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Taking VHF Ham Radio From Local To Global
yipper writes: "For a couple of years now a small group of amateur radio enthusiasts have been putting together a system of linking local VHF repeaters using the internet. VHF communications are usually used for local ( 0 - 50 mile ) operations. This system described at www.irlp.net allows linking of one or more local systems together using linux, streaming voice software, fast internet connections, and a few custom parts." Ah, integration!
The reason the cell industry won't ever care is because any retard can walk into a cell store, throw cash at a salesman, sign a contract, and waddle back out the door, happily annoying the hell out of the rest of the population.
Same retard walks in to take even the Tech no-code class, flunks eleven dozen times, and gives up because "da test wuz too harrd, U mus B a 31337 hAx0r to make dat grade..."
Soccer Mom and Average Moron are *not* going to go get a Ham license (my god, that takes effort!!! and intelligence!!!) when they could just enslave themselves to the cellular company and let the cell company network do all the work for them.
The intelligent minority might use autopatch and these new linking technologies, but that will never be a threat to the cell/telecom industry bottom line. They won't ever care.
http://nwaprs.org/aprsinfo.htm
Uses ham radio in conjunction with the internet to provide global positioning and other info. One can't work without the other. Looks like it greatly expands the possibilities with ham radio to me.
Too tired to get into specifics so here's some quick links.
Is VoIP secure?
Measuring VoIP for Jitter and Loss
VoIP Invasion Are You Ready For It? (long!!!)
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As for thinking your gonna reach around the globe, sure you can in theory, provided all PBX's and routers are configured properly, there aren't any bottlenecks along the route, etc. Pretty hard thing to do for under 175 US dollars when Fortune 500's spend tens of thousands on PBX equipment and can't get it right
hellraiser¡
Well personally I don't like it. I'm a ham, not that i use it much any more. This in my mind is pointless experimentation. They could be linked by HF or sat links, that would be more in the mindset of a real radio ham. The same happens with packet radio, it's linked via the internet now and what's the point of that? You're just using phone lines and not using radio. The point of ham radio is to try and do new and interesting things on that medium, not make cell phones.
You'd probably be better off looking elsewhere besides the ham bands for this:
...phil
...phil
"For a list of the ways which technology has failed to improve our quality of life, press 3."
The international rules for ham radio require that the communication not be of a pecuniary nature. Personal conversation and technical conversation that hams would generally do is OK, but to do business you need to go to another means of communication. This is to protect ham radio from being overrun by the commercial interests and (long ago) to protect monopoly the phone company (or post office, depending on your country).
Most regulators are tending to remove ham radio regulations that protect phone companies now that there are fewer protected monopolies, a lot of this will hopefully go on at ITU 2003.
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
So a ham in Europe can use his/her handy talkie to talk to another ham in SanDiego CA - something tells me the Cellular/FCC isn't going to like this.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Those little handhelds might have better range than you give them credit for. It's just line of sight. A coworker of mine was very excited last week when he managed to pickup the International Space Station (ISS or Alpha) on his 2 meter handheld unit. This is a communication of over 200 miles, but you can see the thing going over. Granted, this isn't like the round the world bounces you can do with HF, but it's still pretty darn exciting.
The space station and data applications for amateur radio caused me to start putting together a web page on how to operate with Amateur Radio over Linux . There is a lot of software, hardware, and resources available out there. It's not hard to get a license to operate in the 2 meter bands these days, so it's something worth exploring.
World Beach List, my latest project.
Over the last few weeks I've been assembling a page of links converning working with amateur radio using Linux . I've managed to assemble a collection of links covering things such as:
This started after I read about how it is now possible to exchange data through and talk with astronauts on the International Space Station. I've started working on my own license which is really quite easy to attain. It's just one 35 question test which most people should be able to prepare for in under a month with just one or two books.
With luck, in a few months, I'll be ready to flood the airwaves with my own useless drivel. With a little more luck, I'll manage to get a postcard from space.
