Smart link Failure

W2PP · June 13

I guess I misunderstood. I thought I could connect to my 8600 from anywhere just by using SmartSDR. I can’t. I tried setting up Smartlink which I guess is for working away from home but it said during registration that PTT timed out and registration failed.

I think I’m missing something here!

Peter

Mike-VA3MW · June 13

Hi Peter

Yes, you can, but something must not be configured correctly.

You may wish to open a support ticket to have them follow up with you.

73

Al K0VM · June 13

Normally, you can only register the radio for Smartlink when you have local access to the radio (hardware PTT/CW). Once registered, you can operate from anywhere ( provided that the network radio-ISP interface is properly configured )

AL, K0VM

W2PP · June 13

am I supposed to push the PTT while registering?

Can you expand on proper procedures for the ISP?

Peter

W2PP · June 13

never mind. I found Ken’s post and see it’s incredibly involved.

I’ll read through that

so SmartSDR on it’s own will not work without a Smartlnk account is now my understanding

Peter

Geoff AB6BT · June 13

W2PP · June 14

ok I have it working.

For clarity and to be sure I understand it all

SmartSDR only works locally

SmartSDR and Smartlink work remotely

What is Smart Control for?!??

Peter

KD0RC · June 14

Hi Peter, check out section 9 of the SmartSDR User Guide. There is a good description of what it is and how to set it up.

W2PP · June 14

am I correct on the other two points?

And thanks. I found it

Peter

KD0RC · June 14

Yes, SmartSDR by itself works with a local connection.

SmartSDR with SmartLink is for remote connections.

Gord-VA7GP · June 14

Yes, Peter, you have the two SmartSDR modes correct. SmartSDR locally, or remotely use SmartSDR with SmartLink.

I love SmartControl! Basically, you run SmartSDR on your computer, then use the Maestro as a controller for SmartSDR. In this mode, the Maestro doesn't talk to the radio, but instead acts as a (very expensive!) computer peripheral. I love this mode because it gives me back the knobs and buttons I enjoy.

It is key to note that in SmartControl mode, none of the ports and features you use on the Maestro will work for you - everything either works through your SmartSDR PC, or the Flex radio itself: audio out, mic in, CW keying …. in SmartControl mode, these do not work with the Maestro.

HTH! Have fun!

W2PP · June 14

yes that I believe will wrap up this thread.
thanks to all

Peter

KD0RC · June 14

Hi Gord, a quick correction on the above. All clients (SmartSDR, Maestro, FRStack) only communicate with the radio (server) not with other clients.

SmartSDR and the Maestro are GUI clients, meaning that they bring audio and graphics (panadapter, waterfall) back. There can only be two GUI clients connected at a time and they operate independently. There can be any number of non-GUI clients connected (FRStack, SDRMonitor, etc, etc).

When a Maestro is put into SmartControl mode, it stops being a GUI client, and therefore is no longer an independent client. It is "bound" to a GUI client, but communicates with the radio directly. This gives the impression that it is talking with SmartSDR when, in fact, all communication is with the radio.

I only mention all of this because there is a lot of confusion about what talks to what in the Flex environment. Otherwise, your description of SmartControl is excellent!

g4ivv · June 14

Hi Gord,

Just a minor correction, the CW key input on the Maestro works in SmartControl mode, its one of reasons I use SmartControl (as well as the nice knobs of course). It's a much nicer CW keyer than that built into SmartSDR for MacOS for example.

73, Jonathan

Gord-VA7GP · June 15

"the CW key input on the Maestro works in SmartControl mode"

WHAT!!! I have got to try this!! Thanks Jonathan!

(in my home-station, I built a little box with a bunch of 1/4" and 1/8" jacks, all parallelled. My first idea was to use a bunch of keys, bugs, WinKeyer, etc in parallel, connected to one radio, so I could change keying on a whim. But after some time and beers, I added a second radio - my TS850! So now, a bunch of keys in parallel, feeding into the Key Inputs of both my Flex 6400 and also my Kenwood. I await another Amazon cable, with the intention of also adding my Maestro Key Input to the mix 😁 I'll try what Jonathan says (keying Maestro in SmartControl mode). But with all the other rigs parallelled, I may never know exactly which KeyInput is working 🤣😂🤣😂)

Thanks also, Len, for clarifying "who talks to what". I had that wrong, although I hope the perceived operation was helpful.

g4ivv · June 15

The other thing to note Gord is that when using the Maestro to key in SmartControl mode, the Maestro will generate the local sidetone for you and control the keying speed (you're using the iambic keyer in the Maestro - if you want to use a straight key change the keying mode of the Maestro). I use an external audio mixer to mix the sidetone out of the Maestro with the RX audio from the Mac or PC, but you can listen to the sidetone from the Maestro speaker so you don't have to do that. I primarily added the USB audio interface/mixer box so I could easily switch speakers, headphones etc between my Windows PC for contesting and my Mac mini for general use.

When I bought my 8600 I wasn't sure I'd get the Maestro as well, but am really pleased I did - I love using it. My radio is "remote" in my garage fed by gigabit ethernet and the CW keying from the Maestro works extremely well.

Smart link Failure

Comments

Leave a Comment

Categories