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IC 9700 Native Connectivity

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Kevin edited this page Oct 23, 2026 · 2 revisions

IC-9700 Native Connectivity

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Pi-Sat connects to the IC-9700 over the radio's LAN interface. Native control, spectrum, receive audio, microphone audio, and PTT share one managed radio session.

Connection ownership

Enable the native IC-9700 connector only when Pi-Sat is the sole application controlling that radio connection. While native control is enabled, other Hamlib connectors in Pi-Sat are unavailable. Do not run another controller against the same radio session.

In the Native IC-9700 experience, select Radio on the top toolbar to connect or disconnect. The radio console is on Home. Changing configuration or starting Pi-Sat does not connect automatically. Legacy mode does not show this native radio control or the Modules menu.

Receive and microphone audio

Listening audio and microphone audio use separate browser connections. A microphone interruption does not stop receive audio, and an RX connection failure does not block the microphone path.

The browser sends microphone audio while capture is active, but Pi-Sat forwards it to the radio only while PTT is commanded. Releasing PTT discards buffered microphone audio so it cannot carry into the next transmission. A paced digital transmission, such as an APRS burst, has exclusive use of the transmit buffer.

The LAN transmit stream uses 20 ms mono LPCM16 frames at the configured sample rate. The radio's advertised audio capability and the configured rate are shown in the log when the connection starts. Review warnings about unavailable transmit audio before changing the rate.

PTT safety

Pi-Sat confirms key-up with the radio and releases PTT when the microphone session ends, the browser leaves, the radio connection closes, or Pi-Sat shuts down. If the radio cannot confirm release, the console reports tx_unconfirmed. Treat that state as a possible live carrier and check the radio directly.

These safeguards do not replace the radio's own transmit timeout. Do not use browser-controlled PTT for unattended transmission.

Radio audio configuration

The IC-9700 selects its modulation source separately from PTT. For browser or APRS transmit audio, set both DATA OFF MOD and DATA MOD to LAN and choose an appropriate LAN modulation level in the Home console's Advanced Settings. Pi-Sat reads these settings before an APRS transmission and refuses to key when they would produce a silent carrier.

Receive audio can be MAIN, SUB, or Both. Stereo native audio carries MAIN on the left and SUB on the right. SUB and Both require a stereo stream. Listening selection also controls which side the spectrum follows; it does not change the radio's operating MAIN/SUB or A/B selection.

Troubleshooting

  • If control works but receive audio is silent, confirm the listening side, Dualwatch state, radio AF gain, and the configured sample rate.
  • If PTT works but transmitted audio is silent, confirm the radio's LAN modulation source and LAN modulation level.
  • If the console reports tx_unconfirmed, release PTT at the radio and restore the connection before transmitting again.
  • If commands time out, make sure no other application owns the radio session and review journalctl -u pi-sat -n 100 --no-pager.
  • If audio is intermittent while control remains connected, use the audio buffer counters described in Radio Audio and Scope Performance.

Limitations

  • Native IC-9700 connectivity is LAN-only.
  • One Pi-Sat native session owns radio control, scope, audio, and PTT.
  • Split operation and SAT mode are not enabled by the native console.
  • There is no hardware watchdog independent of the radio and Pi-Sat.

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