Amplifier Band Switching

Amplifier Band Switching (Xiegu GPA100)

Kainos can tell a Xiegu GPA100 which band you're on, over Bluetooth, so the amp switches its filters by itself. Other amplifiers that follow an Icom radio over CI-V can work the same way.

Over Bluetooth the GPA100 only follows the band. Keep its ACC1 cable for PTT and ALC.

Setting it up

1. On the amp: hold AUTO, choose BLUETOOTH, press OK, then EXIT. Short-press AUTO until the display shows [A] (automatic band). The amp remembers both.
2. On the PC: in Kainos, open Setup > Serial / Network / Midi CAT > Amplifier (CI-V) and click Open Windows Bluetooth settings. Choose Add device, Bluetooth, pick XG_GPA100, and enter the PIN 0000.
3. Back in Kainos, click Find GPA100. Windows makes two COM ports for the amp; Kainos picks the right one (the outgoing port).
4. Tick Tell the amplifier the band and press OK or Apply.

The status line says Connected: the amp is following once the amp starts asking. Change band in Kainos and the amp's display follows within a second or so.

How it works

The GPA100 is the one asking: about ten times a second it asks "the radio" (it expects an Icom IC-705, CI-V address A4) for its frequency and whether it's transmitting. Kainos answers with:

• the transmit frequency: VFO B when you're in split, and with a transverter the HL2's own frequency (the amp is on the HL2's output);
• whether Kainos is transmitting (truthfully, but don't rely on it for T/R switching: that's what the ACC1 PTT line is for).

If the amp is switched off or goes out of range, Kainos keeps trying and picks it up again by itself.

If it doesn't work

• Find GPA100 says it isn't paired: pair it in Windows first (step 2).
• Status stays "Waiting for the amp": check the amp is on its BLUETOOTH channel and in [A] mode, and that it's the outgoing COM port (Find GPA100 picks it).
• Still stuck: tick Log the CI-V traffic, try again, and attach %APPDATA%\OpenHPSDR\Kainos-x64\KainosCivLog.txt to a bug report (Report a bug, top right of Kainos).

The GPA100 doesn't send power or SWR over Bluetooth, so Kainos can't show them from the amp.