OBSERVATIONS FROM NORWAY. 010220101030Z.

Satellite Remote - (portable).

Subtitle: How to control your station from afar.

 Where on earth is afar, - (you may well ask) ... 'Afar' is a hamlet (not omlet) situated about 200 km south of Tobruk in the Sahara desert in Libya ... (bin there - dunnit). (kidding! ... though I have! been there - but the hamlet is called Jairabub, not Afar).


The circuit shown will allow you to turn your computer and rigs on from afar, (remotely) using RDM software and your mobile phone. then turn them off again, together with your computer, after completing a QSO. It can be seen that judicial use of relays and a sequencer circuit will allow you to control other applications at your home QTH. The sequencer may be as simple as an LM324 quad opamp or a series of NE555 timer circuits. Doppler tracking (in my case InstantTRACK because I use 22 year old rigs without a CAT interface) and aerial tracking (NOVA) can be controlled remotely (directly) from your desktop by your mobile phone with the RDM software.
Primarily, the circuit as shown, is to allow the reliable on and off switching of the rigs themselves before and after a QSO. There's a myriad of 'WAKE FROM SLEE softtware available on the internet for those not wishing to leave their computer on for days on end. With a bit of initiative, you can figure out many more uses for this simple but effective circuit.

The original idea was inspired by Bill Bowden in 2005 but at that time had nothing to do with satellites. The 'blame' for that resides solely with La2qaa.

73 John.