New to 6400 ... need help for remote setup

W4AFK Bruno

I am located near San Diego but my remote HF station is in Florida (see my QRZ page). Just bought a used 6400 w/SmartSDR license from the local Florida ham and had my ham friend (who hosts my remote station) pick it up and configure the 6400 via the LAN (i.e. registered SmartSDR v2 (for now ... see below), updated FW, etc.).

>> It works locally <<

When I try to access it from here using SmartSDR, it sees the radio but cannot connect. Says it needs an update and it needs to be done locally, but Allan doesn't see any update available when he checks SmartSDR via the LAN.

I searched the forum read the manuals and read lots of info. So I am certain that I missed something, hence this posting.

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1. Do I need to setup any port forwarding on my remote router? If so, can someone point me to where I can find this info? I read that you can set it for auto but I can't even access any settings remotely.

Note that I remotely manage my present system and I do have port forwarding for my TS-480SAT / amp remote system)

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2. When I start SmartSDR, it automatically starts DAX and CAT. Is that needed? In any event, I can't do anything remotely as it says that I need to be on the LAN.

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3. I will license SmartSDR v3 once I get v2 running. The plan is for me and Allan to share the 6400. He would access it via the LAN through my router and I would access it via the Internet (Local router & fiber --> Remote Cable modem & router). Note that I have a separate cable modem and router in the Florida station garage and he has a buried CAT5 cable from his home to the garage so we can share my radio network. This way, I am totally separate from his home cable modem/system

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4. This being said, how can a remote user fully manage the radio if he is "2682 miles" away? For example, updating firmware, setup, etc.? When I try with v2 it says that it's "not supported at this time". Is it supported in v3?

How do you manage a "far-away radio" remote setup now?

I'll keep on reading and watching YouTube videos but if someone can point me in the right direction that will save me time.

W4AFK Bruno

One step closer ... I activated UPnP on my router and I now have the COM ports. However, it still shows the yellow LED and UPGRADE. Now I have SmartSDR v2.4.10. Must his SmartSDR be the same version? I wonder if he didn't have the previous version?

The reason why I ask is because he does NOT see the yellow "pseudo-LED" or "Upgrade". His is GREEN and he can access the radio.

KI4P

well, not sure how much help i can be, first is a 6400 or 6400M? he will need to setup the remote. in smartlink setup where he configures the user name and password and callsign, there is a spot to set up the router for auto or manual, does he get the green light when he clicks the test button? may have to do port forwarding manually, also i think all have to be on same version software, you, him, and radio, not much im afraid but maybe a little help.

Good luck!

W4AFK Bruno

Flex 6400 w/firmware 2.5.1.130

He gets the green light and can access the radio via the LAN.

He has 2.5.1 and I have 2.6.2 so I asked him to install 2.6.2 as I suspect the same as you. (I plan to license 3.x.y once we get it running on 2.6.2)

I configured the router for UPnP and it allocated a virtual COM port.

The problem is that on my SmartSDR, I can't get to the radio as I have the YELLOW "pseudo-LED" and button that both say "Upgrade". He does NOT see that in his SmartSDR.

This is just day 2 of a non-typical setup where I am 2682 miles away from the radio. Learning :wink:

W4AFK Bruno

Success !!!

Once he installed 2.6.2 he saw the same UPGRADE message. He upgraded and I am now able to access the remote system.

I'll probably license version 3.x.y in a couple of days.

Latency is "good" (yellow bars ~100ms), not that bad for a ~2680-mile link from San Diego to Palm Bay, Florida.

Question - I wonder if v3 lets you perform remote firmware radio updates via SmartLINK? I can remotely "cold boot" the radio so having the ability to make updates would be very helpful.

KI4P

the network status on the scale is his internet connectivity, should be green, mine occasionally drops to yellow for a few seconds and then back to green. good luck, hope ive helped a bit, let us know how it turns out

Richard - KI4P

W4AFK Bruno

Mine is YELLOW but then again, I am 2682 miles away. Note that even YELLOW, the system works fine.

W4AFK Bruno

Follow-up question - When you shutdown SmartSDR, does the Flex automatically turn off (i.e. standby by mode)?

KI4P

no! not till you push the green button, then its still in a sleep state until you turn off power to it,