Learn CW Online

 Might be worth exploring: LWCO

Ham BBS

 Another mini link dump...from RJS:

I was looking into Packet Radio BBS at one point, but never found the time to set things up. BPQ seems to be the common platform:

http://guardian.no-ip.org:81/ChatNetwork.htm

Robust Packet also has some BBS functionality, but looks like it is mostly used for other types of data transfer:

http://robust-packet.st/

Rob Richter ran the largest BBS in the area back in the '90s -- North Castle BBS. He has since been involved with amateur radio and emergency communications: https://web.archive.org/...//www.ncastle.com/album.html

Analog

Well, being that I mostly work with the digital side of things and my professional exposure to analog electronics is minimal, I thought that I could fulfill that part of my experience via delving deeper into amateur radio.

Part of the problem with longer-distance radio communications is the need for lower frequencies (at least below VHF), which requires more expensive equipment and antennas.  Some people build their own antennas, but for the HF noob, perhaps pre-built ones are more accessible.  Buckmaster has an off-center-fed dipole antenna that covers seven bands, which may be where I should start.

One thing about ham radio is being able to find active frequencies.  To that end, I've poked at using Airspy with an RTL-SDR to find conversations to eavesdrop on.  Ultimately I'd like to get a portable, self-contained setup on a Raspberry Pi with a display to run all the time, or at least on a timer.  On that note, RPi projects for ham radio, I found a project site that has some useful information.

Lastly, while looking for SDRs, I found Analog Devices' learning toolkit for SDR, ADALM-PLUTO.  More interestingly, they have a 25 MHz oscilloscope device called the ADALM2000 that plugs into a USB port, for only $200, along with an analog electronics learning package.  That would sure be fun to poke at.

Antennas

 In keeping with a resurgence in ham radio concerns....

• Tri-band Smiley Antenna (telescoping UHF/VHF)
• Chameleon Antenna MPAS 2.0 (portable 6m - 160m)

Who knows if I'll ever get 'em, but hey.

TxTenna

The goTenna looked interesting for off-grid applications, but at $179 for two, it's hard to justify.  Well, TxTenna might be just the application to justify the hardware....

Guns & Radio

MNGunTalk has a thread on free trusts mentioning Dakota Silencer, Ben Rust, and GOCRA.

qrz.com has a thread comparing the Kenwood TM-V71A and Yaesu FT-8900.

mods.dk

For ham radio hacking, there's mods.dk.

SHTF Channels

Another post on Slack #radio was for SHTF channels to program into radios.  I need to do this.

Amusingly enough, the site has a list for militia channels, too.

Updated PiFM

One of the guys on Slack #radio at work tried PiFM on his RPi2 and found that it didn't work.  Apparently the project's been abandoned.  He found an updated project, rpitx, that does work.  His interest was using it as a foxhunt transmitter, which is also pretty cool.

DIY Foxhunt Hardware

Using an RTL-SDR and four switched antennas to direction-find: link and paper.

Software TNC

From a ham friend: the Dire Wolf software TNC (forum) that can run on a Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone Black.  Sweet!

BaoFeng Radio Hacks

RJS sent me a link to a page with some information on hacking the BaoFeng UV5RA.

GPS over SDR

The thought occurred to me that perhaps the RTL-SDR dongle could be used to pick up GPS signals.  GPS L1 is 1575.42 MHz and L2 is 1227.60 MHz, which are within the range of the R820T tuner's 1700-or-so MHz.

Why, you ask?  Because an RTL2832U + R820T dongle is $10, which is a lot cheaper than most of the pluggable GPS modules out there (usually $40+).  If the base system is an SBC anyway, then this route is much more economical and flexible.  This would also have applications in an SBC-based telemetry system.

Wikipedia has the basic details on GPS and the signals used.  The C/A code is 1.023 MHz and the data is 50 bps, so when the SDR is tuned to the carrier this is well within the bandwidth of the RTL2832U.  Oddly enough, the R820T spec notes that it only supports up to 1002 MHz.

The University of Colorado has a useful GPS overview that includes more specifics, such as how to calculate the PRNs.

And of course there's already a guy who's been working on GPS over SDR, one Michele Bavaro.  Development seems to have stopped, though; and the GPS-SDR site has been converted into a lunch scheduler.

Laptop Refresh Dump

Normally I keep a bunch of tabs open in Firefox.  Well, today I have to turn in my laptop for the refresh at work, which prompted this link dump.

Broadband Amateur Radio Mesh Networks (HSMM-MESH)
VentureBeat article on mesh networks
(Well, I ought to write that post for BetterOffBitcoin, which I've been putting off....)
Article on how to use Bitcoin to set up an anonymous, self-sustaining website
Lumo Back, a device to help improve one's posture
Automatic, a vehicle telemetry-type device
Funky house blueprints via Wired (this has been in my browser for almost half a year...)
What to do when the Feds usurp power
Knowledge Weighs Nothing's bug-out bag checklist
The ATF's proposed rule change on NFA entities via the Federal Register
Survival Resources, a funky prepper store

RPi Radio

I'd posted before about SDR, and have tried PiFM.  Why not put them together?  Apparently someone has done it, based on an article on Hackaday linking to a post on some guy's blog.  He uses it to transmit data at about 9600 baud.  I'm more interested in using this to transmit voice: basically getting a huge transmit range relative to normal HTs for a fraction of the cost!  The RPi is $35; the SDR dongle, $10; a small LCD display, $20; some filtering hardware and wire for the transmitter, $5; you'd need a USB mic and a LiPo battery to complete the setup.  Well, I've read that SDR hogs power, but even so, this could be really cool...!

I almost forgot, there's a TNC kit for the RPi available as well.  Although if the receiver's digital, that'd be unnecessary.

Software-Defined Radio

Someday I'd like to get into this.

SDR @ Wikipedia
About SDR dongle hardware
SDR for $20?!
RPi as an SDR server

Stacy Schiff

Listening to MPR Mid-Morning on my way in to work, they had an interview with the author of a new book on Cleopatra.  I never had much interest, but the author sounded pretty cool.  She had a funny but not overstated sense of humor and quoted E.B. White regarding how she manages to stay objective: "strong curiosity, weak affiliation".  I also identified with her comment about her poor recollection that serves to further remove her biases, which is an interesting way to think about that attribute in a positive way.

You know, I'd be so much more inclined to donate to MPR if there wasn't such liberal bias in a lot of their content.  Kerri Miller certainly slants that way when talking about the need for government to "help", but randomly tuning in over lunch yesterday there were antagonistic pricks spouting off liberal rhetoric that made me think "screw these bastards, they can get their funding from FedGov if they think that way".

Amateur Radio w/o a License

I can't remember what I was looking for, but this link has been open for a while and I needed to get it off my tab stack.  Useful links were: Nets registered with ARRL (moved relative to the article) and searchable airport frequencies.