Optocom

[wa1emt]

just send an email to the makers of the software for the optocom ( signal intelligence ) and it was bounced back.
If they are out of business can anyone please let me know.
I need software for the Optocom but since there is no way to get the registration code, its inda useless.

 

[ra7850]

just send an email to the makers of the software for the optocom ( signal intelligence ) and it was bounced back.
If they are out of business can anyone please let me know.
I need software for the Optocom but since there is no way to get the registration code, its inda useless.

There website was not loading properly when I tested it, but it finally loaded. Can't say one way or the other the status of their business.

Optoelectronics, Inc.

Manufacturer for 40 years of high quality RF Test Equipment, Counter Surveillance Equipment, Frequency Counters, TSCM and Bug Detection Equipment.

www.optoelectronics.com

Contact Information:
Optoelectronics, Inc.

885 Woodstock Rd.
Ste. #430-521
Roswell, GA 30075
Tel: 954-642-8997
Fax: 954-636-3533
sales@optoelectronics.com

Robert

 

[KC1UA]

If you can resurrect a PC that has MSDOS then Probe was always the best software for the Optocom. Probe Software for Optocom and Optoscan OS456 / OS535 equipped scanner radios.

I think the last viable version of Windows that could handle Probe without all kinds of grief was Windows 98, via the DOS prompt. A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, but it still remains the best option for that receiver. Wish I still had one!

 

[wa1emt]

all i want to do is set it to scan milair but i dont think probe will do that.
id settle for a hacked version of spectrum commander at this point.

 

[n2pqq]

Try this
https://www.hamradio.hanklambert.com/my-gear/radios/optocom-sdr

 

[Ubbe]

I used to have probe scan some key channels and when a 140MHz milair channel became active, that was the airport tower frequency, it triggered probe to open up a scan list that began to scan all of the known vhf and uhf milair channels. It's a genius piece of software.

/Ubbe

 

[mikeb]

I have a OPTOCOM unit that I am trying get backing working. I have my copy of PROBE do I also have to have the Optoelectronics Receiver Utility installed for it to work?

 

[wa8pyr]

all i want to do is set it to scan milair but i dont think probe will do that.
id settle for a hacked version of spectrum commander at this point.

Yes, Probe will do it, and KC1UA has it right; Probe is still the best. It uses a true database engine and is very speedy.

You would have to set up the mil air frequencies in the database, but once they're there you're all set.

 

[morfis]

I have a OPTOCOM unit that I am trying get backing working. I have my copy of PROBE do I also have to have the Optoelectronics Receiver Utility installed for it to work?

No. Probe is fully functional in it's own right with regard to controlling the Optocom (and OptoScan boards).
If you want to add channels to the Optocom memory you might need to use the Optoelectronics utility - I've never bothered as the real power comes from Probe

 

[N8YX]

I just bought Optocom #3 a couple of days ago.

Had gotten two of them a year or so back. Those are run as the primary receiver in a master/secondary arrangement through Spectrum Commander IX; handoff-analysis receivers are R-7000s.

The new arrival will be paired with the third R-7000 in my lineup or will go on the road with me, alongside a PCR-1000. The controller PC (a VESA form factor micro w/ lots of I/O) is roughly the same size as the Optocom receiver. Yes, the package isn't as elegant as a modern-day SDR but the receivers do work.

With regards to Probe: I have both versions (for the Opto and for the PCR-1000). At times I'll fire up a couple DOS VMs on this system (which has 5 serial ports) and run the various Probe installations from them. The software works well, and once you get the comm port setup dialed in the arrangement performs nicely. Definitely recommended from this end. I'll likely repeat this configuration with the portable unit, along with XP VMs containing Spectrum Commander, the OEM Icom Bonito s/w package and whatever else I can find for the radios in terms of software.

A tiny bit off-topic, but Optoelectronics related: There's also a Pro-2035/OS-535 scanner in the inventory which may get pressed into service as a search receiver for one of the R-7000s. I was using it for CivAir/MilAir searches with Probe and the setup compared favorably to my Optocoms.

 

[wa8pyr]

A tiny bit off-topic, but Optoelectronics related: There's also a Pro-2035/OS-535 scanner in the inventory which may get pressed into service as a search receiver for one of the R-7000s. I was using it for CivAir/MilAir searches with Probe and the setup compared favorably to my Optocoms.

