ACOM Amplifier Control System

A complete wireless control solution for the ACOM RF amplifier, consisting of an ESP32-S3 hardware interface and a native macOS application.

System Overview

┌─────────────────┐     RS-232      ┌─────────────────┐      WiFi       ┌─────────────────-┐
│   ACOM          │◄───────────────►│    ESP32-S3     │◄───────────────►│   macOS App or   │
│   Amplifier     │    9600 8N1     │   Controller    │   WebSocket     │   WebAcomControl │
└─────────────────┘                 └─────────────────┘                 └─────────────────-┘

The ESP32-S3 acts as a bridge between the amplifier's serial protocol and modern network interfaces, providing real-time telemetry and control via WebSocket and REST APIs.

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macOS Application

AcomControl is a native SwiftUI application providing professional monitoring and control of the ACOM amplifier.

Features

• Real-Time Monitoring — 10Hz WebSocket updates for live telemetry

  • Forward/Reflected Power with graphical meters
  • SWR with color-coded warnings (green/yellow/red)
  • PA Temperature monitoring
  • Current, Voltage, Frequency display

• Amplifier Control

  • Mode switching: Standby, Operate RX, Power Off
  • Band selection: 160m through 10m
  • Antenna switching (Ant 1 / Ant 2)
  • Error display and clearing

• Network Features

  • Automatic device discovery via mDNS/network scan
  • Manual IP connection
  • ESP32 WiFi configuration from the app
  • Automatic reconnection with exponential backoff

• Modern Interface

  • Native SwiftUI design
  • Dark mode support
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Responsive layout

OSX App Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Xcode 15.0+ (for building from source)

Building

cd AcomControl
open AcomControl.xcodeproj
# Select your development team in Signing & Capabilities
# Press Cmd+R to build and run

Quick Start

1. Launch the application
2. Click Discover to scan for ESP32 controllers, or
3. Click Settings (⚙️) to enter an IP address manually
4. Once connected, the status indicator turns green and telemetry begins streaming

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ESP32-S3 Controller

The ESP32 firmware provides the hardware interface to the ACOM amplifier and exposes network APIs for remote control.

Features

• ACOM Protocol Implementation — Full support for the ACOM serial protocol

  • Automatic telemetry parsing (message 0x2F)
  • Command transmission with proper checksums
  • Error code decoding

• Network Interfaces

  • WebSocket server (/ws) for real-time bidirectional communication (available on port 80 of the ESP device IP)
  • REST API for status and control
  • Server-Sent Events (/api/telemetry) for streaming updates
  • Built-in web interface for browser-based monitoring

• WiFi Modes

  • Station Mode — Connects to existing WiFi network
  • AP Mode — Creates its own network when no credentials configured
    • SSID: AcomControl
    • IP: 192.168.4.1

Hardware Setup

ESP32-S3 Pin	Connection
GPIO16 (RX)	ACOM RS-232 TX (via level shifter)
GPIO17 (TX)	ACOM RS-232 RX (via level shifter)
GND	RS-232 Ground

Note: The ACOM uses RS-232 voltage levels (±12V). A level shifter (e.g., MAX3232) is required between the ESP32 (3.3V logic) and the amplifier.

API Reference

Endpoint	Method	Description
/ws	WebSocket	Real-time telemetry and commands
/api/status	GET	Current amplifier state (JSON)
/api/mode	POST	Set amplifier mode
/api/band	POST	Set operating band
/api/wifi	POST	Configure WiFi credentials
/api/system	GET	ESP32 system information

WebSocket Commands

{"command": "setMode", "mode": "standby"}
{"command": "setMode", "mode": "operateRx"}
{"command": "setMode", "mode": "powerOff"}
{"command": "setBand", "band": 7}
{"command": "setAntenna", "antenna": 1}
{"command": "clearErrors"}
{"command": "saveWiFi", "ssid": "MyNetwork", "password": "secret"}

Telemetry Data

The ESP32 broadcasts JSON telemetry at 10Hz:

{
  "connected": true,
  "mode": "OPR/RX",
  "modeCode": 96,
  "band": "20m",
  "forwardPower": 0,
  "reflectedPower": 0,
  "swr": 100,
  "temperature": 298,
  "inputPower": 0,
  "current": 0,
  "frequency": 14200,
  "fanSpeed": 1,
  "hvVoltage": 480,
  "errors": []
}

Units:

• temperature — Kelvin (subtract 273 for Celsius)
• swr — Multiplied by 100 (e.g., 150 = 1.50:1)
• inputPower — Multiplied by 10 (e.g., 253 = 25.3W)
• hvVoltage — Multiplied by 10 (e.g., 480 = 48.0V)

Building the Firmware

The ESP32 firmware uses PlatformIO:

cd ACOMESP32
pio run                    # Build
pio run -t upload          # Upload to connected ESP32
pio device monitor         # Serial monitor (115200 baud)

Further ESP32 documentation, including detailed setup and configuration, is available in the ACOMESP32 directory.

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Protocol Notes

The system implements the ACOM serial protocol as documented in ACOM_Protocol.pdf:

• Baud Rate: 9600, 8N1
• Start Byte: 0x55
• Checksum: 256 - (SUM of bytes 0 to N-1) & 0xFF
• Main Telemetry: Message 0x2F (72 bytes, sent automatically at ~10Hz)
• Commands: Message 0x81 (8 bytes)

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License

MIT License — See individual component directories for details.

Disclaimer

Use this code and the app at your own risk - damage to your hardware from use will not be my responsibility, you use this code and app at your own risk.