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I think you would run afoul by part 97 (ham laws) here. Also, APRS is super low bandwidth. 1200 bps modulation out of the gate, and its 1970s era congestion/channel control issues means that when it gets busy, your effective bitrate drops to ~400 bps or so.
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Nov 13, 2016 00:42
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Jonny 290 posted:I think you would run afoul by part 97 (ham laws) here. Also, APRS is super low bandwidth. 1200 bps modulation out of the gate, and its 1970s era congestion/channel control issues means that when it gets busy, your effective bitrate drops to ~400 bps or so. Doubtful since he's  though I'm sure their rules are similar.I think there are going to be a number of issues, especially for something like weather radar. One is that the most common data speeds is 1200 bps and 9600 bps half-duplex, primarily because people can take the audio out of their radio and feed it into a TNC or a sound card to do the translation (though that's harder with 9600). Secondly, it sounds like you're planning to "broadcast" vs be involved in 2-way communications, and that's usually also a no-no with some limited exceptions. There's often limitations with respect to retransmitting signals received from a different radio service as well. Now local METARs and TAFs, those will absolutely fit into ham data rates and probably APRS, although we'll have to train hams how to read them.
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Nov 13, 2016 01:57
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Also if you want to get into FLDigi territory, you can set it up to act as a packet modem, and there are some very cool multicarrier PSK modes that are _so_ much more robust than old AFSK garbage. I myself have successfully done experiments where I was able to get over 4000 bps on a 2m fm radio with direct connection, and over 2000 bps when setting my HT next to my laptop microphone.
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Nov 13, 2016 02:03
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The broadcast idea is the reason why I dont think APRS is a good idea. Getting Metars and tafs is better than nothing but ideally getting all the weather products offered by FIS-B would be the plan. I only need unidirectional communications and the signal should be able to be picked up by a cheap SDR with a smallish antenna. It really is unfortunate that the government doesnt just build out a ground tower network that is compatible with the American network.
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Nov 13, 2016 02:10
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helno posted:I had seen APRS and am wondering if it can handle the volume of data required to transmit weather radar. That's exactly what I do! Though it's my data. http://aprs.fi/info/a/N0ZO http://aprs.fi/info/a/N0ZO-1 http://aprs.fi/info/a/N0ZO-13 -0 (without any SSID) is my digipeater, -1 is my iGate, and -13 is my APRS weather info. I have a WS-1400-IP weather station, a raspberry pi running WeeWX for weather information gathering, and Xastir for APRS. The simplest way was to upload my data to CWOPS/APRS, and use Xastir with the nws-stations.txt go monitor my -13 SSID; and then rebroadcast that over RF for APRS so people locally are receiving it.
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Nov 13, 2016 06:02
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There's a new show on The CW called "frequency." When you google it all the results are for CW band plans. Little observational humor for your rag chews.
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Nov 20, 2016 01:22
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eddiewalker posted:There's a new show on The CW called "frequency." When you google it all the results are for CW band plans. Was. It's basically cancelled since they didn't order any more episodes.
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Nov 23, 2016 04:40
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Yo I'm looking for people who want to take part in RADIO ART next thursday (a week from today). I'm gonna be doing it in the morning (after 9 AM Pacific) and the evening (after 6 PM Pacific). Requirements: computer hooked up to radio, microphone. Basically I'll send a number of pictures via fax or SSTV. Fax can be received with fldigi, sstv with mmsstv or whatever. After you receive each image, you'll describe what you see. My class will be watching/listening on my end in the morning, and whoever arrives at the exhibition and wanders up to the roof will be there in the evening. It will be on 20m and I'll be transmitting from San Francisco with ~100-150w, so brits and finns need not apply (sorry)
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Dec 1, 2016 21:17
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FYI to any Ham Radio Deluxe users, if you post a negative review they might blacklist you and then make vague threats of lawsuits when called out on this fact. https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/5iklei/ham_radio_deluxe_support_disabled_the_software_of/
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Dec 17, 2016 18:58
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How'd they ever get this far with no one noticing? Surely there have to be some old farts who left negative reviews simply for the lack of Windows 95 support. Although, I suppose they're not running digital modes anyway.
