It has been a while since my last post as it happens often with hobbies and other pleasures in life…work and obligations got in the way. It has been a very busy seven months, to say the least. Lucky me that I am taking a few days off. In this post, I share my setup for operating remotely five feet away!!!
Unfortunately, work is not the only thing that happened in the past few months…as I had surgery on my foot and won’t be able to walk for a few months. I got myself a knee scooter! It even has a basket which I may add has come in extremely handy. Moving around with a knee scooter is a lot harder than I thought it would be. After a few “I almost fell” moments I decided to consolidate ham radio and work operations to one computer station and minimize opportunities for trouble. I am currently operating remotely five feet away!
K6YES Operating Remotely Five Feet Away
There are probably many software programs for remote control of a computer you can use, but one of the first search results I got was for TeamViewer and it was free to use and easy to install…so, how could I pass on that? Click here to visit the TeamViewer website.
The installation process is very simple. Download the software and install it on both computers. As I recall, the installation prompts to indicate which computer will be controlling and which one is being controlled remotely. Once installed the software loads automatically on both computers and is ready for use – pretty easy. You will also be prompted to set up a free account with the typical requirements for login and password. Below are a couple of operating suggestions that I wish I knew and took me a bit to figure out.
Communicate Setting in TeamViewer
I suggest you click on the Communicate Panel when TeamViewer loads on the controlling computer and uncheck the Computer Sound checkbox. In my case, I kept hearing the FT8 sound being transmitted by my remote ham station computer, which is not the most pleasant sound until I unchecked this box. Note that I normally never hear the sound when operating FT8 from my ham station computer…so I was not expecting to hear it.
View Setting in TeamViewer
Does your remote ham station computer use two monitors? If so, I suggest you click on the View Panel when TeamViewer loads on the controlling computer and click on the pictures of the monitors labeled 1 and 2 (one at a time). This will open up a separate window for each monitor of the remote computer. TeamViewer also has a button (the two-monitor icon to the left of the happy face above) that allows you to switch between each remote monitor…certainly not as convenient as keeping the view from both monitors open as separate windows at all times.
Operating remotely five feet away is super easy with TeamViewer and there are no cables or connections involved – in fact, nothing really to do other than installing TeamViewer, setting up an account, and playing with a couple of settings. An internet connection on both ends is needed. I could load TeamViewer on a laptop, work computer or really on any computer and operate FT8 remotely at any time. Not that I will be going anywhere any time soon, but still…it is a good idea to play with it while operating remotely five feet away to make sure it works from many miles away.
73s, K6YES.