Homebrew Software to Control Multiple HPSDR Radios

by W3SZ 2/27/2015

C# application running under Windows XP.  It will control up to 8 HPSDR radios are simultaneously .  It is interfaced with N1MM Logger Plus

One of my interests in Amateur Radio is designing and implementing single-user multiband contest station setups.  My specific area of interest is in systems for the VHF/UHF/microwave contests, covering the Amateur bands from 50 MHz through 24 GHz, inclusive.  I want to be able to run multiple software defined radios [SDRs] from a single computer, using the same screen/keyboard/mouse and also the same microphone/footswitch/speaker for all of them.  The goal is to have individual, always-on bandscopes that simultaneously view the 50, 144, 222, 432, 903, and 1296 MHz bands, as well as a selected microwave band on a seventh SDR that covers each of the bands 2.3 through 24 GHz inclusive, to have another bandscope/controller for the HF bands, and to have the "radio be the bandscope".  This minimizes the operational complexity of the system, by allowing the operator to instantly switch the "active radio" frequency to be that frequency on which an interesting signal has been spotted, on any one of the  eight "bands", by clicking on the appropriate radio/bandscope.  Also, I want all eight SDRs to appear as a single radio to the N1MM+ logging program, and for N1MM+ to automatically select the correct SDR when the operator switches bands within the N1MM+ program.

The paradigm is to have 8 radio GUI-bandscopes, one for each "band" as defined above.  When not selected by the operator, the individual bandscopes appear as smaller windows, as you can see in the image above.  When selected as either [1] the main radio or [2] the aux (liaison) radio, the selected bandscope will enlarge and move to the preselected screen position for the main or aux radio, depending upon which spot was selected for that band.

The software I've put together to accomplish this is based on the fantastic KissKonsole software by Phil Harman, VK6PH, which works with the excellent HPSDR hardware.  I wrote/modified/compiled the software using Visual Studio 2013, which is now a free product.  The software was targeted at .NET Framework 4.

With the client software I wrote, there are 3 ways for the operator to select which band (radio) is active as either the main or the aux radio.  The first way of selecting a band for operation is by mouse-clicking on the spectrum/waterfall of the small bandscope for a given band.  Left-clicking will move the radio to the main radio position.  Right-clicking will move the radio to the aux radio position. 

The bands to be selected as main and aux radios can also be selected from the Main Controller Bar, which as you can see in the image above, is placed at the bottom of the screen.  It is shown below.

Clicking a "Radiobutton" for a band on the row of the bar labeled "Main" will bring that radio to the Main Radio position on the screen, and the expanded radio window thus exposed gives access to all of the main radio controls.  This action will also make this band the main radio in N1MM+.  Similarly, clicking a "Radiobutton" for a band on the "Aux" row of the bar will bring that radio to the Aux Radio position on the screen, and the expanded radio window thus exposed gives access to all of the aux radio controls.  This action will also make this band the aux radio in N1MM+.

The third way of moving a radio to the main or auxiliary radio position is through N1MM+.  Typing a frequency into the main radio entry window of N1MM+ will select the appropriate radio and place it in the main radio position on the screen and put it on that frequency.  Similarly, typing a frequency into the aux radio entry window of N1MM+ will select the appropriate radio and place it in the aux radio position on the screen and put it on that frequency.

 As you can see above, on the right side of the Main Controller Bar are Radiobuttons on both the Main Radio and the Aux Radio rows for "L Foot" (the left footswitch), "R Foot" (the right footswitch), the Microphone, the (CW) Key, and two audio channels ("Audio 1" and "Audio 2").  If the "L Foot" button on the Main Radio row is selected, then the left footswitch will be assigned to whichever radio is assigned as the main radio.  Similarly for the "R Foot", "Mic", "Key", and the two audio channels.  Of course, if the "L Foot" Radiobutton on the Aux Radio row is selected, then the left footswitch will be assigned to whichever radio is assigned as Aux Radio.  For the operator using N1MM+, the experience is that of having a single radio with always-on bandscopes for all of the bands described above that covers every band from 50 MHz through 24 GHz, inclusive, with automatic bandswitching not only of antennas, but also of footswitches, microphone, key, and receive audio.  The Main Controller Bar also allows the operator to mute either audio channel, or both [or none]. 