If I recall correctly, the Optocom is essentially the same radio as the Pro-2035/2042, just minus the display and keypad and with the OS535 board pre-installed. I thought about getting one years back, but since I already had (and still have) a Pro-2035/OS535 combo, decided it was overkill.

What do you use for DOS virtual machines? I've tried DOSbox but couldn't get the comm port to work right with Probe. I've since moved to Rufus DOS on a thumb drive but of course that requires rebooting the machine.

 

[N8YX]

What do you use for DOS virtual machines? I've tried DOSbox but couldn't get the comm port to work right with Probe. I've since moved to Rufus DOS on a thumb drive but of course that requires rebooting the machine.

DOSEMU, DOSbox and FreeDOS. I'd have to dig back into my setup to see what I did to configure DOSbox - will update the thread next time I do.

 

[KC1UA]

This actually rekindles my interest in this setup, and I'm contemplating trying to find a used one (or a PRO-2042 with OS535 board). I had about 3 of these running at once with Probe 7 back in the day. One used to scan conventional frequencies for my area and the other two were primarily used for searching. I remember with tweaking you could get the speeds up to about 95-100 channels per second which at the time was pretty respectable. I loved the display, the fast CTCSS and DCS decoding, and the way the software could for lack of a better explanation on my part "drill down" when certain frequencies became active and as such activate another set of frequencies that might be relevant only during an emergency.

One thing these days with the bandplans for VHF-HI and UHF now having splinter frequencies, I'm not sure how or if Probe would be able to handle such things, i.e. 156.2175 on VHF, or one of the 6.25 KHz splits on UHF. I used to love to have Probe rip through both bands during tropospheric ducting band openings and log all of the hits. Probe was fun and deep yet easy to use, and IMHO never even approached by any radio control software to this day. I suppose the closest thing these days might be the fast scanner plug-in for SDR#, speed-wise anyway.

Can anyone comment as to whether the splinter frequencies can be handled or if it would just round off? I'm guessing the latter.

 

[N8YX]

Can anyone comment as to whether the splinter frequencies can be handled or if it would just round off? I'm guessing the latter.

Next time I fire Probe, SC-IX or ScanCAT Gold up I'll play around with each and see. There may be an .ini file setting which controls step size.

 

[wa8pyr]

This actually rekindles my interest in this setup, and I'm contemplating trying to find a used one (or a PRO-2042 with OS535 board). I had about 3 of these running at once with Probe 7 back in the day. One used to scan conventional frequencies for my area and the other two were primarily used for searching. I remember with tweaking you could get the speeds up to about 95-100 channels per second which at the time was pretty respectable. I loved the display, the fast CTCSS and DCS decoding, and the way the software could for lack of a better explanation on my part "drill down" when certain frequencies became active and as such activate another set of frequencies that might be relevant only during an emergency.

One thing these days with the bandplans for VHF-HI and UHF now having splinter frequencies, I'm not sure how or if Probe would be able to handle such things, i.e. 156.2175 on VHF, or one of the 6.25 KHz splits on UHF. I used to love to have Probe rip through both bands during tropospheric ducting band openings and log all of the hits. Probe was fun and deep yet easy to use, and IMHO never even approached by any radio control software to this day. I suppose the closest thing these days might be the fast scanner plug-in for SDR#, speed-wise anyway.

Can anyone comment as to whether the splinter frequencies can be handled or if it would just round off? I'm guessing the latter.

Yes, it does. I tried to put in 160.2225 (7.5 kHz split) and 460.01875 (6.25 kHz) and it rounded off. On VHF it rounds off to something that was so close to the next frequency that it's not worth the trouble.

 

[KC1UA]

Yes, it does. I tried to put in 160.2225 (7.5 kHz split) and 460.01875 (6.25 kHz) and it rounded off. On VHF it rounds off to something that was so close to the next frequency that it's not worth the trouble.

Thought that would be the case. Rats. Thanks for checking, Tom.

 

[wa8pyr]

Thought that would be the case. Rats. Thanks for checking, Tom.

No problemo.

