Ham Radio All-in-One-Cable(github.com)
github.com
Ham Radio All-in-One-Cable
https://github.com/skuep/AIOC
67 comments
Just because I had never seen the ordering a custom PCB, I followed this steps on ordering one for this. Heavens to Murgatroyd! that's crazy cheap.
It is truly insane how much prices have dropped over the past 20 years or so. It's like there was a step change around 2006.
I'm old enough to remember hand-etching prototype boards at my first job out of college because commercial prototypes cost so much. At that time, the big deal was the PCB milling machines for companies that needed prototype same day.
Stuff like this makes me feel old!
I'm old enough to remember hand-etching prototype boards at my first job out of college because commercial prototypes cost so much. At that time, the big deal was the PCB milling machines for companies that needed prototype same day.
Stuff like this makes me feel old!
Same - cheap enough that I bough 5 of these - and even hard the surface-mount components pre-mounted for me.
My shame though - is that I haven't finished soldering the plugs... (Because I want to use pigtails instead of soldering them directly on the board)
My shame though - is that I haven't finished soldering the plugs... (Because I want to use pigtails instead of soldering them directly on the board)
What dimensions do you choose for the board? I do not see that detailed anywhere on the github page. First time doing anything like this.
Following the provided instructions in the README, I navigated the repo to find the ZIP package to upload. I then selected the recommended options in the same instructions. I have no idea what dimensions as they were never asked of me I assume because the site used the data from the drawings in the ZIP.
Yeah it’s super cheap if you use the pooled service. Back in the 90s it was $1000 for 3 eurocard sized boards if you wanted them in under 2 weeks. This was a big problem for us so they built a PCB lab in house and it’d still take 3 days.
Now I can get the same to my door in under 2 weeks for $60. And they actually test the boards!
Now I can get the same to my door in under 2 weeks for $60. And they actually test the boards!
Not for long...
JLCPCB is super cheap for 100 years now. They are expanding for offering their crazy prices now even for 6 layers and higher.
I think they are referring to the upcoming tariff implementation from the US...
Which will never happen because it would be incredibly unpopular. It’s all just political posturing.
last time around he did get tariffs on steel, and one of my favorite small US manufacturers stopped being able to make computer cases because input costs rose too much.
I wouldn't get too optimistic basically. even some tariffs might cut off options.
I wouldn't get too optimistic basically. even some tariffs might cut off options.
Even with 100% tariffs they will still be dirt cheap.
slick and useful. Probably won't work out of the box with repeaterbook software (android) because he firmwared his interfaces to report something that normal ones do not and i couldn't be assed to reverse it.
I don't know that repeaterbook has anything to do with it actually, but there's android software that uses your GPS and a bluetooth module to control your VHF/UHF radios, you can use it to automatically change repeaters as you're driving or whatever - based on repeaterbook's database.
I don't know that repeaterbook has anything to do with it actually, but there's android software that uses your GPS and a bluetooth module to control your VHF/UHF radios, you can use it to automatically change repeaters as you're driving or whatever - based on repeaterbook's database.
That software sounds cool, what's it called and where do I get it?
https://www.zbm2.com/BlueCAT/index.html is the hardware. the software is repeaterbook - there's a toggle in the app to use the blueCAT device - which is the one i never could find the time to reverse to figure out why i couldn't use any BT-Serial device!
I've been a HAM for 5 years and the hobby is constantly evolving and expanding. There are many HAM hackers like this who produce custom radios, antennas, tools . If you are a software engineer looking to tinker with hardware, HAM radio has many practical and social applications. It's also a tremendously broad hobby with many modes, bands, hobbies, tools, devices.
Like most hobbies today it's up to us to take over and build the next generation.
Like most hobbies today it's up to us to take over and build the next generation.
I don't mean to be a downer, but I'm so fucking tired of these things. We don't need yet another way of doing AF sound card injection into shitty walkie talkies, we need an open, accessible, quality SDR transmitter that can handle digital inputs directly.
I've messed with plenty of systems like this, these antiquated radios are not designed for this and you have to spend a lot of time fiddling with the gain stages to get them to function at all. Even if you get it working, it'll still be wildly less capable than something that can do direct encoding, you lose a ton of range when doing AFSK compared to basically any other encoding scheme.
