My plans are to build a fairly simple remote HF/6m station, 900 miles from where I live.  It will not have rotors or remote coax switches or an amplifier, nor will it be a serious contest station.  It should be a fun station, though!  It will have:

• Dell GX620 desktop with WinXP (a well-regarded desktop from not many years past)

• Kenwood TS-480/SAT (I considered a TS-B2000, but the budget disallowed it, and the 480 has a better receiver anyway)

• possibly a LDG KT-100 external auto-tuner (hopefully won't need it)

• Donner sound card interface for digital modes (PSK, RTTY, etc)

• Astron RS-35A power supply

• 2 multi-band HF wire antennas; planning on:
      1- Buckmaster 7-band OCF (reviews)
      2- homebrew multi-band (fan) dipole to cover 30m/15m/6m and maybe 60m
  (I considered a 6BTV vertical, but radials would have been hard, and I also thought about a full-sized G5RV (102'), such as the True-Talk, but decided on the OCF instead)

• may put up a 6m loop (KU4AB SQ-50 or Par OA-50) mounted at 30-35' -- whether or I not I put up a dedicated 6m loop, I plan to put EN04 on the air on the magic band, even if it is just a dipole (not that it isn't on the air already -- some of the fine hams there & the Huron club do get on 6m sometimes)

If all goes well, I will have SSB and digital capabilities, on 6m and most HF bands except 160m (there isn't room for a Topband antenna).  I don't plan to mess with CW much (which I do use on occasion at home), but I should have it working (using CWType & CWGet).

A simple picture:

manned setup      | <== broadband => | unmanned (remote/host) setup
home or laptop PC | <== internet ==> | remote/host PC
running browser   |                  | sound card hooked to TS-480
w/ mic & speakers |                  | digital interface, antennas
LogMeIn, Skype    |                  | auto-starts LogMeIn & Skype

HOW will this be accomplished?  The remote/host computer will have all the normal software to run a TS-480, including Kenwood ARCP-480, Ham Radio Deluxe, Digipan, MMTTY, logging software (eham reviews), and other similar software.  Some guys use TRX-manager as one option.

The remote/host PC will also have Skype with auto-answer turned on. This is to get audio to/from the PCs.  And it will have Dimension 4 (D4) software (free) to keep the time correct, should the time get botched somehow.

To be able to control the remote/host PC, I plan to use LogMeIn Free, which is installed on the remote PC, and controlled from the manned/control PC (home PC or a laptop).  It is pretty easy to set up and use, and works very well.  (And yes, the free version will do what you need.)  The remote PC will have broadband internet available.  (LogMeIn Pro2 does audio, but the free version does not -- no problem, Skype will do the audio for us.)  An alternative to LogMeIn is something called TightVNC, but I have no experience with it.  Some may use the built-in Windows XP (Professional, not Home) Remote Desktop.  The free version of LogMeIn is quite impressive, though, so I'm going to stick with that.

My remote/host PC probably won't even have a monitor hooked up, and the TS-480 probably won't have a control head attached.  To be able to hook to the rig for rig control, and to also hook up to the Donner sound card interface, I installed a PCI card that adds two serial ports (under $15 on ebay), though a person could use an external USB-to-serial adapter.

I also plan to use the third serial port to hook up to a Kantronics KPC-3, hooked up to an old 2m FM radio to run UI-View as an APRS I-gate.  This would be helpful to go with my N0RQ-15 APRS digi.

The manned/control PC will have LogMeIn and Skype -- no other software needed.

So far, I have successfully had a PSK31 QSO using LogMeIn to the 'remote' PC installed AT HOME.  Then, I moved the entire setup offsite (though not far), and have had some 6m SSB QSOs.  I've also xmitted and received CW & RTTY with it.  In other words, IT WORKS!

Now I have to do more testing, tweaking, etc.
MORE COMING soon, including pictures when I get them, etc!...

Right now, it is summer 2010.  I hope to have this running and installed around Labor Day 2010.  If so, you might here us on the air from South Dakota, even though we'll be in Texas (or who-knows-where)!

useful links on this subject:

• notes on a remote TS-480 from KY6N
• K7AGE video showing his remote control of a TS-2000
• Interesting article in NCJ about How Not to Build a Remote SO2R Contest Station (part 1, part 2) with all sort of details, by K6VVA
• Remote Rig is another and totally different way to remote control a station

Detailed things to remember, things to think about, etc:

remote/host PC:

1. make sure it is a reliable machine!

