I just got an 891 and the Digirig to go with it. Now I just need to figure out how to make my MacBook Air work with it. I can do it on windows but my old windows gaming laptop is doing well to get 2 hours on the battery. So far MacOS is winning but I'm gonna keep plugging away. Thanks for the great videos! Love your stuff.
Got my dr-891 the other day as well. Will be checking it out soon. Thanks for the video! Love the simplicity of these digirig devices and the quality of the cables and enclosure. 73
I don't own an 891, but I still found myself just as excited as you per being able to lose that spaghetti mess of wiring and other crap between the radio and computer. GOOD JOB OLD MAN!
@WilliamLee-eh6hy well if you want to get that picky about it sure it's one extra connection to the radio. But with the new digirig you only need 1 usb connection to the computer to have cat control and audio
Looking at the first three minutes of your video for the connecting to the radio itself, this really feels like a product that could be made with connectors on the side of the housing that are aligned with the sockets on the back of the radio, so that it is hooked on like a directly-connected dongle rather than as a remote peripheral. If they were to do that then they could leverage some screws on the case of the FT-891, like the ground lug and/or the top two rear case screws to hold it in place. It wouldn't need connector cables that way, only the USB cable to the computer. And that's assuming that it isn't installed *_internally_* by opening up the radio and connecting inside, even if cables have to come out through the side of the radio case to reach the connectors if there aren't internal headers available. Since this is for a specific model only, seems like a change to one of these form-factors would be very advantageous for customers.
I just use the lightning to usb on the iphone and one sound cable for iFTx to the 891 - don't need the digirig at all (unless you really want cat ctrl).
I got one of the early releases and it’s been flawless. I’ve done mobile FT-8 and activated US-2397 two weeks ago and will hopefully do it again this weekend.
I bought a digirig for my IC-706. It took a minute to figure out how to get the ptt to work, but got it done. I do get some RFI on 20m, but not sure about the other bands. Might pick up some ferrite beads to take care of it. The best thing is that the cables come with it and no need to track them down.
I love mine! I got an early one and I’ve been having fun doing FT8 at the new house I’m staying at far away from home. Easy to run the PackTenna EFHW off the back porch and pairs nicely with the 891 for sure.
I would have liked to see you transmit with it to ensure it was working properly. Also, I'm interested in your entire mobile digital setup, particularly WSJT-X setup for POTA and logging. Nice video! Thanks!
I got mine last weekend and used it for a POTA activation on Tuesday. It worked great. Using only one USB-C cable made my setup a lot easier. Also, with my old DigiRig I had to do the attenuator mod to keep the levels where I needed them. That wasn't necessary with the DR-891. It worked great right out of the box.
The receive rf gain should also aid in reducing the audio input to the digirig, if you run out of range with the computer control... Great Video, I've the digirig for the KX3 and your right they are the bomb. I'd previously built my own digirig, from a stripped down mini usb sound card, a tiny rs-232 to usb, and a tiny usb hub, I ripped off all the plastics, and hot glued them in a small enclosure, but it was about 5x bigger than the digi rig, but mine had leds (🙂 ) Thanks for that video... 73s
You can do it without 2, you just have to manually change the radio and do it without CAT control. but this is really cool. I may have to get one soon.
Interesting. I had to pull mine out to see what the connections are. Don't do hardly any digital in the field, but I see how this new design is better. Wish I could trade in mine for the new one!
Awesome! Too bad my wife doesn't see the necessity of this item. In time I will get one, I am sure they will sell out and be back ordered here in a few minutes. Thanks K8MRD !
It was backordered when I ordered it and it's backordered now. It's very new so he's trying to keep up with demand. It took about a month. No big deal. The QMX Mini I ordered from QRPLabs in May prob won't be here until around Nov-Dec so this was pretty quick compared to that. Good things come to those who wait.
