K2Net

K2Net was intended to allow remote operation of an Elecraft K2 across a network. The main objective was to allow control and operation across a home local area network, so that I could use the radio anywhere in the house, or out in the garden, via a Wi-Fi connected laptop. A secondary objective was to enable control and operation across the wider Internet.

screenshot

Description

K2Net was designed to permit remote control of an Elecraft K2 across a network, or the Internet. Consequently, it consists of two programs.

  • K2Server is the component that communicates directly with the K2. It is connected via the serial port and the sound card to the transceiver.
  • K2Client is the user interface. It connects to the server using TCP/IP.

K2Client may be run on the same computer as the server, to use the software simply as a computer control application, or it may be run on another computer, to allow remote control.

As well as control commands, K2Net supports two-way audio streaming between the client and the server. Because an objective was to allow remote use via the Internet, a compressed audio format (MP3) is used.

K2Net has a number of features, many of which are unique to amateur radio control software:

  • Full control using an interface that looks and works as near as possible exactly like a K2's front panel.
  • Access control by IP address and by username / password, with three levels of authorization: full control, receive and transmit, or receive only. Guest (receive only) users are permissible.
  • Encrypted authorization protocol - passwords are not sent in clear over the Internet.
  • All audio and data streams use a single TCP port (6110 by default) for ease of firewall configuration.
  • Support for SSB and CW operation.
  • CW keyboard including macros.
  • Two-way audio streaming for SSB Tx, with reduced latency.
  • Full connection log, plus ADIF file at both client and server end of all QSOs made (if details are entered at the client) for importing into a logging program.
  • Support for real time logging of contacts at eqsl.cc.
  • Support for CW decoding, using DXsoft CWGet.

K2Server

K2Server is the heart of the system and handles communication between the client and the K2. It runs in the system tray of the PC that is connected to the K2 using the serial port.

screenshot

K2Client

K2Client is the user interface for controlling the K2. It is shown in the screenshot at the top of the page.

K2Client is meant to provide a virtual front panel for the K2, and mirrors its operation almost exactly. It is not meant to be a full function computer control and logging program, although a basic logging facility is built in, to provide a way of recording contacts made using it. The buttons and knobs are all functional (except for the AF Gain and RF Gain which are analog controls.)

Main frequency and RIT control are by clicking on the respective knobs with either the left (to decrease frequency) or right (to increase frequency) mouse buttons. Direct frequency entry is possible by double-clicking the tuning knob or the digital display. Right-clicking the display and certain buttons will also produce a short-cut pop-up menu. The Griffin PowerMate USB knob is also supported, allowing you to tune the radio using a real knob.

SSK2Net supports CW and SSB transmit. CW transmit uses the K2's CAT CW keying capabilities to send CW by typing text into a window. You can type ahead while the other station is sending, or you can type and the program will send your text a complete word at a time. You can define up to 16 macro buttons containing preset text, commands and values that are completed at runtime (such as call, name and report.)

K2Net also supports the use of a CW receive decoder (CWGet). If used, received and decoded code is displayed in a receive window, and words such as call, name, report and QTH can be selected and copied to log fields in the transmit window where they will be picked up and used in macro texts.

To transmit SSB you need a good microphone plugged into the client PC's sound card. The SSB control window is shown above. A button below the picture of a microphone functions as a PTT. Alternatively you can have the microphone live during receiving and use the K2's VOX to control TX/RX. The squelch control helps to save network bandwidth by streaming audio only when you are actually speaking.

Requirements

  • PC running Windows 98, Me, 2000 or XP.
  • Sound card configured as default wave output device.

Terms and Conditions

Please note: Due to health and other reasons I have now completely given up all software development activities. The programs on this site, including this one, are provided with absolutely no support and there will be no further updates of any of them. Bug reports and feature requests are not required. If the source code of a program is available it can be downloaded from the program's web page so that others may, if they wish, continue development under the terms of the GNU GPL. If there is no source code download, it is not available.

Downloads

Download K2Net Setup (1037Kb)

Trojan warning! Some third rate virus scanners claim the installer used by my programs is a virus or a trojan. It is not a trojan it is a false alarm. If you choose to believe your scanner rather than me that is up to you. But please don't tell me about it, because I already know. See this blog post for more information.

The source code for this project is not available.

If you wish to provide a link to this program from your own web pages please link to this page, not directly to the download file.


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