FT 950 Remote Control Software

This post is about how to remote control the FT 950 with Simple Ham Radio Remote (SimpleHRR) Software and a Raspberry Pi.

Simple Ham Radio Remote FT 950 User Interface (UI).

Simple Ham Radio Remote is a free web app, it comes preinstalled on a Raspbian Lite Image which is flashed onto an 8GB or larger microSD card using your favorite software to flash microSD cards. There is No additional software to install.

System requirements

Ham Radio Callsign
Chrome or Firefox web browser
Admin access to your router
Active Internet connection

Hardware required

Yaesu FT-950
micro SD card adapter
micro SD card (8GB class 10 or larger)
Raspberry Pi (3B - 3B+ or 4B armv7l)
Raspberry Pi Power Supply 2.5A - (3A - 3.5A better)
Cat5 Ethernet cable
USB Audio Adapter
USB Serial Adapter
USB - Bluetooth - 2.4GHz Wireless mouse with a scroll wheel (optional)
Computer with an SD slot (or an appropriate SD card adapter)

Download, Install the Image onto your microSD card

This image contains everything you need to get up and running quickly.
- Download: SimpleHRR v0.2.1-f
  Sorry for the inconvenience, you might have to close the Dropbox tab when the download has finished.
Extract the image double-click the .zip file then click Extract All.
Insert the microSD card into the computer's SD card slot use the SD card adapter if needed.
Next, flash the image to the microSD card with your favorite image writer. There are various image writer you can use, example Etcher - Raspberry Pi Imager works for Linux, macOS or Windows.
Now remove the flashed microSD from the computer, keep it in a save place will insert it into the Raspberry Pi later.

Prepare the FT-950 for Remote Operation

Menu Mode ->

026 GENE CAT BPS -> Select: 9600
028 GENE CAT RTS -> Select: OFF
031 GENE TX TOT -> Select: ON - 3min

Additional Hardware:

USB Serial adapter Here ✓
USB Audio adapter Here ✓
Audio interface Here ✓

Radio Controls ->

AF Volume Control -> pre-set 15 adjustable in web app
Radio Interface between Radio / Raspberry Pi Required -> Here ✓

Connect the FT-950 to the Raspberry Pi

Plug the USB Serial Adapter into the Raspberry Pi, then plug the Serial port into the FT-950 serial port.

Click to show-hide Diagram

Click image to enlarge

Connect the Raspberry Pi to Network

Plug the Cat5 cable into the Raspberry Pi Ethernet port the other end to the LAN.

Booting the Raspberry Pi for the First Time

Insert the flashed microSD card into the Raspberry Pi microSD slot.
Power ON the Radio (e.g FT-950).
Power ON the Raspberry Pi.
Wait for the Pi to boot up - the green LED should stop flashing when it's finished!.

Get the Raspberry Pi IP Address

Open a browser and Log in to your router as admin. The router IP address is usually something like 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.254 or 10.0.0.1
Find Attached Devices -> Device Name (Raspberry Pi simplehrr) - IP Address
(something like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x).
Write down or copy the corresponds IP Address you will need that to set up Simple Ham Radio Remote.

Set up Simple Ham Radio Remote on your Raspberry Pi

Turn the radio ON
Open a Chrome or Firefox web browser enter the URL:
https://your-Pi's-IP-address:50000/remote
Enter Username: Ham Radio Callsign (confirmed on QRZ.com)
Enter Email address: Optional: Just leave noemail@noemail.com
Enter Password: (greater then 8 char)
Select Radio: (FT-950)
Select Dev USB: (/dev/ttyUSB0)
Click [ Activate ]
Verify the information is correct Click [ OK ]
Wait 1 minute for Raspberry Pi to reboot.
Click [ OK ]
Enter Username (your Callsign)
Enter Password (your Password)
Click [ Sign in ]
Click [ Call Radio ] when it turns green.
Be patient it takes a little longer to turn green on a first time install.
Click [ Hang Up ]

That's it.

Read me:

The first boot takes about 2+ minutes because all SimpleHRR prerequisites are installed during the first boot. Wait 2 minutes, then start checking https://your-Pi's-IP-address:50000/remote.
If you don't have the selected radio connected to the USB-Serial port, when you click [ Call Radio ], you will get an error message "Unable to Connect to Radio!".
This installation is for LAN access only. See user manual for Internet access.
Access the user manual using your username and password the day after setting up SimpleHRR.
Simple Ham Radio Remote supports most Icom CI-V, Yaesu CAT controlled HF transceivers.
Always review the FCC rules - regulation before operating any two-way radio remotely

Simple ham radio remote web app is fully functional, but still in the process of refining some aspects of the web app.