I just configure WSJT-X to VOX and let the Signalink key up the radio on its own, so the USB connection to the FT-891 isn't entirely necessary. I also like the physical volume controls. That said, this is pretty tiny and I will try it out!
Digi Rig is awesome. I have outher radios and DiGi Rig came threw. easy setup and few cables. The only problem i had with DiGi Rig is getting the settings right for digital modes. verys a lot from radio to radio . I renamed my USB audio device to DiGi Rig so I know. I got my Talkpod doing some digital modes. radio is FM only. SSTV was fun on GMRS and MURS . All my cables from DiGi Rig came with ferrite already on them. The problem I had in the past FT8 was during transmit my PC would freeze up. need to totally reboot. and only did this on some bands and some antenna and only some parks. was odd. but simple FT 240-31 wrapp USB cable fixed this. This was ICOM 7300 using USB B to USB A cable . never had a RFI issue with DiGi Rig. and a ran 1KW FT8 and made 10 meter contacts with the band flat ! when bands good 50 watt or so does real well. For my end fed antenna counterpoise helps with RFI . but depends on type of antenna coax and what park. 73
Hey Mike, when doing POTA digital, what do u use for logging software and how do u upload it to POTA? Thanks Mike
3 месяца назад
I have a couple questions, will this interface allow other HF digital modes like PSK and packet?? Can you operate regular SSB voice with the cables still plugged in or do you have to disconnect them?? Can I still use my LDG auto tuner with its control cable plugged in or does the Digirig unit us that control connection?? My 891 is inside the dash of my truck and the control head is mounted on a plate where the FM radio used to be.. I am not against putting a toggle switch that swaps which device is connected but wonder what issues might occur switching back and forth..
In theory mine should show up today - definitely looking forward to having it. Hey Mike do you think you could do a video on the different ways to spot yourself when off-grid? I have been using a ZOLEO Iridium device to do it, but I recently heard about SOTAmat and then using your phone to "play" the FT8 codes through your radio (haven't tried that one yet). Plus I think there are other ways like APRS and maybe winlink email? Would be nice to have a consolidated video that covers the options.
Okay okay... I guess I'm going to have to learn something new lol. I'm sure you did a beginners video so I can get started with WSKT-X right? I'll look... thanks for keeping my interest piqued!
Hi, a new HAM here. Thank you for the very detailed video. BTW i have a question. I like both FT710 and FT891. i intended to use Radio with a external antenna tuner. In the FT-891, it is very difficult to change the power level to tune the antenna because of the complicated menu. Do you think the best solution for this is to set CW mode to 5W, and whenever we change the band, we can simply switch to CW for tuning and then change it back to SSB?" If that will work, can i know if i click on PTT does it transmit CW waves even without a Keyer ?
I assume you have external tuner not controlled by radio. Then turn on ATAAS mode tuner in your FT-891 setup menu. Then if you press PTT and up or down button on the mic you will get low power carrier good enough for any tuner.
I believe there's a usb hub inside this one, so the sound comes through usb as per regular digirig but the digirig also connects to the usb cat port and that is also carried over the one single usb lead. So two wires from digirig to radio and one from digirig to computer.
Can you send me the link where I can buy those adapters? I know the interface is on Amazon but I can't find the other cables. I will be very grateful 73
I had a problem with the CAT control. The radio kept shifting the frequency around. I changed "split mode" in wsjtx to rig instead of fake it and that seems to fix my problem.
My theory is that you don't have to change the band and frequency on the radio. Change band in WSJT-X and CAT will set the radio band and frequency. That certainly works on my 991A. I don't think that even Apple could mess this up.
Does your setup work longer than 10-20 minutes with WSJT-X? There are many stories of unsuccessful Digirig setup with M1 Mac (when the same box works perfect with windows or linux). After some longer period receiving audio gradually gets distorted, decoding ratio drops and you need to restart WSJT-X to fix it. Until the next time. As even chinese audio dongles works ok, it is unclear if the fault is on Digirig or Mac side. No permanent solution so far...
