[TowerTalk] remote stations

[Jim Lux]

At 11:39 AM 7/23/2005, Bob Kellow, W5LT wrote:
>  Facinating topic, but doesn't it take a special, or at least a very modern
>HF radio (and antenna(s)) to do this?
>How would one 'tweak' the notch, or the APF tuning, or others of the myriad
>of controls on a FT-1000xx class radio from a keyboard/mouse?
>I am certainly showing my ignorance of the subject, but would like
>enlightenment.
>
>Bob, W5LT
That's precisely the problem, today.  The radios are built to have the op 
sitting in front of them. There are some radios suited for remote ops (e.g. 
the no longer available Kachina) and some of the TenTec radios.  The 
SDR-1000 and other similar software radios are also ideally suited to 
remote ops, since the entire control system is a PC (much like modern test 
equipment, which has a standard PC motherboard inside, and a VGA display on 
the front).

As for mouse and keyboard... That's more a matter of good interface 
design.  Some people love mouse and keyboard.  I personally like knobs and 
sliders.  Either way, there's dozens of computer input devices in all 
manner of physical forms.  The music business has tons of inexpensive 
"control surfaces" with knobs, sliders, and buttons, all with USB or MIDI 
interfaces that can easily be used to control your radio.

There's also people building customized controller hardware (in the sense 
of buttons and knobs) to interface to the SDR1000, which does most of the 
functions totally in software.

However, there's a fairly large installed base of not-suitable for remote 
use radios out there.  Or, marginally suitable for remote use: The origin 
of my illfated efforts to flip sidebands using DSP was because I wanted to 
use my FT-757 remotely.. I could set the frequency with an RS232 link, but 
couldn't change the mode switch from LSB to USB when crossing the 9MHz 
divide.[Now there's an operating practice based on an old and archaic 
hardware implementation for SSB.]  I actually contemplated ripping the 
front panel off and building a interface board (all the switches and knobs 
are mostly analog voltages, for which one could use a digipot or logic 
levels to the internal microprocessors.)

The SDR-1000 concept is very appealing (I actually have one), but, while 
the radio works fine, the software is still in a state of flux. Frankly, I 
think it probably will be that way for quite a while... it's too easy to 
tinker, and since it's not a commercial product, there's no incentive to 
stabilize on a "final version" with formalized testing and release.

The demand, in the ham market, appears to be for boxes with knobs, not for 
blank front radios with an ethernet connection, and a separate "radio front 
panel" (also with an ethernet connection) so that's what's getting 
developed and shipped by the big makers.

Certainly, if you've got the bucks, you can buy high quality commercial HF 
radio gear with total remote control (WJ, Racal, etc.), but that concept 
hasn't penetrated the ham market very well.  For instance you can't get the 
Ten-Tec Pegasus any more (however, the Jupiter is essentially the same 
radio, with a front panel, and I imagine you can not use the panel).  Most 
of the new HF rigs are obviously digitally controlled (since the front 
panels removable with a cable connecting the panel and the radio) but don't 
necessarily have the control protocol published, nor is the interface at 
all standardized.  Again, no ham demand, apparently.

Maybe it comes back to that I'm not the only one with an uneasy feeling 
about remote stations, so there's just not much demand for things to 
support it.

Jim,W6RMK