Remote HF Radio Control Via the Internet
Morse Code Operation

Those of us who still have a DOS computer in the shack for contesting realize what fun it is trying to find software that will send acceptable Morse code from a multi tasking O/S like Windows. No fun at all. And nobody seems to have figured out how to do it yet...

So for the CW part of the remote station, we decided to 'think outside the box' - we wanted a completely external device that would handle the keying of the radio independantly from the server computer. After many nights of pondering how to design and build a box that would take ASCII characters from a COM port and in turn key the radio, we realized we already had a half dozen such boxes in the junk pile, so we pulled one out and used it...

The CW keying is handled by a TNC (something that most hams have or have had in the shack at one time or another) and something that no died in the wool CW operator would EVER admit to actually USING to send Morse code. That's why it took a week of pondering how to build our CW box before we realized we already had some....

We figured that in this application, since the radio we are controlling was 4,000 miles away, it would be OK to use the TNC to send the CW for us.

The SERVER software controls the TNC via a COM port on the server computer. It takes care of speed changes, setup parameters, etc.

The CLIENT software gives the remote user the ability to type what is to be sent in Morse code, which is then sent as a command containing the ASCII text over the internet to the SERVER software, which in turn sends it to the TNC.

The CW interface has a line where the operator types what it to be sent and then sends it to the SERVER by pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard. Buttons are available for repeating functions such as callsigns. The user can also send (or loop) a previously configured CQ and can also control the timing of the CQ on the setup screen. Sending speed is controller by the operator using the mouse.

The CW sidetone is relayed from the radio back to the operator via the audio link so that the operator can monitor what is currently being sent. A function key may be used to immediatly stop the current transmission.

The SERVER software automatically controls switching of the radio from receive to transmit and back to receive again.

The four CW memories in the FT-920 can also be used for preprogrammed CW messages but the CW sending speed of the radio is not adjustable thru the CAT interface as it is when using the TNC.