Download - Remote Control & Operating for Amateur Radio
Remote Control & Operating for Amateur Radio
Steve Maskrey – G6FDK & M3DVA (Deva / Chester!)
Objective
• To show how, with your existing mainly commercial radio equipment, it can be remotely controlled - thus adding another interesting dimension and further enjoyment of our hobby
• To learn a little about Internet Protocol networking
Introduction
• Early radio remote control– Boot-mounted Pye Cambridge & Westminster– 2-wire controlled remote base stations
• Broadcast Monitoring & Control Telemetry– Unmanned transmitters, microwave & satellite downlinks, RBRs– All equipment parameters, video & audio, CCTV & site access
• Lights-out data centres– Full server & network systems remote control
• Internet & Computing Ubiquity– Music, TV, social apps, smart-phones & tablets, energy M&C
etc. The Internet is becoming everywhere• Amateur radio adoption of the Internet
– EchoLink, remote repeater & node-to-node communication
The Case for (Internet) Remote Control
• Operating anywhere in your home• Avoiding the cold garden shack• Taking access to your favourite (but very heavy &
expensive!) radio on holiday• Domestic planning restrictions• Making use of your quiet (QRN / QRM) caravan or
holiday home (I wish!) radio location all year around• Making use of a ‘supervised’ ham friend’s radio &
antenna system*• Thanks to the Internet we now have the opportunity to
operate our station from almost anywhere we desire.
So how does it work?
• Requirements– ‘Host’ or Station
• Radio transceiver with computer interface• Desktop or laptop PC with RS232 / V24 serial interface• Host software• Internet connection – assumes ADSL/2/2+, VDSL (BT
Infinity) or cable
– ‘Client’ Station• A PC or even a smart-phone or tablet• Mic & Headphones• Internet connection
Ofcom Licence Conditions
• 10 Unattended and remote control operation– 10(1) The Licensee may conduct Unattended
Operation of Radio Equipment provided that any such operation is consistent with the terms of this Licence.
• Must have a Full licence which can mean reciprocal, temporary reciprocal or club licenses
• Foundation & Intermediate licensees can operate remotely controlled stations using 500mW amateur band radio links
• I’m not sure about the validity of remote contacts made for contests etc.
Internet Connectivity
• Assumption that you have a broadband Internet connection at the ‘host’ station– We need a fixed public IP address for our Internet
router– Most of us have a public IP address that changes
periodically when our connection is reset by either the ISP or ourselves when we power off
– Solution: www.dyndns.com – free to register & use– So your home Internet router address becomes:
‘yourname’.dyndns.org:[port]– Your router updates dyndns each time you have a
new public IP address
Router Setup
• Remote Desktop port: 3389
• Ham Radio Deluxe port: 7805
• www.portforward.com for help with your router
PC Requirements
• Minimum 1Gb RAM, 10Gb HDD & RS232 / V24 serial port or possibly a quality USB serial com port adapter
• Recommend Windows XP, 7 or 8 Pro– You must set a password for RDP to work
PC Setup
• Setup a password• Fix your LAN IP; e.g.
192.168.1.120
• Open up port 7805 for Ham Radio Deluxe remote control
Host Control Software
• Ham Radio Deluxe – developed by Peter PH1PH and Simon HB9DRV in 2003 then sold to Rick W4PC, Randy KØCBH, and Mike WA9PIE in 2011– www.hrdsoftwarellc.com– v6.0 recently released $99.95– v5.24 build 38 free
• Other software products available• CAT cables from here: www.xggcomms.com/
And the Tx / Rx audio?
• PC Sound card
• Skype!– Free and reliable– Setup Skype host account to auto-answer
from your contact list – which should be just you & possibly ham friends
• PTT transmit keying
Recap
• Broadband Internet connectivity• Host PC / laptop with minimum Win XP/7/8 Pro,
1GHz, 1Gb RAM, serial port(s), password, fixed LAN IP & open Windows firewall port 7805
• Client PC / laptop• Ham Radio Deluxe v5.24, v6.x• Skype; set for auto answer client at host• Register & setup dynamic DNS• Router Port Forward ports HRD 7805 & RDP
3389• Open port 7805 in Windows firewall
Other Solutions
• RemoteRig for remote control & audio www.remoterig.com/wp/
– Downside is you need to take the proprietary unit with you
• TRX-Manager software solution similar in concept to Ham Radio Deluxe
• Glentek www.glentekcorp.com
Further Reading & Links
• Remote Operating for Amateur Radio– Ham Radio, the Internet and Remote Station
Control– Steve Ford, WB8IMY
• Many remote project demos & ‘instructionals’ on YouTube as well as many example setups & photos
My other technology interests
• Computer networking for home & office
• Home & office real-time energy monitoring, management reporting & control; LED lighting
• IP CCTV for home and office security
• Raspberry Pi & Arduino computing
• Multi-media including Internet radio