Remote Control for the Ham Radio Station Operate your station from anywhere Don Steinbach AE6PM

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Remote Controlfor the

Ham Radio Station

Operate your station from anywhere

Don SteinbachAE6PM

Santa Clara County Amateur Radio AssociationMarch 10, 2014

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Why Remote?

• Zoning restrictions• Condo or Apartment living

– Unfriendly HOA or landlord• Poor antenna location

– Small lot, obstructions– High noise level

• Dual residency / Vacation home– Maintain local contacts/nets

• Convenience– Get equipment out of the house– Travel with minimum equipment

• Combine resources– Partner with others for “Super Station”

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My Motivation

• Desire to operate my SF Bay area station while on travel– Operate from Butte, Phoenix, Pacific Grove,

San Diego and ??• High noise level on 40-meters in Butte, MT

– Magnetic loop is very effective, but received signal levels are marginal

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Objectives

• Keep primary station equipment in Saratoga– Transmitter, receiver, power supplies, antennas

• Operate the primary station from any remote location– Laptop computer and headset

• Use the internet for communication between locations

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Literature Search

• Remote Operating for Amateur Radio (ARRL book)• VoIP: Internet Linking for Radio Amateurs (ARRL book)• Remote Radio Control Made Easy (QST Aug 2012)• Remote-Controlled HF Operation over the Internet (QST Nov

2001)• Remote Control of Accessories via the Internet (QST Apr 2013)• A Ham Radio Public Utility HF Station (QST Nov 2002)• K7RLD Remote Ham Operation (Internet)• Internet Remoting Toolkit (Internet W4MQ)• Tools & Techniques for Remote Operation (K6TU presentation)• How To: Wake on LAN/Wake on WAN (Internet

smallnetbuilder.com)

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Cost: Make or Buy

• Commercial off the Shelf (COTS)– Can be expensive

• RemoteRig ~ $490• Web-controlled power strip ~ $150

– Definitely consider internet operability if buying a new radio

• Build It Yourself– Low cost ~ $50– Implement with purchased and/or homebuilt

hardware– Simple circuits -- not difficult to design or build

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Design Requirements

• Needs– Ability to turn station power on and off remotely– Transceiver capable of computer control (CAT)– PC to control the transceiver– Ability to operate the PC remotely– Audio connection to/from the transceiver

• Wants– Ability to turn the PC on and off– Monitor station dc power, rf power, swr, etc– Ability to switch antennas

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Design Requirements

• Deferred/Don’t Care– CW Operation

• Has been done by others – requires some more research

• Possible latency issues– Antenna rotator control

• I don’t have a rotatable antenna– “Wake on LAN”

• My PC BIOS doesn’t support• Review of literature indicates this could be

another giant time sink

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Architecture

Complete Station PC and Headset

Software:Skype

Software:SkypeLogMeInHam Radio Deluxe

Audio

Control

Power Antennas

Audio

HOST CLIENT

Data

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Host (Station) Hardware

• Transceiver (Exists)• Power Supply (Exists)• PC (Exists/modify)• PC/Radio Audio IFU (Build)• DTMF Controller (Build or buy)• Telco Isolator (Build)• Remote Power Controller (Build)• Station Control Unit (Optional/Modify)• WaveNode™ (Optional/Buy)• Network TV Camera (Optional/Buy)• Answering Machine (Exists)

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Host (Station) Software

• PC Control– LogMeIn

• Transceiver Control– Ham Radio Deluxe

• Audio– Skype

• Station Monitoring– WaveNode

• Antenna Switching– WaveNode

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PC/Radio Audio IFU

Provides DC isolation and level adjustment for audio channels between transceiver and PC

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PC/Radio Audio IFU

..

..

tipr ing

s hell

.. tipr ing

s hell

..

..

....

..

..

tipr ing

s hell

T2

Tx L e vel

Rx L evel

T1 C1

C2

R1

R2J3

J1 J2

P C M IC

P C L INE7

8

DA T A I/O

J1 -J3 1 /8" s tereo jack

FT-84 7

RIG M IC

J4 8 -pin (m ) m ic co ne c torR1 ,R 2 10 k A B T ype WR3 4 7 0K

C1 ,C 2 T1 ,T2 M id com 6 7 1-93 7 3 6 00 :60 0E nc lo sure R ad io S h ack 27 0 -1 89 3

P C

R3

Audio from radio

Audio to radio

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PC (EeePC)

Added connections for controlling power switching

Found a schematic on the Internet.

