R30 IC-R30 PC Remote

[fltsimbuff]

Hi all,

I've been developing a Windows Application (C#) for remote-controlling my IC-R30 via CI-V protocol, and wanted to gauge if there is any interest for releasing it to the public.

The idea would be to have a few people try it out and give feedback once it is ready, and then releasing the source code on Github after I have cleaned that up a bit.

Anyone else out there want a PC-based remote for the IC-R30? (Current state screenshot below. I am definitely not a UX Guy.)

 

[vagrant]

I would like to try it out with my Win 7 and Win 10 tablets as well as a Win 10 mini PC. From the screenshot I like that one can choose single or dual views. Message me or whatnot the details and I will test and provide feedback. I currently use the Android and iOS apps via BT, but would like a PC option as well.

 

[mirosk]

Subscribe to testing .
Best regards.

 

[fltsimbuff]

I have the first test build (link below).

Please keep in mind there are likely many bugs, as I am still doing bug testing.

It is about 85% feature-complete compared to other remotes. Most of the missing items are for digital modes data display. P25 has the most functionality as I have a lot of that traffic where I live, which makes for easy testing. NXDN is likely next on my list, as that is the only other R30-supported digital mode I see. D-STAR will likely be the most difficult. You can still use these modes, they just won't currently display caller/callee data.

The GUI is likely to have a complete overhaul to, among other things, make it more touchscreen friendly. I am counting on feedback to assist with this.

There are several ways to adjust frequency, including scroll-wheel over the digit, clicking the top and bottom of the digit, the entry textbox and the buttons. You can press G, M, K, or H to apply a multiplier (as in, enter 162.550M for 162.550MHz or 610K for 610 KHz).

The max Baud rate for Bluetooth is 9600, but USB can go to 19200 if you have the R30 set to that rate.

Finally, the "PowerOn" button only works with USB connection, as Bluetooth is disabled while the power is off. PowerOff works with either connection.

Happy Bug Hunting, and please leave any feedback on this forum topic!

ICR30.zip

drive.google.com

 

[Echo4Thirty]

I will bring mine in to my office and hook it up and let you know. Looks like great work thus far!

 

[mooychild]

Can we hear the audio from remote?

 

[fltsimbuff]

Can we hear the audio from remote?

Sadly Icom does not provide any way to programmatically get an audio stream from this receiver, so this app works like the Icom ones on Android and iPhone.

However, you can accomplish something similar by connecting a bluetooth speaker, allowing you to place the radio anywhere within range of that and using the remote control to control it.

If you wanted to connect to it over the Internet, you could connect its speaker output to a PC and cast the audio stream (there are plenty of audio casting servers out there) and use the remote via RDP into the PC with the USB connection.

 

[Echo4Thirty]

It connected once this morning via USB. I turned the power off via the button and that was it. Even when i manually turn the power back on, it does not connect to the receiver. Com port and baud rate is correct.

EDIT: A reboot fixed this.

 

[fltsimbuff]

It connected once this morning via USB. I turned the power off via the button and that was it. Even when i manually turn the power back on, it does not connect to the receiver. Com port and baud rate is correct.

EDIT: A reboot fixed this.

That is odd. Restarting the application should clear any errors with the ports. I have made some changes since the released build that target making connection/disconnection more resilient (including pulling out the USB cable during use) and should be able to provide the updated build later today.

I might also include a debug build (it opens a console that shows all communications and any errors) to help find the reason if you see more issues.

Thank you for the report, and let me know if you see other problems, and I'll try to check those out before releasing a new build.

 

[Echo4Thirty]

It was probably more of an issue with windows not releasing the com port as opposed to the app. Would it be possible to do a dark mode type interface for night usage?

It took me a second to figure out how to change memory banks but I do like the scroll like the channels.

Is there any way to get it to remember the com port and baud rate?

So far it works and is clean.

 

[fltsimbuff]

It was probably more of an issue with windows not releasing the com port as opposed to the app. Would it be possible to do a dark mode type interface for night usage?

It took me a second to figure out how to change memory banks but I do like the scroll like the channels.

Is there any way to get it to remember the com port and baud rate?

So far it works and is clean.

