Remote Ham Radio Operating

Of all my hobbies, Ham radio has passed the test of time. I have been a ham since I was 15. At that time, getting your license was about the equivilant of a credit course. It included 3 tests: electronics and RF theory, Industry Canada regulations and, of course, Morse code (and, yes, we still use it today).

Until just recently, you needed to have all your radios, antennas, amplifiers, etc. at your home location. The internet has changed all that. I now run with all this equipment in a remote location that allows me to 'connect' to it from anywhere in the world.

My monthly internet bill at my remote base is about $45/month. Well worth the expense.

At the heart of this solution, are 2 software products. Both are free, however I do donate to the author of Ham Radio Deluxe on a regular basis. Simon HB9DRV does an amazing job with this product. Not only that, it is very solid code, even in beta versions. HRD manages all the radio connections, radio control, log book and many other features (too many to list). Adding a Griffin Powermate gives you a nice VFO feel.

That takes care of the radio control. What is left is the audio, and for that I use Skype. Skype's audio quality is darn good, and it can even be improved further by doing some tuning on your network/router just by opening a port that Skype can reference (this keeps your audio from being routed through a super node).

While contesting, I actually use my Heil Proset just plugged right into my laptop. Amazing audio reports.

I often go months without even touching my remote base (most of the winter). That means I need to make sure I can do things by remote control if need be. If the computer goes offline for what ever reason, then I can't do anything and I am off the air. I installed an internet based control board (designed by Hugh VA3TO), that allows me to:

1) Reboot the computer

2) Turn on the Astron PS70 power supply for the SGC500

3) Turn on the SGC SGC500 amplifier

4) Alarm back to me if the SGC500 trips offline

When setting up Windows XP, I have no antivirus installed, the firewall turned on and automatic updates turned off. I do apply all my updates when I am actually standing in front of the computer. I also run Spinrite a few times a year to ensure the hard drive health (this is an amazing tool and money well spent). No other product available does what this does. Also, taking some time to turn off all the services you need helps to improve the reliability of your remote computer. Last winter (2009), I went from Thanksgiving (Canadian) to mid May without even logging into the computer with VNC.

HRD will turn the radio on and off, so that isn't a problem. However, if the power to the TS-480 actually drops, then I can't turn the radio on at all. Majour problem, so I had to install a small lead acid battery in parallel to the Astron PS12 that runs the radio. I was able to go to a small power supply since I had the battery there as well. It has been 4 years now and no problems with that.

Cooling is a minor issue with the items all installed in box, so I added a small muffin fan and a thermostat to control it. It can reach 30C in the box, but that hasn't caused any problems. Even in the dead of winter, I have always been able to connect.

Antennas are controlled by a Elecraft KRC-2. Very well made unit and it gives you lots of options for controlling antennas. Right now, I am using an 80/40m trap dipole, a 6M vertical, and a Butternut HF6V. I am planning on adding the tower at some point and HRD will be able to handle the rotor control. When I do that, I will install a web cam so that I can keep an eye on the antenna and rotator.

Having just finished the RAC Canada Day Contest, I have to say that this is a great solution. In fact, it would be able to set up a full Multi-Multi station on a site like this and not even have the operators onsite here with the radios. All the operators would have a very long mic cord.