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High-Speed Multimedia Hamming

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the dit-da-dit-dit-dit dept.

Skuld-Chan writes "I noticed a few days ago that the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) formed a working group to promote use of 802.11 protocols on the amateur radio bands."

7 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. woohoo! by vorovsky · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Oh wow, this is GREAT news for me! I've been a radio operator for about 7 years now and tried to dabble a bit in the "data links" before the days of 802.11 at all. Just recently I had a renewed interest with all of the 802.11 products but was having a hard time integrating them into ham radio more. Woohoo!

  2. Replacing the internet? by KDan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm not an expert in Ham or this, but I'm curious: is there any possibility, in the medium to long term, for replacing most of the internet infrastructure with an amateur-operated wireless net, free of corporate or governmental intrusion? ie does this technology go in this direction?

    Daniel

    --
    Carpe Diem
  3. Why ham? by PhysicsGenius · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I understand why they used to do it back in the 50's--there wasn't much other way to talk to people far away, plus radio technology was still cool back then. But with the rise of the Internet and the replacement of vacuum tubes with computers in the hearts of true geeks, why does anybody continue hamming anymore?

    1. Re:Why ham? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      It's a hobby. Of course the ARRL will tell you how incredibly important amateur radio really is (providing communications in emergencies, training people in electronicvs, driving innovations), but I think that's just very obvious attempts to justify amateur radio somehow.

      I am a ham, and I do it for the fun. I do foxhunting (tracking down hidden radio transmitters). I talk to people with similar interests. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to communicat with people around the world, knowing that no other infrastructure is in between us and the signal from my antenna is traveling round the globe. It grants me the right to build and experiment with RF-emitting circuits (someting I always enjoyed). Some people like to communicate around the clobe with the lowest power possible (fractions of a watt).

      For many folks, ham radio is also an online chat (IRC is modeled on radio metaphors for that matter). While chatrooms etc. are widely available on the internet these days, the license requirements and at least some enforcement efforts by the FCC resp. corresponding authorities abroad keep most of those i****s off the air that made me abandon IRC in the early 90's (compare ham radio communications with what you hear on CB in the US, and you know what I mean).

      And yes, radio technology still is cool. It is insanely cool if you anderstand it and you can build and modify it yourself. Cellphones may have cool technology inside, but they are mostly black boxes. Not very hackable.

    2. Re:Why ham? by AvantLegion · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Those examples are interesting, but of seemingly little use.

      What is the overriding importance of having the "only reliable method of communication" during Oklahoma City, or 9/11?

      CNN, Fox News, etc., told me that planes slammed into the towers. I didn't need a Ham radio for it.

      Perhaps you're implying that the important thing is to communicate about other things during those times, but I sure didn't find myself feeling cut off or devoid of means for important communications during those times.

      I can see the use of Ham if we're, like, invaded by China, or Raelians and their extraterrestrial buddies, or something like that. But I don't see any real useful advantage of Ham in those other examples.

  4. Emergencies by gibbonboy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As others have said, in a real disaster, the normal public networks are quickly overwhelmed. Amateur operators who can use their networking equipment over longer distances can transmit all sorts of vital information in and out of a disaster area. I am playing with these systems at home, with hopes to have them ready for emergency use soon. More experimentation leads to technical jumps not possible when design is only driven by limited power and profitability for the manufacturer.

    KB3HQX, Susquehanna County ARES Coordinator
    EMA/911 Database Analyst

    --
    "Never pet a burning dog."
  5. How about 802.11a? 5650-5925 MHz anyone? by Skapare · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hams also have 5650-5925 MHz. Of course, RF parts for this portion of the spectrum are more expensive. But antennas are smaller for the same directionality and gain, and the bandwidth is greater. It can open some additional channels, too. Anyone know of any amateur work being done with 802.11a in this area?

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars