Direct PC Connection

Larry Williamson

Probably a dumb question so here is goes--
Can a use a cat 5 splitter to connect both the shack pc and the flex radio? I seem to be running about 230 ms while in remote use (the shack PC is using wifi with full green signal bars). I am just wondering If connecting the PC directly to the router would increase the speed.
Thank You
Larry

Paul Lourd

Is this because you only have one cat 5 coming into the shack and its connected to the Flex? If so, just buy an inexpensive 4 port switch. 1 port to the router, one to flex, and one to PC.

KF4HR

A direct connection to your router is a good idea.  Or you could also put an Ethernet Switch in your shack and hardwire it to your Router (example: NetGear GS108).

Tim Osborne

Slightly off-topic, but for those where the "shack" isn't that close to their router - but within Wi-Fi range -  what worked great for me is a 4-port switch (as mentioned above) with the PC and SDR and a WiFi/Ethernet adapter connected to it.  

I used an IOGear GWU627 Wi-Fi adapter and a Netgear switch.  The Wi-Fi adapter talks to the router and the switch manages the traffic from the PC and radio.  I turn off the home PC's Wi-Fi and let the Wi-Fi adapter  and switch handle all traffic.  (reasons are noted below)

I didn't have to run cables from my incoming router way over to the radio, and the switch knows how to send packets from the local PC or the remote PC so that the latency is pretty short (<2ms local;  80-120ms remote, depending on the ISPs involved).  

Whether I use Teamviewer to remotely connect to the home PC (preferred, but not allowed at work) or remotely via SmartSDR, it all just kinda works.  And of course locally it's a breeze.

BTW I tried all sorts of configs to get the home PC to share or bridge its built-in Wi-Fi to save buying an external Wi-Fi adapter ... and they all had frustrating idiosyncrasies, especially if the Wi-Fi dropped and the PC got confused as to who was boss, network-wise.  You can waste hours trying to set bridging metrics and it will never work the same way twice.  

Larry Williamson

Good News---- The wife said " why don't you just install the router in the shack- there's no reason it needs to be out in the living room". No why did I not think of that??? She said " the router is just sitting behind the tv and not hooked to anything as every thing in the house is wifi".
So-- it took about half hour to drill a new hole with a nice wall plate and bingo! Now both PCs and radios are plugged directly onto the router

Thanks for the replies

Jerry W2TXB

I wish running a permanent direct cable was that easy at my house. To "hard wire" my radio's PC and the radio to the router would require having to drill many holes and "snake" the cable from the location of my router (and cable modem) into a wall, up that wall, into and across the attic, down the wall of my radio room, and then out the wall to the PC and radio. 😲

I currently connect my 6700 to my PC via cable, and the PC is connected via wi-fi to the (5 gHz) network; everything works OK in that configuration, but I have not attempted (yet) to remotely connect to the 6700 from (for example) elsewhere in the house... not sure if it would work. My connection is "Excellent" (1 ms latency) and speeds are very fast (Ping = 18-20, Download = ~220, and Upload so that part is OK.

Now running 2.7.6 and wondering is upgrading to v3.x.x would allow me to operate remotely with my current network connection as described.

Mike-VA3MW

@Jerry W2TXB

You have a few options. If there is RG59 coax running around your house from Cable TV, you could add Moca media converters at each end. I do this now at my cottage with a 300ft run. They are very reliable and work great. Some cable modems already have this technology built in that you can leverage.

Or, you could try 'PowerLine' devices which will carry your Ethernet traffic over your house wiring. I have used these as well and when they work, they work fine.

Both are available on Amazon.

In both cases, they are much more reliable than attempting to use WiFi.

Moving from 2.7.6 to 3.2.39 will not make any difference in this regard as it is the same code base with the addition of MultiFlex being available.

73

Jerry W2TXB

Mike,

The TP-Link (a rather interesting name) devices may be an option as I have not existing RG-59 (or similar) cabling available where it would be needed. I see a few other brands as well on Amazon (Netgear, TrendNet, etc.).... will consoider this option. Thanks!

73,

Jerry

John KB4DU

Based on Mikes previous recommendation, I acquired a pair of the tplink power wiring ports and use them between the router in the living room and the shack at the other end of the house, and they work well with zero issues. Fortunately, the shack connection is a pretty low data rate, with spotting/logging, no streaming or similar.