Archive for category D-STAR
The Android HT
I’ve been watching all of the innovative work going on in the smartphone and tablet arena and wondering how we could get more of that going in ham radio. To be sure, there are always radio amateurs developing creative technology. Some examples are adaptations of D-STAR, IRLP, improvements on APRS and sound card modulation modes. However, amateur radio is missing a standardized platform for handheld communications. Such a radio platform could open up lots of software innovation in this space.
What I have in mind is a dualband (2M/70cm) handheld transceiver that is built on top of the Android operating system. (Sorry Apple Fan Boys, iOS is a non-starter based on Apple’s walled garden philosophy.) This radio would have some of the hardware features we now take for granted in smartphones: GPS, WiFi, USB, maybe even a camera. I’d also include APRS hardware built-in, similar to the Yaesu VX-8GR or the Kenwood TH-D72A. I’ve hacked together a concept photo shown on the left of this post (click to enlarge). We would probably want to maintain some of the most important direct hardware controls such as PTT, volume and channel select. The rest of the user interface would be done via a touchscreen display, where the power of the Android OS comes into play.
While this hardware configuration is exciting, the real power comes from having a software developers kit (SDK) with a stable Application Programming Interface (API). This would unleash the creativity of all those software-oriented hams out there and a plethora of apps would emerge. There are plenty of ham radio apps available on the Apple and Android platforms…it’s just they are missing the radio as part of the package. An obvious area for innovation would initially be in APRS or maybe D-STAR. We could actually have the equivalent of SMS text messaging on ham radio, backed up via the WiFi connection. (Yeah, this kind of exists already but it is really cumbersome to use due to the braindead menu-driven user interfaces of current radios.) Just think how easy programming the radio would be with a touchscreen approach.
This is the type of product development that requires significant investment, but the technology is readily available. I suppose a garage shop operation could get this done but one of the big radio manufacturers could easily pull this off. Maybe one of those upstarts from China might want to take this on. Whoever does it, just send me $5 per unit and I’ll be happy 
.
That’s my best idea for this morning. What do you think?
73, Bob K0NR
New Transceiver from ICOM: IC-7100
ICOM has shown the new IC-7100 at the JARL show in Tokyo. The interwebz is buzzing with information, including a preliminary data sheet.
My scan of the preliminary datasheet indicates that this radio is in the class of the IC-7000 or even the IC-706. It covers all modes on HF plus 6 Meters, 2 Meters and 70 cm. (It also has the 70 MHz band which is a nice add for the European countries that have that band.) The radio includes DV (D-STAR) modulation capability and has a new touchscreen user interface. The slanted control panel is meant to make the touchscreen more accessible.
A new HF plus VHF/UHF radio always gets my attention (see my plea for an FT-950 with 2 Meters). I am starting to think that the real benefit of this rig is the addition of D-STAR capability, which would a good but not essential feature to have.
What do you think?
73, Bob K0NR
Update (30 Aug 2012): Universal Radio has the radio on its website.
There’s a good video look at the radio here.
A New Digital VHF/UHF Radio from Yaesu
A while back, Yaesu published a white paper/brochure on VHF/UHF digital technology that slammed D-STAR for using GMSK modulation and stated that C4FM (4-Level FSK) is the way to go. See my previous posting on that topic. The paper also talked about DMR and APCO 25 as standards that use C4FM.At this point in time Vertex Standard believes the C4FM (4-level FSK) FDMA or TDMA are the most suitable selections for Amateur radio applications. In early 2012, we will release a C4FM (4-level FSK) FDMA Handy-Talky and a Mobile transceiver into the Amateur radio market. After our initial introduction, we plan to introduce a C4FM (4-level FSK) TDMA (2 slots) or TDMA Handy and Mobile transceiver into the Amateur market.
Mixed Signals from Yaesu
This just in from the Things That Make You Go Hmmm Department: the amateur radio portion of Yaesu splits from Mother Motorola while the land mobile portion stays. This is right on top of an announcement that Yaesu will pursue a digital amateur radio offering based on land mobile technology (i.e., definitely not D-STAR).
The K0KDS blog has a post about the split, so go there for the full story. The ARRL has this news item about the organizational change. Here’s the paper that Yaesu published about their move into digital technology for amateur radio.
73, Bob K0NR
Completing the 2010 Trip Around the Sun
As the year 2010 comes to an end, I feel compelled to write something really insightful and meaningful as we log another trip around the sun. Perhaps some brilliant insights for the coming year? Or predictions of future technology breakthroughs?
Instead, I am writing this.
This is a mishmash of my thoughts about amateur radio at the start of 2011:
- Tech License Class: One of the most fun and rewarding ham radio things I did this year was help teach a couple of Technician License Classes. There is nothing like engaging with newbies to the hobby to give you a new perspective on how cool amateur radio really is! I have a great set of teammates that made this class fun and successful: Stu W0STU, Paul AA0K and Joyce K0JJW.
