Accessory control

Greg

I know Flex is working on a solution for accessory control such as amps and antenna switches. I hope they seriously consider a USB dongle as I have mentioned in other posts. In the mean time, I had been using a Microham Stationmaster which has done a good job but is limited to controlling only half of my 2x6 antenna switch and does not allow for any remote control to change antennas from their default selection established during setup. I am going to be trying the Green Heron Everywhere wireless devices. This includes one base unit which talks to multiple wireless remote devices. I will have one remote out at my Hi-Z rx antenna with power injected on the RG6 with a bias-T from Hi-Z. Another remote with 16 relays outside at my 2x6 switch and one remote with 8 NPNs to create a BCD matrix to band switch my amp. The remote connected to the amp will also manage connectivity of the RT21 rotor controller through its onboard serial port. I know this solution requires a simple computer to run as a server in the shack during remote operating but thats it. When you set up the various devices the controls are available from the GHE Client software from any computer on your LAN or over the internet. With the BIAS T in use to provide power over the coax there are no other control lines needed. And for RX antennas using RG-6 Hi-Z now sells (through DX Engineering) a version specifically for RG-6. They also sell a similar wireless setup specifically for the Hi-Z antennas but the GHE version is much more flexible. The GHE Server gets the radio frequency information from either N1MM, WinTest or from PSTRotator using UDP packets. I have suggested that they condisder using the Flex API to get the frequency info directly from the radio and not have to rely on another piece of software running. Seems like a good match considering the inherent nature of remote capabilities of both products. I use PSTRotator anyway but the API seems like a much more efficient solution. I think he will need more flex users to do that though. 73 Greg AB7R