I receive the list archived and this makes replying to individual posts
difficult.
It seems to me W0BTU summed it up succinctly. There are time delays and
depending on the setup, it it varies from no factor to disabling.
I don't know what others have for remote stations. I can tell you, I
have about the most comprehensive one in the world. I have been doing
it, off and on, for about 10 to 12 years.
Most recently, I purchased a K3, a remote head and have been using
RemoteRig. I would say it is not too bad. Two issues that bother me
are the lack of being able to use the key input on the remote head.
This is a software issue. The second is latency. If the latency
varies, CW becomes impossible. That is right, impossible. If the
latency stays constant, it will work.
I had my remote K3 out of the country in January. From my hotel, I was
able from time to time use it and make contacts. However, watching the
latency vary from 0.22 to over 0.3 sec at times made QSO's difficult. I
was able to work some SSB but my audio would drop out from time to time
and leave 5-6 words missing. Not too bad for a native English speaking
station but second language stations were clearly questioning what was
going on. CW was impossible.
Locally, the system works pretty well.
Look, this is a serious leap of faith. You are not there. You can't
hear or feel changes in the environment. Unfamiliarity with equipment
can lead to guest operators making serious mistakes in operating
routines or sequences and this leads to failure.
Last year during the ARRL SSB contest, I ruined one of my SteppIR
antennas by transmitting during a band change. No I don't have the
transmitter locked out. A simple mistake.
I am not saying this is not ready for prime time, but there are many
issues to be considered. As to what the ARRL says or does not say, we
should not be surprised. Anytime they can propagandize ham radio with
little or no downside, they will. Otherwise, the league remains
strangely silent on many controversial or political circumstances.
Good luck guys.
--
David J Rodman MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
SUNY/Buffalo
Office 716-857-8654
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