- Next Challenge: The challenge we see right now is helping these newly licensed Techs get engaged with amateur radio, so they don’t drop out. My belief is that the Technician License is a beginners permit that only enables a person to get started in the hobby. We are cooking up some fun activities to keep them going.
- Public Service: We have a good thing going with the local fire district and the RACES group in our county in terms of real engagement on emergency communications. This is fun, rewarding and a good thing for our local community.
- Dayton Hamvention: I am going to skip Dayton (again) this year. Instead, I’ll attend the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), a trade show centered on land mobile and mobile wireless communications. For me, it has an interesting mix of emergency communications, land mobile, data/voice convergence and test & measurement topics. Oh, did I mention that it is in Las Vegas? I suspect that it will be a better venue than Hara Arena
- ICOM IC-9100: I have been patiently waiting for this rig to move from vaporware status to reality. Maybe it will happen this year?
- Keep On Writing: I find that writing is good therapy, so I will keep that on the list for 2011. Mostly it will be this blog and the FM column for CQ VHF magazine.
- Operating: It seems I don’t actually get on the air as often as I’d like, certainly not for the casual ragchewing QSO. Operating events seem to be a good way for me to get some air time: VHF Contests, Colorado 14er event, Colorado QSO Party, maybe an HF contest or two.
- D-STAR: I haven’t been spending much time with D-STAR lately and I want to increase the focus on it. D-STAR falls into that dorking around with new technology category where experimenting with it and learning about it is the main activity. The technology continues to grow in adoption…arguably slow in real terms as the analog modes have such a huge installed base.
- APRS: Oddly enough, I have been messing around with APRS again, mostly thinking of it as a tracking tool for hiking and other outdoor activities. Maybe we need to look at bridging APRS with D-STAR location data?
Amateur radio is clearly my #1 hobby interest, and by a wide margin. But it is primarily a hobby (yes, with a public service hook to it…at least for me). It is important to keep it in perspective and not let it turn into another job. I already have one of those.
What are you going to be doing in 2011?
73, Bob K0NR
This Spewed Out of the Internet #15
It’s time to do one of those miscellaneous collections of drivel that spews forth from the interwebnet pipes. Some of this might even be important!
Some upcoming events: ARRL June VHF QSO Party and the Colorado FM Sprint, on the weekend of June 12th. The FM Sprint runs concurrently with the ARRL contest but only on Sunday afternoon. This is a good chance to get on the air with very basic equipment and have some fun.
The ARRL Field Day is coming up on June 26th and 27th. This is arguably the biggest on-the-air amateur radio event in North America.
I was playing around with setting up an SMS text messaging system for callsign lookup. The idea is that you send a text message (containing an amateur call sign) with your mobile phone and get the FCC or QRZ info back. In the meantime, I found that this problem has been solved by Callsign By Text. Very nice, check it out.
Female radio amateurs should check out Chick Factor International. It looks like a fun group.
I picked up a DV Access Point (DVAP) for D-STAR. This is a neat little device that provides flea-powered D-STAR access on 2 Meters by plugging it into a PC with internet connection. The South Yorkshire Repeater Group has a good description of the product. So far, this thing works really well.
By the way, the South Yorkshire group has a really good web site…interesting and timely information. Although they are in the UK, I find it relevant to US ham radio activity, too.
The Technician Class License question pool will be updated as of July 1, 2010. Our next Tech Class in Monument will be in October, so we’ll be updating the classroom material before teaching that class. It is clear that more technical content is being added to the question pool, which I think is a good thing. See KB6NU’s posting on the topic.
From The Complete Waste of Time Department, the FCC once again dismissed a petition from K9STH to change the amateur radio station identification requirements. Look, the FCC doesn’t see a problem here (and neither do I) so save yourself the trouble.
The FCC is seeking comments on the proposed new rules concerning emergency communications. I took the time to file a short comment, basically saying that the FCC is on the right track but they should remove the reference to “government-sponsored drills”. Any legitimate emergency communications drill should be included, regardless of who sponsors it. The ARRL made similar but more detailed comments.
- 73, Bob K0NR
Update on the IC-9100
Ham radio VHF enthusiasts have been patiently waiting for the ICOM IC-9100. This HF/VHF/UHF/Satellites covers most or all of the popular amateur bands. Recently, ICOM has posted the specs and brochure on its web site.
The rig has dual receivers that allow monitoring two bands at once and it is set up for full-duplex on satellites. The built-in antenna tuner covers HF and 50 MHz. Operating on 1.2 GHz requires an optional module.
