First off, this looks like great software. I work with the HandiHam radio club where most of its members are blind and many of them living where they can’t have radios with HF antennas. Another local club also has a couple of ICOM-7300 remote stations (using RCForb) that they allow the HandiHam members to use. Unfortunately that software was rewritten with the obsolescence of Flash Player a number of years ago, and the newer version is no longer friendly to screen reading software used by the blind hams.
Thus, I am wondering a couple of things. Fist, have you had any feedback from blind users of Wfview? Second, is it possible to use Wfview on top of the RCForb client. It does have a setting for using External CAT software/devices over a serial port or maybe a virtual serial port. I haven’t figured out that feature yet.
Thanks in advance for any help or support you can provide. I know it makes a big difference in these hams’ lives when they can get access to more capable rigs via these remote connections.
Brian
KF0SMF
P.S. If it would be better to get rid of the RCForb software and still use Wfview remotely, that may be a possibility, but I don’t understand how Wfview would work in that manner yet.
Thanks again!
Hi Brian,
We have designed wfview in many ways to be useful for those who are blind. There are loads of key commands that can access many of the common features. Plus, we support many tactile USB controllers. We had feedback early on from some users that verified our UI was compliant with their screen reader software, and I am confident that it still is.
wfview does not work with RCForb, nor does it need to since wfview has it’s own audio and serial servers built-in. You simply run wfview on the “server” computer and then your users install wfview on their computers and connect.
You can also set a preference to have wfview launch full-screen if that is helpful with keyboard focus. If we’ve done our homework, most of the core functions of wfview (once setup) can be operated from the keyboard without a mouse. These would be functions such as switching modes, changing frequencies/bands, PTT, ATU, and so on.
Please see these chapters in our manual:
Keyboard shortcuts:
https://wfview.org/wfview-user-manual/keystrokes/
USB hardware controllers (tactile):
https://wfview.org/wfview-user-manual/using-the-rc-28-shuttlexpress-and-shuttlepro-controllers/
How to run a server:
https://wfview.org/wfview-user-manual/remote-operation-server/
Let me know what questions you have.
–E
de W6EL
Thanks for the great responses. We are evaluating Wfview right now and the main concern that our radio hosts have is that you can’t lock out bands that are inappropriate for their antenna. Is there a way (even if it means manually editing a preferences file) to lockout use of certain bands? We will be using an ICOM IC-7300 radio if that matters at all.
Thanks so much for your help!
Personally I would not give anyone access to my transceiver if they were unable to resist operating on bands that don’t load up. Part of being a control operator is recognizing that responsibility.
But I get it, mistakes happen. I’ve made plenty myself.
With the Kenwood TS-890 (also supported with wfview), you can lower the power on a per-band basis. So for example, setting the power limit to 5W on bands your antenna doesn’t work on. The TS-890 can put 5W into any load all day, it wouldn’t damage it.
The 890 also lets you define 100 user accounts with time scheduling and time limits. Plus an admin account with some additional privileges. All using the built-in ethernet server.
Just food for thought. Good to do some research about your options.
—E
de W6EL
I agree with the loading… just something that was brought up. We are also having a problem loading more than 2 users right now. We are testing on a IC-576Pro so I don’t know if that matters. I was assuming that the usernames and passwords were only used within Wfview at least for this radio and for the IC-7300 since they are not network native radios.
-Brian KF0SMF
You are correct with the 7300. The 7300 has no knowledge of network access. That’s all handled by the wfview server.
With that said, some radios have the server built-in, and that’s where you may see some differences.
—E
de W6EL
Is there a reason we can only have 2 users then? The user manual shows more than 2 users, but both the test setup we have and my machine both only save 2 users. I have clicked on the save settings both on the settings screen, and the main screen, but after closing the program and reopening, it only shows 2 users.
Thanks,
Brian
If it’s not saving all the users then we have a bug. Quite possible. We will check.
—E
de W6EL
Yes this is a bug in the current release, I have already fixed this in my development branch, and it will be ok in the next release.
Phil
Hello
To set the transmitting range to match your antenna, please change the band edge.
MENU >> SET > Function > User Band Edge
See user manual 3-7 for details.
Unfortunately, it cannot be rewritten remotely.
DE JG3HLX
Hi Nakao,
Thanks for the response. Is that the IC-7300 manual? I see settings for the beep for the band edge but I can’t fine any settings for the band edge locations. Or is that in the WFview manual?
Thanks for your help,
Brian
KF0SMF
the setting of band edges is in the manuals yes.