I have been using a Flex6600M that allows me to operate “remotely” from my 3rd floor bedroom, if I don’t feel like navigating the stairs up and down. After some firmware updates last year and a changeover to how I accessed the radio (direct IP address on my internal LAN vs. going through WiFi and the SmartLink servers), I had things working pretty well.
I didn’t want to risk doing anything until I had completed at least 120 CWT contests, which I did last week. So this week I spent some time before the contests getting N1MM working with the Flex. I wasn’t able to get things working correctly for the 1300Z one in the morning, but I had things running by the 0300Z one at night. It really was as simple as loading the latest version of SmartSDRCAT onto my laptop upstairs and adding a port for their simulated WinKeyer. The usual N1MM Radio setup applied, using the two COM ports identified in SmartSDRCAT.
I actually found out that I really couldn’t use the Function Keys in N1MM – they work, and CW is sent by the radio, but there is no sidetone. This forces you to watch the Maestro Remote screen to see when the TX indicator turns off. So I will continue to use my paddle and the Macro buttons on the Maestro Remote, which do generate a sidetone.
Flex Radio has a short YouTube video that describes the process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lql8RReUvA
