ARDOP_PTC.exe is a version of ardopc that uses a serial interface to the host instead of the TCP interface of the standard version. The serial interface can emulate an SCS Dragon controller, allowing programs that don't support ardop but support the Dragon (such as Winlink Express or Airmail) to use ardop.
ARDOP_PTC uses a BPQ Virtual COM port to connect to the
application. To install this download http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Downloads/CAT7200.zip
and unzip to a convenient folder.
Create a virtual COM port.
Note that there are separate versions for 32bit and 64bit Windows, in
the VCOM32 and VCOM64 subdirectories - make sure you install the right
one.
For Installation on Windows XP, see intructions here.
To Install on a Windows 8 or Windows 10 64 bit system you must reboot
with advanced options to disable driver signature
enforcement.
With Windows 7 and above, you should be able to install the driver by
right clicking on InstallBPQVCOM.exe (or InstallBPQVCOM32.exe if 32
bit) and selecting "Run as Administrator". If that fails, follow these intructions.
Use Device manager to identify the COM port number allocated to your
Virtual COM Port.
ARDOP_PTC is a command line program. The first paramter is the port nunmber of the BPQ Virtual COM port. If you don't specify any other paramters it will use the first available capture and playback device. So if the Virtual port is COM4, you'd run
ARDOP_PTC 4
You can add command line parameters to specify capture device and playback device. When you start the program it will list all the sound devices so you can select the right one. So to use the second device in the list you would specify
ARDOP_PTC 4 1 1
The TNC supports PTT using the RTS line of a serial
port This is specifed as the 4th parameter, eg
ARDOP_PTC 4 1 1 COM1;
The program writes a debug log as well as debugging information to the
program console.
As there isn't a GUI, setting the sound card levels can be tricky. The
program displays the peak input level every 10 seconds. The program
works with signed 16 bit samples, so the values will be in the range
-32768 to 32767. Clipping will cause distortion, so it is import to
keep away form the limits. I've found in practice that it will work
down to quite low levels, but try to keep in the range +-20000.
The software can be downloaded from
http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Downloads/Beta/ARDOP_PTC.exe