Radio connection method

A method for using a standard cable to replace the proprietary cables currently used to connect radio components. The invention also includes the hardware provided to carry out the method. A pair of jumper boxes are provided. Each jumper box contains a control jack, a microphone jack, an audio jack, and a VGA jack. The control and microphone jacks are not directly connected to the VGA jack. Instead, the control and microphone jacks are connected to certain pins within a jumper pin array. The VGA jack is connected to other pins within the same jumper pin array. The user can place jumpers within the jumper pin array to connect selected pins within the control and microphone jacks to selected pins within the VGA jack. The two jumper boxes are connected using the VGA cable. One jumper box is connected to the radio, and the other jumper box is then connected to the remote components.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of communications. More specifically, the invention comprises a method for using an inexpensive VGA cable to connect a variety of different radio devices, along with the hardware used to carry out the method.

2. Description of the Related Art

The present invention has application to a wide variety of communication equipment. However, is it particularly suited to the field of amateur radio.FIG. 1shows the major components of an amateur radio (excluding the antenna assembly). Radio10contains most of the electronics, including the transmitter and receiver. The user controls were traditionally mounted on the same housing. However—in recent years—many units feature a separate control panel which may be mounted on the housing or mounted separately. This separate panel is known as a “control head.”

FIG. 1shows such a configuration. Control head12is separate from radio10. The control head contains knobs, message displays, input keys, etc. In most units, it contains all the elements a user needs to control the functions of the radio. Thus, the control head and the radio must be connected via a communication cable. Control cable18serves this purpose. The illustration shows a typical control cable. Amateur radio manufactures generally use one or more “registered jacks” to connect transmitter/receiver (“transceiver”) units to microphones and remotely located controls. The term “registered jack” (“RJ”) is a consequence of Bell System's requirement to offer competitors access to telephone systems in offices and homes. RJ standard jacks provide a method of interconnecting data or telecommunications devices to service providers. Although technically “RJ” refers to jacks, the term applies currently to both plugs and jacks.

Initially, RJ modular connections were named RJ11, RJ12, RJ21, RJ41, etc. However, they differed only in the number of positions and conductors. The RJ12 jack has six positions and six conductors and is often identified as “6P6C.” The RJ11, which is physically identical to the RJ12, has only four conductors and is identified as 6P4C. Jacks are downward compatible with plugs having fewer positions. Thus, a 6P6C jack physically accommodates 4P4C plugs. However, only the inner 4 conductors of a 6P6C jack are connected to the 4P4C conductors. Similarly, an 8P8C jack accommodates 6P and 4P plugs. Because plugs with fewer positions fit into 8P8C jacks, an RJ jack with eight positions and eight conductors is ideal for interconnecting amateur radio devices that use 4P4C, 6P6C, and 8P8C plugs and jacks.

The de facto standard 8P8C jack is usually referred to as an RJ45, and that is the term this document will use to identify jacks48and50inFIG. 4. Thus, hereinafter, “RJ45” is defined as an 8P8C registered jack that accommodates registered jacks with fewer positions and/or conductors. Most amateur radio transceivers utilize RJ45 jacks, as defined in this paragraph, to connect microphones and control heads to transceivers.

First female RJ45 jack24is provided on radio10inFIG. 1. This receives the first male RJ45 plug32on control cable18. The opposite end of control cable18terminates in second male RJ45 plug34. This plugs into second female RJ45 jack30on control head12. Thus, the user may locate control head12remotely from radio10by linking the two components with control cable18.

There is no standard in the amateur radio industry for the function or even the number of conductors used in cable18. Each manufacturer wires its cables independently of other manufacturers and, in fact, varies the wiring of connecting cables within its own product lines. Thus—referring back to FIG.1—a control cable18furnished by one manufacturer to connect its control head to its radio will likely not work for a second manufacturer's radio or even a different radio in its own product line. Manufacturers will use the available pins on the RJ45 for different purposes, and to connect one radio's cables to another radio is not only likely to fail, but may seriously damage the radio.

Microphone cable20is likewise not standardized within the industry. It is connected to radio10by plugging third male RJ45 plug36into third female RJ45 jack26on radio10. This allows microphone14to be located a desired distance away from radio10. However, a microphone cable20from one manufacturer will likely not function with components furnished from a different manufacturer.

An example of the lack of standardization is provided by considering the pinouts the microphone RJ45 jacks of two specific radios offered by two prominent manufacturers within the industry—Yaesu and Kenwood. For the Yaesu and Kenwood models, the pin functions are as follows:

From these two examples, one may easily perceive how using one manufacturer's cable on another manufacturer's product could cause many problems, including, in this case, destroying both microphones by applying voltages incorrectly.

The only standardized connection typically involves speaker16, which is connected to radio10using speaker cable22. The speaker cable22is connected by plugging male audio plug38into female audio jack28.

The arrangement shown inFIG. 1is now common for mobile amateur radio stations. The bulkiest item is radio10, which requires connections for both high-current voltage and an antenna. Therefore, it is desirable to locate it remotely while keeping the components with which the user interacts (microphone14, control head12, and speaker16) close by. Radio manufacturers provide kits for this purpose. Each kit would typically contain a control cable18, microphone cable20, and speaker cable22.