It's basically the equivalent of setting up a 3d printer gantry to hit the keys on your keyboard to send messages.
And before anyone complains, yes, I'm actively working on an open XC7Z010/AD9363 based HT for this. Essentially a Silvus but not $20k for $100 in components.
I've messed with plenty of systems like this, these antiquated radios are not designed for this and you have to spend a lot of time fiddling with the gain stages to get them to function at all. Even if you get it working, it'll still be wildly less capable than something that can do direct encoding, you lose a ton of range when doing AFSK compared to basically any other encoding scheme.
It's basically the equivalent of setting up a 3d printer gantry to hit the keys on your keyboard to send messages.
And before anyone complains, yes, I'm actively working on an open XC7Z010/AD9363 based HT for this. Essentially a Silvus but not $20k for $100 in components.
> We don't need yet another way of doing AF sound card injection into shitty walkie talkies, we need an open, accessible, quality SDR transmitter that can handle digital inputs directly.
You might want to look into the ADALM-PLUTO [1]. The ham club I'm in uses it together with a beefy PA to make TV broadcasts to the QO-100 amsat.
[1] https://www.analog.com/en/resources/evaluation-hardware-and-...
You might want to look into the ADALM-PLUTO [1]. The ham club I'm in uses it together with a beefy PA to make TV broadcasts to the QO-100 amsat.
[1] https://www.analog.com/en/resources/evaluation-hardware-and-...
Am I missing something or is that ADALM-PLUTO a really good deal? Its going for $195 direct from AD. Half the frequency range of a USRP but 15% of the price.
I was going to hold off on my SDR hobby until a few more gray hairs and $$$ came into my life but might need to pull the trigger on that guy (yes I know you can get an rtl-sdr for like $30).
I was going to hold off on my SDR hobby until a few more gray hairs and $$$ came into my life but might need to pull the trigger on that guy (yes I know you can get an rtl-sdr for like $30).
It's only got 7 dBm / 5 mW worth of TX power. You'll still need a dedicated power amplifier or multiple - not sure, antenna/PA isn't my specialty - if you wish to communicate with anything more than a few feet away from you.
Also, its frequency range officially begins at 325 MHz. That's usable enough for the 70cm ham radio range, but practically useless for anything on the longer bands without a hack [1] that will only give you the 2m and 4m bands.
On the other hand... you don't want to go below the 2m range on a handheld anyway, antenna length can be a real pain.
ETA: WiMo sells a transverter but it'll cost you about the same amount of money that you'd have to shell out for the Pluto... and still only 50 mW of TX power. Given that our club station has a PA stage that can blast out the full allowed 750W on 160m, that's quite a difference...
[1] https://www.rtl-sdr.com/adalm-pluto-sdr-hack-tune-70-mhz-to-...
[2] https://www.wimo.com/de/dxpatrol-charon-hf-transverter-for-a...
Also, its frequency range officially begins at 325 MHz. That's usable enough for the 70cm ham radio range, but practically useless for anything on the longer bands without a hack [1] that will only give you the 2m and 4m bands.
On the other hand... you don't want to go below the 2m range on a handheld anyway, antenna length can be a real pain.
ETA: WiMo sells a transverter but it'll cost you about the same amount of money that you'd have to shell out for the Pluto... and still only 50 mW of TX power. Given that our club station has a PA stage that can blast out the full allowed 750W on 160m, that's quite a difference...
[1] https://www.rtl-sdr.com/adalm-pluto-sdr-hack-tune-70-mhz-to-...
[2] https://www.wimo.com/de/dxpatrol-charon-hf-transverter-for-a...
You can also "hack" Plutos pretty easily to essentially be a USRP. The 9363 is just a derated 9361 which can go down to 70mhz, so they'll usually work if you swap the FPGA software load.
Yeah but as said going down to 70 MHz alone won't give you that many popular ham bands (at least not the ones allowed in Germany).
An SDR that can transmit down to the 160m band (1800 kHz) however... that would be practically the end of ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood and other high-price brands.
An SDR that can transmit down to the 160m band (1800 kHz) however... that would be practically the end of ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood and other high-price brands.