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Dec 19, 2016 23:20
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Weird, my earlier reply got eaten. Let me repost it: lol
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Dec 20, 2016 04:05
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As noted in the QRZ thread where this all started, their licensing server just does a plaintext query. Send it the command "Check <callsign>" and it'll return the status of that callsign. I wrote a little script that took the raw database from the FCC and checked the active ones against their license server. Contrary to their claims that they've eliminated the blacklist, there are still two active US hams marked as "Blacklisted". One other rare status is "Refunded", which a single user has. All the rest are "Valid", "Deleted", or "Unknown".
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Dec 20, 2016 23:07
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wolrah posted:As noted in the QRZ thread where this all started, their licensing server just does a plaintext query. Send it the command "Check <callsign>" and it'll return the status of that callsign. If that's all their license server does HRD is basically free for anyone who can edit hosts.txt and throw up a simple http server on localhost. Jeff set up a pretty decent tracking thread for this poo poo show on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/5jf4i2/ham_radio_deluxe_mega_thread/ Spoiler alert: the excuse for this behavior was very ham radio - "sorry, I got the 'beetus and my blood sugar was low." Motronic fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Dec 21, 2016 |
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Dec 21, 2016 00:23
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Motronic posted:If that's all their license server does HRD is basically free for anyone who can edit hosts.txt and throw up a simple http server on localhost. or, like i posted on QRZ, you could throw up a rogue AP with hosed DNS and your own telnet server and disable all the HRD on laptops at field day, lol
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Dec 21, 2016 02:14
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Update, at some point today they've changed their server and the two "Blacklisted" users are now listed as "inactive". The one marked as "Refunded" is unchanged, as are at least a spot check of the "Deleted" ones. They've also added a subtle threat in that it claims to be logging IP addresses: code:
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Dec 21, 2016 03:35
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Jonny 290 posted:or, like i posted on QRZ, you could throw up a rogue AP with hosed DNS and your own telnet server and disable all the HRD on laptops at field day, lol Gonna just assume that you can root everyone via a buffer overflow or similar in the response parser as well
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Dec 21, 2016 05:12
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If W4PC isn't bought out by the other partners I don't see myself renewing HRD. Probably shouldn't anyways since I haven't used it since I renewed in the fall and there are free versions of most of it, but...
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Dec 21, 2016 07:41
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WA9PIE isn't exactly doing well himself, initially claiming they didn't blacklist anyone before trying to argue he was using a different meaning of blacklisting than the entire point of the thread. His response to The Register downplays the level this went to in the company acting like it was a rogue contractor and makes the same false claim about blacklisting among other things.
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Dec 21, 2016 08:17
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the fact that he throw a contract support employee under the bus for this just makes me ill
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Dec 22, 2016 01:59
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Jonny 290 posted:the fact that he throw a contract support employee under the bus for this just makes me ill I don't think there ever was a contract employee though. It was always Rick W4PC, co-owner of HRD. Before all the evidence surfaced, I think they thought they could sweep it under the rug as the actions of a rogue contractor who you can assume was disciplined/fired although that's never stated. You can have more sympathy for HRD if it's an contractor acting against supposed policy and not a principal in the company being petty and vindictive.
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Dec 22, 2016 04:58
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So let's say I've got an old 18 foot fiberglass windsurfer mast that I need to get rid of, and I also enjoy using an RTL dongle to scan around and listen in to whatever I can receive via some free SDR program. 1. Will the effort of building a basic outdoor antenna from this sail mast be worth any improvement in reception? 2. If it's worth building, will the fiberglass interfere with signal reception, or is it fine to run the antenna conductor through the center of the mast?
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Jan 8, 2017 18:04
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1: Short Answer: YES. Long Answer: Yeeeeeeeesssss If you're still using one of the included antenna's with the dongle, basically anything outside will vastly improve your reception, the higher the better. I've got a discone in my attic that vastly improved my reception. I only wish it were kosher to move it outside. I'm already trying to keep a low profile with my dipole. 2: Fiberglass shouldn't be an problem at all for clamping that to. How tall is this mast?
