In my first post about the IC-706 remote kit I wrote that we don’t really need to care about what data protocol is used between the radio and the front panel; all we need is to route the data between a serial port and a network socket. However, it turns out that taking a closer look at the protocol is not only a good idea but also necessary for efficient remote control.
Radios
Articles and blogs about radio receivers and transmitters. Both commercial off the shelf radios and home made DIY experiments by Alexandru Csete OZ9AEC.
DIY remote kit for the IC-706 part 1: Proof of concept
Few months ago I purchased a used ICOM IC-706MKIIG in good condition and for a quite reasonable price. The primary reason for this acquisition was that l am spending 2.5 hours every day driving a car between my home and my work place and I wanted a mobile radio setup for shortwaves. Because of the detachable front panel the IC-706 is extremely suited for this purpose.
My mcHF UI board is alive!
After completing the UI board I really wanted to see it work and test it one way or other without the RF board.
mcHF build status 2014.07.19
Last night I mounted the LEDs, the electrolytic capacitors and the LCD panel. I am using the HY28B which is why the display doesn’t align with the push buttons.
mcHF build status 2014.07.05
I forgot to post this update but I did make some progress since the last report in June. Finished mounting all connectors, buttons and encoders, see photos below.
mcHF build status 2014.06.23
Last night I finished mounting all the small parts on the UI board and today the board got cleaned of extra flux (there was a lot).
Ready to build
All parts have now arrived and I am soooo ready to build my mcHF 
Software Defined Radio the way it should be
I have been looking into various options for building my own radios again, this time taking advantage of software defined radio technologies. I’m not crazy about using a PC for running the SDR application. While a PC offers great performance and flexibility, it makes a clumsy radio setup not at all suitable for portable and mobile use.
Updated fcdctl for the Funcube Dongle Pro and Pro+
About a year ago I wrote about my modified fcdcontrol application that could be used with the Funcube Dongle Pro and Pro+. The news back then was that it could be used on the Raspberry Pi to control the FCD instead of the continuously failing attempts at running qthid. Unfortunately, the fcdcontrol application often crashed due to a problem at the hidapi / libusb layer.
Listening to my IC-765 one last time
I decided to sell my IC-765 and start upgrading my shack with newer radio that better support remote operations. However, before doing so I turned it on just one last time and recorded this video to remember how good it sounds.