FIG. 2shows how such a remote location kit would be used to install an amateur radio in a car40. Radio10is mounted in trunk42, where its bulk does not present a problem. Control head12, microphone14, and speaker16are mounted near the vehicle's dash in a position that is convenient for the driver. These three components are then independently connected to radio10using control cable18, microphone cable20, and speaker cable22.

Since the three cables needed are proprietary items sold by each manufacturer, they are often relatively expensive. In addition, if the user changes to another type of radio, at least the microphone cable and control cable must be removed and replaced with different types. It would be preferable to provide a system for standardizing the cables used for remotely locating a radio. The present invention provides just such a solution.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a method for using a standard cable to replace the proprietary cables currently used to connect radio components. The invention also includes the hardware provided to carry out the method. A pair of jumper boxes are provided. Each jumper box contains a control jack, a microphone jack, an audio jack, and a VGA jack. The control and microphone jacks are not directly connected to the VGA jack. Instead, the control and microphone jacks are connected to certain pins within a jumper pin array. The VGA jack is connected to other pins within the same jumper pin array. The user can place jumpers within the jumper pin array to connect selected pins within the control and microphone jacks to selected pins within the VGA jack.

The microphone, speaker, and control head are connected to the first of the pair of jumper boxes using standard non-proprietary cables. A conventional VGA cable is used to connect the first jumper box to the second jumper box. The second jumper box is then connected to the radio using standard non-proprietary cables (with appropriate jumper placements being made in the jumper array within the second jumper box as well). The use of the selectively placed jumpers in the first and second jumper boxes allows the user to adapt the hardware to a wide variety of proprietary radio connection schemes, with the distance between the two jumper boxes being spanned by a widely available and inexpensive VGA cable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Manufacturers of most current radios provide a remote installation kit that includes the three separate cables shown inFIG. 2. Nearly all the manufacturers use RJ45 jacks. However, as mentioned previously, there is no standard way of configuring the use of the eight conductive pins in the RJ45 jacks and the connecting cables. Thus, one manufacturer's cable kit will generally not work with a radio from another manufacturer. The present invention allows the use of a standard VGA cable to link the various radio components.

VGA cables contain 15 conductors as well as a grounded shield or plug shell and are widely available. Since they are offered by many manufacturers, they are competitively priced. High-quality VGA cables use ferrite chokes on each end and are well shielded. Thus, although they were originally developed by IBM to connect computers to monitors, they also work well for this radio application.

FIG. 3schematically depicts how the present invention is connected to the radio components. Two jumper boxes46are provided. One of these jumper boxes is placed near radio10in the trunk of the car. The second jumper box46is placed near the remote components that need to be linked to the radio—in this case control head12, microphone14, and speaker16.

Short conventional cables are used to link the components to the jumper boxes. These will typically be standard 8 conductor cables with a male RJ45 plug on either end. Three such short cables are used to link the jumper box46in the car's trunk to radio10. One such cable connects to the radio's control jack (such as first female RJ45 jack24inFIG. 1). One such cable connects to the radio's microphone jack (such as third female RJ45 jack26inFIG. 1). The third such cable connects to the radio's audio jack (such as female audio jack28inFIG. 1). Thus, a manufacturer's separate cables may contain as many as 18 conductors, some of which are redundant. By combining redundant connections—at least the three separate ground conductors, for example—the total connections will be reduced by jumper configurations in box46to no more than the 15 conductors and common ground of a VGA cable.

Jumper box46, located near the vehicle's dash, separates the VGA cable's conductors, including the combined redundant conductors, and distributes them to the microphone, control head, and audio jacks in the precise configuration present at radio10. Two short cables are also used to link the speaker and control head to the jumper box46. One such cable connects to the control head's control jack (such as second female RJ45 jack30inFIG. 1). The microphone plug36inFIG. 1is directly connected to RJ45 jack50inFIG. 4. Finally, a speaker connector (such as male audio plug38inFIG. 1) is preferably also plugged into audio jack52inFIG. 4of jumper box46.

The inexpensive VGA cable44is the only cable that needs to be run through the car to the trunk- and—this component can remain in place regardless of future radio substitutions. If the operator buys a new radio, he can reconfigure the two jumper boxes to accommodate the different wiring in the new radio. If the operator sells the car and removes the radio, he may simply elect to leave the inexpensive VGA cable in place and elect to run a new one in a replacement vehicle. The reconfigurability of the jumper boxes allows the same hardware to be used for many different types of radios, which is an important advantage of the present invention.

As will now be explained, the use of the jumper boxes is the key to the reconfigurability.FIG. 4shows an embodiment of jumper box46. It is preferably a compact object containing external jacks and internal connections. It is preferably a passive device so that it will need no internal or external power. Microphone jack48and control jack50are provided on an exterior surface. In this case, the microphone and control jacks are of the female RJ45 type. It is also desirable to provide an audio jack52.

