My IC-7300 "Big Controller" (part 1)

Ever since I made the small "Nintendo Controller" for my IC-7300 (see this post) , I have been thinking , and thinking , and thinking ... about a bigger project. I wanted to control all kinds of functions in the IC-7300, that had no dedicated button, and were too cumbersome , involving several key presses (real buttons or on-screen touch buttons).

Almost two years have passed since then, and I still hadn't started this daunting project.

BUT !

In contrast to several of my other projects, which often remain in their "naked PCB" state .. this time I had one thing : a BOX !

It is an old D-link Ethernet repeater in a sturdy metal case, not one of those flimsy plastic boxes which are now so common (I see they even sell one on e-Bay for 25£ ... hi).
Here the front, back and inner of this box.







The sturdy construction, and metal shielding looked OK for my project, so I removed all the old electronics , and mounted two pieces of PCB on the original standoffs. Plenty of space to mount a linear supply (less RF noise !), and an Arduino Mega2560 (which I may have to shield if it makes a lot of noise ...).
I did keep the original Power input and switch, and the RESET button.
The power inlet does not contain a noise filter, I may change that later, if needed.





I wasn't sure if I really would needed the powerful Mega, but I wanted to try out several things, and didn't want to have to change from a Nano or UNO in the middle of the development ... and for the small price difference, it wasn't such a hard decision.

After some thinking, and consulting a few other hams that showed interest in my project, I came to this result as a first step. A FRONT panel !
Still not sure how the end product should look, I took it the safe way .. I made a mockup panel, made from PCB material (easy to drill and file etc), and mounted it on top of the original front panel. This gives a good impression of how it will work, and it is much easier to make a change in the wiring if needed.



For the display, I could have chosen a touch screen, since the IC-7300 also has a touch screen.
But for this project, I chose a cheaper TFT display with 160x128 resolution, and a rotary encoder for all MENU actions. I guess it makes things easier if someone wants to copy or adapt my design.
The many buttons will control all "direct" actions, requiring only one press !



On the front I have from left to right :
MIC input
4 buttons for M1 - M4 (and long press should give M5-M8, or auto-repeat for M1-M4)
3 toggle switches : MIC <-> Heil headset , Straight Key <-> Paddle for CW, the 3rd switched not decided yet, I just had space for another one , hi.

Then come 8 smaller buttons for several functions, the red ones would be a PF1 and PF2 (Programmable Functions, selectable via a settings Menu)

The black ones would be : band up , band down, cycle the band stacking registers, select power in steps 5 10 50  100W (powers settable via menu), TUNE (for using a manual tuner or external autotuner), USB out AF<>IF (for listening to DRM or using other SDR software).

TFT graphic display and rotary encoder for all MENU control and selection
I intend to use it as follows
short push = change display mode. Some ideas : analog S-meter, CW decoder,  other meter readings, the actual set parameters, time and temperature, ...
A long push on the encoder button would enter the MENU
Rotate left or right to make a selection.
Again a short push = go back one level.
A long push would  exit the menu completely.

And finally, a switch and two 3.5 mm connectors for a Heil (or other brand) headset, the switch near that connector then selects headphones or external speaker (or maybe just external speaker ON/OFF, and leave the headphone audio on all the time, not decided yet).

This is the back of the front panel ... no wires attached, so still a lot of work to do before I can even start the programming..



Now I still have to put some connectors on the back panel, where I will have lots of connectors for CW Paddle and several mechanical keys (I use a straight key, a Bug and a Cootie for SKCC operations) , CI-V to the radio, MIC to the radio, speaker input from the radio, external speaker output, input for a foot pedal, and maybe more ...

UPDATE 2019-09-23 : Connectors

I did put the connectors in the box in December 2018, but found no time to take a few pictures, so finally , here we go. Viewed from the inside, it looks like this.

From the outisde, these are the planned connectors, from left to right :

Mains power, COOTIE, BUG, Straight KEY, Paddle and KEY out to rig KEY input. Will all be wired in parallel, function will be switched in software like in my previous "Nintendo" controller.

Then come SPEAKER OUT, SPEAKER IN* from RIG, and the CI-V connection.

