For those interested in, or working on, a remote station venue like myself,
major Congrats to TenTec for their Visionary action step into the future.
The new TenTec OMNI VII has just raised the bar for all TXRX manufacturers.
(From the website - http://radio.tentec.com/Amateur/Transceivers/TT588 )
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OMNI-VII is the first truly Net-Ready ham transceiver. No PC required at the
rig to operate remote! Locate your OMNI-VII anywhere you have wideband Internet
access. Simply connect its built-in Ethernet port to your router with our
exclusive One Plug connection. Delivers live receive AND transmit operation
from anywhere else in the world from another wideband Internet access! A simple
GUI (Graphical User Interface) written for the OMNI-VII will be available for
download at no charge from our firmware update website. That's not all: the
latest GUI source code (written in Visual Basic) and complete programming
instructions can be downloaded to build your own GUI.
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The added turn-on here is they will be making the source code available for
operator customization. Most remote control software vendors are not
Contesters, and just "don't get it" with respect to some of the operating
nuance needs (especially when operating 35WPM CW contests). At least now
TenTec has changed this. Being able to re-tweak the software yourself (or via
hired gun) is beyond cool.
A quick test from California hooked up to the rig in Tennessee worked well, and
the built-in audio was fine. No need for 3rd party clogs in the wheel like
Skype, etc., which is fantastic. For those bypassing traditional Net services
and going with low latency point-to-point gear (less than 5ms), all ya gotta do
is plug in a couple of Ethernet cables. This *is* the future, here and now.
A remaining task, however, is to get the Contest logging software authors to
"get with the program" and either release partial source code, or build in
clever interface(s) to eliminate the need to manually swap window focus back
and forth between a logger and the rig control software when operating an
intense high-speed CW Contest format, 'cuz that just plain sucks ;-(
Bravo to TenTec for advancing part of what's been missing in the remote venue a
big step into the future.
FYI & 73...
Rick, K6VVA
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