Getting started

In comparison with many other ham radio logging programs, KComm is quite easy to use. Nevertheless, some aspects of the software may not be immediately apparent. Therefore it is recommended that you should read this section before starting to use the program. We will start at the top of the main window.

Radio status

The Radio Status panel

The Radio status panel shows the UTC time, frequency (MHz), mode, whether RIT/XIT or SPLIT are on, status (RX or TX) and signal strength. Note that the program's S meter readings may not correspond exactly with those of the radio.

Frequency control

KComm is not designed to be used as a remote-control application, but it is possible to operate the most essential features of the radio using only the program interface. You can change frequency by clicking with the mouse on the digits of the frequency display. Clicking on the top half of a digit will increment its value by 1; clicking on the lower half will decrement it.

KComm can also respond to keystrokes generated by a Griffin PowerMate USB knob to tune the radio. However, this only works whilst KComm is in the foreground. For a better solution that can be used when other applications are in the foreground, and even with other ham radio applications, see KTune.

Connecting to the radio

KComm does not try to connect to the radio immediately it starts, in order to avoid annoying error messages when you change your serial port configuration or the radio is not switched on.

KComm may used when it is not connected to the radio to manually add contacts to the log file. It can also be used as a logging program by Fldigi or gMFSK, when the latter has control of the radio. Under Microsoft Windows it is possible to set up a virtual serial port connector to allow both KComm and other software to connect simultaneously to the radio. This is recommended to allow the greatest functionality.

When you wish to begin operating, turn on your K2 or K3 (which should be connected to your computer's serial port, of course) and click the Connect button.

Note: Before connecting to the radio for the first time, various settings need to be set up, which you do by clicking the Settings button. The various Settings options are described separately.


Next page: Logging