What RimuCAT does¶
RimuCAT is the radio control component of the RimuSDR suite. It translates the FlexRadio network protocol into the interfaces external software expects, and presents each one as a port that programs reach over TCP, UDP, a virtual serial port, or a real serial device.
This lets logging programs, digital-mode software, and automation tools control your radio from Linux.
One protocol, four transports¶
Every port pairs a protocol - the language it speaks - with a transport - how software reaches it.
| Transport | What it is |
|---|---|
| Virtual serial | A port RimuCAT creates, such as /tmp/ttyCAT0 |
| Hardware serial | An existing device such as /dev/ttyUSB0 |
| TCP | A listener on a port you choose |
| UDP | A datagram socket, used for N1MM+ spots |
Not every protocol offers every transport. See Port types for what each one supports.
Choosing a transport¶
TCP is the recommended method for modern software such as WSJT-X and N1MM+. Create a TCP listener on any port you choose, configure the external software as a FlexRadio 6xxx rig type, and point it at localhost and that port. Multiple TCP connections are supported at the same time.
Virtual serial ports are for software that only supports serial CAT, such as
Fldigi and older logging programs. RimuCAT creates a port that appears under
/dev/ or /tmp/ and behaves like a real serial device. Several virtual ports
can exist at once.
Next steps¶
- Connect RimuCAT to your radio.
- Create the port types your software needs.