* I may change the speaker input to a fixed level AUDIO IN from the 13 pin ACC connector, so to have a fixed level for a CW decoder. Then I will have to include a seperate audio amplifier in the controller .. have to think about that ....

Finally there is a connector for a footswitch and the output to the RIG's MIC connector.
Maybe this can also be done via the ACC connector, so that I can continue to use the standard hand mic or a desk mic..

Standby for part 2, where I will describe all the wiring, Part 3 will then describe the Arduino code.
Anyone wanting to help "thinking", be it hardware or software, please contact me on my QRZ.com address. This will be a project for next winter (2019) I guess ...

73,
Luc - ON7DQ

SSST ....

Or "Short Sauerland SOTA Trip"

Since I reached over 900 activator points with my Friedrichshafen trip ... I couldn't resist to throw in another short trip to the place where SOTA began for me : the Sauerland region in North Rhine-Westphalia.
More info about the area : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerland 

So I did a 5 day trip from 6 - 10 September, keeping the motto : one summit a day keeps the doctor away ... and it would bring me another 34 points closer to Mountain Goat fame and glory ...

These are the summits I activated

Day 1 : DM/NW-194 (Heidkopf)

I started in Ostend at 05:30 to avoid traffic jams around the big cities .. and I was quite lucky, I arrived more or less on time at the parking space for Heidkopf.
I chose to ascend this summit from the Hasley Hütte, just south of Olsberg. Parking spot  51.343405, 8.490161.

The track is fairly easy to follow, still I made a few navigation errors, hi.
After removing my errors, I uploaded the track on the SMP site.
https://www.sotamaps.org/tracks/summit/DM/NW-194

It has a couple of steep places, but all in all it is a nice walk of around 1 hour, at the end you will find a lookout tower near the summit. The tower is in the AZ, so I set up my station on the lookout platform. The lookout cabin was locked, it would have been a nice shack ...

Since it was midday by then, I first had a snack ... and then started calling CQ ... 15 QSO's later it started raining :-(

So I had to pack and run ... and the rain really started pouring !
This time I made no navigation errors, but one hour later I was soaking wet when I arrived at my car ... so far for day one. I hoped that I didn't catch a cold, or I would need a doctor after all ... hi.

I rushed to my hotel in Willingen, and the nice pool and sauna there made me quickly forget the bad weather outside.

Day 2 : DM/NW-187 (Hoher Eimberg)

More bad weather was predicted for most of the day, so I did a visit of the Willingen Brewery first, and got a nice beer mug and tokens for two free beers .. to be enjoyed after my activation of course ;-)

My WETTER.COM app said it would clear up in late afternoon ... so around 15:00 local time, I drove to the parking spot at the end of the road with the appropriate name "Zum Hoher Eimberg", GPS position :  51.303752, 8.603395. Just around the corner to the right has a few more parking spots.

It's only a 20 minute walk to the summit, and you won't need a GPS to find it.
But I posted my track on the SMP for those that want it :
https://www.sotamaps.org/tracks/summit/DM/NW-187

The activation went well, but there was a cold wind, and at the end it started raining again ... so after only 17 QSO's I had to pack up my stuff and go back ... and have a beer !

Day 3 : DM/HE-046 (Hohes Gras)

I wanted to do a visit to the city of Kassel, so I chose this easy drive-up summit for the morning.
Parking is at the "Kletterwald Kassel" at 51.306301, 9.354249, and nearby is the "Waldgaststätte Hohes Gras", where you can get food and drinks for a fair price.

No track needed here, just walk past the restaurant, and find a nice place to set up. If you walk far enough you will find a bench where you have a nice view over the valley, but it is exposed to the sun. I chose a spot near the ski lift under the trees.

Since it was announced  that this Saturday was the OE5 SOTA DAY, I was hoping to catch a couple of S2S with OE, but as it turned out I worked ... NONE !
Still had a blast, with 36 QSO's in the log, and 13 of those were S2S !

Day 4 :  DM/NW-263 (Langenberg)

This was another new unique for me. I ascended this summit from the city of Willingen, 2 km from my hotel. I parked here : 51.288782, 8.583374 , in the street named Am Rodeland.
This is a very enjoyable walk along part of the famous Rothaarsteig (https://www.rothaarsteig.de/).