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Jan 8, 2017 19:56
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It's 15'3" tall, tapers from roughly 3 inches at the base to about an inch at the top. If it's worth doing, I'll probably (wait for the snow to melt and) go up on the roof and strap it to the disused chimney on my apartment. I live on the top floor and I'm willing to chance my landlord not caring because I doubt she will. Discone on top of the mast looks simple enough.
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Jan 8, 2017 20:50
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So I've tried building out a FT-817ND pack, got the rails and sack from Portable Zero... I wish it was a weeeeee bit bigger, but overall, not bad... Speaker in-facing in left pocket, hole cut in canvas for operation like this, or can be just taken out alone for bigger audience / less bass Mic in right pocket. Black/Yellow is 4S packs to a DC/DC buck converter down to 12.3vDC (Black/Red)  Pair of 10Ah quadrotor 4S LiPo batts underneath...  SeemsGood
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Jan 9, 2017 09:18
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Is it okay to discuss radios we want to sell here? Seems kinda specialized for SA-Mart. I have an FT-450D that's just a few months old. I can't solve the antenna situation with my apartment so I'm going to look into mobile rigs.
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Jan 24, 2017 01:35
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What are you asking for it?
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Jan 24, 2017 02:48
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I think $550 is fairish. It was bought new from HRO in September.
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Jan 24, 2017 03:04
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Sniep posted:So I've tried building out a FT-817ND pack, got the rails and sack from Portable Zero... I wish it was a weeeeee bit bigger, but overall, not bad... get the little cell checkers that just honk loud.
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Jan 25, 2017 03:29
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I'm refinishing my basement and am thinking long term about the next time I get a radio obsession. I'm thinking about putting some kind of antenna pass through to outdoors. I'm thinking like a conduit through my rim joist with some kind of plastic utility box inside and outside. Just thinking maximum flexibility for later without a big investment now. Any tips for doing this right?
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Jan 31, 2017 17:28
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Passed my technician exam today, and my boss gave me an icom v82 for passing, so now I've got to find some VHF freqs to listen to. I'm near Joshua Tree National Park, and googling around I've found this where a few freqs are listed for the repeaters used by the park service guys, so I'm creeping on them now which is fun. Are there any decent databases for searching for commonly used frequencies in certain areas?
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Feb 5, 2017 02:50
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https://www.repeaterbook.com/ has been a universal reference since forever, but it won't tell you how much traffic each repeater gets. It's still useful to find the repeaters in your area, program them in, and let the scan mode spin through them for an afternoon until you get an idea of who says what where, and how often. 146.520 is roughly the equivalent of channel 19 for CB radio; it's worth keeping a preset for it because you do occasionally hear people on it. I don't know anything about your radio, but some, e.g. the Yaesu FT-7900r have a feature where they'll spin through the band until you tell them to stop, picking up any frequencies that have traffic (and their PL tones). It's a useful thing to have if you're out of your home area and don't want to look up and program all the repeater frequencies but just want to jabber for a bit. It stores them as temporary presets that get dumped when you switch back to your programmed presets. e: also, of course, the people at a local club or the VEs at your exam will know what repeaters are busy. hogmartin fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Feb 5, 2017 |
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Feb 5, 2017 03:17
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Thanks for the link. I'm pretty familiar with the AR-8200 and scanning with that, but as far as I know this Icom handset doesn't do that. It can do a bank though so I'm going to punch in a bunch of repeaters and see what's going on around here. Now I need to start shopping around for an HF transceiver and a DMR handset and and and
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Feb 5, 2017 03:23
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Once your call sign shows up in the FCC database and you can transmit, you can also ask people what goes on when and where in your area. There might be a repeater that's completely dead all week unless you happen to tune in to the ladies' teatime net on Tuesday at 7pm or the SATERN disaster relief training net at 9pm on Friday. The radiogram nets are actually kind of fun to get involved in. It's pretty much just giving some local person a phone call or postcard relaying CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR TICKET UPGRADE from someone in Florida or Canada or something, but it's good practice on copying traffic. Also, congratulations on your exam, I was remiss in not mentioning that earlier 
