A friend of mine @Dansgeary is new to mastodon. He is An old school CB radio and HAM guy who used to talk to Australia when the sunspots hit right. Anyway, hes not a giant tech nerd like me but I told him about software defined radio and now I'm gonna set up an older laptop and get him on SDR for thanksgiving... Anyone got suggestions for interesting things to do with an SDR for someone new to that? @ai6yr maybe?
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@kajer @dlakelan @Dansgeary LOL, it's a point of debate, but I think of FT8 as the equivalent of a slot machine... pull the handle, hope you get a jackpot. Pull the handle. hope you get a jackpot. Pull the handle, hope you get a jackpot. Take a puff of your cigarette. Pull the handle, hope you get a jackpot (repeat all day).
I once setup a OCF inverted v dipole on top of a friends barn, and got Australia from Fresno, CA. It's really a crap shoot.
Ah, quite regular to get to Australia for me! Gets in quite well depending on time of year, band, etc.
10m open to Sydney, Australia #hamradio
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@dlakelan @Dansgeary Oooh, so many cool things to do! The top of my list:
1. Use the SDR to receive aircraft locations using ADS-B
2. Use the SDR to receive any ham radio signal (HF, VHF, UHF)
3. Use the SDR to receive satellite signals (from space!)
4. Use the SDR to figure out all of the gadgets and devices in your neighborhood... receive weather stations. See the TPMS/air pressure in your neighbor's tires. Monitor when they are opening and closing their garage door, lol.
5. ACARS receiver for aviation
6. If near an ocean, monitor AIS ship positions.
@ai6yr
Oh these all sound like so much fun!! Wish I could join in… but think I’m on wrong side of the world in Australia…
Still I’d enjoy hearing how they go. 🤗
ACARS is always fun.
@ai6yr
Hes in the bay area so the AIS for the SF Bay should be fun.
I like checking the tire pressure for the neighborhood. thats hilarious.
@Dansgeary
@dlakelan @Dansgeary @ai6yr I hear ft8 is fun?
I mean, it's RF black magic getting a low power signal out from under the noise floor. Its gotta impress even the oldest of Heathkit era hams.