Honestly, there are a bunch out there at similar price points to the big names, but I think the critical mass of the ham community is too geriatric to understand what IQ means and just wants to ragchew on 20m. Based on what I've seen the younger crowd is all up in the V/UHF space playing with digital radios but that's where SDR has seen the least penetration because you need something spicier than a repurposed AF ADC for the available bandwidths. I've literally seen people on reddit pleading for the ability to dump the entire 2m band at once from an HT and practically, that's pretty trivial, there's just no hardware. I'm starting to wonder if the big radio manufacturers are trying to market segment the AD9xxx/ADRV9xxx chips away from the consumers and towards to military customers. They're more expensive but you can get 9363s and 7010s for $20 ea, so total list price around maybe $500.
The pluto is the inspiration for about half the devices used in the government world. They're all just the pluto design ripped with a PA+tx switch and marked up 100x.
I feel the same way, it's incredibly frustrating how many HTs exist these days that can charge off of USB-C PD but still require these janky headset jack adapters to even do serial data transfers. There hasn't been a good excuse for lacking full native USB support for over a decade at this point. I can not explain it in any good faith way, the only logical reason I can come up with is an intentional choice to keep people buying the adapters.
I don't even care if it's just the USB-Serial aspect and not audio/SDR capabilities. Something more than just charging.
I don't even care if it's just the USB-Serial aspect and not audio/SDR capabilities. Something more than just charging.
I can easily explain it.
One of the answers is cost. The chips in those radios lack usb. The USB-serial adapters are not cheap - 30c even for clones. So there’s 30c that can be cut from BOM. That’s huge when the radio sells for $20. You also need a little more circuitry around them (xtal,esd,caps), plus they consume non trivial amounts of power.
But wait it gets worse! Now that you have an interface you need to write code for it. Which is more work/time/aka $$$.
One of the answers is cost. The chips in those radios lack usb. The USB-serial adapters are not cheap - 30c even for clones. So there’s 30c that can be cut from BOM. That’s huge when the radio sells for $20. You also need a little more circuitry around them (xtal,esd,caps), plus they consume non trivial amounts of power.
But wait it gets worse! Now that you have an interface you need to write code for it. Which is more work/time/aka $$$.
I think part of the problem is it's still difficult to find a $200 or even $1000 radio that has those features. There's a bunch of KISS TNC integration starting to happen at that price point but it's still rare and for that money you should just be able to get an IQ IO stream over USB because it's available on the uC most of the time.
>you should just be able to get an IQ IO stream over USB because it's available on the uC most of the time.
Sure, but demand isn't there :(. It requires a bunch of programming/work, and for maybe couple thousand users?
Sure, but demand isn't there :(. It requires a bunch of programming/work, and for maybe couple thousand users?
I had thought that it would be nice to have a data-only radio. Use the same SDR chip as Baofeng to make radio that has USB-C port on one end and BNC/UHF connector on the other.
Handset would with USB-C data would be nice, but I think could save a lot of complexity making a radio with no UI.
Handset would with USB-C data would be nice, but I think could save a lot of complexity making a radio with no UI.
Ultimately what you're probably looking for is Meshtastic. No to minimal UI, integrates with TAC among others, can just pair to a phone and turn it into a long range p2p or mesh device for whatever use case you want.
A Pluto sdr would also work if not for micro USB. The problem is you'd need a bunch of modulation/demod software, power amp and TX/RX switch, hence the project.
A Pluto sdr would also work if not for micro USB. The problem is you'd need a bunch of modulation/demod software, power amp and TX/RX switch, hence the project.
I really would like to have a simple re-implementation of ye olde TNC-2s that had a small eprom and a kiss mode TNC with a fricking BBS on ax-25 that worked like a charm. They existed I believe around 1988-1990ish.
I mean, yes, this cable works with direwolf, but then I need to have a full linux system running, which I could do without for the purpose of an emergency comms system.
I just found https://github.com/cheponis/KISS-TNC2, but I think this is just the KISS mode, not the AX25 stuff.
I found https://www.ir3ip.net/iw3fqg/doc/wa8ded.htm which I think describes the TNC2S software I was running many years ago.
Any other pointers would be great.
I mean, yes, this cable works with direwolf, but then I need to have a full linux system running, which I could do without for the purpose of an emergency comms system.
I just found https://github.com/cheponis/KISS-TNC2, but I think this is just the KISS mode, not the AX25 stuff.
I found https://www.ir3ip.net/iw3fqg/doc/wa8ded.htm which I think describes the TNC2S software I was running many years ago.
