I had an Allstarlink Remote Base for a short time using a Yaesu FT-897, URI and a small fanless Linux box. Worked great on VHF/UHF but my personal experience in attempting to tune SSB from a keypad was an exercise in frustration. Strong signals weren't so much of a problem but weak signals or those slightly off frequency from a HF traffic net were. Not all functions of the radio are available via CAT commands which was a major problem for me. There are Allstar stanzas available for controlling the FT-897 specifically but I'm sure it could be done with other radios as well. Do a Google search on Ham Radio via the Internet and it will turn up many different ways to approach the problem. Some require additional hardware, some work without a PC involved at all. W4MQ.COM and Glentekcorp.com are two that popped up for me. At least one solution I've seen uses two interface boxes that connect the faceplate of a radios such as a Yaesu FT-857 to the radio via the Internet, all functions available from the front panel then become available as the control panel is right in front of you while the radio is somewhere remote. Audio in both directions is passed and no computer interface is used. This negates of course the radio being able to be used by multiple users unless they each had a radio control head and some way to identify who was connected when. Wayne node 28146