Free and open source remote operation of many Icom radios with wfview

Got it set up and running on the 7300. A few issues as some have noted, but it is working. Looking forward to Release 2 for the remote audio on the 7300, and to Release 3 for direct connection to fldigi using RPC XML since the symbolic link to /etc/rig will not work for Windows.

 

Interesting work. I have an IC-7300, and got it running, but since the 7300 has no provision for a network connection, the software really doesn't give me much of anything, other than a larger spectrum display. That being said, I can see how it would be a great asset for remote operation with a radio set up for that.

 

Hurray. No need to get out of bed anymore!

 

Hi,

Keep an eye on things, we will shortly release a CI-V server with audio aimed at the IC-7300. Stay tuned! You can join the discussion (or just browse) at https://forum.wfview.org/

73!

--E
de W6EL

 

Hi N7SE,

We now have a virtual serial cable solution out for windows. It is similar to the pseudo-term idea with linux. Phil and I will add this to the online manual soon, although you may be able to figure it out if you try the latest build. I think simple connections between various rig programs is essential in this ecosystem, so you'll see more things in this area (enhancements and/or other methods) soon.

Thanks,

--E
de W6EL

 

@W6EL

Thank you guy so much for all the hard work.

I have been using wfview with my IC-9700 since I heard about it on this thread. There is an IC-7300 sitting next to it for which I was going to configure network audio myself. I may just forgo that since it will soon be included in a test build. You guys have been working fast! Once this is out, I will have an all-band, all-mode remote system.

 

Hi W4EAE,

Thanks for the kind words. I have the same pair on my desk! And they are such a great pair. I was using icecast to stream the audio prior to Phil's work on the audio server. icecast works, but what Phil is cooking up is significantly better -- very low latency and of course easy to setup.

--E
de W6EL

 

And it's out! Audio and CI-V over the network for the 7300 and other non-network rigs! See Phil's announcement:

https://forum.wfview.org/t/new-test-builds-released-today-2021-05-14/304

--E
de W6EL

 

I saw this shortly after my last post. If do a 'git pull' and rebuild, will it include the updates, or must I use the test image?

 

The code is pulled in to the Master branch, so a git pull should do the job. There was a bug we just saw where you must enable the CI-V server, save settings, close wfview, and re-open. It has to do with some added things to the preference file that need to be written. We'll fix it soon.

 

I agreed, can't remote directly because it is not a network radio. But it works with other remoting software. I am using it with the free (for personal use) TeamViewer software, and though at times it slows down a bit on the remote computer, it appears to be still usable. Will know more when the receive audio is available and I can try SSB and CW. But I have used TeamViewer for remote control with WSJTX and JTDX and they work; so I am expecting the same with wfview.

 

Thanks. I give it a go and if I can't figure it out right now, I will check the online manual in the near future.

 

Well, just read more closely and you will find the answer! Saw this after my last post. I will give it a try as soon as I can. And should be able to take TeamViewer out of the mix, though I will try it both ways. Thanks for the hard work and the great software!

 

Hellllloooo YAESUUUUUUUUUUU

 

K9EZ de W6EL

I would like to support other manufacturers, for sure. We stared with Icom simply because we had Icom rigs and their CI-V command structure has been extremely stable over the years. It also lends itself to concepts like multi-point busses and network control very easily due to how the commands are structured. Also, I am not aware of other rigs that provide the waterfall over serial or LAN (but I haven't looked that hard to be honest). With the Icom rigs, we receive the spectrum over the connection without any real computation involved. With the Elecraft k4, for example, you receive raw I&Q packets and have to take the Fourier transform to get the spectrum, so there's a bit more involved. Not saying we can't do it, but it would need a lot of restructuring to get it working.

I think you can expect us to take a serious look at it in 6 months to a year. Right now we have to get our base functionality very stable.

On the other hand, it is open source. If someone wants to submit patches for additional types of rigs, I'm all for it.