There is an optional DV (D-STAR) option that works on 10M, 6M, 2M, 70 cm and 1.2 GHz. This is the first combo HF+VHF+UHF rig that has DV available.
The 100 Watt output power all the way up to 50 MHz and 144 MHz is a real plus and 75 Watts on 430 MHz is not bad either. The 1.2 GHz option would be nice, too. This would be a great radio for portable VHF contesting. Oh, and I guess it works HF, too.
So everyone was expecting a big ICOM announcement at the Dayton Hamvention. Based on the reports I heard via the D-STAR system in Dayton, one unit was shown “under glass” so attendees could look but not touch. Also, a number of people have reported that the ICOM booth staff are saying that the 9100 will be available later this year (fall timeframe?) at a price of ~$US 4000.
Ouch. Most observers see that as a bit too expensive. I’ll withhold judgment until it is really in stock at a dealer with a real price.
- 73, Bob K0NR
Hacking Away at D-STAR Hardware
We’ve been looking at optimizing the performance of the D-STAR repeater here in Monument (W0TLM, 446.8875 MHz), so I’ve been searching the web for information on what other groups have uncovered. Not surprisingly, there has been some creative reverse-engineering and re-engineering of the ICOM D-STAR repeaters.
Here’s a summary of some Good Stuff that I found:
1. NU5D paper on DSTAR Repeater Modifications & Interference Testing
2. A good overview of the ICOM D-STAR repeater block diagram and a few modifications to the ICOM repeaters on the dstar.ca web site
3. The N5EBW LED Board – a drop in board to add transmit/receive LEDs to the ICOM D-STAR repeaters
4. The Utah VHF Society D-STAR page — some of the best technical information and practical evaluation of D-STAR technology
5. A Look Inside D-STAR Modulation – an article I wrote for CQ VHF magazine that explains the vocoder and modulation scheme in D-STAR.
If you come across other D-STAR resources, please let me know.
73, Bob K0NR
This Spewed Out of the Internet #9
I have been traveling quite a bit lately for work, so here’s a catch up on a number of things spewing forth from the interwebnet.
I’ve recently re-discovered High Frequency Electronics Magazine, edited by Gary Breed, K9AY. This is a top quality trade pub that targets RF design engineers. In Gary’s September editorial, he highlighted the environment that the college class of 2013 grew up in….such as “text has always been hyper.”
I came across this summary of Top Ham Radio Blogs. They clearly have excellent judgment, since my blog is listed.
Computer World published this article, Want to bone up on wireless tech? Try ham radio, a good read on the experimentation side of amateur radio written by John Edwards, W6JE.
Google’s Eric Schmidt talks about the future of the web…some interesting thoughts. I hope his prediction of 100MB broadband comes true…but I am not expecting it to come down my road any time soon.
KB9MWR posted an interesting article about the radio range of D-STAR.
Ham radio saves the world (again)…. hams assist rescue on Catalina Island. This reminds me of when I was out climbing Uncompahgre Peak and radio’d in a fallen hiker report.
Last weekend was the CQ Worldwide DX Contest (SSB version), so I did get on the air for a few hours. Mostly, I got clobbered on 20 Meters with my 100-Watts-to-a-dipole station being overrun by the Big Gun Stations. I did manage to work some DX on both 15M and 20M.
The FCC actions concerning EmComm and Part 97.113 have exposed different views on the role of amateur radio in emergency communications. See the comments on my blog posting, this article by Steve K9ZW and N5FDL’s blog. There seems to be some pent up frustration with ham radio EmComm folks coming from some corners of the ham community.
I encourage everyone to go back and read Part 97.1, the Basis and Purpose of the Amateur Radio Service. It lists five different items as the purpose of amateur radio, all of which are relevant and important. I’d also suggest that everyone lighten up just a bit (and be sure to stay on your meds).
73, Bob K0NR
D-STAR Presentation at MARC
The interest in D-STAR continues to grow in Colorado. I have responded to a request to talk about D-STAR at the Mountain Amateur Radio Club (MARC) meeting on Wednesday night. It will be a basic introduction to the mode/technology along with a demo of D-RATS. I don’t think I am an expert on the topic so I asked Elliot KB0RFC to assist. Between the two of us, we have enough experience with D-STAR to handle the topic well.
The MARC club is a fun group, so stop by if you get a chance!
Bob Witte (KØNR) and Elliot Linke (KBØRFC) will be presenting a program and demonstrating the basics of D-Star, the new amateur radio digital mode that can be used for both voice and data, at our MARC Meeting at 7 pm this Wednesday, Sept. 16th, at the Woodland Park Library. I hope you will make plans to attend!
See you then!!!
73 Wes KØHBZ
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the D-STAR category.
Creative Commons License
Recent Comments