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Feb 5, 2017 17:17
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Hey all - I'm sitting for the Technician/General Exams this Saturday, and I'm super stoked to get back into it. I used to have a Novice license (XXXXXX) way back when, but it expired a long time ago. I do have a question though in terms of names used on the air, vs. your legal name. I know that your legal name, e.g. the name on your State ID/Drivers License has to be given to the FCC for their records. But what happens if you don't use your legal name in real life as what people call you? I'm going to use Deadpool as an example here: For example, say my legal name is Francis. But I actually use Ajax in real life, such as school, work, on FaceBook, etc. Like, *everybody* calls me Ajax. When I'm transmitting on the air, can I introduce myself as 'Ajax'? Or do I have to use 'Francis'? I *really* detest my legal name, no one calls me it anywhere, and the only thing stopping me from outright changing it legally is time and expense. (I'm currently in school.) Nor am I using a false name to escape debt or crime, if that's a concern. Thanks! Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Apr 21, 2017 |
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Feb 15, 2017 09:28
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IANAL but I'm 99.9% sure that legally the callsign is the only thing that matters as far as identifying information goes. I did a quick skim of part 97 and didn't find anything relevant to what names people use on the air as far as the amateur service, and basically all of drive-time radio proves that the FCC doesn't give a poo poo about nicknames in a general sense. All they want is for a transmission to be able to be associated with a station. If the name you use isn't an obvious derivative of your legal name you'll probably get some questions from people who immediately look up every call they hear, but it's not like the concept of a nickname should be foreign to anyone. "Yeah, x is my real name but I go by y" should be the extent of it.
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Feb 15, 2017 15:34
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Coolness, thank you!
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Feb 15, 2017 17:56
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Well, I get to test this theory in 10 days or so, because I just passed my Technician test!  I took the General and Amateur Extra exams for the fun of it and failed both of those miserably, but in between schoolwork, homework, and other responsibilities, I only concentrated my studying on the Technician. But it was a good experience to take them in a no pressure situation. I do have the General book, and will try for that in a few months or so.
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Feb 19, 2017 09:44
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Qu Appelle posted:I took the General and Amateur Extra exams for the fun of it and failed both of those miserably, but in between schoolwork, homework, and other responsibilities, I only concentrated my studying on the Technician. But it was a good experience to take them in a no pressure situation. General is easier to study for while you still have all the Technician theory fresh in your mind to build on, so don't put it off for too long. General isn't much more difficult than Technician, and it opens up a lot more HF, which is nice even if you don't have equipment for it yet. General to Extra is a bigger jump, but it's not uncommon for people with a strong background in electronics and EM theory to pass all three in one session. The AA9PW practice exams are a good way to gauge how you're likely to do on a real exam: http://aa9pw.com/radio/
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Feb 19, 2017 15:46
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hogmartin posted:General is easier to study for while you still have all the Technician theory fresh in your mind to build on, so don't put it off for too long. General isn't much more difficult than Technician, and it opens up a lot more HF, which is nice even if you don't have equipment for it yet. General to Extra is a bigger jump, but it's not uncommon for people with a strong background in electronics and EM theory to pass all three in one session. Oh, I know how I did, as I took both the General and the Amateur Extra tests yesterday as well! For blindly guessing, I got 16/35 for General, and 19/50 for the AE. Towards the end, I just started picking the answers that sounded the most like Science Fiction film titles. The same group that held the Technician classes I was just in is also holding General classes in late April, but that's going to be smack in the middle of an intense Quarter for me. (I definitely plan on taking and testing during the classes, though!) So, my plan is to study intensely ahead of time during this two week Spring Break (which is coming up in 5 weeks or so), work on practice exams running up to these classes, and then use the classes as refresher/fill in the gaps running up to the actual testing at the end of April. In studying for Technician, I found https://hamexam.org/ to be invaluable, and I definitely plan on using them again. Thanks for the advice!
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Feb 19, 2017 18:45
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They let you take the Extra even though you didn't pass the General? You're not supposed to take the test without proof of completion of the pre-requisite elements.
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Feb 19, 2017 20:01
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