Yeah, I've sat in my car doing FT8 for a couple hours at a time with this setup. I have 3 Digirigs now and they all perform flawlessly. I've literally never had a single issue using Digirig on Mac or Winblows and I use them with the G90, FT-891, and FT-818. I would have to guess it's user error.
Can anyone help me with getting this setup for WInlink? When I plug the dr891 in I get both com ports. Enhanced and regular. I have cat control no problem on com 4. But when I try to set com3 as PTT in Vara radio setup it tells me Com3 is already in use. There are no other devices plugged in to my pc. I have tried this on multiple computers and they all do the same thing. What are the PTT settings supposed to be with the dr891? External??? Ft891??? This thing is on my last nerve!
I believe PPT is controlled on the 6 pin din. I just got my Digirig and haven't configured it yet but I read some where PPT is on the 6 pin din along with the sound. USB for strictly for mode/frequency etc.
Anyone tried this with FT8cn on a phone or tablet? I sometimes run my truSDX with a tablet running FT8cn using just the usb-c cable and it works great. Hoping for a similar set up with the 891 using this
The vide isn't out yet but I have never understood digirigs. They're just sound cards. Why not plug your radio directly into your computer/phone which have sound cards?
CAT control of the radio. That and not having system sounds from the computing device go out over the air is some setting is forgotten or mis-configured. And interfacing some older radios (such as my IC-706MKIIG) is much easier with a Digirig.
Not long after I received my original digirig, the dr-891 was announced. I haven't gotten around to deploying the original yet so I may just order the dr-891 and go for simplicity. WØRHP
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I just got an 891 and the Digirig to go with it. Now I just need to figure out how to make my MacBook Air work with it. I can do it on windows but my old windows gaming laptop is doing well to get 2 hours on the battery. So far MacOS is winning but I'm gonna keep plugging away.
Thanks for the great videos! Love your stuff.
I will be getting one of these for the 891 in my car!!! Thank you for sharing.
Got my dr-891 the other day as well. Will be checking it out soon. Thanks for the video! Love the simplicity of these digirig devices and the quality of the cables and enclosure. 73
I don't own an 891, but I still found myself just as excited as you per being able to lose that spaghetti mess of wiring and other crap between the radio and computer. GOOD JOB OLD MAN!
I've been a digi rig user since the earliest versions. Fantastic hardware. Worth every penny!
Yes they are
Got mine this week! Works exactly as advertised. The added CAT control makes a huge difference.
Great customer support over at Digirig as well.
Digirig is a fantastic and well-engineered device - I have them for my KX3 and RT-V71.
This is a cool new addition. Makes the 891 just as easy to use for digital as my 7300.
The 7300 requires one cable from computer to radio. The digirig requires three. That is "just as easy"?
@WilliamLee-eh6hy well if you want to get that picky about it sure it's one extra connection to the radio. But with the new digirig you only need 1 usb connection to the computer to have cat control and audio
I have had my digi rig since Huntsville last year and it works well same install as you. Love it.
Looking at the first three minutes of your video for the connecting to the radio itself, this really feels like a product that could be made with connectors on the side of the housing that are aligned with the sockets on the back of the radio, so that it is hooked on like a directly-connected dongle rather than as a remote peripheral. If they were to do that then they could leverage some screws on the case of the FT-891, like the ground lug and/or the top two rear case screws to hold it in place. It wouldn't need connector cables that way, only the USB cable to the computer.
And that's assuming that it isn't installed *_internally_* by opening up the radio and connecting inside, even if cables have to come out through the side of the radio case to reach the connectors if there aren't internal headers available.
Since this is for a specific model only, seems like a change to one of these form-factors would be very advantageous for customers.
It’s a great idea! I will be buy this one and Velcro it to the top of my radio, though.
I love how stupidly painless it was to get ft8 on my iphone with this thingy
Wait wut?
