Remote station

We started a remote connection back in 2021, starting with a K3 and K3mini using remote rig RRC-1258 boxes to facilitate this link and it worked well but had some issues on SSB which we have learned there may be a fix for. I was fortunate to win an IC-7610 at Dayton Hamvention in 2022 and that took over as the remote radio using Icom RS-BA-1 software which has some significant limitations such as only one Virtual COM port and no VOX.

I was able to contest using a VNC connection to my pc located at AA1K and N1MM was connected to the radio for rig control via USB and I was using Mumble for the audio connection and a function key macro in N1MM for PTT. This worked but not to my standards. To have PTT and Rig control at the remote PC I used the RS-BA-1 software and the Icom RC-28 remote encoder for tuning and PTT. Icom uses Mumble for the audio in their software but having the ability to tune the rig and adjust settings locally was far more convenient. With the updated setup we came in 6th place in the 2023 CQWW SSB contest in the multi-multi category using the callsign of our late friend Dallas W3PP.

After CQWW I decided there had to be a better way to operate remote. Enter FlexRadio. SDR radios have intrigued me since inception, and I decided to pull the trigger on a Flex 6400 after borrowing one to test out from Ray K9RS. With the Flex I now have rig control, N1MM, KPA1500 remote and Green Heron Everywhere running on my home PC. I setup Hamachi (free for up to 5 devices) for the VPN connection setting it to not be my primary network device allowing my PC to connect to the internet without going through the VPN thus reducing overhead on the already taxed connection (Verizon hotspot at AA1K vs the Verizon 1gb fiber connection at my QTH). With this configuration we did very well in the 2024 ARRL DX SSB contest as a 2 man Multi-Multi station.

The Switching

AA1K has/had a mix of homebrew antenna switching and Top Ten Devices switches. My philosophy with most things falls under the K.I.S.S. system. I started down the path of homebrewing all the relay controls with some off the shelf USB relay boards. These while inexpensive out of pocket, the amount of time and complexity of wiring and configuring the number of relays needed to control the myriad of antennas at AA1K just was not something I had time for while working full time. I also didn’t want to mix and match hardware and software to make it all work since the repair of a complex system would fall on my shoulders. If something fails in the middle of a contest I want keep troubleshooting as simple as possible.

We looked at the various options and decided to go with Green Heron Engineering. We both have experience working on Green Heron products professionally with our tower business and it seemed like a good fit for what we trying to accomplish. We also already had at least one RT-21 rotor controller in use. We went with the 8x4 coax switch and around 6 (so far) GHE Wireless remote relay boxes.