Will be submitting a proposal for a talk on #hamradio to the @hopeconf later today. "Ham Radio for Hackers" and "Ham Radio: Yes, We Still Do That!" are my two working titles. What should I make sure to talk about to this group of hackers?
@kb6nu What impressed me as someone coming from the consumer computer world to #hamradio is manufacturers/regulators (at least in US) who expect user modifications and user built equipment. Also the idea that all you need to do is have a clever idea for a new comms protocol, publish it, and have users the world over embrace it (like WSJT-X). I don’t know if hackers care, but it is also neat that someone with a radio built in the 1950s and someone with a SDR built yesterday can communicate.
is manufacturers/regulators (at least in US) who expect user modifications and user built equipment.
Nah, this is world-wide, ham radio is defined by ITU (a body of the UN) as an experimental radio service. So we are allowed to build dnd design at will ... but we will also have to document that we know the ropes (i.E. know the technicalities of how not to disturb other radio services).
The experimental character is in some countries even higher than in the US. The band usage plan of the FCC specifically names modulation schemes on some frequencies. Whereas the german equivalent ("Frequenznutzungsplan") just defines max bandwiths. What modulation an OM uses there is completely free, making way to experimentation and innovation.
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