I just use the lightning to usb on the iphone and one sound cable for iFTx to the 891 - don't need the digirig at all (unless you really want cat ctrl).
Thank you for showing this. Bought it myself and is working into a load. I hope to try it during an activation this weekend.
That's awesome, and also awful that Yaesu didn't include the $3 of parts and circuitry that would have been required to just do it alongside USB CAT.
Well this will certainly make my field kit easier to manage. Thanks for this!
I got one of the early releases and it’s been flawless. I’ve done mobile FT-8 and activated US-2397 two weeks ago and will hopefully do it again this weekend.
I received mine at the beginning of the week. I run the same set up and it is awesome.
It really is!
I bought a digirig for my IC-706. It took a minute to figure out how to get the ptt to work, but got it done. I do get some RFI on 20m, but not sure about the other bands. Might pick up some ferrite beads to take care of it. The best thing is that the cables come with it and no need to track them down.
I love mine! I got an early one and I’ve been having fun doing FT8 at the new house I’m staying at far away from home. Easy to run the PackTenna EFHW off the back porch and pairs nicely with the 891 for sure.
I would have liked to see you transmit with it to ensure it was working properly. Also, I'm interested in your entire mobile digital setup, particularly WSJT-X setup for POTA and logging. Nice video! Thanks!
congratulations, waiting till December since someone will hand carry it for me here in the Philippines
I got mine last weekend and used it for a POTA activation on Tuesday. It worked great. Using only one USB-C cable made my setup a lot easier. Also, with my old DigiRig I had to do the attenuator mod to keep the levels where I needed them. That wasn't necessary with the DR-891. It worked great right out of the box.
I thought I recognized you Mr. Pezet. Welcome to the hobby!! Glad to see you are enjoying FT-8 and POTA.
@@chrisranes7964 It's a small world!
The receive rf gain should also aid in reducing the audio input to the digirig, if you run out of range with the computer control... Great Video, I've the digirig for the KX3 and your right they are the bomb. I'd previously built my own digirig, from a stripped down mini usb sound card, a tiny rs-232 to usb, and a tiny usb hub, I ripped off all the plastics, and hot glued them in a small enclosure, but it was about 5x bigger than the digi rig, but mine had leds (🙂 ) Thanks for that video... 73s
Nice, I got my DR891 a couple days ago!!! Sooo easy!!👍
You can do it without 2, you just have to manually change the radio and do it without CAT control. but this is really cool. I may have to get one soon.
Agreed - I only use one cable from my 891 to my laptop and do manual CAT
The signalink is like a 1200 baud modem vs a fiber optic cable - it works but it's old tech. LOVE my digirigs!
Just got mine in the mail as well. Looking forward to getting this into my POTA bag and dropping one cable.
I have both for 857d and the digirig is so nice.
Great video, as usual. I just ordered mine. Looking forward to ft8 with the ft-891!
Interesting. I had to pull mine out to see what the connections are. Don't do hardly any digital in the field, but I see how this new design is better. Wish I could trade in mine for the new one!
Great Video Mike!
And there I was thinking you where a RDIO Ham Operator now we see that you are a comp/lap top operater aaggggggg FT8 boy, Thanks, caio
Awesome! Too bad my wife doesn't see the necessity of this item. In time I will get one, I am sure they will sell out and be back ordered here in a few minutes.
Thanks K8MRD !
It was backordered when I ordered it and it's backordered now. It's very new so he's trying to keep up with demand. It took about a month. No big deal. The QMX Mini I ordered from QRPLabs in May prob won't be here until around Nov-Dec so this was pretty quick compared to that. Good things come to those who wait.
I have one for my FT857. I tested it and know it works but haven't done a lot with it yet.
I just configure WSJT-X to VOX and let the Signalink key up the radio on its own, so the USB connection to the FT-891 isn't entirely necessary. I also like the physical volume controls. That said, this is pretty tiny and I will try it out!