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DTMF Controller (Decoder)

Decodes DTMF tones from telephone line and provides 16 independent logic-level outputs

DCI2 kit from Ramsey

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Telco Isolator

Provides AC and DC isolation from the telephone line

Added to resolve polarity issue with DTMF Controller connection

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Telco Isolator

..

..

RIN G

TIP

To D T M F C on tro lle r

C1 T1

C1 2 uF 30 0V m y larT1 M idcom 67 1-9 37 2 6 00 :60 0

(G rn )

(R e d)

Te lep ho n e L ine

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Remote Power Controller

Provides opto-isolated switch closure to PC for power control and relay drive for AC power switching

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..

..

..

9

11

20

18

1

2

3

4

5

6

..

5

3

19

7

+..

....

..

..

..

..

A C P o w er S trip+ 5V

+ 5V

OF F

..

..

Re d

E ee P C

ON

+ 9V

(M od if ied )

+ 9V

+ 9V

..

+ 5V

..

Gn d

Y el

2.93 V O.C .

# 4 *

# 6 *

# 7 *

W ht

Y el

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B lu

B rn

Gn dB lk

W as D *Re d

* 74 H C1 54 Ou tpu t

7 9

# 5 *

2,9

6

Re set

Th re sho ld

Tr igg er

Disch arge

V +Ou tpu t

Co ntrol

12

..

..

..

+ 5V

1 0 K

+ 5S W

+ 5S W

13

8

+ 5S W

IC 1 B

IC 4

K 2

IC 3

IC 1 A IC 2 A

IC 2 B

K 1

1 N 4 7 3 3

1 N 4 0 0 6

1 0 K

31 0 K

1 0 K

DC

12

DT

MF

Co

ntr

olle

r

2 2 0

1 0 K

+ 5V (Re gu la ted )

N.C .

10

5

1

4,73,8

# 8 *

IC 4 : 5 5 5 T im er

IC 3 : 4 N 27

IC 1 : 7 4 04IC 2 : U L N 28 03K 1: A ro m a t TQ 2E -L2 -1 2 vK 2: Tyco P C LH = 2 02 D 1S

Remote Power Controller

+ 9V (Un re g )

2

1 0 K

1 0 M1 2 0

7

6

4

5

1

11

1014

2 17

1812

.0 11 /3 5

+

10

1

AC Power Control

PC Power Control

Power Control Timer

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Remote Power Controller

..

..

..

9

11

20

18

1

2

3

4

5

6

..

5

3

19

7

+..

....

..

..

..

..

A C P o w er S trip+ 5V

+ 5V

OF F

..

..

Re d

E ee P C

ON

+ 9V

(M od if ied )

+ 9V

+ 9V

..

+ 5V

..

Gn d

Y el

2.93 V O.C .

# 4 *

# 6 *

# 7 *

W ht

Y el

Orn

Grn

B lu

B rn

Gn dB lk

W as D *Re d

* 74 H C1 54 Ou tpu t

7 9

# 5 *

2,9

6

Re set

Th re sho ld

Tr igg er

Disch arge

V +Ou tpu t

Co ntrol

12

..

..

..

+ 5V

1 0 K

+ 5S W

+ 5S W

13

8

+ 5S W

IC 1 B

IC 4

K 2

IC 3

IC 1 A IC 2 A

IC 2 B

K 1

1 N 4 7 3 3

1 N 4 0 0 6

1 0 K

31 0 K

1 0 K

DC

12

DT

MF

Co

ntr

olle

r

2 2 0

1 0 K

+ 5V (Re gu la ted )

N.C .

10

5

1

4,73,8

# 8 *

IC 4 : 5 5 5 T im er

IC 3 : 4 N 27

IC 1 : 7 4 04IC 2 : U L N 28 03K 1: A ro m a t TQ 2E -L2 -1 2 vK 2: Tyco P C LH = 2 02 D 1S

Remote Power Controller

+ 9V (Un re g )

2

1 0 K

1 0 M1 2 0

7

6

4

5

1

11

1014

2 17

1812

.0 11 /3 5

+

10

1

AC Power Control

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Remote Power Controller

..

..

..

9

11

20

18

1

2

3

4

5

6

..

5

3

19

7

+..

....

..

..

..

..

A C P o w er S trip+ 5V

+ 5V

OF F

..

..