Any other pointers would be great.
I have one of these in the garage. I think they're 6502-based with the OS on EPROM, or at least that's what I vaguely recall from last time I had mine opened-up about 20 years ago. I can dump the ROM if it'd help.
Many thanks for the offer! I have a few old ones, too. I'm sure I have seen .bin files with dumps.
Maybe here: https://home.snafu.de/wahlm/tfdownload.html
There was some bad blood between Wa8DED and NORDLINK/TheNET about copying, maybe best to contact WA8DED directly, or the NORDLINK guys.
https://w5yi-vec.org/W5YI_Reports/1988/1988-06-01_W5YI_repor...
Then again, maybe it would be better to jump on the LoRA bandwagon and make something similar work with meshtastic: https://github.com/TheCommsChannel/TC2-BBS-mesh
There was some bad blood between Wa8DED and NORDLINK/TheNET about copying, maybe best to contact WA8DED directly, or the NORDLINK guys.
https://w5yi-vec.org/W5YI_Reports/1988/1988-06-01_W5YI_repor...
Then again, maybe it would be better to jump on the LoRA bandwagon and make something similar work with meshtastic: https://github.com/TheCommsChannel/TC2-BBS-mesh
Likely a Zilog Z-80 CPU with 28C256 eeprom.
Weird kinda unrelated question but I bet someone in this thread has the answer:
When I was researching the Flipper Zero a year or so ago someone mentioned, "I'm not sure about buying one, it seems like a cool gadget that I'll play with and then end up in a drawer like the [product x]"
I looked up [product x] at the time and it seemed pretty neat. Like a USB or computer card that could get radio and TV signals and some other stuff.
However, I can't find this [product x] again despite scouring bookmarks, reading through reddit/HN topics, etc.
Any ideas?
When I was researching the Flipper Zero a year or so ago someone mentioned, "I'm not sure about buying one, it seems like a cool gadget that I'll play with and then end up in a drawer like the [product x]"
I looked up [product x] at the time and it seemed pretty neat. Like a USB or computer card that could get radio and TV signals and some other stuff.
However, I can't find this [product x] again despite scouring bookmarks, reading through reddit/HN topics, etc.
Any ideas?
The HackRF usually comes to mind every time I mess around with my Flipper Zero.
(Other items I often hear mentioned in the same conversations are the ADALM PLUTO and the pricey USRP line of radios. Or, "rtl2832u" might be a key term that helps you further narrow down a search more aligned with the sibling comment, though the rtl2832u is a cheap, receive-only device.)
There are the units branded by Great Scott Gadgets (the company belonging to the guy that designed HackRF). And alternately, chinese clones were obtainable for significantly cheaper.
I don't know what the climate looks like these days of getting a hold of these radios.
(Other items I often hear mentioned in the same conversations are the ADALM PLUTO and the pricey USRP line of radios. Or, "rtl2832u" might be a key term that helps you further narrow down a search more aligned with the sibling comment, though the rtl2832u is a cheap, receive-only device.)
There are the units branded by Great Scott Gadgets (the company belonging to the guy that designed HackRF). And alternately, chinese clones were obtainable for significantly cheaper.
I don't know what the climate looks like these days of getting a hold of these radios.
RTL-SDR is the basic SDR (software defined radio). RTL-SDR.com and NooElec are the best brands.
There are better ones but they depend on what you want to use them for.
There are better ones but they depend on what you want to use them for.
RTL-SDR?
There is Open Headset Interconnect Standard, https://ohis.org/, for standard headset connection using RJ-45. But I can't tell if anyone uses it. I wonder if could make boards like this for different adapters.
I sort of wonder if USB Audio would be a better way to connect headsets. Go from standard audio ports or headset ports to USB, and then USB with these connectors. The hard part is what to with the PTT pin. I guess the downside is power.
I sort of wonder if USB Audio would be a better way to connect headsets. Go from standard audio ports or headset ports to USB, and then USB with these connectors. The hard part is what to with the PTT pin. I guess the downside is power.
Great project!
But in the name of god: let this awful old AFSK APRS sleep away.
In Europe LoRa APRS is super popular and Semtech is flooding the market with super cheap radio ICs. They are extremely hobbist friendly.
