Welcome to QIRX Remote!
Learn about a new
member of the QIRX family of products. Please take a moment and read the FAQ's of this page.
However, for the impatient:
QIRX Remote: What is it?
QIRX Remote is (still experimental) software allowing you to listen to DAB music on your mobile device (smartphone, tablet), at home in your local area WiFi network. It frees you from having to be at your PC to select stations and listen to their program. By using QIRX Remote, you can use your smartphone or tablet.QIRX Remote: What more can I do with it?
Not much, in this experimental state. The motivation for development has been to be able to listen to DAB stations not only where the PC is being located, but also in other rooms, e.g. in the living room, and from there forward the music via the smartphone's or tablet's Bluetooth to the HiFi equipment's Bluetooth receiver. In this way the DAB's (at least sometimes!) hiqh quality transmissions can be fully exploited.For the future, more features well-known from standard QIRX are planned. One of the first extensions will be the facility to make audio recordings. The provision of more demodulators like WFM will also be a high priority.
Sounds great! But which app do I need on my smartphone?
The good news: None! Just enter the IP address and port number of your Kestrel server in your device's browser and go ahead!Sigh! A "Kestrel" server?
Kestrel is a local web server from Microsoft. You have to make a setup once, and after that you will mostly forget it. Here on this web you find a detailed description how to proceed.Sadly, still there is no such thing as a free meal! But don't worry! It is not difficult. And everything you need is provided in the zip download.
QIRX Remote is using web technology. Is it really safe to use it?
Yes, it is safe if you are using it only in your private LAN. In the LAN, you need to open a configurable TCP/IP port, in just the same way how rtl(2)_tcp or RSP3_tcp are using it. This is all configurable.However, please do NOT try to use your (possibly temporary) public IP Address as the one for the Kestrel server which is used by QIRX Remote. There are all kinds of bad guys around scanning open ports and trying to intrude into your private LAN across an open port by using your public IP address. Thus, DON'T!
Apart from it, going public would violate the QIRX license conditions, and probably also the law.
However, if you really intend to make experiments connecting to the public internet, here are some links to web pages writing about what you should do to stay safe using the Kestrel webserver:
risks of exposing Kestrel to outside world
When to use Kestrel with a reverse proxy
The two articles contain more links to websites treating the issue.
But always keep in mind that only you are the one responsible for the safety of your network!
I got a virus warning on downloading the package! Please comment!
It is well-known that the Microsoft Defender in some cases flagged the package with a serious warning about a Trojan. In this case, please go to the website virustotal.com and have the downloaded file checked there for a virus. Here, all of the 64 Antivirus products did not complain in any way. This is the expected result as the product of course contains no virus. All green there, including the product "Microsoft". Thus, in my opinion the virus warning is a false positive. However, don't take it easy. If you trust your virus alert, then please do not use or unpack the product.BTW, there are a lot of complaints about that probably false positive in the web.