Yeah, I can look at adding a theme option. I am planning to add buttons for changing through memory channels and frequency (in addition to the mouse scroll option).

Remembering the baud and port settings is simple enough, I just haven't added a settings loader yet, which will take care of that. I will also have it remember any loaded DSD data files.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[Echo4Thirty]

Anytime. Glad to help with the development. If there is anything specific you would like to test, shoot me a dm and I'll be more than happy to.

 

[theoldcop]

Interested in beta testing

 

[OpSec]

Interested

 

[AlphaNovember]

Any news about this R30 Windows PC-remote project? New Version maybe?

Iam a very trained PC user and tried to use it via bluetooth at my windows 11 laptop (thinkpad).
The BT com port will be seen as "ICOM BT003" and i got a connection in windows bluetooth settings, but after some sek. R30 shows "connection failed" at display and connection fails then.

Did you tried that? Or always via usb cable?

 

[fltsimbuff]

Any news about this R30 Windows PC-remote project? New Version maybe?

Iam a very trained PC user and tried to use it via bluetooth at my windows 11 laptop (thinkpad).
The BT com port will be seen as "ICOM BT003" and i got a connection in windows bluetooth settings, but after some sek. R30 shows "connection failed" at display and connection fails then.

Did you tried that? Or always via usb cable?

I haven't had a lot of time to work on it lately. I started trying to implement a spectrum scan feature and I am still doing some tuning with that.

I was using it successfully with bluetooth. There is less interference in the radio reception via bluetooth vs USB, though it is a bit slower.

If Windows is disconnecting the bluetooth link, you might check and make sure the USB hub hosting your bluetooth adapter isn't set to be powered off to save power in Device manager (also the bluetooth adapter itself), and that may help. There could also be issues if you are using other bluetooth devices at the same time.

 

[AlphaNovember]

nice idea with spectrum, but more then a toy i guess. Really cool would be able to edit memories, banks.
Regarding bluetooth, my issue is i never be able to establish a bluetooth connection because 2sek after i choose BT "connect" menue at R30 my windows says "connected, ask for allowance, what i agree". Then 2sek later R30 says connection failed".

Thanks for your "software"! Iam follow this tread. Do you know that R30 is supported also by "hamlib" project?
I also own a R8500 and some other receivers, but dont found yet a cool R30 cat tool ;-)

 

[fltsimbuff]

nice idea with spectrum, but more then a toy i guess. Really cool would be able to edit memories, banks.
Regarding bluetooth, my issue is i never be able to establish a bluetooth connection because 2sek after i choose BT "connect" menue at R30 my windows says "connected, ask for allowance, what i agree". Then 2sek later R30 says connection failed".

Thanks for your "software"! Iam follow this tread. Do you know that R30 is supported also by "hamlib" project?
I also own a R8500 and some other receivers, but dont found yet a cool R30 cat tool ;-)

Yeah, the spectrum plot is pretty sketchy... It works like the one that is built-in just scanning through and checking signal strength. I think it could be useful with the right settings. The plan was to add a few "useful" presets, but allow full customization for anyone that wants to mess around. It scans a lot slower via bluetooth since that is limited to 9600 baud vs 19200 on USB.



One suggestion... My Windows OS also shows disconnected after pairing. However, 2 new Bluetooth COM ports are added, and it will establish the connection again when connecting to the appropriate port (usually the higher number of the 2 new ports).

For example, Device manager shows these:


The second one is the COM port used for the CI-V communication. I believe the first may be for DSTAR data.

As for saving and changing memory, I did look at that. The commands are undocumented but I analyzed ICOM's memory editor tool.
It looks like you can only transfer the entire memory (clone), and they do not provide any commands to change individual memory areas. I was pretty disappointed when I found that out, as I thought it would be a great feature to have.

 

[KevinC]

Just installed it. So far it’s working well via BT. I have several Uniden scanners connected via BT as well so we’ll see how an additional connection holds up. Channel up/down would be a nice addition.

Thanks for your effort!

 

[KevinC]

Fortunately adding one more BT device is holding up just fine. I had been using the iOS R-30 app on my phone but it kept disconnecting, this has been solid all day.