But in the name of god: let this awful old AFSK APRS sleep away.
In Europe LoRa APRS is super popular and Semtech is flooding the market with super cheap radio ICs. They are extremely hobbist friendly.
Very neat! I’m consistently surprised with how the last 20 years of software and hardware improvement has only barely made it to amateur/cb radio.
8kb firmware limits. Noise reduction circuits that still do the same amount of nothing they did when implemented in the 70s. Flaky serial interfaces that need various cables and custom drivers for every make and model. CBs using the same 70s form factor and still costing $150-300 for the cheapest with SSB, which is currently the only modulation worth using unless you want to listen to a bunch of old guys in Atlanta yelling gibberish sunrise to sunset.
You can argue there’s no market, but put even a crappy CB into an enclosure that would fit most phone mounts, package it with a decent magnet antenna, and not price it as if you have no competition (because you won’t)… and the sales would be incredible. The UVK8 has non-hams buying a bunch because they’re cheap and only barely customizable, just to receive and not transmit.
Cobra, Uniden et al haven’t innovated since the 90s, but people are still buying them.
8kb firmware limits. Noise reduction circuits that still do the same amount of nothing they did when implemented in the 70s. Flaky serial interfaces that need various cables and custom drivers for every make and model. CBs using the same 70s form factor and still costing $150-300 for the cheapest with SSB, which is currently the only modulation worth using unless you want to listen to a bunch of old guys in Atlanta yelling gibberish sunrise to sunset.
You can argue there’s no market, but put even a crappy CB into an enclosure that would fit most phone mounts, package it with a decent magnet antenna, and not price it as if you have no competition (because you won’t)… and the sales would be incredible. The UVK8 has non-hams buying a bunch because they’re cheap and only barely customizable, just to receive and not transmit.
Cobra, Uniden et al haven’t innovated since the 90s, but people are still buying them.
Most modern amateur rigs are now SDR based.
The big brands (YAESU, ICOM etc) seem to lean into SDR as QOL improvements (large bandwidth real time spectrum analysers to see what's going on across the whole band, Digital Noise Réduction that really works, etc), while preserving the heavily appreciated look and feel of a classic rig.
The Chinese SDR-based rigs have more unique interfaces, and there are many to choose from.
It's worth bearing in mind that most "Classic" desktop rigs output 100W, across 1MHz - 50MHz for HF - this needs to be supported by components that take up place.
Devices that operate at 10W are much smaller (and are typically chained with a larger indépendant amp..)
The Chinese SDR-based rigs have more unique interfaces, and there are many to choose from.
It's worth bearing in mind that most "Classic" desktop rigs output 100W, across 1MHz - 50MHz for HF - this needs to be supported by components that take up place.
Devices that operate at 10W are much smaller (and are typically chained with a larger indépendant amp..)
They have but few people want to buy it. There are some nice SDR rugs but no one wants to spend the $1000+ for it. I am finding my now that tech people with more disposable income coming into the hobby is helping
I was looking at the KV4P project, and that feels like the future to me.
You're already carrying a device with a big touchscreen and a big enough CPU to run a very flexible and customizable UI. Let the software people handle this, and turn the RF stuff into a dongle.
I suspect the existing radio firms wouldn't like that. Even if the Icom or Yaesu dongle performs better than the Baofeng one, it would be difficult to gatekeep expensive products by user interface design and capabilities anymore. The $30 radio is no longer limited by having to cram everything into a 2-line, 12-character display and having to scroll through 40 menus.
You're already carrying a device with a big touchscreen and a big enough CPU to run a very flexible and customizable UI. Let the software people handle this, and turn the RF stuff into a dongle.
I suspect the existing radio firms wouldn't like that. Even if the Icom or Yaesu dongle performs better than the Baofeng one, it would be difficult to gatekeep expensive products by user interface design and capabilities anymore. The $30 radio is no longer limited by having to cram everything into a 2-line, 12-character display and having to scroll through 40 menus.
UV-K5 does cost 1/10 to 1/20 as much as the handhelds did 20years ago.
CB's seem niche and to this day the handhelds don't seem to go much below 100usd in price. Just not enough volume I guess.
Please don't conflate "CB" with amateur radio
When the only difference is regulatory there’s nothing I said that’s not true for both.
The vast majority of the world's electronics run on 1960s and 70s technology, it's not just ham radio.
