. In the age of Close Call and Spectrum Sweeper, I would expect Icom to have this capability built-in. With the dual tuners and band-scope I would hope the feature is only a matter of a firmware update.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

N9JIG · Sep 3, 2018

I miss my Scout, what a great tool in the day.

It is cool that you got it to work!

pb_lonny · Sep 3, 2018

Well done.

I am REALLY surprised that it does not have a feature like this built in...

tumegpc · Sep 3, 2018

pb_lonny said:
Well done.

I am REALLY surprised that it does not have a feature like this built in...

Thanks. I wonder if it's a patent thing?

tumegpc · Sep 3, 2018

N9JIG said:
I miss my Scout, what a great tool in the day.

It is cool that you got it to work!

It sure does bring back memories. I would like to see Optoeletronics make a Mini Scout 40 that uses a database.

hardsuit · Sep 4, 2018

bgav - the Way the OPTO scout and Digital Scout work is completely different from "close call " systems on scanners. FIRST, the OPTO scans its Entire Frequency Range in less than 1 Second, Next, the OPTO does NOT need to Tune the frequency at all, it simply receives RF directly can captures the DATA. the Digital Scout can handle conventional Trunking as well as Digital trunking.and records each time someone in Range keys up, even the Signal Strength is displayed. Scanners when using "close call " and similar systems are set ranges and DO NOT scan the ENTIRE Spectrum in under 1 Second. the Scanner systems have to be tuned to a frequency, when a Signal is received then the Squelch is opened, the Scanner performs much Slower. and Both the Scout and Digital scout use a TCXO for frequency stability. I can walk a MALL or Public Area or go to the Police Station, PARK and capture all the frequencies they use. Even more frequency when there is a Special Event or Police Training. the Scout is very Discrete , you can wear it Pager style and set it to Vibrate EVERY time someone near by keys up. and it locks on instantly and stores the DATA.

bgav · Sep 4, 2018

hardsuit said:
bgav - the Way the OPTO scout and Digital Scout work is completely different from "close call " systems on scanners. FIRST, the OPTO scans its Entire Frequency Range in less than 1 Second, Next, the OPTO does NOT need to Tune the frequency at all, it simply receives RF directly can captures the DATA. the Digital Scout can handle conventional Trunking as well as Digital trunking.and records each time someone in Range keys up, even the Signal Strength is displayed. Scanners when using "close call " and similar systems are set ranges and DO NOT scan the ENTIRE Spectrum in under 1 Second. the Scanner systems have to be tuned to a frequency, when a Signal is received then the Squelch is opened, the Scanner performs much Slower. and Both the Scout and Digital scout use a TCXO for frequency stability. I can walk a MALL or Public Area or go to the Police Station, PARK and capture all the frequencies they use. Even more frequency when there is a Special Event or Police Training. the Scout is very Discrete , you can wear it Pager style and set it to Vibrate EVERY time someone near by keys up. and it locks on instantly and stores the DATA.

I know, I had an Opto Scout years ago and used it to Reaction Tune my AOR8000 that was modified with a CIV 1/8" jack.

Ubbe · Sep 4, 2018

The Scout acually doesn't scan. It has an oscillator that runs freely at about 250MHz and the antenna signal are amplified and then syncs the oscillator which then has a much stronger signal that can be used for the frequency counter.

Frequencies below 250MHz are often a bit high in reading and frequencies above 250MHz a bit low as the signal has to pull that oscillator away from its free running frequency. That also means that it has its best sensitivity and highest accuracy closest to 250MHz.

/Ubbe

ka1njl · Sep 4, 2018

Cable wiring?

I’ll have to try this. Could you please tell us more about the cable you made?

Thanks.

tumegpc · Sep 4, 2018

ka1njl said:
I’ll have to try this. Could you please tell us more about the cable you made?

Thanks.

I modified a 3.5mm male to 3.5 male stereo jack . You'll need a 2.5mm mono plug (for the opto scout 40)
https://www.amazon.com/Ancable-Repl...id=1536117354&sr=8-3&keywords=2.5mm+mono+plug

Remove one of the 3.5mm plugs - you should see 3 wires - you will need to determine which wire is ground and which wire goes to the middle contact on the stereo plug. The other wire is not used. Solder the middle contact wire to the tip of the 2.5 mono plug then solder the 3.5mm ground to the 2.5mm ground. One more important step- you will need to cut or shave down the tip of the 3.5mm plug - the reason is you do not want that to make contact or will not be able to hear from the speaker. That's it.

ka1njl · Sep 5, 2018

Thanks!!

