Remote Control & Operating
for Amateur Radio
Steve Maskrey – G6FDK &
M3DVA (Deva / Chester!)
Objective
• To show how, with your existing mainly
commercial radio equipment, it can be
remotely controlled - thus adding another
interesting dimension and further
enjoyment of our hobby
• To learn a little about Internet Protocol
networking
Introduction
• Early radio remote control
– Boot-mounted Pye Cambridge & Westminster
– 2-wire controlled remote base stations
• Broadcast Monitoring & Control Telemetry
– Unmanned transmitters, microwave & satellite downlinks, RBRs
– All equipment parameters, video & audio, CCTV & site access
• Lights-out data centres
– Full server & network systems remote control
• Internet & Computing Ubiquity
– Music, TV, social apps, smart-phones & tablets, energy M&C etc.
The Internet is becoming everywhere
• Amateur radio adoption of the Internet
– EchoLink, remote repeater & node-to-node communication
The Case for (Internet) Remote
Control
• Operating anywhere in your home
• Avoiding the cold garden shack
• Taking access to your favourite (but very heavy &
expensive!) radio on holiday
• Domestic planning restrictions
• Making use of your quiet (QRN / QRM) caravan or
holiday home (I wish!) radio location all year around
• Making use of a ‘supervised’ ham friend’s radio &
antenna system*
• Thanks to the Internet we now have the opportunity to
operate our station from almost anywhere we desire.
So how does it work?
• Requirements
– ‘Host’ or Station
•
•
•
•
Radio transceiver with computer interface
Desktop or laptop PC with RS232 / V24 serial interface
Host software
Internet connection – assumes ADSL/2/2+, VDSL (BT
Infinity) or cable
– ‘Client’ Station
• A PC or even a smart-phone or tablet
• Mic & Headphones
• Internet connection
Ofcom Licence Conditions
• 10 Unattended and remote control operation
– 10(1) The Licensee may conduct Unattended
Operation of Radio Equipment provided that any such
operation is consistent with the terms of this Licence.
• Must have a Full licence which can mean
reciprocal, temporary reciprocal or club licenses
• Foundation & Intermediate licensees can
operate remotely controlled stations using
500mW amateur band radio links
• I’m not sure about the validity of remote contacts
made for contests etc.
Internet Connectivity
• Assumption that you have a broadband Internet
connection at the ‘host’ station
– We need a fixed public IP address for our Internet
router
– Most of us have a public IP address that changes
periodically when our connection is reset by either the
ISP or ourselves when we power off
– Solution: www.dyndns.com – free to register & use
– So your home Internet router address becomes:
‘yourname’.dyndns.org:[port]
– Your router updates dyndns each time you have a
new public IP address
Router Setup
• Remote Desktop port: 3389
• Ham Radio Deluxe port: 7805
• www.portforward.com for help with your
router
PC Requirements
• Minimum 1Gb RAM, 10Gb HDD & RS232 / V24 serial
port or possibly a quality USB serial com port adapter
• Recommend Windows XP, 7 or 8 Pro
– You must set a password for RDP to work
PC Setup
• Setup a password
• Fix your LAN IP; e.g.
192.168.1.120
• Open up port 7805 for
Ham Radio Deluxe
remote control
Host Control Software
• Ham Radio Deluxe – developed by Peter
PH1PH and Simon HB9DRV in 2003 then
sold to Rick W4PC, Randy KØCBH, and
Mike WA9PIE in 2011
– www.hrdsoftwarellc.com
– v6.0 recently released $99.95
– v5.24 build 38 free
• Other software products available
• CAT cables from here: www.xggcomms.com/
And the Tx / Rx audio?
• PC Sound card
• Skype!
– Free and reliable
– Setup Skype host account to auto-answer
from your contact list – which should be just
you & possibly ham friends
• PTT transmit keying
Recap
• Broadband Internet connectivity
• Host PC / laptop with minimum Win XP/7/8 Pro,
1GHz, 1Gb RAM, serial port(s), password, fixed
LAN IP & open Windows firewall port 7805
• Client PC / laptop
• Ham Radio Deluxe v5.24, v6.x
• Skype; set for auto answer client at host
• Register & setup dynamic DNS
• Router Port Forward ports HRD 7805 & RDP
3389
• Open port 7805 in Windows firewall
Other Solutions
• RemoteRig for remote control & audio
www.remoterig.com/wp/
– Downside is you need to take the proprietary unit with you
• TRX-Manager software solution similar in
concept to Ham Radio Deluxe
• Glentek www.glentekcorp.com
Further Reading & Links
• Remote Operating for Amateur Radio
– Ham Radio, the Internet and Remote Station
Control
– Steve Ford, WB8IMY
• Many remote project demos &
‘instructionals’ on YouTube as well as
many example setups & photos
My other technology interests
• Computer networking for home & office
• Home & office real-time energy
monitoring, management reporting &
control; LED lighting
• IP CCTV for home and office security
• Raspberry Pi & Arduino computing
• Multi-media including Internet radio