Computer Steering or Rig Control
This is a method by which a radio can be controlled by a PC. The radio and computer talk backwards and forwards to each other using a serial cable, or increasingly now, USB.
How you do this exactly will depend on what radio you have but most will connect to the serial port of your computer.
Many base/mobile scanners just have a serial port on the back and all you need here is a bog standard serial lead with the correct number of pins (usually 9 or 25)
Others, typically handhelds will probably need a voltage level converter in order to interface to your computer. This is a box which goes in line and translates the voltages which are used with computer serial ports to those which are used in the scanner. Sometimes, it's just built into the lead and powered by the serial port.
The Icom CT-17 interface which can control up to four radios from one computer
Icom were the first manufacturer to bring rig control to the forefront. They developed a protocol called CI-V which stands for Computer interface five, the letter V being a Roman numeral.
Other manufacturers followed with their own proprietary protocols.
Rig control is different from cloning and data manipulation as it does not alter any setting or channel data within the radio.