Thank you for the information and the image. That is a good tip about the tip (sorry, I couldn't resist the low hanging fruit). I think I may have a similar cable around here somewhere for my AR 8000 that can be modified.

tumegpc · Sep 5, 2018

ka1njl said:
Thank you for the information and the image. That is a good tip about the tip (sorry, I couldn't resist the low hanging fruit). I think I may have a similar cable around here somewhere for my AR 8000 that can be modified.

Glad I could help.

N9JIG · Sep 5, 2018

tumegpc said:
I modified a 3.5mm male to 3.5 male stereo jack . You'll need a 2.5mm mono plug (for the opto scout 40)
https://www.amazon.com/Ancable-Repl...id=1536117354&sr=8-3&keywords=2.5mm+mono+plug

Remove one of the 3.5mm plugs - you should see 3 wires - you will need to determine which wire is ground and which wire goes to the middle contact on the stereo plug. The other wire is not used. Solder the middle contact wire to the tip of the 2.5 mono plug then solder the 3.5mm ground to the 2.5mm ground. One more important step- you will need to cut or shave down the tip of the 3.5mm plug - the reason is you do not want that to make contact or will not be able to hear from the speaker. That's it.

Would it be possible to accomplish this by shorting two of the pins on the stereo plug instead of filing it down?

tumegpc · Sep 5, 2018

N9JIG said:
Would it be possible to accomplish this by shorting two of the pins on the stereo plug instead of filing it down?

From the conversation I had with Icom , It seemed to be related to more of a contact issue than electrical.

flanker86 · Sep 5, 2018

tumegpc said:
From the conversation I had with Icom , It seemed to be related to more of a contact issue than electrical.

Did you ask them if a built-in feature ala Close Call is possible via firmware update?

Ubbe · Sep 6, 2018

flanker86 said:
Did you ask them if a built-in feature ala Close Call is possible via firmware update?

CloseCall technique are out of the question as it needs additional hardware in a dedicated frequency counter chip.
Second option are SpectrumSweeper that search the frequencies super fast with reduce sensitivity but I have no idea of how Whistler does that and if it would need some hardware modifications, but are anyhow patented.

/Ubbe

ka1njl · Sep 8, 2018

advice needed

I think I did everything properly but it doesn't work so I could use some advice from those more experienced than me.

I made the cable as described above and checked for shorts and continuity to make sure I had wired it properly. I then set my Scout to capture mode, configured it for CI-V communication and plugged it into my R30. I then set the serial USB serial port function on the R30 to CI-V echo back on.

When I transmit with an HT the Scout displays the correct frequency but it does not tune the R30. I suspect this is operator error so any advice you can provide will be appreciated.

73

tumegpc · Sep 8, 2018

ka1njl said:
I think I did everything properly but it doesn't work so I could use some advice from those more experienced than me.

I made the cable as described above and checked for shorts and continuity to make sure I had wired it properly. I then set my Scout to capture mode, configured it for CI-V communication and plugged it into my R30. I then set the serial USB serial port function on the R30 to CI-V echo back on.

When I transmit with an HT the Scout displays the correct frequency but it does not tune the R30. I suspect this is operator error so any advice you can provide will be appreciated.

73

I don't remember changing any of these CI-V settings, here is what I have :
CI-V address- 9C
CI-V Baud Rate- Auto
CI-V Transceive- ON
CI-V USB/Bluetooth- 00

ka1njl · Sep 8, 2018

Thanks

Thanks tumegpc. I didn't have the CI-V transceive on but when I turned it on that didn't make a difference. I am in vfo mode with dual display. Is that correct?

Based on my experience this will end up being something silly that I am overlooking. Like the sequence in which I power on the two devices or some quirk on the Scout that I am missing. In the mean time it's sort of fun trouble shooting but I predict that fun will wane before long.

Reaction Tune with Opto Scout 40 & R30 Works !

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