So I have some down time when I'm away from the house and I have been playing around with doing digital modes remotely.  The current way I'm doing it, which kinda sucks, is using Teamviewer to remote in to my desktop and using Fldigi or  that way.  My problem is I have a multi-band antenna and need to activate my tuner between band switches which I can't do, and I also can't monitor my SWR and power output.  So, I'm stuck setting up for 1 band and then memorizing which software settings give me certain power output.  No band switching.



Is there any hardware/software I can use to "push" the Tune button and monitor my power out & SWR that I can still use while using other software like Fldigi?



I thought about setting up a webcam on the radio , but that does not help with my "tune" issue.



Rig is an IC-7200 with IT-100 tuner which activates when I hit the "tune" button on the radio face.  Software used is as mentioned above, and can use on Windows 7 or Mac OSX.  I also use the last free version of HRD for SSB logging, but do not like DM708 for digital as much as Fldigi.



Thanks in advance!

You could use Ham Radio Deluxe and set up a macro to use CI-V commands to send the Tune command. It is fairly simple to use the macros. HRD also has a built in remote server. You may need to set up your router to forward the correct ports though...not sure about what it uses since I've never finished setting it up.

DX lab suite might be another option.  The DX commander is the rig control portion.  No cost ...

Nick

But, as I think about it, doesn't FLDIGI have configuration options for meter reading & display as well as customized command pass through?   I don't have any knowledge of the CI-V command set for ICOM, but it would probably be worthwhile to see what options are available.  You may find you can get FLDIGI to poll meters for current values & set up controls for running the antenna tune, etc. and be able to use what is currently there.

ETA -  not FLDIGI,  should have said FLRIG ...   That is the package built to integrate with FLDIGI & do the heavy lifting for rig control.

Nick

You know I had never even heard of FLRIG, but if it is built to work with FLDIGI it may be exactly what I need.  I'll play around with that tonight and see what I can get to work.



 

I have quite a bit of experience remotely operating my station...

Actually you've chosen a pretty good way, although Teamviewer would not be my choice for remote access. If you are running the "pro" version of XP, 7 or 8, you can use Microsoft Remote Desktop (RDP). However to use RDP you need to be able to open a port on your router. If that sort of network work is not your thing, then maybe Teamviewer is the best choice for you. RDP is the lightest weight, speediest screen sharing method available, though.

As for rig control, as others have mentioned you have a choice between Flrig, Ham Radio Deluxe (new pay version 6, or the old free version 5--search for "HRD free") and DXCommander. You might also look into the Icom RS-BA1 software. It costs money, but would work great with your 7200. RS-BA1 would get you SSB phone capability as well.

RS-BA1 would be the most capable. HRD the next most but it's very complex. I used to run HRD with my 7000 for remote access. I've never used Flrig, but I do use and like Fldigi very much. I also use DXCommander, but only in the background to automate log entries into DXKeeper.

Leaving aside the RS-BA1 solution, if you want to run SSB phone, you'll need to make a VOIP link to your system someway. A lot of people use Skype. Again that is a clunky way that avoids having to port forward your router, but suffers from high latency (time delay). If you do choose to do the necessary router configuration we can talk you through it, if you'll pardon the pun Then you can use something like Remaud which is a very lightweight, low latency solution.

Right now I'm running a Flex radio, so when I RDP into my station computer I see PowerSDR and have full control over my rig. For digital I use Fldigi. For phone I use Remaud. And since I have an Elecraft KPA500 amp and have it plugged into the station computer also, I can even run my amplifier remotely using the KPA500 Remote software. On poor internet connections I have to disable the panafall display otherwise I get problems with audio. Other than that it works very smoothly. On the remote side I'm just running RDP client and Remaud client, that's it. Everything else runs on the station computer. The one thing I need to get is an internet controlled powerstrip. That will help me avoid the always embarrassing but now thankfully rare call to the XYL, "Uh, honey, would you please go into the office and cycle power on the computer?"

Followup:  Flrig did the trick!  Works great with fldigi and the "tune" button activates the autotuner, plus I can see power out and swr.  No JT modes and it does not play well with WSJT-X, but oh well.

Teamviewer will work well for WSJT-X. It is so macro based that I have run it remotely over 3G/iPad Though you still have to deal with setting your output power...

Yeah, but my problem is I can't switch bands on WSJT-X and activate the autotuner.  Also can't see my output power and SWR.



Flrig and WSJT-X do not play well together, and actually if I have WSJT-X open I have to turn the radio off then on to "free up" the port before I can use another program for rig control.  It is like WSJT-X locks the port up until I "disconnect" the radio and "reconnect".  Does that make sense?



I don't have that problem with other programs.



 

Is it locking up the comm port used for PTT or the audio ports ?

Yep makes sense. I assume that you are connecting directly to the radio from WSJT-X?
I don't think it will work with Fldigi, but if you have DX Lab or HRD then you can connect to the radio via those programs.

As an example, my setup is:  WSJT-X  ->  HRD  ->  Radio
It has been awhile since I tried DX Lab, but it is an option in WSJT-X so I assume it would work the same way.

Maybe someone with fldigi can chime in if they know of a way to make them work together.

Comm



 

Can you have HRD and WSJT-X open at the same time?  I must be missing some setting somewhere, because I can't have more than 1 open at a time with rig control working.  The (new) exception being flrig and fldigi.



 

Yes you can do that if you have WSJT connect to the radio through HRD. Otherwise both programs would be trying to use the same COM port. So, in other words, HRD is the only program talking to the radio and WSJT-X uses HRD. Actually this way, I have had HRD, WSJT-X and JT65-HF all running and keying at the same time.

I don't want to hijack the thread but could you describe how you do that ?
I was just talking to somebody yesterday about how you could run multiple pieces of software that all need a comm port.

In this case it is just a feature of the software involved. It is not a generic COM port sharing solution. I do the following for my setup:

Start HRD and allow it to connect to the radio via USB

Start WSJT-X
-Setup
-Configuration
-PTT Method CAT
-Enable CAT
-Rig: Ham Radio Deluxe (by selecting this, you don't need to enter any COM port information as the two programs will be communicating directly)
-Click Test CAT Control and verify frequency is correct
-Click Test PTT and verify the rig is keyed. (click again to take rig out of transmit mode)

Start JT75-HF
-Rig Control
-Check Use HRD for PTT
-HRD Server address: Localhost
-Port: 7809
-Click Test HRD PTT to make sure it keys the radio.

Once the setup is complete you don't need to go through this procedure every time.

You need VSPE. It will allow you to share serial ports and solve all sorts of serial port problems. It is a major part of my station and works well.

Right.............

Thanks. I had done that before but forgot how I did it.
I kind of took the summer off from ham radio and now I have to completely retrain myself on stuff like this

Holy shit thank you!  This is exactly what I needed!



Now if I could only get fldigi to work the same way so I could switch between them...



 

Will look into this, thanks





 
 
 

http://pignology.net/pigremote/





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