[ICOM] IC7000 Remote Options?

Tue Aug 23 09:45:21 EDT 2011

de WB2CPN
My AH-4 with its 70' Long Wire, is grounded to a well
stem pipe.  About 55' deep.  Coax and control wires run
through the basement to the 1st floor radio room.  About
35'. Only ground in radio room is the AC plug.  AC service, meter, 
switchbox, etc, are well grounded.
Have had NO problems.  14 years this way.
73  Clete
..............................................................
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Spencer" <mspencer12345 at yahoo.ca>
To: "ICOM Reflector" <icom at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 3:58 PM
Subject: Re: [ICOM] IC7000 Remote Options?

Re the grounding issues for years I've operated my ICOM 706MKIIG, ICOM 735, 
ICOM 761 etc with no grounds other than the ground provided by the AC Line 
connection (either to the radios with built in power supplies, or to 
external power supplies that also ground the negative supply connection) and 
I typically ground the shield of my coax at the base of the antenna and or 
where the coax enters the building.  The ground that I connect the coax 
shields to is also connected to the electrical service ground for the house 
where the radios are located.   As far as I am aware I have not had any 
issues with regards to grounding.

(Please don't use this email as a source of advice for grounding methods, as 
I am not a grounding expert and what I have decided to in my instalation may 
not be suitable or safe in other cases.)

With regards to remote operations I use windows remote desktop to control a 
PC running Ham Radio deluxe which in turn controlls the ICOM radios via the 
CAT interface.   I only run digital modes remotley (and use dedicated 
software for this) so I'm also interested in how others are tackling the 
audio and ptt issues.

Regards
Mark VE7AFZ

--- On Mon, 8/22/11, Kelly Taylor <ve4xt at mts.net> wrote:

> From: Kelly Taylor <ve4xt at mts.net>
> Subject: Re: [ICOM] IC7000 Remote Options?
> To: "ICOM Reflector" <icom at mailman.qth.net>
> Received: Monday, August 22, 2011, 3:34 PM
> Hi David,
> Well, there are a few ways to deal with grounding issues in
> a second-storey
> shack.
>
> The easiest is MFJ's artificial ground. You connect your
> station's grounds
> to this and this to a ground via a ground wire. You then
> tune it to tune out
> reactance in the ground wire.
>
> The least expensive is to outfit your second-storey shack
> with ground
> radials, hidden by whatever means are possible.
>
> No practical experience with either, but lots of folks have
> stations above
> ground level, so it shouldn't be impossible.
>
> Seems to me you open yourself to a bunch of issues either
> way. Your long USB
> cable or CAT6 cable may make an excellent receive antenna
> (bad), and don't
> forget the dreaded Pin 1 problem common to so many poorly
> engineered
> consumer solutions.
>
> For me, the radio nearby is probably the easiest.
>
> 73, kelly
> ve4xt
>
>
> On 8/22/11 1:20 PM, "Rossbach, David" <dave at rossbachs.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Kelly, that was indeed going to be my fall back
> plan... A buddy of mine had
> > some transmit IC7000 issues, that all related to
> improper grounding and yeah,
> > thats common with any rig... but it got me a bit
> paranoid, so I have mine
> > closest to the ground and just enough ground wire to
> get out of the wall and
> > straight into the ground.. Ultimately, I would
> rather have the radio in the
> > office, but dont have any experience running
> artificial grounds, so thats why
> > I was leaning towards extending the remote head/cables
> first..
> >
> > Im perfectly happy with the way it is now... as I get
> to relax in the recliner
> > and DX away.. but lately, im starting to get
> that 'look' from the XYL while
> > she is trying to watch TV in the same room...
> >
> > If you've had good luck with artificial grounds and
> wouldn't mind sharing your
> > experience, this would be very helpful..
> >
> > Thanks again!
> > Dave
> > N5DJR
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Aug 22, 2011, at 12:41 PM, Kelly Taylor wrote:
> >
> >> Hi David,
> >>
> >> Perhaps I'm missing something. Not the first
> time.
> >>
> >> Why not just run the coaxial cable to the office
> and put the radio there?
> >>
> >> Sure, it may give rise to some RF issues, but
> whether you spend $100 on a
> >> USB extender or $100 on an artificial ground,
> you're still spending $100...
> >>
> >> 73, kelly
> >> ve4xt
> >>
> >>
> >> On 8/22/11 12:16 PM, "Rossbach, David" <dave at rossbachs.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Mike, thanks for the response and ideas.. yeah
> I am starting to head down
> >>> the
> >>> VNC path and then since the Heil headset is
> connected via a catV plug, I was
> >>> just thinking about pinning it out from the
> existing catV run I already have
> >>> next to the radio, which dumps into the office
> anyway. so its possible to do
> >>> this. I would just have to make sure from Heil
> first that I dont screw
> >>> anything up from extending the headset and
> foot pedal that way... So thanks
> >>> again!
> >>>
> >>> Dave
> >>> N5DJR
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Aug 22, 2011, at 11:54 AM, mikea wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> On Mon, Aug 22, 2011 at 11:45:08AM -0500,
> Rossbach, David wrote:
> >>>>> Hello, I have an IC7000 that I am
> currently using with the remote head
> >>>>> and a Heil PSE6-IC headset with
> footpedal. I have the radio connected to
> >>>>> a Mac via USB CI-V and utilize the
> MacLoggerDX program.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The setup is currently on the first
> floor in my living room and Im
> >>>>> wanting to move it upstairs into my
> office.. Both of the rooms up and
> >>>>> down share a common outside wall.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I was thinking of trying to get a
> cable run done with the 16foot OPC1444
> >>>>> remote head cable and then extend the
> USB CI-V cable via a 16 foot 3.5mm
> >>>>> cable. I realize that the capabilities
> of USB drop after 16foot and 16
> >>>>> foot is really pushing the limits of
> the wall run distance.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> So I was wondering if anyone on the
> list has ran into something similar
> >>>>> and wanted to know what you decided to
> use to remote your IC7000 to
> >>>>> another room in the house?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I suppose another option would be to
> use a program like HRD to remote
> >>>>> the radio, but not sure how the audio
> and foot pedals etc would all work
> >>>>> without purchasing additional
> hardware?
> >>>>
> >>>> Interesting problem!
> >>>>
> >>>> A pair of USB-to-fiber-optic extenders
> would solve your problem very
> >>>> neatly. The audio and foot pedals are a
> different problem set, but there
> >>>> should be a way to map contact closures on
> some set of switches to relay
> >>>> closures on the other end of a fiber. Be
> warned: these extenders are
> >>>> _PRICEY_ -- enough so that it may be worth
> your while to build a small
> >>>> Part-15 solution.
> >>>>
> >>>> An alternative for control of the radio is
> VNC, which gives you a direct
> >>>> image on computer B of whatever's
> happening on computer A. If you have
> >>>> wireless, this is a really good solution
> for control. It doesn't ship
> >>>> audio, but there are things like icecast
> for that, and it doesn't do
> >>>> switch closures.
> >>>>
> >>>> -- 
> >>>> Mike Andrews, W5EGO
> >>>> mikea at mikea.ath.cx
> >>>> Tired old sysadmin
> >>>> ----
> >>>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> >>>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316
> MHz
> >>>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> >>>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> ----
> >>> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> >>> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> >>> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> >>> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----
> >> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> >> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> >> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> >> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >>
> >
> > ----
> > Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> > Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> > Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> > To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> >
>
>
> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
> Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
> To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/
To support QSL/QTH.net: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html