This project follows in the footsteps on a previous effort I took to compile a comprehensive list of links regarding Bluetooth on Linux Thanks to SlashDot, this page managed to stay in the top ten list of the Bluetooth Top Sites list for all of April.
World Beach List, my latest project.
This is similar to Superlink, but this relies on wired technology. It's cool for the coolness factor, but things like Superlink could become critical forms of semi-long-range communication when internet and telephone lines get destroyed in a major disaster, for example. Yes, there is HF as well, but these days VHF is probably a lot more common, and so quite important for emergency communications.
IRLP is simply a way for folks to communicate through the wonderful hobby of ham radio.
As the caretaker of the IRLP Network's Denver Reflector (basically a VoIP conference bridge used to link multiple sites together), I thought I'd throw some information out here about the hobby of ham radio in general and the IRLP network more specifically.
Ham radio has always been about using one's knowledge of radio theory, basic electronics, and the generous "donation" of certain frequency ranges to radio amateurs worldwide by the various coordination and governmental entities that hold jurisdiction over those "airwaves". New technologies come along constantly for folks who like to "tinker" with to communicate.
FACTS:
- Amateur radio operation requires (in the U.S.) a licence from the FCC, which is fairly easily gained these days with recent regulation changes (some say too easy) via a multiple-choice test on FCC and International regulations, basic radio theory, basic electronic theory, and basic operating practices. More information about becoming a ham radio operator can be found at the following URL's:
http://hamradio-online.com/starthere.html
http://www.arrl.org
- For years, ham operators have used "repeater" stations, located high above most metropolitan area for local communication via 2 meter (145 Mhz) FM signals. Other frequencies including 70cm (450 Mhz), and higher and even lower 6 meter (50 Mhz) FM repeater stations are available for use.
- IRLP mixes the use of Linux computers running Voice-over-IP software, some custom hardware, custom software written by the creator of IRLP, Dave Cameron [Callsign: VE7LTD] and physical or RF links to these repeaters to create a linked repeater system, similar to some quoted here that use RF (radio frequency) links. Control of the Linux system is done via DTMF tones, as is most control of features on local repeaters.
- Packet Loss: Many folks are claiming that "packet loss for Voice-over-IP is too high to make this usable"... hmm... that's funny. I seem to have just heard a number of stations calling others on the Reflector and having conversations just fine. What makes this work is that most PC VoIP users expect high audio quality. In fact, I just heard Dave talking from Vancouver, BC to a ham in Philadelphia via the Reflector.
- IRLP is using low-bitrate VoIP because the end points don't need supurb audio quality to communicate. Most nodes use an encoding method that requires 32KB/s of bandwidth, much lower than most broadband end-user solutions out there today. Some nodes with extremely limited bandwidth use an encoding method which only requires 8KB/s at the cost of audio quality.
-"Reflector" machines like the one I maintain need to be able to handle multiple VoIP streams outbound and a single VoIP stream inbound to maintain the "conference" of multiple IRLP nodes. My employer has graciously allowed for a set amount of bandwidth in our data centers for the IRLP project. (Similar to those companies who offer public open source mirror sites.)
- In response to the "I don't like this but I haven't had my radio on in years" folks... So what? Ham operators in the 1970's were put aback by the addition of repeaters to their local VHF and eventually UHF bands, and the response was similar. As one person said on the Reflector tonight, "Technology marches on!". Hams who used spark gap technology were probably put off by those "crazy guys" using AM to talk to each other years and years ago!
- Don't detract from others enjoyment of the hobby by bashing what they enjoy. Perhaps you like CW (morse code), Satellite, Moonbounce, HF Single-Sideband, UHF point-to-point, Amateur TV, SSTV, AMTOR, Radio Teletype, PACTOR, or Packet Radio over AX.25, or any of the other modes available. You don't see anyone involved in IRLP publicaly criticising the way you like to enjoy the hobby. (Well, a few folks here have an aversion to the Morse Code, and Bruce Perens has an excellent article about code and licensing up at http://technocrat.net/932183115/ )
Some observations about IRLP from my perspective, a long-time Linux user and Ham Operator...
