First, I did not know that the TxD and RxD lines were tied together. That means we are only using one pin of the 3 active pins, plus ground. I find that once I take the cable out of the radio, I DO get echo. That would insinuate that the data line is being grounded when plugged into the radio, so that no echo would come back.
It is certainly looking like a hardware problem, likely with the plug not going all the way in. Now the big question -- do I want to perform surgery on a VX-3?
I agree that we can rule out the chirp program at this point, and I certainly thank you for the efforts to get things going.
Thanks.
73,
Ken, W8EK
Dan Smith wrote, On 7/4/2011 6:41 PM:
Echo in HyperTerminal is a setting: File>> Properties>> Settings>> ASCII Setup>> "Echo characters typed locally".
Local echo should be *disabled* and you should *still* see echo.
The echo comes from the fact that these radios use a single pin for transmit and receive, and thus the TX and RX lines are tied together inside the radio. Since you see no echo and no data when you try to initiate the clone, something is wrong with hardware. Since you have two cables, it sure sounds like the radio. Since you said you tried two radios, it sounds like the serial port. Since you tried two serial ports... well, not sure what to say :)
However, we can rule out CHIRP here since you aren't getting the beginning of the clone message from the radio.