Re d

E ee P C

ON

+ 9V

(M od if ied )

+ 9V

+ 9V

..

+ 5V

..

Gn d

Y el

2.93 V O.C .

# 4 *

# 6 *

# 7 *

W ht

Y el

Orn

Grn

B lu

B rn

Gn dB lk

W as D *Re d

* 74 H C1 54 Ou tpu t

7 9

# 5 *

2,9

6

Re set

Th re sho ld

Tr igg er

Disch arge

V +Ou tpu t

Co ntrol

12

..

..

..

+ 5V

1 0 K

+ 5S W

+ 5S W

13

8

+ 5S W

IC 1 B

IC 4

K 2

IC 3

IC 1 A IC 2 A

IC 2 B

K 1

1 N 4 7 3 3

1 N 4 0 0 6

1 0 K

31 0 K

1 0 KD

C1

2 D

TM

F C

on

tro

ller

2 2 0

1 0 K

+ 5V (Re gu la ted )

N.C .

10

5

1

4,73,8

# 8 *

IC 4 : 5 5 5 T im er

IC 3 : 4 N 27

IC 1 : 7 4 04IC 2 : U L N 28 03K 1: A ro m a t TQ 2E -L2 -1 2 vK 2: Tyco P C LH = 2 02 D 1S

Remote Power Controller

+ 9V (Un re g )

2

1 0 K

1 0 M1 2 0

7

6

4

5

1

11

1014

2 17

1812

.0 11 /3 5

+

10

1

PC Power Control

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Remote Power Controller

..

..

..

9

11

20

18

1

2

3

4

5

6

..

5

3

19

7

+..

....

..

..

..

..

A C P o w er S trip+ 5V

+ 5V

OF F

..

..

Re d

E ee P C

ON

+ 9V

(M od if ied )

+ 9V

+ 9V

..

+ 5V

..

Gn d

Y el

2.93 V O.C .

# 4 *

# 6 *

# 7 *

W ht

Y el

Orn

Grn

B lu

B rn

Gn dB lk

W as D *Re d

* 74 H C1 54 Ou tpu t

7 9

# 5 *

2,9

6

Re set

Th re sho ld

Tr igg er

Disch arge

V +Ou tpu t

Co ntrol

12

..

..

..

+ 5V

1 0 K

+ 5S W

+ 5S W

13

8

+ 5S W

IC 1 B

IC 4

K 2

IC 3

IC 1 A IC 2 A

IC 2 B

K 1

1 N 4 7 3 3

1 N 4 0 0 6

1 0 K

31 0 K

1 0 K

DC

12

DT

MF

Co

ntr

olle

r

2 2 0

1 0 K

+ 5V (Re gu la ted )

N.C .

10

5

1

4,73,8

# 8 *

IC 4 : 5 5 5 T im er

IC 3 : 4 N 27

IC 1 : 7 4 04IC 2 : U L N 28 03K 1: A ro m a t TQ 2E -L2 -1 2 vK 2: Tyco P C LH = 2 02 D 1S

Remote Power Controller

+ 9V (Un re g )

2

1 0 K

1 0 M1 2 0

7

6

4

5

1

11

1014

2 17

1812

.0 11 /3 5

+

10

1

Power Control Timer

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Station Control Unit

Provides for antenna switching among other things

Power supply board provides ±24V for existing remote antenna switch.Relay board is a kit from qkits.com.

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Station Control Unit

tip

2

3

1

A NT E N NA

+ 24

-2 4+ 24

-2 4

18 va cC1

C2

D1

D2

To R e m o te A nte nn a S w itchDC C ou p ler

UL N 20 03

2 3 4 5

QK 7 4 R E L A Y B O A R D

R ela y 1R ela y 2

R ela y 1

R ela y 2

R ela y 3

Logic Ou t 1

Logic Ou t 2

Logic Ou t 3

Logic Ou t 4

W aveN o de

C1 , C 2 2 2 0 u F 50 VD1 , D 2 1 N 40 0 3

+ 12

R ela y 4

W htGrnBlkR ed

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Host System Interconnect Diagram

TelcoIsolator

TelephoneLine

PowerModule

DC PowerSupply

WaveNode

PC/RadioAudio IFU

PC Mic

PC Line

On/off

PowerSensor

AC HousePower

StationControl

PowerModule

DCCoupler

2 31Dummy Load

RemoteAntennaSwitch

PowerModule

74HC154

DTMFController(DCI2)