Mine came in the mail on Monday
Digi Rig is awesome. I have outher radios and DiGi Rig came threw. easy setup and few cables. The only problem i had with DiGi Rig is getting the settings right for digital modes. verys a lot from radio to radio . I renamed my USB audio device to DiGi Rig so I know. I got my Talkpod doing some digital modes. radio is FM only. SSTV was fun on GMRS and MURS . All my cables from DiGi Rig came with ferrite already on them. The problem I had in the past FT8 was during transmit my PC would freeze up. need to totally reboot. and only did this on some bands and some antenna and only some parks. was odd. but simple FT 240-31 wrapp USB cable fixed this. This was ICOM 7300 using USB B to USB A cable . never had a RFI issue with DiGi Rig. and a ran 1KW FT8 and made 10 meter contacts with the band flat ! when bands good 50 watt or so does real well. For my end fed antenna counterpoise helps with RFI . but depends on type of antenna coax and what park. 73
Another fine video. Could this be used with an Android phone with Polo for rig control, directing the FT891 to Pota/Sota spots? 🤔
Just ordered,thanks for this great video! Also did you build or buy your battery box, and what battery is in it? Thanks new Ham here!
I love to join & star working with Digipeaters -APRS etc, but I have 40 more years in this hobby- I am New radio operator- 👍 KE2AUM 73 guys 📡
Hi Mike,
When I get another 891, will be getting that DR-891 also. Stay safe. 73 WJ3U
Going on my Christmas list!!!
Awesome!
My laptop does not have USB-C ... Will this work with a USB-C to USB-A cable ??
Mike have you done a video on how to set up the 891 for using Winlink and WSJT-X
Oh I think I need to grab one of these …
great stuff mike! now i have to get this
yes you do!
Hey mike, what are you using as a longer whip for the ATAS? I have the standard whip but could definitely benefit from more antenna in the air
Hey Mike, when doing POTA digital, what do u use for logging software and how do u upload it to POTA? Thanks Mike
I have a couple questions, will this interface allow other HF digital modes like PSK and packet?? Can you operate regular SSB voice with the cables still plugged in or do you have to disconnect them?? Can I still use my LDG auto tuner with its control cable plugged in or does the Digirig unit us that control connection?? My 891 is inside the dash of my truck and the control head is mounted on a plate where the FM radio used to be.. I am not against putting a toggle switch that swaps which device is connected but wonder what issues might occur switching back and forth..
In theory mine should show up today - definitely looking forward to having it. Hey Mike do you think you could do a video on the different ways to spot yourself when off-grid? I have been using a ZOLEO Iridium device to do it, but I recently heard about SOTAmat and then using your phone to "play" the FT8 codes through your radio (haven't tried that one yet). Plus I think there are other ways like APRS and maybe winlink email? Would be nice to have a consolidated video that covers the options.
"1 USB CABLE TO RULE THEM ALL"...... Brilliant 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Okay okay... I guess I'm going to have to learn something new lol. I'm sure you did a beginners video so I can get started with WSKT-X right? I'll look... thanks for keeping my interest piqued!
Hi, a new HAM here. Thank you for the very detailed video. BTW i have a question. I like both FT710 and FT891. i intended to use Radio with a external antenna tuner. In the FT-891, it is very difficult to change the power level to tune the antenna because of the complicated menu. Do you think the best solution for this is to set CW mode to 5W, and whenever we change the band, we can simply switch to CW for tuning and then change it back to SSB?" If that will work, can i know if i click on PTT does it transmit CW waves even without a Keyer ?
I assume you have external tuner not controlled by radio. Then turn on ATAAS mode tuner in your FT-891 setup menu. Then if you press PTT and up or down button on the mic you will get low power carrier good enough for any tuner.
How is this different from the original DigiRig? I currently have a DigiRig for my FT-891. What does the new model offer over the old one?
I have the same question.