It took me 1 hour to reach the summit, the track is available here :
https://www.sotamaps.org/tracks/summit/DM/NW-263

Along the way, and on the summit, are several benches. If you set up on the summit itself, expect to have some curious looks from passing walkers and mountain bikers.
This is a very popular place, since it is the highest point in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Also some of these people make more noise than my radio or voice combined ... make sure you have good headphones which cover your ears, hi.

Propagation was very bad this day, and despite calling CQ for long stretches, I only managed 16 QSO's in total. But 3 of those were S2S, so not bad after all.



Day 5 : DM/NW-192 (Stüppel)

It was time to drive back to Ostend (a 450 km ride ...) , so I did one more summit along the road, with a short walk to the top.
You can park at the St.-Antonius Kapelle in Wasserfall, pos.  51.303273, 8.434778

It took me just 25 minutes to reach the summit, this is the track
https://www.sotamaps.org/tracks/summit/DM/NW-192

I had to make a short activation, because of the long drive home.

With 13 QSO's in the log, of which 1 S2S with another Belgian (F/ON7QR/P) , I went back to the car and started driving ... to arrive safely back in Ostend at 17:15 local time ... mission accomplished !

See you on another SOTA adventure soon ... Cheers !

73,

Luc - ON7DQ

ON7DQ Friedrichshafen 2018 - Day 10

Two more summits ... and then going home !

The last day of my trip was just routine .. two summits I have done several times before, and then a long, boring drive home.

ON/ON-016 (Les Aisances)

I went to my regular parking spot along the Rue des Routis, position 49.767429, 5.207851

I packed all my stuff and walked a bit back South, and setup along the road, where it is in the AZ.

Since I didn't have to walk very far, I took the Spiderbeam 12m pole for a change, so my endfed could hang perfectly vertical. 

I was a damp morning, so I kept it fairly short, but still was able to log 18 qso's, and 1 S2S.

ON/ON-021 (Plantis de Mesnil)

I was a bit in shock when I arrived at my last summit.

They had been cleaning out the woods, and three large trees occupied MY parking spot ! 

No other solution than to park along the road, at position 50.177294, 4.916858 , take my stuff and walk to the cabin on the summit.

The cabin would be a nice shack, unfortunately it is always locked :-(

It must have rained a lot before I came there, the track was in very bad shape. 

And since I was going home .. I had already put on an appropriate T-shirt , hi !

This is the same summit where I ended my tour in 2017, it was "The One with the Hat", you can read that story here.

My trip ended with a good activation, 26 qso's in the log, including another 3 S2S.

The drive home went without problems, well .... with the usal traffic delays around Brussels that is !

A truck had lost its load somewhere, so I spent 2 hours driving the mere 25 km around Brussels.

I started driving at 13:45 local at my last summit, and I only arrived home at 19:00 local time !

That's all folks !

73 de Luc, ON7DQ

ON7DQ Friedrichshafen 2018 - Day 9

Three summits in the Saarland .. and more

I had stayed in Kindsbach (near the Ramstein Air Base), only 37 km from my first summit for the day. So I could take a good start, hoping to do 4 summits, the 3 in the Saarland region, and one in Luxemburg.

I had received lots of info from John, DK9JC, so I had no trouble finding all the summits.

DM/SR-006 (Trautzberg)

I parked here  49.551675, 7.273230 , very near to a large windmill. I had read reports of noise from the windmills making heavy QRM, but I had no problems whatsoever.

My comfy operating position, in the company of a bunch of large windmills.

I had a nice run of 20 qso's, on 7-14-18 MHz , CW & SSB. This included two S2S qso's.

DM/SR-012 (Schaumberg)

Schaumberg is a very touristic place, there is a nice info page here.

The official parking is free, and is at position 49.486934, 7.027537

You could operate from the parking lot, since it is completely in the AZ. 

But to attract less attention, I went around behind the trees at the end of the parking, and then to the left, and found a nice spot to setup, and wasn't disturbed by any visitors.