Public safety around me is all trunked now (all sharing Ohio MARCS), but I still use my 2035/535 for air band/mil air and railroad searches (more the former than the latter). If I had a waterway navigable by anything larger than a canoe or kayak nearby, I'd search the marine frequencies too.

 

[N8YX]

Public safety around me is all trunked now (all sharing Ohio MARCS), but I still use my 2035/535 for air band/mil air and railroad searches (more the former than the latter). If I had a waterway navigable by anything larger than a canoe or kayak nearby, I'd search the marine frequencies too.

Likewise. One Optocom/R-7000 pair in use here currently runs railroad searches, another pair looks at VHF marine stuff. A cut-down Cushcraft 13B2 mounted at height and pointed towards Cleveland (or Cincinnati, if in the southern part of the state) would net a lot of traffic from the port areas. Similarly, point a directional antenna towards Cleveland, New Castle and Willard for all the RR yard and mainline stuff.

My MARCS monitoring is currently done with a pair of BCD-996XTs and Pro-Scan. I may add a pair of SDS-200s and an R-8600 into that lineup some day.

 

[N8YX]

DOSEMU, DOSbox and FreeDOS. I'd have to dig back into my setup to see what I did to configure DOSbox - will update the thread next time I do.

I just set up a new mini-PC (Shuttle DS-61) for computer-controlled scanning. The OS is Linux Mint 19.3; I installed the latest DosBox (0.74.0) and followed the guidelines on the Probe "Resources and Links" section.

With one exception: Rather than changing the ownership of the ports, I added my logged-in user to dialout.

The DS-61 has two serial and a bunch of USB ports. I added both physical serial ports to dosbox.conf and set the speed of each using the stty command (as commented on Probe's Resources page). If the settings aren't persistent between reboots I'll look into a shell script that sets port parameters then launches DosBox.

The new PC has both ProbeV7 and Probe1K installed; a PCR-1000 is attached to COM1 while the Optocom gets COM2. In DOS mode I run one or the other, and the Optocom configuration tool also works as intended through DosBox.

VirtualBox 6.1.32 is installed and a number of VMs including FreeDOS 1.2 (copied from the system I'm replying with) reside on the drive. I've tested Spectrum Commander IX, ScanCat Gold, Icom's PCR-1000 program and a few other utilities on the platform. All see either receiver and control them without issue. The USB ports will be used to attach USB sound cards or USB-serial devices for additional I/O.

Next is WSJT-X and other ham-related s/w, though this kit isn't intended for full-blown transceiver operation. It's more of a portable data-gathering platform.

 

[wa8pyr]

I just set up a new mini-PC (Shuttle DS-61) for computer-controlled scanning. The OS is Linux Mint 19.3; I installed the latest DosBox (0.74.0) and followed the guidelines on the Probe "Resources and Links" section.

With one exception: Rather than changing the ownership of the ports, I added my logged-in user to dialout.

The DS-61 has two serial and a bunch of USB ports. I added both physical serial ports to dosbox.conf and set the speed of each using the stty command (as commented on Probe's Resources page). If the settings aren't persistent between reboots I'll look into a shell script that sets port parameters then launches DosBox.

The new PC has both ProbeV7 and Probe1K installed; a PCR-1000 is attached to COM1 while the Optocom gets COM2. In DOS mode I run one or the other, and the Optocom configuration tool also works as intended through DosBox.

VirtualBox 6.1.32 is installed and a number of VMs including FreeDOS 1.2 (copied from the system I'm replying with) reside on the drive. I've tested Spectrum Commander IX, ScanCat Gold, Icom's PCR-1000 program and a few other utilities on the platform. All see either receiver and control them without issue. The USB ports will be used to attach USB sound cards or USB-serial devices for additional I/O.

Next is WSJT-X and other ham-related s/w, though this kit isn't intended for full-blown transceiver operation. It's more of a portable data-gathering platform.

OK, I'll fiddle with the settings; I usually use my Toughbook CF-30 (which does have an honest-to-gosh serial port), but I'd rather run DOSBox on the Mac Mini I use for radio stuff (27" Apple Cinema Display). I've got an Edgeport/4 hooked up to the Mac which handles my Winradio and my Ten-Tec RX-320; easy enough to hook the 2035 up to one of the other ports.