Remote Head Question for the gurus...

[quarterwave]

I have searched but haven't found any info, does anyone know what the max distance is for head to radio separation on any of the models or brands available?

Intention: Do any go 200-300 feet? Looks like they generally use Cat5 for the control. I'm guessing voltage drop would be the worst issue. I want to mount the radio on a tower enclosure and remote the head in the house.

 

[hill]

You would need a speaker inside also on many models, as many have the speaker in the body. Tbe Connect Systems radios do have the speaker on the head.

Going forward your plan seams like a lot of work to do. You would need to supply DC power to operate the radio. Also don't think ham radios are designed to be remoted this way.

 

[mmckenna]

I have searched but haven't found any info, does anyone know what the max distance is for head to radio separation on any of the models or brands available?

Intention: Do any go 200-300 feet? Looks like they generally use Cat5 for the control. I'm guessing voltage drop would be the worst issue. I want to mount the radio on a tower enclosure and remote the head in the house.

Which radio are you talking about?
There seems to be several different approaches. Some of the older Yaesu's I have used flat satin cord. Not sure what the distance limitation is on that, but I'd be reluctant to try using too long a run. As you suggested, voltage drop on a 24-26 gauge wire is likely to be problematic over a long distance.
The Kenwood TM-D710 I had used a special cable that has the audio pair shielded from the rest of the conductors. I've heard of people using 4 pair UTP to extend those and getting some annoying noises on the mic audio.

I've run a few Motorola CDM's with Cat 5 cable and been able to get 30 feet or so without issues. Never tried more than that.

The Harris XL-200M's use Ethernet between the RF deck and the control head. That would suggest the standard Ethernet 90+ meter rule for distance on a straight run. But new XL-200M's are expensive and overkill for most hams.

Kenwood NX-5x00 series radios can be ordered with control head cables up to 100 feet. It does specifically say that speaker audio will be impacted by longer cables.

But, it seems like there's a point in time where it just gets easier to use upsized coax cable to deal with the feedline loss.

 

[quarterwave]

You would need a speaker inside also on many models, as many have the speaker in the body. Tbe Connect Systems radios do have the speaker on the head.

Going forward your plan seams like a lot of work to do. You would need to supply DC power to operate the radio. Also don't think ham radios are designed to be remoted this way.

Yeah, speaker too...I just didn't say it. I can Tone or Digital remote a Motorola... but I just didn't know if anyone fooled with this type of setup before.

I had assumed the distance was a problem for voltage drop for the controls (lights, display), digital will fly a ways on twisted pair, and I would have power in the enclosure.

 

[AK9R]

Cat 5 is a cable type, not a communications protocol. And, I would not make assumptions about the communications protocol between control head and RF deck based on the type of cable being used. You are probably going to have to study the service manual for your chosen radio to work out how to communicate with it over a distance.

I think you will find that many amateur radios use some form of serial communications (RS-232, RS-485, etc.), so three wires for Tx, Rx, and ground plus a wire from the power supply to power the electronics in the head. Here's a paragraph from the Kenwood TM-V71 service manual:

The MPU, IC918, is 100-legged critter in the RF deck. "Panel" is the display panel which can be remoted from the RF deck.

Some radios may pass audio between control head and RF deck, but the volume controls on the control head may also be encoders that are read by the microprocessor in the control head and data passed to the microprocessor in the RF deck for controlling the audio output.

 

[tweiss3]

Swap my rigs has the longest remote distance I've ever heard of at 150' max: Ham Radio | Amateur Radio | Yaesu | Kenwood | Icom | Swapmyrigs | Swap my rigs |

Like others have said, if you "need" a really long remote head, its probably not worth the headache and you should re-evaluate your plan.

 

[quarterwave]

Swap my rigs has the longest remote distance I've ever heard of at 150' max: Ham Radio | Amateur Radio | Yaesu | Kenwood | Icom | Swapmyrigs | Swap my rigs |

Like others have said, if you "need" a really long remote head, its probably not worth the headache and you should re-evaluate your plan.

Thanks. Yeah... not a need. Just tinkering. I am fully aware of communications protocols and wire types. My question was specifically if anyone knew the max working distance of any make or model out there. Figured someone has tried it at some point.

Thanks for the replies.