Remote K3, the Easy way...

[w0ih]

Remote Control

I do a limited amount of travel, but when away from home, I like to be able to operate my K3 on the ham bands, and sometimes find that it gets a bit complicated getting things setup to operate.
I’ve tried Ham Radio Deluxe and had mixed success getting connected up remotely.  The biggest problem is the need to know your IP address (you can use DynDns or No-Ip). Plus, you still need to get the audio setup and running.   However, I’ve found what seems to be a simpler process and allows for some added benefits.

Remote Control Computer Software using Team Viewer

To start with, I’m using TeamViewer which is free for non-commercial use.  

 http://www.teamview.com
 
This is a computer remote control application that allows you to log into another computer and view the desktop and control the computer.  The added benefits of TeamViewer is that it does not require you to know your base station computer IP address, and also includes a VOIP (Voice Over IP) so that you don’t need to start up a separate voice application like Skype.   When setting up, you just need to learn a few things, like when starting up the VOIP, you need to enable the Voice-Over-IP and un-mute both the local and remote microphones (there may be a setting to do this by default, but I haven’t found it yet).   I use an inexpensive computer headset with a microphone and get very good audio reports.

There are more advantages to this where you can see your full remote desktop applications, as I’ll point out later.

Incidentally, this will require that you keep your base station computer on all the time.  I turn off the monitor, it’s not needed.   If you’re a bit more ambitious, you may want to investigate using “Wake On Lan” for your computer, but again, this is more complicated, but you could save this step until later if you feel you need it.

Power Up the AC and Rig Control Enable

The next thing that you need to figure out is if you want to power your radio on and off remotely.  I happened to have a control that I can use to turn on an AC power strip through a 15 amp AC relay.  I modified a standard AC strip by adding a cable from the AC black wire to go up to the relay and then back down to the AC strip.  Turning on the relay turns on the AC for my 12v power supply and my rotor control.    This same control has a second relay that allows making a connection to the ACC2 connector on the K3 to remote power up the rig by pulling Pin 8 to Pin 5 (Gnd) for a short period of time to turn on the K3.  Reference page 18 of the K3 manual for this.  To power it off, you need to send a serial command to the rig from your K3 control software.

There are other options to allow relay control through the computer.  Simply do an on-line search for “usb relay” and you’ll come up with a number of options, for as low as $30.  You should be able to work with a 10 amp, 120 volt relay to power your rig and a few light peripherals.
The application that I wrote for the AC power strip also has a timeout, so that if I lose the connection, it will automatically turn off the rig after some period of time.
You might also consider another relay that would trigger the PTT line and force a 5 to 10 minute timeout in case you lose the internet connection.

Remote K3 Control using NO5W software:

The K3 will of course need to be connected to the computer through the serial port.  The connection that you used for updating your K3 firmware is the normal connection that is used for firmware updates.

As I mentioned before, you can use Ham Radio Deluxe, however, I found that the CQX Client software available at http://www.no5w.com  to be easier to learn and use.  The software package free and is intended for mobile contest logging (and seems very nicely suited for this task, interfacing with a GPS) but the thing that I like so well, is that once you connect up to your K3, there is a functional K3 application (by clicking “More” button in the upper center of the application) that allows you to control the K3 in a way that is very user friendly.  We’re lucky that Chuck is such an avid K3 fan!

For some examples:  http://www.no5w.com/CQxK3RemoteKit.html

Quick Start Reference:  http://www.no5w.com/Documents/QuickStartForK3Testing.pdf

Basically, it has an operational picture of the K3 with the controls activated so that each one works with the K3 using the same “tap” and “hold” features that you’re used to, including the Power switch.  

 For remote operation, to turn the rig on, you pulse a set of contacts on the K3 ACC2 connector and the rig powers up.  To turn it off, you press the “Power” button on the K3 application.
Frequency control is pretty simple.  The normal control uses the Up/Dn keys in conjunction with the resolution radio buttons just below the tuning knob.  There’s an added feature using the PgUp/PgDn keys to move 5 kHz for each press.

There are a few minor things that you will need to learn, such as to adjust the bandwidth, you can use the “Small” K3 Control Subset.   I would suggest that you play with the controls and get used to them before operating remote from your vacation home.   There are some very clever controls that allow you to change a lot of the K3 settings with the various controls that are built in.

I’ve been in contact with Chuck on his CQx application.  He mentioned that if there is enough interest, he could pull the K3 application out from the logging software and make it available as a stand alone app.  If you are interested, just send a note to [e-mail] and let him know you are interested.  

Operation with Other Features

Using TeamViewer, I found that there were some other added advantages in that any application that you run on your base computer, can be viewed through the remote station.
I have a rotator control that can be adjusted through a serial port.  Using the software for this (an option in Ham Radio Deluxe) I can turn my rotator to any direction.  The rotor controller is plugged into the same AC power strip so it is powered up with the rig supply.   Another somewhat simpler application is LpRotor available at

http://www.telepostinc.com/            Look for the “Downloads” along the left hand column.

I have a P3 that I use with the K3, and I seem to be spoiled using it.  It’s a great addition to any station.  Using a webcam, I point it at the P3 to view the display before I leave.   I open an application locally on the base station so when I log in, it allows me to see the band display on the P3 visually to tune to any signal that I can see.  I still want to try watching both my P3 and K3 at the same time to see if I have enough resolution to view both.  This would allow me to verify all of my settings and feel a bit more comfortable with everything.

Both of these applications run locally on the control computer.  You simply view and control them from the remote desktop.

Other Modes:

Sorry, but I’m not much of a CW operator these days, so that wasn’t a target requirement for me.  I haven’t tried it yet, but Ham Radio Deluxe also has DM780 that supports CW through the keyboard, as well as other modes.

Another possibility that I found was CwType at http://www.dxsoft.com/en/products/cwtype/

Conclusion:

I’ve found this every easy to use, and to be honest, I’m still learning.  One thing that I have yet to overcome is how to switch between my 3 antenna connections, but solving these issues is part of the fun.