TTL

+9 Vdc

+5 Vdc

Data I/O

Rig Mic

OptoIsolator

RemotePowerController

Remote Control Interconnect DiagramAE6PM 6/3/2013Revised 3/2/2014

Switched AC power on/off

FT-847 Transceiver

AnsweringMachine

USB/SER

HF Ant

Relay

Always on

Switched

PowerStrip

WirelessLAN

Spkr

Mic

USB

USB

Remote control interconnect.tcw

EeePC 1000Computer

WirelessRouter

TV Camera

CableModem

Internet

Port 8091

Built ormodified

CAT

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Host System Interconnect DiagramTelcoIsolator

TelephoneLine

PowerModule

DC PowerSupply

WaveNode

On/off

AC HousePower

StationControl

PowerModule

PowerModule

74HC154

DTMFController(DCI2)

TTL

+9 Vdc

+5 VdcOptoIsolator

RemotePowerController

Switched AC power on/off

AnsweringMachine

USB/SER

Relay

Always on

Switched

PowerStrip

WirelessLAN

Spkr

Mic

USB

USB

EeePC 1000Computer

WirelessRouter

TV Camera

CableModem

Internet

Port 8091

CAT

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Host System Interconnect Diagram

DC PowerSupply

WaveNode

PC/RadioAudio IFU

PC Mic

PC Line

PowerSensor

StationControl

PowerModule

DCCoupler

2 31Dummy Load

RemoteAntennaSwitch

Data I/O

Rig Mic

Remote Control Interconnect DiagramAE6PM 6/3/2013Revised 3/2/2014

FT-847 Transceiver

USB/SER

HF Ant

Spkr

Mic

USB

USB

Remote control interconnect.tcw

Built ormodified

CAT

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WaveNode™

Displays RF power, SWR, DC voltage and current plus several diagnostic displays. From WaveNode in Campbell, CA.

WaveNode WN-2(d)

Sensors connect to the box.Box connects to the PC via USB port.

I use the Logic Outputs to change antennas.

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TV Camera (Webcam)

Airsight XC36A handy for looking around the station and for troubleshooting PC problems

I purchased two of these. The first died in a few days – the second is still working.

Access directly from the internet. E.g., http://192.168.0.106:8092

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TV Picture

Screen shot of the network TV camera operating

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Issues & Answers

• Ham Radio Deluxe is no longer free– Last free version (5.24.38) works fine– TRX Manager might be an option (QST Feb 2006 p 62)

• LogMeIn is no longer free ($98/yr)– Consider GoToMyPC ($9.95/mo/PC)– Consider TightVNC (free)– Consider RealVNC ($30?)– Consider NetMeeting (Caution – See QST Nov 2002)– Consider Windows Remote Desktop (May require OS

upgrade)– Try HRD in Server mode?

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Issues & Answers

NortonSkype

•Host PC waiting for keyboard input was a major pain in the beginning

–Skype, Norton, Microsoft

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Issues & Answers

• Automatic updates need to be turned off– Microsoft and Antivirus (e.g. Norton)

• Sleep and Hibernation must be set to NEVER– Can’t connect to a PC that’s asleep or hibernating

• ISP fiddling around can knock cable modem offline– Keep their phone number handy (1-800-945-2288)

• ISP fiddling around can knock range extender offline (?)– Leave a key with someone (power cycle to restore)

• ISP changing WAN address disrupts TV camera– Use www.whatsmyip.com from host PC to find new address

• Need better protection from in-house phone dialing– Add “combination lock” to enable DTMF Decoder

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Operation

STARTUP• Start client computer (VGN-FS940)• Launch Skype on client computer• Call host telephone number

– Send DTMF 5 then 6 to power-up host computer– Not required if host computer was left in standby

• Launch LogMeIn on client computer– [email protected]/remoteops/mp6ea0491

• Call host telephone number– Send DTMF 5 then 7 to turn on host switched ac power

• Launch WaveNode on host computer• Launch Ham Radio Deluxe on host computer

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Operation

SHUTDOWN• Close HRD on host computer• Close WaveNode on host computer• Call host telephone number

– Send DTMF 5 then 8 to turn off host switched ac power• Close Skype on client computer• Select Start/Shutdown/Standby on host computer

– Leaves host computer in standby mode• Immediately disconnect LogMeIn on host computer

– So that program is not running when host computer tries to shut down

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Operation