Bloody nobody cares about bleeding silicon from Intel (or TSMC for that matter), everyone cares whether Analog Devices is still making that one chip they released to market 50 years ago (or if they have a drop-in replacement if not).
And just so people don't get the wrong idea: It's not that improvements are shunned. It's that recertifying with new and improved advancements costs time and money that nobody wants to justify.
Bloody nobody cares about bleeding silicon from Intel (or TSMC for that matter), everyone cares whether Analog Devices is still making that one chip they released to market 50 years ago (or if they have a drop-in replacement if not).
And just so people don't get the wrong idea: It's not that improvements are shunned. It's that recertifying with new and improved advancements costs time and money that nobody wants to justify.
The new shiny hasn't be properly battle tested. When latest silicon from Intel/TSMC has been around for 50-60 years, we can talk. It's also much easier to repair analog equipment in the field with whatever you've got laying around than digital equipment. That's part of the charm/allure of steam punk
> It's also much easier to repair analog equipment in the field with whatever you've got laying around than digital equipment.
That... depends. Analog equipment tends to have much, much higher component counts than digital equipment, making it much more difficult to troubleshoot defective components (try measuring a capacitor with a resistor in parallel), and the skillset needed to troubleshoot analog vs digital is also massively different.
On the other hand obtaining spare parts for analog circuits is going to be easier in a few decades than it will be for FPGAs and other semiconductors, and completely forget about ASICs.
That... depends. Analog equipment tends to have much, much higher component counts than digital equipment, making it much more difficult to troubleshoot defective components (try measuring a capacitor with a resistor in parallel), and the skillset needed to troubleshoot analog vs digital is also massively different.
On the other hand obtaining spare parts for analog circuits is going to be easier in a few decades than it will be for FPGAs and other semiconductors, and completely forget about ASICs.
It's not even the big guys.
I'm a one-dude-in-the-basement freelancer and about 5 years ago I was asked to build a device that would measure a slowly changing signal and use it to modulate a 5kHz input, and generate a differential, bipolar output. Basically, read the position feedback on a machine tool and generate output that looked like a resolver.
I did it half in code, half in hardware. The hardware was pricy, but it was the easiest way to get it done in low quantity.
Fast forward a couple years and it's now cheap enough to do 90% of all of that in code. I could probably cut my BOM by 60%, but at low production volumes there's no compelling reason to redesign the system. So, for as long as my customer wants these, I'll build them exactly the same way.
I'm a one-dude-in-the-basement freelancer and about 5 years ago I was asked to build a device that would measure a slowly changing signal and use it to modulate a 5kHz input, and generate a differential, bipolar output. Basically, read the position feedback on a machine tool and generate output that looked like a resolver.
I did it half in code, half in hardware. The hardware was pricy, but it was the easiest way to get it done in low quantity.
Fast forward a couple years and it's now cheap enough to do 90% of all of that in code. I could probably cut my BOM by 60%, but at low production volumes there's no compelling reason to redesign the system. So, for as long as my customer wants these, I'll build them exactly the same way.
The one that annoys me is handsets using proprietary batteries and charging. I want them to have USB-C port for charging. This came up for me with disasters where it would be easier to use USB power banks than AC chargers or converting 12V.
Some of the Chinese radios are starting to include USB-C port but all the mainstream manufacturers haven't changed. They should could out with new handsets, redesign old ones, or come out with batteries with USB-C ports.
Some of the Chinese radios are starting to include USB-C port but all the mainstream manufacturers haven't changed. They should could out with new handsets, redesign old ones, or come out with batteries with USB-C ports.
>The one that annoys me is handsets using proprietary batteries and charging.
You can squarely blame Japan for that hellscape of a mess.
Nowadays we like egging Apple for their proprietary shenanigans, but they are actually nothing compared to how much hate Japanese companies have for universal, intercompatible standards and how much that mindset has affected electronics at-large to this day from Japan's outsized influence in electronics during the 70s through 90s.
For example, if you have a ham radio transceiver from ICOM you absolutely require ICOM handsets, microphones, speakers, and other accessories for it. Equivalents from another brand like Yaesu or Kenwood will not work, even if the physical connectors are the same because the individual wiring is proprietary.