2. make it as bare-bones as possible -- don't have a whole ton of useless software installed on it -- consider reinstalling Windows, then put your needed ham software (rig control, digital modes, LogMeIn, Skype)

3. for Skype, you'll obviously have a separate Skype name/account for the remote PC -- not the same name as your control PC!  set Skype for AUTO-ANSWER

4. do whatever Windows updates you want in advance, then you may wish to consider turning that OFF when installing it remotely (I'm not a Windows basher, but hey, the occasional update could possibly cause you grief)

5. turn off any other useless software -- I don't even run an anti-virus, because it won't be doing email or much web browsing

6. in the BIOS, set it so that it will wake up from LAN (called "remote wakeup" on my BIOS;  some older BIOSes may not have that feature) -- this will allow you to use LogMeIn on the control PC to TURN ON the remote PC (yes, really) -- note, though, that if you don't have static IP addr, and the IP addr changes while the computer is OFF, the LogMeIn start command will probably fail -- so see the next item below to see how I handle that

7. in the BIOS, you may also wish to consider having an automatic turn-on time -- so that if the PC gets turned off for whatever reason, and the LogMeIn turn-on doesn't work, it will power up by itself (once a day or once a week) -- mine is set at once at day at 05:00am

8. if it is an old hard drive (over 4 or 5 years), think about getting a new one

9. if you have an extra hard-drive, after everything is all set up, you may want to clone the hard drive to the backup hard drive (using free HDClone) -- so that if the remote PC hard drive dies, all you have to do is swap the backup in (or have someone do it)

10. you may want to have an identical computer to swap in if the remote one has a problem -- just remember the hard drive is the most important piece, because it contains all your software/installation/settings, and it is the most time-consuming to re-do

11. if it is an older machine, think about putting in a new clock battery (usually CR2032), in case the power is off -- because if the clock gets reset back to 2006 or whatever, LogMeIn gets unhappy and won't connect, then you'll have a problem

12. on the clock, the built-in Win clock sync won't fix the clock if it is off very far -- in order to make sure the clock isn't way off (causing LogMeIn to fail), install automatic clock sync software such as D4 (Dimension 4), and turn OFF the setting that says "max time correction 1 hour", because you want it to fix the time even if the clock is 10 years off)

13. you may want to make sure you do have a mouse & keyboard plugged in, even if you don't have a monitor -- at least some PCs won't boot without the keyboard (or it may be a BIOS setting)

14. do you want a UPS?  (I don't, but I do have a decent surge protector, Tripp Lite TPL810NET, covers ethernet & phone line, too)

15. some guys will install a webcam, pointed at their equipment, which could be used by Skype -- interesting idea, but mine won't have anything of significance to look at (no monitor, no rig control head, no meters on power supply, no rotors, etc -- not much to look at)

16. think about security -- thieves, water/moisture protection, etc;  if you can get a webcam to upload a .jpg to the internet every few seconds (not just keep it on the local hard drive), that would be one possible way to catch anyone doing something they shouldn't

17. don't forget about checking router & firewall & dsl/cable "modem" settings at the remote site

18. spend a little time contemplating the question "What could go wrong?" -- and then contemplate some answers ;-)

19. after you get in working in your regular shack, let it run and use it for several weeks or several months before you actually take it to the remote location -- it's easier to fix & tweak when you can put your hands on it

remote radio/station:

1. very important: set the xmit timeout feature to 3 or 5 minutes, so that in case something goes wrong, the rig doesn't stay stuck in xmit (TS-480 menu item #22)

2. you may want to set the rig to turn itself off after an hour or so of being unused (TS-480 menu item #59)

3. program the rig in advance:  memories, settings, filters, antenna port settings, internal tuner settings

4. back up the rig settings, if applicable;  keep the file on the remote PC and copy it to your control PC

5. make sure your power supply is reliable (which is why I picked a new Astron RS-35A instead of a smaller switching supply or even a used linear supply)

6. don't forget grounding and lightning protection!

7. secure the cables (sound interface, serial rig control, power) so that you don't end up with unwanted surprises (such as people tripping over wires, things falling, etc)

8. my TS-480/SAT won't even have the control head on it, but if yours does, think about security -- you don't want unlicensed fingers fiddling with the rig;  consider unplugging the mic and hiding it, if you have it there at all

9. don't forget airflow -- if you're going to put a power supply, rig, and computer in a tiny corner (like I am), make sure the rig can get some air

10. antennas:  if your remote station will be some distance from where you live, make sure to use quality rope to hang the wire antennas, and think about having at least 2 antennas in case one of them fails for some reason (at least you'd be able to use 1 or more bands)

Specific to the Kenwood TS-480 (and possibly the TS-2000):  if you're NOT using mic input, and all the audio is going through the sound card interface into the data port (easiest, and that's what I do), then one "gotcha" in the ARCP-480 software: in Control/Setup, in the "TX Control" box, have DTS checked, NOT PTT -- this tells it to route xmit audio through the data port, not the mic port.  Thanks to KY6N for that tidbit!  Also, in the same Setup window, I've found that 38400bps is a good setting (TS-480 menu item #56) -- higher or lower will work, but that gives good response for me.

If you have any good info, please shoot me an email at mycallsign at arrl.net .

73, Dave N0RQ