CAT4OM is CAT management software for advanced radio stations. It consists of two applications: the server, available for Windows and Linux, and the client, available for Windows only.

The server is the software that physically communicates with the radios and provides data to the calling applications. It is the core of the software.

The client helps configure the server and the radios, and can also be used to control the radios themselves. It is useful, but not required, because radios can be configured directly by editing the server configuration file (JSON).

Software organization

CAT4OM defines the concept of a RADIO GROUP: a container for one or more controllable radios.

For specific needs, you can create multiple RADIO GROUPs. For example, you may want to keep HF radios separate from VHF radios.

It is important to know that each RADIO GROUP is exposed by the server on its own control port, usually 17301, 17302, and so on.

An application that connects to a RADIO GROUP port can control, or read the status of, all the radios within that RADIO GROUP.

Each RADIO GROUP is independent. Therefore, to switch groups, the application connection must be reconfigured to use the port of the desired RADIO GROUP.

The server itself has its own port, usually 17300. This port is used by the client, or by external clients, to configure RADIO GROUPs and the radios within them.

In practice, this is the configuration port. It is used only when you need to change a hardware parameter of the station.

Applications that use the radios must connect to the RADIO GROUP ports, not to the server port.

Hamlib and TCI emulation

Each RADIO GROUP can be configured to support Hamlib or TCI emulation. The port used by the emulation is defined in the RADIO GROUP and cannot be reused by another RADIO GROUP.

On that port, CAT4OM responds as if it were the emulated application.

Once emulation has been enabled for a RADIO GROUP, you must select which radio will respond to emulation commands. Only one radio can do so within each RADIO GROUP.

To select it, set the appropriate flag in the configuration of the radio itself. This tells the server that Hamlib or TCI messages must be routed to that radio. For TCI, audio will also be received from and sent to that radio, provided that its audio sources have been correctly defined in the radio configuration.

For example, you can configure one RADIO GROUP for HF that responds through Hamlib emulation, and another RADIO GROUP for VHF that responds through TCI emulation.

CAT4OM is, of course, built around its own native protocol. Applications that implement the CAT4OM native protocol have complete and independent control of every radio in the RADIO GROUP.

Log4OM uses the CAT4OM native protocol.