Unlike the other interfaces supported by Nova for Windows, the EasyComm I protocol is not a physical device. Instead, it is a simple serial output stream intended to support user-built interfaces. EasyComm was defined by Chris Jackson as part of the WiSP digital communications software package. Following is the specification as published by Jackson:
ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp/easycomm.txt
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The EasyComm interfaces are for use by those who wish to design their own radio and rotor controllers.
EASYCOMM I Standard
The EasyComm 1 standard is a simple ASCII character based standard for controlling antennas and rotators.
The host PC issues a single line command as follows -:
AZaaa.a ELeee.e UPuuuuuuuuu UUU DNddddddddd DDD
The Az and El values (aaa.a and eee.e) are not fixed width. They are in degrees and include 1 decimal place.
The Up and Dn frequencies are in Hz.
UUU and DDD are the uplink and downlink mode.
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Nova for Windows sends the EasyComm I string approximately two times/second. It does not attempt to read anything from the serial port and therefore does not know the antenna's current position.
Instead of frequency in the "UP" field (above), NfW sends the current satellite's range rate expressed as a floating point number. The "DN" field contains all zeros and mode information is sent as "XXX."
In addition to the EasyComm I standard, NfW sends 'SA' and 'SE' (part of the EasyComm II standard) to stop antenna movement.