After the shack refit the existing “tower” computers with all their associated wiring made the set up look messy so I decided to replace them with laptops. This not only saves space and tidies things up but also the on board battery acts as a mini UPS.

Three Compaq C300 wireless laptops were acquired and networked through a Belkin 54g 2.4 GHz wireless access point in the shack and logged on to the encumberant home Wi-Fi network. The ADSL router is a Netgear “Mimo” located in the G6PZ house about 70ft away. Another “Mimo” is located in the attic in bridge mode to improve coverage. The Belkin can see both “Mimo” routers but is logged in to the attic unit as this is a slightly stronger connection. All devices are firewalled for security. The phone line is connected to the router via a dedicated filter in the BT socket, and this kills any 80m internet drop out!

As the three operating positions are served with wireless laptops it made sense not to stop there!

The keyboards and mice are also 2.4 GHz units linked into the laptop via a USB dongle. The mouse is a laser type that neatly works on the glass tables without a mouse mat.

The radios CAT and CW keying is via RS-232 USB serial converters plugged into the laptops USB port.

All computers are running the latest Win-Test logging soft and are easily networked. This set up gives us more flexibility and the ability to add more to the shack network if required, it also makes it look neat and tidy and a useful upgrade to the IT set up.

73 Paul G6PZ