PSR-400 Remote Head or am I nuts

[KK4HG]

I was surfing last night and seem to remember something about software or some mention of remote mounting a PSR-400. Was this a dream, was it software that allows remote operation or does someone offer a remote head for thee subject radio? A remote head would sure solve a mounting problem...

[hypersight]

Perhaps you were reading about a remote monitoring client? (software)

[KK4HG]

Originally Posted by hypersight

Perhaps you were reading about a remote monitoring client? (software)

That must be it. Thanks...

[AllenKelly]

Originally Posted by KK4HG

That must be it. Thanks...

I have always been a fan of the GRE Product line.. I hate to change to Uniden over something (The RH96) that would be so simple for GRE to add to their product line. Everything I have in my extensive mobile shack now is made by GRE and I really don't want to change at this point but I need radios with remote heads real bad... I now have a Troy® center console in my SUV but I want a Hummer and there is no place to put hole radios in clear view of the drivers seat without the help of a remote head.

Allen Kelly
allenkelly@allenkelly.net

[smokeyjones666]

I'm curious to see if the current batch of scanners could interface with an Arduino board (I only know enough about electronics to get by, I can connect this pin to that pin and follow schematics.) Does anybody know if the PC/IF port on these scanners can interface with a simple 3-wire serial connection (RX, TX, ground), or will I need some 'glue logic' in between to get them to play nice?

[mikey60]

Originally Posted by smokeyjones666

I'm curious to see if the current batch of scanners could interface with an Arduino board (I only know enough about electronics to get by, I can connect this pin to that pin and follow schematics.) Does anybody know if the PC/IF port on these scanners can interface with a simple 3-wire serial connection (RX, TX, ground), or will I need some 'glue logic' in between to get them to play nice?

The PSR-400 cannot be controlled from the PC/IF port. The only GRE made scanners that can be remotely controlled are the PSR-500/600 and Radio Shack Pro-106/197.

Mike

[smason]

Originally Posted by mikey60

The PSR-400 cannot be controlled from the PC/IF port. The only GRE made scanners that can be remotely controlled are the PSR-500/600 and Radio Shack Pro-106/197.

Mike

And that remote control does not include volume or squelch levels, so wouldn't make for a good remote head.

[Mike_G_D]

The volume (and squelch) control issue is a biggie but not completely insurmountable. Off the top of my head I can think of three ways this might be "worked around". One way is relatively practical and relatively simple while another requires internal modification of the radio and the final one is probably impractical from a cost/complexity versus user benefit stand point but is still theoretically possible.

The simplest way would be to set the volume and squelch manually on the radio and use an inline audio preamp connected between the speaker jack or headphone jack on the radio and an external speaker. The preamp would have its own volume control. Problems with this could include extra audio line noise pickup on the line between the radio audio jack and the preamp input. The preamp would be an integral part of the remote head and have its own external speaker jack; an internal speaker may or may not be included. Obviously, squelch control would still not be possible in this setup - potentially a problem with some situations wherein that control may need to be adjusted frequently.

Another way would require the radio to be modified so as to allow external control of its audio volume and squelch. Depending on the design, this may require a special digitally controlled potentiometer which would be switched in in place of the standard pot and allow digital control from the remote head. But this could be applied to both the squelch and the volume controls. This is a neat and relatively elegant solution but would require internal modification of the radio and increase cost.

The final and, probably, least practical solution would be to create a sort of remote control mechanical "head" which would slip over the volume and squelch front mount controls and use a mechanical servo motors to actually turn the knobs using remote commands. There are obvious problems with this method not the least of which is making sure you have a good tight fit between the knobs and the rotating grips attached to the remotely controlled servo motor and making sure it stays firm during normal driving movement. As I said - the least practical but still possible.

-Mike

[tmfok7]

Originally Posted by KK4HG

I was surfing last night and seem to remember something about software or some mention of remote mounting a PSR-400. Was this a dream, was it software that allows remote operation or does someone offer a remote head for thee subject radio? A remote head would sure solve a mounting problem...

I know this is 4 months old, but! Maybe we can start something here and see if anyone in authority is listening!

[KK4HG]

I thought I would jump back in here and try to keep the thread alive. Like tmfok7 said, maybe someone is listening/reading...!!

The ideal solution would be an adaptive plug and play one....