- Many Hams have never played with Linux. Dave does an excellent job of helping them install Linux, get his custom software installed, and help them get their audio and RF links working properly on the network -- all on volunteer time.
[He does require that the custom hardware board be purchased from him directly, but that was mostly due to quality control issues with some of the early attempts to "open source" the project.]
Anyone that can afford to operate a repeater can certainly afford to purchase a hardware board from Dave. Repeaters are not cheap to operate, and most are funded by ham radio clubs who's members expect that a new experimental system like IRLP behave properly and not cause problems for the repeater itself on the local bands. Dave has the network and the image of IRLP at heart when he switched to this requirement, and the amount of time he spends maintaining nodes, helping folks with technical issues, and in generally keeping a happy demeanor are well worth the small price paid for the hardware board and support.
[Of course, an IRLP node *could* be set up on a simplex frequency... and some are... but there are issues with local interference and other reasons NOT to do this in large metro areas -- it's better to simply have a local club who's members decide to use a repeater system to link into -- it becomes the local "IRLP Frequency" and folks know when they hear stations from far off saying hello -- it's probably coming through the Internet link. Here locally, a short tone is added to the end of transmissions by the node radio to indicate it's an IRLP call, etc.]
For those interested in mixing technologies like Linux, the Internet, and Radios, IRLP is a spark that has rekindled interest in their hobbies.
Helping out with the Reflector and with the Denver node has been some of the most fun I've had in years.
Public thanks to Dave for creating the network, and hope to hear YOU on the air via an IRLP node soon!
73 (Best Regards) from N0NTZ
Denver, Colorado
+++OK ATH
I fondly recall [CAUTION: FLASHBACK. CAMERA FOCUS MAY BECOME WAVY IN TRANSITION.] back in my days as WV2LCM, the illicit joy we found at patching calls that otherwise would have cost an insane amount of money or were simply impossible (for those of you not old enough to understand this reference, this was before the breakup of AT&T, when long-distance was a monopoly, and before the breakup of the Soviet Union, when direct-dial was not available). Reuniting George in Ireland with his daughter in New Haven, causing Dmitry in Kiev to be able to speak with his brother in New York for the first time in a decade, those were the joys of communication (as well as a well-deserved poke at Ma Bell, especially after she figured out that we were calling collect to payphones to flout her insane rates, but that's a different story). Rarely did anyone get caught or punished, because (this is one of those little-known facts) the guardians of ham radio communication, the FCC, are (or perhaps were) nearly all ham radio operators themselves.
It's no coincidence that ham radio operators are usually the first on-scene at the Emergency Services Centre during a disaster, and so I'm glad to see this frontier-pushing group (which, sadly, I have not been part of since my equipment was stolen) using the ultimate in global communications to further its cause :)
Zaphod B (CQ, CQ)
One-time WV2LCM on 2m
Zaphod B
Zaphod B
When duplication is outlawed, only outlaws will have
I know it's a good idea to integrate all these technologies, but sometimes it seems like people are connecting these things just for the sake of connecting them, not for any real greater purpose..
.. they'll be sending TCP via carrier pigeons next..
oh
Lots of folks, when they get their Ham Radio license, end up purchasing a little handheld radio with not much range.
The IRLP allows a person, let's say in Florida, to chat with a guy, say, in Hawaii, both of them using a small, low power radio. This is a great way for new operators to experience the thrill of talking to someone really far away.
There aren't many "open" technologies out there right now that allow this freedom of communication. When was the last time you got to build a wireless VoIP network using components that weren't BlackBox, off the shelf offerings from vendors?
Ham radio truly is one of the last "open" fields of wireless exploration. Think of hams as the GNU-guys of the air waves!
Integration is a very scary thing to those of us approaching finals this week, such as in calculus. AHHH!
Although it seems choppy on many people's computers, our local 440 repeater has been connected to the Colorado reflector for almost a week now and I've never experienced choppiness of any kind. Maybe that's just luck, but the conversations are as clear locally as they are from remote.
icqqm [ICQ:11952102]
How is it any more impressive than any other voice-over-IP telephone application?/i?
