N3BKV’s Ham Radio Hacks

Centralized Field Day logging is one of those things that looks simple until the network hiccups, the generator burps, Windows decides it is “helping,” or one laptop thinks it is 2019 and another thinks it is next Tuesday. My club was looking for an easy-to-use solution for FD 2026 that would tie all the logging computers in our main tent together to simplify log submission and track our total progress during the event. But past attempts with a logging server brought to light many issues, especially individual station computers locking up when there were server or network issues. The goal is simple: all operators log to one reliable N3FJP server with consistent local IPs and accurate time without internet access. Here is a practical way to build a central N3FJP Field Day logging server that does not depend on the internet: One Windows server laptop or mini-PC that runs the N3FJP master FD log. The server also hands out local IP addresses using a local DHCP Server for Windows. All Field...

  There’s a certain kind of frustration that comes with inexpensive hardware: it works, but it doesn’t tell you anything useful. That’s exactly where I found myself with an OOYCYOO MPPT solar charge controller. It was happily charging batteries, but beyond a tiny LCD panel, there was no meaningful way to monitor performance, integrate it into dashboards or understand what was actually happening over time. So instead of replacing it, I decided to listen to it. What came out of that experiment is a simple but surprisingly powerful approach: passively tapping the RS485 data stream, decoding the controller’s undocumented protocol and publishing clean telemetry into MQTT for Node-RED, Grafana or Home Assistant. Important Disclaimer – since you will be doing something experimental, follow the instructions carefully and I take no responsibility for any equipment you might damage. The Core Idea: Passive RS485 Monitoring Most people approach this kind of problem by trying to talk to the con...

  Remote station control is one of the most powerful features of the FlexRadio ecosystem. With SmartSDR and VPN access, you can operate your station from anywhere. But one problem remains for many remote setups: how do you safely power the radio on and off when you're not physically there? A simple and reliable solution is the Shelly 1 Gen4 smart relay , used as a dry contact switch to simulate pressing the FlexRadio power button. This approach is inexpensive, robust and integrates nicely with Node-RED, MQTT or direct API control. Below is a practical guide based on a real-world remote shack setup.  Important — Read Before Wiring This project involves power connections. If you are not completely comfortable working with DC or AC wiring, do not proceed. Incorrect wiring can damage your FlexRadio or create a safety hazard. This guide assumes you are only using the Shelly relay as a dry contact. Never switch the radio’s main power through the Shelly relay.  ----------------...

  If you’re running a remote station, digital voice system or any kind of modern connected ham infrastructure, your internet link is no longer “just internet” — it’s part of your station. Starlink Mini gives you portable, high-availability connectivity, but out of the box it’s still a black box. You can see “online/offline,” but you can’t easily observe performance, uptime, obstruction trends or state changes in a way that integrates with the rest of your telemetry systems. That’s exactly what the starlink-mini-mqtt-node-red-1 project solves. This project creates a bridge between Starlink Mini, MQTT and Node-RED, allowing you to treat your satellite link like any other piece of instrumented infrastructure in your shack. What It Does The system polls Starlink Mini status data and publishes it into MQTT topics that can be consumed by: - Node-RED - Home Assistant - Grafana - InfluxDB - Custom automation workflows Once it’s in MQTT, it becomes part of your normal telemetry pipeline. Ty...

If you’ve ever needed a reliable and inexpensive way to control AC gear remotely (power supplies, network equipment, etc) here is a simple solution for you. It will give you simple on/off control of a 15A outlet (with status) that integrates cleanly with an existing Node-RED setup. Recently I needed exactly that for a remote station I was building where I wanted to utilize an old Raspberry Pi 3B I had sitting in a drawer unused. I also wanted:      • A real AC outlet      • Enough current capacity for a piece of radio gear      • Local control (with minimal cloud dependency once set up)      • Something that works on armv7 / 32-bit Pi OS      • No Home Assistant or Matter complexity Here’s the solution that worked and why it’s a good fit for other hams.   The Hardware: TP-Link Tapo P125M The TP-Link Tapo P125M is a compact smart plug with a built-in AC outlet that is under $10 per unit. It supports...