The enclosure is represented as a folded sheet metal design—which is suitable for small production quantities. The lid of the enclosure can be hinged or made otherwise removable so that the user may easily access the interior. Of course, those skilled in the art will know that the enclosure could be made of injection molded plastic or other suitable materials.

FIG. 5shows the opposite side of jumper box46. VGA jack54is located on this surface. The location of the various jacks is purely a design choice and the jacks may be rearranged or grouped differently in other embodiments. Mounting tabs or other features are preferably provided to facilitate the mounting of the jumper box.

FIG. 6is a plan view of the components inside the enclosure of the jumper box. Printed circuit board56is used to mount and hold the various jacks. It includes mounting holes, standoffs, or other suitable features to allow it to be attached to the enclosure.

In the embodiment shown, control jack50and microphone jack48are located on the left edge of the PC board. Each of these jacks has 8 pins connected to the board. A V-shaped array of jumper pins is located in the middle of PC board56. Those skilled in the art will know that a jumper pin is a conductive pin that protrudes perpendicularly from the plane of the PC board. PCB traces60connect the pins of control jack50to some of the jumper pins within the jumper pin array.

A “trace” is a conductive path formed as part of the PC board. The board can be two, three, or more layers, and traces in different layers can overlap without shorting.FIG. 6is not intended to be a completely accurate depiction of the PC board and attached components. Rather, it is more of a schematic view illustrating the conductor paths. Breaks in the conductor paths are shown where one trace crosses another. In reality there are no breaks in these traces. The breaks just indicate that one trace passes over another without the two being electrically connected.

PCB traces connect the 8 pins of microphone jack48to some of the jumper pins within the jumper pin array. VGA jack54is located on the opposite edge of the PC board in the embodiment shown. It contains 15 pins and a ground, and these are also connected to some of the pins in the jumper pin array.

The purpose of the jumper pin array is to allow the user to selectively connect or combine some of the pins attached to the control and microphone jacks to some of the pins attached to the VGA jack. The reader will observe that the pins in the jumper pin array are evenly spaced and allow jumpers to be placed in a variety of positions.

FIG. 7shows a perspective view of PC board56. The reader may more easily perceive the nature of jumper pin array62in this view.FIG. 8shows a detailed view of a portion of the jumper pin array. The juniper pins58are evenly spaced so that a jumper64placed down over any two pins will electrically connect those pins.

The type of jumper illustrated is one type among the many that will be familiar to those skilled in the art. The jumper has two aligned holes which receive the two jumper pins. The holes include a conductive bridge and the bridge electrically connects the two jumper pins when the jumper is pressed in place. Most such jumpers feature a spring action in the conductive bridge. This feature helps frictionally engage the juniper pins and hold the jumper in position.

Turning now toFIG. 9, the reader will observe that three separate jumpers have been placed in jumper pin assembly62. These connect certain pins of the control jack and microphone jack to the VGA jack. Different jumper configurations will correspond to the RJ45 configuration used by different radio manufacturers. The configuration information is preferably provided to the user. He or she reviews the information and places the jumpers appropriately. The jumper box that is connected to the control head and the microphone has the jumpers placed appropriately to create a conductive path between the pins used by that manufacturer on those RJ45 jacks and the pins on the VGA jack. The information contained on those conductors is therefore sent over the VGA cable connected to the VGA jack.

The other end of the VGA cable is of course connected to the second jumper box. The jumpers within the jumper pin array in the second jumper box are configured to “reverse” the configuration of the first jumper box. In other words, it is configured to take the information from the VGA cable and place it on the appropriate pins of the two RJ45 jacks that will be connected to the radio. Thus, the two jumper boxes and connecting VGA cable are “invisible” to the radio. It behaves as though it were connected directly to the accessories.

FIG. 10shows a different configuration of jumpers64in jumper pin assembly62. This configuration represents a different type of radio. Many, many more possible configurations are evident by studying the traces and jumper pins inFIG. 6.

It is preferable to carry an audio signal—such as used to drive a speaker—through the VGA cable as well. Returning toFIG. 7, the reader will note the inclusion of audio jack52. This may be a standard 3.5 mm audio jack. A speaker cable is used to connect a speaker to the audio jack52on the jumper box located near the control head. Because the audio jack signal is standardized among most all manufacturers, the audio jack need not be connected through the jumper pin array. Instead, it can just be connected directly to the VGA jack by trace paths within the PC board. The jumper box located next to the radio also has an audio jack.

Thus, an audio cable is connected from the radio to the audio jack on the jumper box in the trunk. The audio signal is then passed through the VGA cable to the jumper box located near the control head. A speaker cable is then used to connect a speaker to the audio jack on that jumper box.

The reader will thereby understand that the proposed invention provides a reconfigurable and inexpensive connection between a radio and remotely located components such as a control head, a microphone, and a speaker. Although the preceding descriptions contain significant detail, they should properly be viewed as disclosing examples of the inventions' many possible embodiments rather than limiting the scope of the invention. For instance, the jumper pin array can assume many different forms and need not be presented in the “V” shape depicted. Many other embodiments are possible, with the scope of the invention properly being defined by the claims rather than any example provided.