I logged 23 qso's here, on 40m and 20m, a mix of SSB and CW.

I had 5 S2S, one of which was with good friend Phil, G4OBK, who was still hanging around in the FL/VO region.

DM/SR-075 (Langensteinchen)

I drove a bit further than suggested by DK9JC, right to the end of the road ... and parked here 49.530285, 6.569698, close to a nice shelter, which is in the AZ.
So I had a nice shack in the woods ...

I fixed the endfed and 9:1 UNUN to a wooden beam in the roof, and it seemed to work ok.

And boy , what a nice operating table, all to myself !

I had only 12 qso's and no S2S. Could it be that the roof of the shelter dampened my signal a little ?
I did not care too much, and quickly packed up for my last summit.

LX/LX-002 (Grengenwald)

EDIT : this summit is no longer valid for SOTA!

This was the third time I was at this summit.
The first time I followed the route by G4OBK (see track on SMP)
The second time I tried a route from the North, which is easier and shorter.
So of course, I went "my" route again this time.
Parking spot is here 49.670817, 6.206297, and just before the gate, to the left, there is a place for one car between the trees. This is what it looks like in Google Streetview.

NOTE : if you come from the South, it is forbidden and DANGEROUS to go left to drive into the parking spot, continue driving to the next intersection at 49.6689, 6.2034. Take a turn there and return to the parking spot, which is then at your right.

Follow the forest track beyond the gate, and take the left bend, which will get you in the AZ.

This time I kept walking until I was at a picknick table, which is a nice place to setup shack.

Not a big pile-up here, but still a nice activation with 8 QSO's, and 2 S2S. A happy activator at the end of another wonderful SOTA day.

Now, the AirBnb place I had booked in Luxemburg had been canceled just the day before I would stay. In a hurry, I had to look for another place, and found one in Arlon, in Belgium. 

So I still had some driving to do, but not after filling up with cheap fuel in LX, and having a good meal in the Lunch Garden, Arlon. Whenever I go there, I have to taste the "Boulets à la Liégeoise" ... mmmm.

More info on this typical dish here

The best place to taste them would of course be the city of ... Liège !

Continue reading ... go to DAY 10

or

Go back to overview HERE

ON7DQ Friedrichshafen 2018 - Day 8

Car trouble solved ... and two more summits

In the morning, it became clear that one cell in my car battery was dead.

Still, with only 10.8 Volt on the battery, I was just able to start my car , and so I drove off to the nearest repair centre. 

Next problem : for service, I had to make an appointment, and would have lost half a day !

So I asked, what if I replace it myself ?

Ah, no problem then, and they were kind enough to lend me a wrench , and I quickly put in the new battery and off I went ... 

DM/BW-077 (Braunberg)

A new summit for me, and as it turned out, quite a long walk too ...
I drove to this parking spot 48.44922, 8.20571
From there it took me one hour to reach the summit.

There are no views from the summit, but it is a very nice and quiet place.

I found a large flat rock to use as a shack table .. and as there was no wind , I used my brandnew SOTA flag to decorate my operating position, hi.

This activation went extremely well ... 30 qso's in the log.
This included some special ones .. I worked Mike, 2E0YYY on ... 10m FM !
And at the end of my activation, which already included some S2S contacts, my phone kept spitting out spots for summits that I probably could work ... so I kept searching and calling ... and in the end I had 11 S2S qso's, a good catch.

With all that I had been 1 hour and 15 minutes on the summit.
With the car problem, I had so much delay, that I decided to cancel two of the summits that I had planned, and just do one more and take it easy ... 

DM/BW-019 (Hornisgrinde)

For this summit, I took the "back road" which leads to the SWR transmitting tower, and parked here 48.610682, 8.202058
A short walk along the windmill to the summit, and I found a nice bench to operate.
The fun didn't last long though, as soon as I started operating, it started to rain slightly.
I kept operating as long as I could, but finally had to give up and return to the car.
Only 7 qso's in the log, and no S2S, oh well ...

After that, it was still a long drive to my BnB in the Saarland area, home of 3 nice summits in the DM/SR region, which I hoped to activate the next day.

Continue reading ... go to DAY 9

or

Go back to overview HERE