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Audio Test Solutions, Inc.
4890 Vandaveer Road
Billings, MT 59101
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Main Phone: 406-294-5108
Fax: 406-294-5109
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Web: www.rlccontrollers.com/
Email: info //at// link-comm //dot// com
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| Old Contact Info: (for reference only) |
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Link Communications, Inc.
1035 Cerise Road
Billings, MT 59101-7378
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Main Phone: 406-245-5002
Fax: 406-245-4889
Orders Only: 800-610-4085
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Email: info //at// link-comm //dot// com
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The prior address (seen in many old manuals) was an industrial building at 1407 4th Ave N, Billings, Montana 59101, at the same phone numbers.
Another address was P.O. Box 1071 in Sidney, Montana 59270
An even older address was an apartment house at 306 South 20th Avenue in Bozeman, Montana 59715.
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News flash: And no, it's not an April Fools Day joke.
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March 30, 2011: Amateur Radio RLC Product Line Acquired by ATSI:
Audio Test Solutions, Inc.
Link Communications, Inc. has provided high-end repeater controllers to Amateur Radio
operators for over twenty-two years. In that time our business has grown from one product
line up to six different product lines.
With this growth we have decided that more individual focus is needed in the RLC Product
line. To further this focus, ATSI (Audio Test Solutions Inc.) of Billings, Montana has
acquired the rights to the RLC Product Line from Link Communications, Inc. As of April 1,
2011, Link Communications will no longer be selling the RLC Product Line and it will no
longer be featured on the Link Communications' web site.
ATSI values your relationship and will be working directly with Link Communications, Inc.
to insure a smooth transition for all of you in the Amateur Radio Community. For the
immediate future the manufacturing aspect of the RLC products will continue to be done at
the Link Communications manufacturing facility. All new sales, repairs and support will
be done directly through ATSI's new web site.
ATSI is very excited about the acquisition of the RLC product line and has designed a new
web site which is designed and dedicated specifically for the Amateur Radio enthusiasts.
Info on the products: http://www.rlccontrollers.com.
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If you are at all serious about your Link/RLC repeater controller then you need to
subscribe to this Group (mailing list)... It has a large number of controller owners and
if you post a request or comment you will get a response from someone.
rlc@groups.io covers all the Link products EXCEPT the DSP series
controllers. To subscribe go to https://groups.io/g/RLC.
The best way to get documentation (manuals, schematics, and firmware are all
kept in separate folders) is to start at
https://www.rlccontrollers.com/, click "SUPPORT", then "FTP Files and Manuals".
If you have problems, here are local (i.e. here at repeater-builder) copies of a few
Link-Comm repeater controller manuals:
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RLC-1 Repeater Controller Manual ver 1.01 83
pages, 627 kB PDF dated 25 June 1993; No schematics.
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RLC-1 Repeater Controller Rev A Schematics 154 kB PDF
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RLC-2 V4.28 Repeater Controller Manual ver 4.28
365 pages, 1.62 MB PDF dated 14 March 1997; Has schematics.
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RLC-2 V4.30 Repeater Controller Manual ver 4.30
366 pages, 1.57 MB PDF dated 18 Feb 1999; Has schematics.
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Two notes on the RLC-2:
1) The RLC-2 Command 244 (on page 17-6 in the Version 4 manual) is
provided to configure the serial port data rate, allowing selection of 300, 600, 1200,
2400, 4800 or 9600 baud.
2) The RLC-2 uses a regular DE-9 connector hooked to a standard serial port but with
a non-standard pinout. You will have to make a custom 3-wire cable for it.
Pin 5 is ground, pin 4 is receive data, and pin 9 is transmit data. Do not connect
any other pins, they are used as soft-pot connections. Once you have the custom cable
made and connected the operation is normal EXCEPT that you need to add an
inter-character delay and an inter-line delay to the PC-to-RLC side to let it keep
up with the data flow. Tera-Term (a wonderful Windows serial program) has two
Transmit Delay fields on the "Serial port setup and connection" menu, one for
milliseconds between characters and a second for milliseconds between lines.
Neither of the two RLC-2 manuals above mention any suggested delay values.
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RLC-3 Repeater Controller Manual ver 1.80 348
pages, 914 kB PDF dated 17 Sept 1998; No schematics.
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RLC-4 Repeater Controller Manual ver 1.79 228
pages, 538 kB PDF dated 18 Sept 1998; No schematics.
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RLC-4 Repeater Controller Rev A Schematics 239 kB PDF
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The RLC-1, RLC-3 and RLC-4 all use the standard pinout (pin 2 as the transmit data, pin 3
as the receive data, and pin 5 as ground) on the 9-pin serial port (controller programming connection).
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RLC-5: There were two completely different designs / products and three different manuals
named RLC-5. The original RLC-5 was a linking board designed to connect to a single port repeater controller
and add two more link ports.
The other RLC-5 was a basic two-port controller with a command set similar to the RLC-4 (but only two ports).
Link sold it primarily for commercial applications with custom firmware, although an amateur version was available
for a short time.
RLC-5 Repeater Link Controller 1.1 MB PDF
RLC-5 Two-Port Controller 382 KB PDF Version 1.43
So if someone offers an RLC-5 for sale you need to ask "Which one?"
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RLC-6 Four Port Repeater Link Controller 1.3 MB PDF
This is a port expansion board that was designed for the RLC-1 prior to the RLC-4
but can be added to any controller to create additional link ports.
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RLC-MOT Squelch Module - This board is no longer offered at the Link web site as there are no
more new Micor squelch chips to be had (the MICOR squelch chip was made by Motorola Semi for
Motorola, and when the MICOR radio production ended the chip was offered as a spare part for several
years and then discontinued).
RLC-MOT board layout and schematic 40 kB PDF
RLC-MOT Tech Specs and notes 37 kB PDF
An alternative board is available until the supply of chips that are available is exhausted.
Click here.
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Tech Specs and notes for the RLC-ADM Audio Delay Module
73 kB PDF
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Additional Digital Outputs for the Link RLC-4
Repeater Controller By Brad Andrews KB9BPF
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Some RLC schematics call for a AD558 Digital-to-Analog converter, and the when you take the lid
off of your unit you find an AD557. It's the same part, the AD558 is intended for industrial / military, the
AD557 is commercial temp range.
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This web page, this web site, the information presented in and on its pages and
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last update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights
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