I recently discovered the Icom RS-BA1 software which includes the Icom Remote Utility.

This software allows me to connect to my IC-705 from a windows PC 100% over WiFi – that’s for CAT Control as well as sound. This has allowed me to use a single tablet for both home and portable operation.

Prior to this I would be using a rasberry pi with an iPad and keyboard connected over VNC for the display and control of the pi, although I have been able to connect the pi to the radio over WiFi I currently prefer the windows tablet setup.

the windows tablet I am using is the Surface Pro 7. This is quiet a high end ultra portable PC so is significantly more expensive than a Raspberry Pi but when you think of the cost of an iPad or Android tablet (with 4G capability) that I have been using as a display then the cost doesn’t seem so much more.

The surface pro 7 will charge from a 12volt car charger I have but obviously I need to increase my portable power budget to account for this. As it stands I have enough power in the Surface to operate for 4+ hours at a time backpack portable and much longer if I’m not walking too far as I can use my 20ah LiFePo4 battery and solar charger in that situation.

Using the Icom Remote Utility means I can set up a remote connection to my IC-705 over the WiFi network at home and on my Samsung Note 20 when operating portable. This has proven to work flawlessly and I will be publishing notes on how to set up the connection.

I will let you all know how I get on with this setup. Powering the Surface Pro 7 when portable is going to be the biggest challenge but I think its more than possible, and I am also considering the Surface Go 2 which is slightly less power hungry and smaller so more portable.

And no, I’m not giving up on using the raspberry pi or MacBook I simply want to explore all available options, EMCOMM is all about using what is available and I think its important to ensure we have the knowledge to do so easily.

73

Mark, M0IAX