I placed a video on YouTube that shows me running the client software through its paces. 

The video is here.  It is silent.

Basically, the design of the software does the following:

1. Splits KissKonsole (written by Phil Harman VK6PH with important contributions by others) into a server and a client, designed for VHF and microwave use.
2. The client controls multiple [up to 8 as configured] HPSDR Radios/servers:
50 MHz
144 MHz
222 MHz
432 MHz
903 MHz
1296 MHz
2-3-5-10-24 GHz
HF
3. The server sends Spectrum/Waterfall data to client
4. The server sends CW sidetone data to client
5. The client controls the server, to provide remote control [via ethernet] of all important radio functions
6. The client interfaces with N1MM+, appearing to N1MM+ as one multiband radio covering HF through 24 GHz
7. The client switches CW key/mic/2 footswitches/2 receive audio channels between radios, using a separate USB hardware device
8. N1MM+ switches antennas among radios based on band data sent to N1MM+ from client

9.  Added Adjustable FFT size 4096 to 524288 added to server
10. Added "Wisdom" optimization of FFT calculations, performed first time program is run
11. Added multiple waterfall palettes to client
12. Added computer receive audio to server so that audio can be obtained without connection to radio headphone jack, via Windows sound
13. Added zoom of spectrum/waterfall to both server and client
14. Added CW sidetone to to both client and server.  CW works with hand key or with typed CW from N1MM+, via WinKey.

This system replaces the OSX system that I had previously designed, and which I have used for a number of years.  That system is described here

The radio hardware used with the current system is very similar to that used with the older system:

50 MHz SDR:  HPSDR Hermes with the server running on a 3.2 GHz Pentium 4

144 MHz SDR:  Elecraft K3 with an HPSDR bandscope running on a 3.1 GHz Core 2 Duo

222 MHz SDR: HPSDR Atlas/Ozy/Penelope/Mercury stack running on a 3.1 GHz Core 2 Duo

432 MHz SDR: HPSDR Atlas/Ozy/Penelope/Mercury stack running on a 3.1 GHz Core 2 Duo

903 MHz SDR: HPSDR Atlas/Ozy/Penelope/Mercury stack running on a 3.1 GHz Core 2 Duo

For switching of ancillary hardware, this system uses the same Parallax Propeller USB Proto Boards that I used for the original OSX-based control system, running custom Spin applications on the Propellers to set the assignments of the footswitch, microphone, CW keys and receive audio channels to the main and aux HPSDR radios.  A USB connection is used between the client computer and the Parallax Propellers.  One Propeller (lets call it the RadioManager) is used to control the footswitches, mic, and key, and a second Propeller (lets call it the AudioManager) controls the receive audio channels. 

Each of the RadioManager Propeller's 28 outputs drives, through a 22K resistor, a 2N2222a which controls a G6L-1P-DC12 relay that provides the necessary switching between the radios of the left and right footswitches, microphone, and CW key [4 banks of 7 outputs each, to connect Left Footswitch, Right Footswitch, Microphone, and CW Key each to one of the 7 radios (the HF radio is not controlled by this device)].  A single small printed circuit board from Express PCB  is used for each bank of 7 outputs.  The ExpressPCB PCB file for the RadioManager boards is here.  The ExpressPCB schematic file for the RadioManager boards is here.

Below is a photo taken during construction of the layout of the controller with the 2 Parallax Propellers at the top and the 4 RadioManager boards with small beige relays, and the 3 Audio Controller boards with the larger black relays.  The ExpressPCB PCB file for the RadioManager boards is here.  The ExpressPCB PCB file for the Audio Controller boards is here.  The ExpressPCB schematic file for the RadioManager boards is here.  The ExpressPCB schematic file for the Audio Controller boards is here.

Below is how the Controller looks when completely wired.

Below is a front view of the finished product.

Below is a view of the rear panel.

Below is a picture of the SDR controller and five of the six computers with their associated HPSDR units.  The sixth computer is off-screen.

This software is not intended to be used as is by other operators, as it was designed/built to be used at my station, but the source code is provided with the hope that it may help others in their software building efforts.  Below are links from which you can download the source code.

 Client 4.7 MB

Server 13.3 MB

The code was compiled with Visual Studio 2013, and Framework 4.