It's not "impressive" so much as just plain useful.
I appreciate the problem-solving nature of the ham hobby but in the end I want results. I want to talk to other hams easily, reliably, and inexpensively. I don't have the time, money or space for a HF rig -- but being able to reach distant repeaters with my HT, well, that's empowering me. It's cool, and it's useful, and I don't give a rat's ass if the data takes a trip over the Internet.
I seriously cannot believe the number of sour-pusses posting on this story! Instead of bitching about what someone else is doing, do something to help the hobby yourself, like recruiting a friend and getting him tested. Or if this technology isn't "impressive" enough, build something better already.
if those aliens from Independence Day attack, we won't have to rely on old morse code!
The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
The way to drive away new people is to sit around and say "Yeah, I heard the guys up the street are hacking on this 'new' thing, but it's not very novel or clever or useful to me and it's also not what we're Really About" in such a way as to imply "By the way, feel free to express any blue-sky ideas that you have, so that we can... help you, yes, that's it, for your own good." If this sort of thing went on regularly in open source project groups ... well, actually, my planet-sized ego could withstand it trivially, but the point is that not everyone has "What do you care what other people think" tattooed on their eyelids, and we would have this whole uncool DDT eggshells, squashed little downy fledgling geeks, thing going, and eventually a bunch of projects would dry up and blow away, resulting in poisoned streams downwind and the eventual demise of the ecosphere. Oh, the embarrassment!
"The Crystal Wind is the Storm, and the Storm is Data, and the Data is Life"
Phone patches have been available for years for Hams to make a phone call from outside the local area, but within HT reach.
I think there is far less for the companies to lose now than there used to be. The incredible profit margins for monopolistic telephone companies are gone.
------------------------------
Amateur Radio used to have something else out there before the 'Net came out: Packet Radio.
Hams with 2 meter VHF gear and PCs, using AMTOR, RTTY, and pacTOR to communicate thru Packetpeaters and did this quite well. It almost became national but save for the introduction of the 'net. Nowadays its for hobbyists that want to play with receiving satellite imagery, listening to the ISS, and communicating with other amateurs via OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio). You have to remember that Hams preceded the 'net and all these prefab gadgets that we got today, most of them had to build the majority of their gear from scratch, or modify what they could get ahold of.
These are the TRUE pioneers of where we are at today with our phones and wireless commo.
Go read up on amateur radio at www.arrl.org and god willing, help you understand what these ppl went thru to make it all happen.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
Let's get this baby to carry TV signals. Oh wait, that would be in violation of the DMCA. Better not do that!.
Ewige Blumenkraft!
Ewige Blumenkraft!
I'm not bitching about it. I'm just confused by it. You talk about wanting "to talk to other hams easily, reliably, and inexpensively." I thought that the idea of ham radio was radio, not some using your VHF handheld like a cell phone patched into hard wires. Maybe you just like chatting with people and you use ham radio to do it. That's fine and there's nothing wrong with it. But this is like saying "My hobby is bicycling and I just fitted a motor to my bike to make it easier."
I can use my computer to talk to people all over the world (sometimes to their dismay) without a ham radio so it's not like this technology is giving me some tremendous ability that I now lack.
It doesn't have to be an overly high speed connection, I believe our connection at master node is via a wireless (900MHz) network card from the University of British Columbia Student Union building to to our club room, then another wireless connection from the club room to the top of the Gage residence tower.
Some nodes run off cable or ADSL connections, which are usually slower then a T1. We're not streaming cd quality mp3s here!
antarctican at antarcti dot ca
Yes, the IRLP has been a great project to watch grow over the years. I'm a member (and currently the outgoing president) of the amateur club which is the home of the IRLP and have had the privilage to watch Dave work long and hard over the past few years to grow the IRLP from a system of about 3 nodes to what it is today.
Any hams out there with a repeater and a high speed connection I suggest you investigate joining up. It's brought all kinds of life to our repeater.
antarctican at antarcti dot ca