@@jandersonemtpwe might have to wait for a video from another Ytuber. Even the DigiRig website is not very clear about this matter.
Believe it gives you CAT control with just one cable connected to the computer/phone/tablet. This required two cables with the original.
I believe there's a usb hub inside this one, so the sound comes through usb as per regular digirig but the digirig also connects to the usb cat port and that is also carried over the one single usb lead. So two wires from digirig to radio and one from digirig to computer.
@@JohnR_ytbe yes. I looked into it a little more and found t adds CAT control through the digirig rather than a separate USB
I may have to pick me up one what is the price?
Hi brother. Thanks for great video! Can you explain if and how I can use this to set up Olivia digital mode? Thanks for any help!
I don't know anything about Olivia. I think Ham Radio Concepts has done some videos with that though.
Can you send me the link where I can buy those adapters? I know the interface is on Amazon but I can't find the other cables. I will be very grateful 73
I got it and it’s great!
I had a problem with the CAT control. The radio kept shifting the frequency around. I changed "split mode" in wsjtx to rig instead of fake it and that seems to fix my problem.
Does it work with VARA?
My theory is that you don't have to change the band and frequency on the radio. Change band in WSJT-X and CAT will set the radio band and frequency. That certainly works on my 991A. I don't think that even Apple could mess this up.
Yeah I don't know what I was thinking when filming this. I already knew that. I was just really excited to get this.
How much for the Dr891 👀
Can anyone tell me what's the correct baud rate needed for the FT-891? 19200 or 38400? 3:41 Thanks.
I'm in the UK... Tracking says mine is in the Country, hopefully a couple of days...
Does your setup work longer than 10-20 minutes with WSJT-X? There are many stories of unsuccessful Digirig setup with M1 Mac (when the same box works perfect with windows or linux). After some longer period receiving audio gradually gets distorted, decoding ratio drops and you need to restart WSJT-X to fix it. Until the next time. As even chinese audio dongles works ok, it is unclear if the fault is on Digirig or Mac side. No permanent solution so far...
Yeah, I've sat in my car doing FT8 for a couple hours at a time with this setup. I have 3 Digirigs now and they all perform flawlessly. I've literally never had a single issue using Digirig on Mac or Winblows and I use them with the G90, FT-891, and FT-818. I would have to guess it's user error.
Actually with old DigiRig you also can use only one USB-C cable
Can anyone help me with getting this setup for WInlink? When I plug the dr891 in I get both com ports. Enhanced and regular. I have cat control no problem on com 4. But when I try to set com3 as PTT in Vara radio setup it tells me Com3 is already in use. There are no other devices plugged in to my pc. I have tried this on multiple computers and they all do the same thing. What are the PTT settings supposed to be with the dr891? External??? Ft891??? This thing is on my last nerve!
I believe PPT is controlled on the 6 pin din. I just got my Digirig and haven't configured it yet but I read some where PPT is on the 6 pin din along with the sound. USB for strictly for mode/frequency etc.
The digrig mobile is that super tiny size as well
Can i do ft8 with the 891 with a mac book?
What kind of computer am I using in this video????
Looks like a mac, sorry to trouble you..
But why? The FT-891 got a USB-port for sound and CAT-control. 🤷🏻♂️
Anyone tried this with FT8cn on a phone or tablet? I sometimes run my truSDX with a tablet running FT8cn using just the usb-c cable and it works great. Hoping for a similar set up with the 891 using this
The vide isn't out yet but I have never understood digirigs. They're just sound cards. Why not plug your radio directly into your computer/phone which have sound cards?
CAT control of the radio. That and not having system sounds from the computing device go out over the air is some setting is forgotten or mis-configured. And interfacing some older radios (such as my IC-706MKIIG) is much easier with a Digirig.
Not long after I received my original digirig, the dr-891 was announced. I haven't gotten around to deploying the original yet so I may just order the dr-891 and go for simplicity. WØRHP