BCT15 Serial port connection problems.

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Tarl_Templar

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Greetings. I recieved this new unit yesterday. I hooked up the enclosed serial connection cable to my computer's COM1 port. Using either Butel ARC 15 or BCtool I get an "Unable to iniatilise serial port" message when I try to connect. Device manager tells me the COM1 port is functioning properly and it's drivers are current. I honestly don't know what to do here. I set the BCT15's baud rate to 115K. Is there anything else I'm not doing with the unit in the way of setting it up for programming that I'm missing and would cause this message? Thanks. -Bob
 

spooney

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A USB serial port adapter usually works best. Are you just using the DB9 serial port on your computer?
 
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spooney

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Tarl_Templar said:
I'm not sure what you mean by DB9.

DB9 is what's on the big end of the cable that comes with the scanner. DB9 serial ports usually run at 9600 baud rate. Try setting the scanner to 9600 and let ARC15 AUTO DETECT scanner.
 
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Tarl_Templar

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Still nothing. I think I'm going to have to buy the USB cable that should have been included with this unit to begin with.
 

ka3jjz

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Dumb question, since I didn't see it here - did you set up the baud rate on the scanner's port? And if memory serves, you have to specifically state which port will be used for the GPS and which for the PC....73 Mike
 
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lugoffman

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ka3jjz said:
Dumb question, since I didn't see it here - did you set up the baud rate on the scanner's port? And if memory serves, you have to specifically state which port will be used for the GPS and which for the PC....73 Mike

I was going to say the same thing cause I had the same problem with this bc296d and that was my problem I was setting it on the program but not on my radio and it drove me nuts untill someone told me to set it on the radio and sure enough it worked. GOOD LUCK !!!
 

R1VINCE

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open your bctool and go to the options tab--

go to the serial port/network connection

at the bottom lefthand corner, it should have a button named " DETECT SCANNER"

if you push that, and it doesnt detect the scanner, than your COM1 is bad.

I had the same EXACT problem you had. I ended up using freescan instead.
 

UPMan

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While not impossible, it is fairly unusual for the RS232 port to be assigned to COM 1 (this is usually, but not always, reserved for a modem). You might also check to see if there are any other COM ports available for selection. If there are not, I'd also check your BIOS settings to be sure all available COM ports are enabled.
 
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