WSJTx and GridTracker in a HOA Bob Nolte, KD7YOX

My name is Bob Nolte KD7YOX. I'm a new ham(General). Ham radio has been on my "Bucket List" since I was a teen-ager 70 years ago in Minnesota. I live in Winterhaven in Sierra Vista,AZ, which is an HOA. I am just now starting my ham journey. I have an IC-7300 on a Buddistick Pro tripod antenna. I can't imagine a better HOA antenna for WSJTx. I have FT8 QSOs with 100+ countries thus far at QRZ.

I have approached Ham Radio from my 50+ years working with computers. Since I had no practical experience in ham radio, I decided to get operational in HF by setting up a rig that was controlled by a computer and let the computer show me how to run the radio. Then, many hours of googling pointed me toward FT8, WSJTx, and then GridTracker. Six months later, the view from my desk looks like this: It’s not pretty but it’s very functional. All of my ham radio stuff is on its own PC which is hooked to the monitor above my main monitor. That gives me a way to keep an eye on it while I’m doing other things and control it when necessary. One of the benefits of GridTracker is that it does not require your undivided attention. If I’m at my desk the radio is usually turned on, which gives me 10+ hours a day on-air. Tip #1 If you decide to use a computer with ham radio, make it a separate PC. A good choice will cost you about $250. You don’t need a lot of power. Mine came from Amazon My IC-7300 Running WSJTx Please notice that it’s running the latest v1.41 firmware which includes the USB-D data mode. I prefer to use the Audio Scope display since it shows the waterfall and audio stream. Control of the radio is via the sound card for both Rx and Tx. An antenna switch connects to 2 Buddistick Pro Antennas: One antenna is tuned to 10m for daytime. The other antenna is tuned to 40m for nighttime Each antenna has one radial wire which must be 2 feet off the ground. A base for a patio umbrella provides support for the end of the wire. The entire antenna setup is portable. I believe that it's a benefit to my property values and has caused no complaint by the HOA thus far.

Managing Digital Radio Workspaces Workspaces allow you and your computer to sort things out when your screen is too full of open windows. I use 2 workspaces on my Ham Radio PC. Radio & Web Radio holds WSJTx(2) and GridTracker(4) windows. Web holds a Chrome browser with links to my logging sites, PskReporter, etc. How My Radio PC uses Workspaces    Click Here to Enlarge in New Tab. Making My QSL Card. VNC (Virtual Network Computing) Read the history. VNC is a way of looking at and operating another computer using a single monitor, keyboard and mouse. It is easy to set up, and if you have more than one computer, you can easily test it with little money and time. You don't need cables! Just a connection on your local network. Even via WiFi. Using VNC has many advantages:  • Space required is just for the computer itself  • You can do any action on the remote PC except turning the power on and off  • VNC allows you to use a computer for a specific purpose  • It works over the internet if you set it up that way. If you recall the picture of my 2 monitors,    the upper monitor is there for convenience in watching the Radio PC. To use the Radio PC, I do so on the lower monitor with VNC. You should get your VNC app from RealVNC.com. The viewer, which you use to control a PC, is entirely free. The computer to be controlled needs the Server version. The server for a Raspberry Pi is free and part of the PiOS. You will need to pay nominal dollars to licence each server for Windows,MAC or Linux.The Radio PC can be brought to my desk in a workspace on my lower monitor "General Purpose" PC for inastant access. I currently have 9 computers in my household. Each can be operated with VNC from my desk.