Remote Scanner Feed Setup/Options

[treydawgmt]

Hello all,

This likely has been shared here somewhere, but I'm not finding it in my searches.

I would like to setup a scanner feed at my in-laws house, who live 4.5 hours away. They have some technical abilities, are willing to let me do this, and have stable power and internet. It's in a county with absolutely no coverage, so I would love to get a few things setup ultimately.

I am, obviously, not there often. As a result, I would be looking for a few things -

I would like something small, so it can sit in a corner out of the way. I'm thinking either a Raspberry Pi type option, or maybe a small form computer of some type.

I would need the computer to at least power on and open Windows/Linux something like that so I could remote in, in the event of a power loss. My understanding is that I could set the BIOS on a Windows PC to allow it to power on immediately when power is restored, and then have netplwiz setup which will automatically open windows. I'm sure I could have the scanner broadcast program run automatically, and maybe even connect automatically? I know I can remote log in also.

Raspberry Pi/Linux option seems like it can power on automatically, not I've not found info for auto starting and running a program. I think I can remote log in?

I would look to host both a fire feed or two, and a law feed. I'm likely going to go the SDR route. Will I need one SDR for each feed?

Thanks for any advice. If I'm missing a thread or site or something, I'm willing to get pointed in the right direction.

Thank you all

 

[kb1ejw]

Hello .. I have a couple remote setups like you are looking at, one is several states away , in my in-law's attic.. I use windows for both because I'm not fluent enough with Linux. They are set up in bios to power on if power is lost. I have them log into windows automatically, and open proscan,zello,and sdrtrunk on startup. It's been almost a year and my father in law as only had to restart it once which I believe it got stuck in an update reboot (which typically I shut off auto update for that reason ) and I use Anydesk to remote into them if needed. I have had the remote box that's more local for over 20 years,only replacing the PC once when the HD died

 

[rhughes6]

If you go with any regular PC that supports boot on power restoration in the BIOS, that will work regardless of if you run Windows or Linux.If you go the Raspberry pi route, it will power up as soon as power is connected.

The Broadcasify Raspberry Pi image is probably the easiest way to go on a Pi as it has an application to manage running apps on startup.
If you go with a regular PC with a Linux install, this guide should point you in the right direction to run at boot.

For secure remote access, I’d look at a combination of Tailscale and Rustdesk. Do not port forward SSH or VNC to the internet even if it seems like the easiest way to do it.

If the frequencies you want to monitor are close together, you may be able to get them all with 1 sdr. This page has a calculator to figure out how many SDRs you’ll need. For a regular RTL-SDR you should be able to use a sample rate of 2.4.

 

[Kingscup]

I would also recommend the Broadcastify image for more of a hassle free setup and use. It can be setup to reconnect on reboot. You can also install Raspberry Pi Connect to remote into the RPi.

 

[jeepsandradios]

I use a beelink mini PC with SDRTrunk for my remote sites. Setup bios to reboot on power but also have a small UPS on it. For remote access there are quite a few options.

 

[j2brown]

I have a number of host running in "remote" areas. For Calls I've settled on a straight Debian Linux, running TrunkRecorder in Docker. (Don't let the jargon intimidate you, it's actually fairly simple.) It requires almost no intervention, and there aren't many things to go wrong. Windows adds too many variables. The setup is fairly straightforward and reasonably documented, and of course the RR community is very helpful. (I do have one that is running a dual feed, Calls via SDR and traditional fed via an external scanner. Also Debian.)

A few thoughts:
Given pricing, a refurbished (mini) desktop is probably better than a Raspberry Pi or similar. Maybe your budget is bigger than mine, though.
If you have/go with a Pi, definitely look at the Broadcastify image.

BIOS to power on is a must, and happens before you'd care if it was Windows or Linux.

The biggest issue with remote access is likely to be the home firewall. After that is open SSH (Linux) or RDC (Windows) is easy.

Number of SDRs depends on the system you are scanning, software, and hardware you settle on. Copy the frequencies from the RRDB here so get an idea: iCAD TR Config Generator

 

[mdevoe]

Parsec works great for remote monitoring, you can use it on windows and Android. Near real-time just like your sitting at the remote computer with full screen and 4k with no lag. Control the whole pc.

• Wake-on-LAN (WOL): Configuring the PC's BIOS and network adapter to accept "magic packets" that wake the machine, often requiring a VPN or router configuration to send these packets from outside the local network.
• Smart Plugs: Using a smart plug combined with a BIOS setting that powers on the PC when electricity is restored, allowing you to remotely flip the plug via a mobile app.

 

[Kingscup]

I would look to host both a fire feed or two, and a law feed. I'm likely going to go the SDR route. Will I need one SDR for each feed?

It depends. A RTLSDR dongle can "see" about 2.4 MHz of spectrum. If a frequency/frequencies fall outside of that range, you will need another dongle. If you want to listen to VHF freqs on 151 and 155 MHz, you will need 2 separate dongles. If you want to monitor a TRS, you need to have enough dongles to cover all the control channels and frequencies for that site or you will miss transmissions.

There are other SDR dongles that can "see" higher amounts of spectrum but the cost is that it causes a higher amount of processing power which you may have problems if your computer processor can't keep up with it. I am lucky as all the analog frequencies I want to monitor are in the 2.4 MHz range. I can monitor 12 frequencies on a RPi 5. I am still watching it as that might be 1 frequency too much for the RPi. It might be on the edge of its processing power.