I have an old radio: an ICOM IC-PCR1000. It’s a nondescript little black box, with no controls other than a power switch. It is controlled by a computer.
Its age is perfectly characterized by this simple fact: It is controlled through a serial port, good old RS-232. Not even USB.
It works perfectly well. Or rather, it did, under Windows, with its 25-year old control software. But that same software cannot reliable connect to the radio under Linux, via Wine. It runs, it connects, but every few seconds it reports an error despite the fact that it seems to read and control the radio just fine.
Well, I solved the problem now, with the help of Claude. No, not “vibe” programming: the concept is mine, in fact it is based on software I myself wrote some 12 years ago. At that time, I was experimenting with a C-sharp back end connecting to the radio. This time around? A plain C back-end (a translation done by ChatGPT) and a front-end and midware in HTML+JS and PHP.
So the code logic is mine, even as Claude saved me a lot of time. The layout and visual appearance, however, are entirely Claude’s doing, Claude 4.6 Opus in particular, running on my WISPL Web site. I only introduced some very minor tweaks to refine the appearance.
And yes, I am using it right now, listening to CBC Radio 2.
That’s cool story and nice result! Why have you opted for controlling it via computer still? (rather than makeshifting some control device attachable to its rs232). Here is my “old radio” – and it fully “self-contained” though I confess this interface of buttons and leds is not super-convenient. But it was made primarily for SW so it is intended to be taken some distance away from the buildings for better reception.
I read the description of IC-PCR1000 but couldn’t figure out whether it’s software allows some kind of broadcast recording, or how at all it produces sound…
Also, what kind of stations do you listen to, if not a secret. I see this device is not limited to local stations and should be able to pick something from afar, right?
Why am I controlling a radio intended to be controlled by a computer using, you know, a computer? It’s like you are asking why I am using car on the road or why I am using a towel to dry myself after a shower: That is its intended purpose. As to the sound, it comes out theough a 3.5mm jack and enters the computer through Line In. No mystery there. And I mostly just listen to CBC Radio 2 or Radio Canada’s Ici musique; 103.3 MHz FM and 102.5 MHz FM, respectively here in Ottawa.