[Fwd: Re: Fw: [Premium-Rx] Ideal Replacement for Icom R9000]

[John Miles]

>    I haven't weighed-in here in awhile, but this thread caught my
interest.
>refmon's comments regarding a "real" control panel made me think that the
>ideal situation would be to have a web server built into the rx, much as
they
>are now in printers, routers, and the like. This way, the rx could be
placed
>in a network and operated from any device with a browser. This would be
great
>for configuration purposes, as well as for remote operation. Given the size
>and cheapness of contemporary PC technology, the required additional
hardware
>should be affordable and not require significant in-case space.

This is how my current homebrew "work in progress" is configured.
http://www.speakeasy.org/~jmiles1/ke5fx/equinox/equinox.html has a few
preliminary photos and a screenshot of the user-interface software.  It is
certainly no competition for an R9000, but the client-server UI -- which
began as an afterthought when I realized I had enough room in the chassis
for a Mini-ITX PC motherboard -- has turned out to be a really neat idea.

The way the software works, there's one control-operator slot and an
arbitrary number of "slave" slots.  Slave listeners can observe the control
operator's actions and monitor the audio.  A slave can take control of the
receiver hardware by entering a password, and when they log off, the
previous operator regains control status.

Client-server is the only way to go.  Now that the technology is
easily-accessible, I would go so far as to say it's dumb to design high-end
equipment any other way.  Even a radio with a built-in control panel should
work via TCP/IP internally.

-- john KE5FX