Some people here might recall Sony only supporting MemoryStick and telling SD cards and CompactFlash to fuck off, ham radio is that but exponentially worse.
You can squarely blame Japan for that hellscape of a mess.
Nowadays we like egging Apple for their proprietary shenanigans, but they are actually nothing compared to how much hate Japanese companies have for universal, intercompatible standards and how much that mindset has affected electronics at-large to this day from Japan's outsized influence in electronics during the 70s through 90s.
For example, if you have a ham radio transceiver from ICOM you absolutely require ICOM handsets, microphones, speakers, and other accessories for it. Equivalents from another brand like Yaesu or Kenwood will not work, even if the physical connectors are the same because the individual wiring is proprietary.
Some people here might recall Sony only supporting MemoryStick and telling SD cards and CompactFlash to fuck off, ham radio is that but exponentially worse.
>The vast majority of the world's electronics run on 1960s and 70s technology, it's not just ham radio.
Yeah it's crazy how little modern tech has made it to different niches. I was looking into metal detecting a few years ago, and there is basically no technology to any of them, even the expensive ones. You'd assume they'd have fancy android powered devices with gps and stuff, but no it's the same basic circuitry they've had for decades.
Yeah it's crazy how little modern tech has made it to different niches. I was looking into metal detecting a few years ago, and there is basically no technology to any of them, even the expensive ones. You'd assume they'd have fancy android powered devices with gps and stuff, but no it's the same basic circuitry they've had for decades.
The base circuitry for detecting metal probably hasn't changed much (at least not for amateur prices), but there are apparently modern metal detectors with app integration and gps and the like: https://apps.apple.com/be/app/go-terrain/id1419674707
Huh. Now you are making me picture a metal detector design with an array of overlapping current loops and a fancy deconvolution software on top that gives you an image (probably very fuzzy but still an image) of what magnetic source its detecting. Could be pretty cool!
I just acquired a Baofeng UV9R-PRO as my first semi-tweakable radio. Seems like a pretty good piece of kit one step up from fixed channel GMRS units. I've been able to learn some basics so far and managed to listen to some local repeater chatter. Also got a kick out of listening to one of our fixed channel GMRS units by looking up the channel frequencies. I haven't (deliberately) pressed the PTT once yet. Seems like just about anything outbound is technically illegal.
Any suggestions as to what I should do next?
Any suggestions as to what I should do next?
Pay $4, install HamStudy on iOS or Android, and/or use the excellent HamStudy.org site for free, run through all the questions until you've been through them all and are consistently scoring 90% on the practice exams, then pay the $35 FCC registration fee plus $15 exam fee to take the exam online, supervised on camera by three already-licensed amateur radio volunteers who are looking forward to cheering your success.
Take the Technician exam to be legal for most of the stuff you can do with your handheld, or if you're feeling ambitious, hit the General one right after that (you can keep going in the same session at no extra charge, but you're just wasting everyone's time if you've not studied at all for the level you're attempting) which will also get you into most of HF (1.8 MHz - 30 MHz).
I eventually did all three (Amateur Extra) so that I could convert it into a full German license (even the German national radio club advised me, a non-German citizen, to do it that way)
Good luck!
Take the Technician exam to be legal for most of the stuff you can do with your handheld, or if you're feeling ambitious, hit the General one right after that (you can keep going in the same session at no extra charge, but you're just wasting everyone's time if you've not studied at all for the level you're attempting) which will also get you into most of HF (1.8 MHz - 30 MHz).
I eventually did all three (Amateur Extra) so that I could convert it into a full German license (even the German national radio club advised me, a non-German citizen, to do it that way)
Good luck!
If you haven't started studying for your license yet just start it now!
Go ahead and get your tech license :)
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Get your tech! You can probably learn from the flash cards in an hour or less.
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> which is currently the only modulation worth using unless you want to listen to a bunch of old guys in Atlanta yelling gibberish sunrise to sunset.
What're they doing that for?
What're they doing that for?
Oh that is cool, I have a really janky setup to do packet radio with my handheld and this would be awesome for that.
Someone build a bunch and sell me one. at $60 for 5, I would be happy to pay $30 for a single one.
NA6D has them for sale: https://na6d.com/products/aioc-ham-radio-all-in-one-cable
Also as a kit for cheaper https://na6d.com/products/aioc-ham-radio-all-in-one-cable-un...