The Morphing of Projects (if they stay within reach)

Nothing stays the same.  This is the case for my Remote Station which has now morphed into a remote receive only HF & VHF iGate. After acquiring an SDRPlay RSP 1, I have now removed the IC-7300 and replaced it with the  RSP 1.  So now the remote consists of the NUC, the preexisting RTL-SDR and the SDRPlay RSP 1. This allows me to run APRS iGates on 30m and 40m using the RSP 1, and 2m terrestrial (145.175Mhz) and 2m satellite (145.825Mhz) using the RTL-SDR. 

Dealing with audio from the two devices created some challenges, however these were overcome as the DireWolf APRS software can accept UDP connections. I am using SDRuno for the HF side, running two virtual receivers, piping the audio via a virtual audio cable using the left and right channels for the 30m and 40m audio, respectively.  I am using the SDR++ software for the RTL-SDR,  as this allows for UDP audio streams. This software can also run multiple virtual receivers (to separate UDP ports).  Problem solved!

 

The DireWolf software is a very remarkable piece of software, which just seems to work without fail for years at a time.  I have used it mainly on a Raspberry Pi running Linux for probably over a decade. It seems just as stable on Windows 10.  Given that APRS on HF is using SSB DireWolf has the ability to setup multiple receiver pairs with filtering. This can be seen in the screenshot below.

It seems that the processes can only handle so much as I needed to reduce the number of receive pairs on the 40m side.  Nonetheless, this is still impressive.

The 2m side is working well, having received signals from both land and satellite sources. And the HF side works on the test-bench. One thing that is still required is the setting of audio and receiver gain levels, however I think I am getting close.

That's it for now.

Cheers

Links

• https://www.sdrplay.com/
• https://www.sdrpp.org/
• https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf
• https://vb-audio.com/Cable/

 

Remote Station - Update

Logistical challenges has meant that the Remote Station is still sitting in my study.  This has afforded me the opportunity to explore enhancements that would improve its operation.   One of the problems to overcome was that I needed to login to the remote NUC (using VNC) just to shut it down. failing to do this would leave the NUC open with Windows running or alternatively it being powered down without shutting Windows down first. Not great options.  So how can this be rectified?

In thinking this through I decided to explore a software option.  In undertaking an online search I found a program called AMP WinOFF.  Strangely enough it does what it says! It's a great little piece of software that can be configured to shutdown Windows if a number of conditions are met.  I have it configured to shutdown Windows if at least 10 minutes has past, and if the combined network data transfer rate falls below 10KB/s for at least 60 seconds.

This provides me with a 10 minute window of opportunity to connect with my streaming software (either the SpyServer or the Icom remote software). Once one (or both) of these packages is up and running the 10KB/s data transfer rate is exceeded and the NUC will stay live.  Once the streaming software is disconnected the transfer rate drops below the 10KB/s.  If it remains below this limit for 60 seconds and if the ten minutes has passed Windows will shutdown (and the NUC will power down).

Problem solved.  Well that problem is solved!

Cheers for now.

Icons for Windows Sound Control Panel

In looking around the web I came across VK3FS's website, it's full of interesting articles.  One in particular court my attention, it is titled 'Icom Icons for your Windows Sound Control Panel'.  Andrew has created his own ico images for some of the Icom radios.  I thought this was a neat idea as it make the sound settings a little easer to manage so I thought I'd have a go at making my own. Given that I have a growing collection of radios, I made a number to accommodate all current (and future) options . I used Adobe Photoshop and IrfanView. IrfanView can save images directly in 'ico' format, and it's Freeware!

The screenshots below are from my Remote Station. See what you think!

 

I currently have ico images for the IC-7300, IC-7610, IC9700, IC-705 and the C-108 USB Sound FOB.  They are available as a zip file below.

 

Cheers

Download ICOM-ico.zip

Remote Station - Update

The remote station project has (I think) reached completion. Recent additions include a USB hub and USB sound device. This will allow for decoding of HF Packet, etc.

I have installed a protection relay in the antenna line so when the radio is powered down the antenna is disconnected from the radio and shorted to ground.

The RTL-SDR addition is working well and the Wi-Fi Power Plug with Energy Monitoring is also a great addition.  This  enables me to see the current drain. For example, with the NUC running the current is around 250mA to 300mA and with it shut down that figure drops to about 70mA. When that is the case I can then remotely shut the whole system down safely.

The AH-4 Antenna Tuner just needs to be hooked in, and tested. 

Then to relocate it to VK6. That could be the biggest challenge! 

Remote Base - Update

Some (OK most) of my projects are slow in development and my Remote Base is no exception.  Nonetheless, I thought it was time to bring you up to date.  I have included the addition of a RTL-SDR  to the remote base. This was an easy step as there was a spare USB port just crying out to be used! This will provide wide-band VHF - UHF coverage using the SDR SPY Server software. I have also made the Tuner connection accessible externally.  A protection relay will need to be added to the TRX antenna port and that will be about it.

Cheers for now.

 

Remote Layout (including RTL-SDR)

Front panel status lights

Connections

 

RS-BA1 v2 - Version 2.30

If you have undertaken the firmware upgrade on your IC-7300, to version 1.40 (released on 26 Feb 2021) and you also connect to it with the Icom Remote Control software, then I recommend you also update the RS-BA1 v2 software to version 2.30 (released 5 March 2021) .

To take advantage of the updates you will need to go into 'Connect Set' and change the Model to 'IC-7300 (Ver1.40 -)'.  

Changes from Version 2.21

•  Supports the improved Scope function of the following models.
• - IC-705 with firmware version 1.24
• - IC-7300 with firmware version 1.40
• - IC-9700 with firmware version 1.30
•  A popup screen that displays when SPAN or EDGE change is added.

 Both the update on the IC-7300 and to the RS-BA v2 are, in my opinion, worth doing!

Remote Station

There are some projects that seem to need a lot of thinking time. Then you need the inclination, enthusiasm, and time to all line up. Then, if nothing else creeps in the way, the thought bubble becomes a reality, or at least it emerges from the corners of the mind and begins to take on a physical form. This is the case with my Remote Station. 

Originally, I was thinking of using my IC-7100, but these things evolve, and now I am going to use my IC-7300 (The IC-7300 was the main Home Base, but that was upgraded a few months back and the IC-7100 has been sold. My attempt at rationalization!) A second-hand i5 NUC was purchased over a year ago, and the Icom RS-BA1 Ver.2 Software along with some other software has been loaded and is ready to go.

Here is a progress report in picture. Power supplies (13.8v and 19v) need to be thought through, and installed, along with a fuse board of some sort.  I will mount some indicator lights on the front panel, so the status can be easily determined, by the uninitiated!

 

 

Let's see if we can bring it through to completion.

 

Remote Base

Over the last few weeks I've been contemplating that idea of a Remote Station using my IC-7100 which is currently in the car. I bought a secondhand NUC a week ago and ordered the Icom RS-BA1 Ver.2 Software. If took less that three days to arrive and I now have it up and running on the NUC connected to my IC-7300. So far so good!
 

NUC (Next Unit of Computing)

I just picked up a secondhand second generation NUC with 4GB of RAM (max 16GB) and a 250GB SSD running a Core™ i5-3427U Processor. It includes a Mini PCIe Duel Band Wireless Adapter with Bluetooth.

It is intended that this becomes the beginnings of a Remote Base Station.  Although it may find other more immediate uses.