2 monitors & wireless keyboard & mouse...
 

Shortly,

I'll be moving the computer(etc.), ham radio gear, & radio scanners to a back room in the house. The computer desk will be on the South wall and the radio operating position will be on the North wall, approximately 10 feet away.

Now, ham transceiver's, & scanner radios don't "mix" too well in close proximity. I'd like to have a monitor on the computer desk AND on the operating position, with an IR mouse and IR keyboard. Reason being, when I'm in a radio "contest", I could "log" the contacts at the operating desk and have it go into the computer...OR if I wanted to check
a call sign during the contest, I could log on to www.qrz.com and check.
it.

It's a lot lighter and easier to move a IR keyboard and mouse than to move that Del (Sony) 21" Trinitron (the non-flat screen, LOL!)

Suggestions? Running an extened monitor cable under the floor is out
of the question, overhead as well. What about a thin client and connecting cable?

Respectfully,
73,

Don/KA5-LQJ

"Joyeaux Noel de moi maison du vous!"

Hi Buck,
How about using a kvm for the keyboard, video and mouse (what else). A lot of people here in the uk use Hamcomm-delux software for controlling their rigs, contesting or otherwise, and I'm sure that is true in the US also. I have yet to hear any real problems of RF screwing up the computing, sometimes PSU and other computer noise causing a bit of noise. Lots of ferrite on all the cables and excellent quality coaxial cable on the transceiver.
Have a look at pictures of large contest and DxPedition stations with the lappy on the operating desk. Extending the cables using a KVM is just a case of good cable management and common sense use of ferrite where necessary. I don't anticipate you having any troubles.

What bands and power are you running? QRZ won't of course have all the foreign stations, but of course you know that. 73, G0PAi FB OM.

EUREKA!! I've got it!!!
 

Good Afternoon, PAI, LOL!

I think I have found the solution to ALL my problems with the monitors, my ham radio software "wants & needs". It's a FREE "WIN" program called "Ham Radio Deluxe". As I mentioned, it's "Free" and a real small program.

I went yesterday to the local NOAA Wx Service office in Shreveport, LA. for the "National Skywarn Appreciation Day" festivities and contest. I met some gentlemen from Txas who came over to operate HF from the Wx Service and they brought their own HF, trailerd tower and HF antennas.

One of the guys, Rick, I didn't get his call, brought a Dell laptop with a Wi-Fi card and it ran Win XP. Rick said the program would work with my Icom 706MkII-G and my Athlon 1.2g computer with Win 2K Pro on it. You have to have a controller cable, but that shouldn't be a problem and I have the other stuff to make one. It goes between your Icom's port and to the sound card and maybe an RS-232 port.

With this Ham Radio Deluxe, you can change everything from the computer
keyboard and since it runs data, you don't interfere with the Icom nor does the Icom mess up your computer. You can even develop a database that converts to an M$ Excel spreadsheet for all contesting AND, while you are typing the guy's call sign in, it automatically goes to www.qrz.com, looks his information up so you can go back to him with his name and he thinks you have a fantastic memory, LOL! I'm hoping it will go back as well on ALL your ham contacts and do the same thing, so you call him by what he goes by. So many have 'nicknames'. Mine is "Buck"
and has been since I was 11 years old. When calling "CQ", I give my phonetics as "King Ace 5 Lucky Queens & Jacks...my name is Don, 'Double Or Nothing, it goes with the poker hand'. BTW, I live in the third largest "gambling center in the USA", although I never gamble or "game" as it's called now.

I found a guy up in "3-land" who gave me some help in getting my Fedora Core 6 going, so now I can do that as well as hopefully get Kbuntu and get it going as well.

Oh, the Ham Radio Deluxe, was developed by a Brit, who retired and moved to Switzerland and he doesn't PLAN on "porting" the software to either Linux or Mac, but he supposidly GIVES the code away. Now, if this IS true, some enterprising, programmer could port it to linux and every ham, swl, etc that runs linux would be thoroughly indebted to him, LOL!

Well, were expecting some thunderstorms to pass through the area today, so I need to "throw the snakes out the window" (coax) and on to the ground. I have an inside 2 meter and 70 cm antenna that will hit the Skywarn repeater from here.

Well, thanks for your suggestion. I may have to do that though for the Linux computer, LOL!

Respectfully,
73,

Don/KA5LQJ

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