Connecting The Sound Card; Connecting The Radio - Tigertronics SignaLink Installation & Operation Manual

be powered by the "Accessory Voltage" found on the
microphone connector of most radios. If Accessory Voltage
is not available from the radio, then power can be supplied
through a 2.1mm power jack on the rear of the unit.
Powering From Your Radio – To determine if the
SignaLink can be powered from your radio, you will need to
check the "pin-out" of your radio's mic connector in the
radio Operators Manual. Most radios have a small amount
of power available (typically 8v@10ma) for microphone
accessories (DTMF pad, LEDs, etc.). If your manual shows
this voltage is available on a mic pin, then you can skip now
to the "Connecting The Radio" section. That section will
cover making the actual power connection. If power is not
available on the radio mic connector then you have a couple
of other easy options for powering the SignaLink.
The first option would be to obtain power from whatever 12
volt supply powers your radio. To do this you will need to
make a short cable from that power supply to the external
power jack on the back of the SignaLink. The jack requires
a 2.1mm/5.5mm power plug. We have provided this plug in
our installation kit for your convenience. You will need to
wire the plug to your power supply in the appropriate
manner. The polarity of the plug should be center positive.
Be sure to wire the plug with the correct polarity and be sure
to install a fuse in the line for safety.
The second option for powering the SignaLink is to use a
Wall Transformer. This is the quick and easy solution but it
does require an outlet. If you choose this option, you will
need to select a transformer with an appropriate rating. A
common problem in selecting wall transformers is that they
almost always put out more voltage than you expect. This is
because they are rated for output voltage at a specific load
current. If the load on the transformer is below the rated
load, then the voltage output will be higher than the rated
output. Under a light load, it is not uncommon for wall
transformers to provide twice their rated output voltage!
This means that a typical 12 volt transformer might put out
as much as 25 volts under little or no load, which would
exceed the SignaLink input voltage ratings. Because of the
very light load (10ma) provided by the SignaLink, you will
need to select a transformer with a rated voltage well under
12 volts. We would recommend a 6 volt transformer with a
low current rating. Below are some transformer sources that
are appropriate.
Radio Shack P/N 273-1758 (6v 300ma). You will also need
the 2.1mm (5.5mm OD) adapter plug P/N 273-1716.
Mouser Electronics (1-800-346-6873): P/N 412-106054.
(6v 500ma). Mouser also has a 9 Volt 200ma wall
transformer (P/N: 412-109024) that will work.
Digikey (1-800-344-4539):
DPD090020-P5-TC. These are both 9 Volt 200 ma units
that will work fine.
P/N DPD090020-P-5 or

- CONNECTING THE SOUND CARD -

The SignaLink connects to the sound card through two
shielded audio cables with 3.5mm stereo connectors.
Connect one cable from the jack labeled "Computer –
SPKR" on the SignaLink to the jack labeled "Speaker
Output" on your sound card. Connect the other cable from
the jack labeled "Computer – MIC" on the SignaLink to the
"Microphone lnput" on the sound card.
Note that if you normally have speakers connected to your
sound card and want to keep them connected while the
SignaLink is installed, you will need to use a stereo "Y"
adapter cable on the sound card output. We have supplied a
"Y" adapter in our Optional Accessory Kit for your
convenience. IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not recommend
the use of a "Y" adapter unless you are using "amplified"
speakers. Conventional speakers often times cause slight
overloading of the sound card output, which results in minor
distortion. This distortion is generally not noticeable to your
ear but can greatly impact the quality of some digital
modulation signals like PSK-31. It is generally preferred not
to leave the speakers connected unless they can be switched
OFF when not in use. You will find most of the digital
modulation schemes very loud and very annoying anyway!

- CONNECTING THE RADIO -

CAUTION – Before connecting the SignaLink to your radio,
read this entire section thoroughly. Both the SignaLink and
your radio can be damaged by improper installation.
The SignaLink attaches to the radio through an 8-pin RJ-45
connector located on the rear of the unit. A radio cable with
the appropriate Mic connector for your radio was supplied
with the SignaLink for this purpose. One end of this cable
plugs into the SignaLink's "RADIO" connector and the other
end plugs into the radio's microphone connector. This cable
brings all of the radio's microphone lines into the SignaLink,
so that you can connect to any line that is required. The
SignaLink uses the radio's Ground, PTT, Speaker Output,
Mic Input and Accessory Voltage (power) lines. Because
the location of these signals on the Mic connector varies
from radio to radio, we have provided a "Microphone
Programming Socket" (see JP-1 in Figure-3).
Programming Socket provides a convenient way to route the
various signals to the correct pin on the mic connector. This
is accomplished with "press-in" jumper wires so no soldering
is required.
Since the Programming Socket is a standard DIP-16 format,
you can also use a Dip Header Module for programming
rather than wires.
soldering but does have the advantage that the resulting
"module" can be quickly changed to re-configure for
different radios. The Header Modules are available from
Tigertronics and other suppliers like DigiKey and Mouser.
Signal Lines – Every installation requires connecting to at
least three of the mic connector pins. These are Mic Input,
PTT, and Ground. On many radios there are actually two
2
This "module" approach requires
The