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Foundations of amateur radio.

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A recent comment by a

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fellow amateur sparked a train of

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thought that made me wonder why

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there is a pervasive idea within

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our community, that you need a

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radio transmitter and antenna to be

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a radio amateur. Moreover, that for

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some reason, if you don't have

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either, you're not a real amateur.

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I suppose it's related to the

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often repeated trope that the internet-enabled

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modes, like All Star Link, Echo

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Link and even IRLP, are not

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real radio, despite evidence to the

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contrary. Instead of fighting this weird

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notion, I figured I'd get on with

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it and find a way to play,

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even if you don't currently have the

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ability to erect an antenna or key

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a transmitter for whatever reason. Before

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I dig in, a web SDR

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is a software-defined-defined radio connected to

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the internet. It allows a user to

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open a web browser, pick from a

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massive collection of receivers around the world

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and listen in. Some of these also

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have the ability to transmit, but more

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on that later. Here's the idea. Have

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you ever considered tuning to a

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web SDR, using it to pick

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a signal, and using your computer

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to decode that signal? I'm aware that

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some sites provide a range of

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inbuilt decoders, but that doesn't cover

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the wide spectrum of modes that

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amateur radio represents, let alone the

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modes that are not specific to

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our hobby. As I've said previously, many

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of the modes in-use today are essentially

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the width of an audio stream. This

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means that if you tune a web

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SDR to a frequency, the audio comes

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out of your computer speakers. If

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that's voice, your job is done and

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you can hear what's going on. If it's

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something else, then you're going to have

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to find a way to decode this

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to get the message. So if you

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send the audio from your web browser

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into something like FLDG or WSJX, you'll

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be able to decode the signal if

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it's supported by those tools. This is

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true for all the other tools too, more

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spitty you name. Depending

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on which operating system you're using,

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the way to implement this will

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differ. Starting with a search for

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a WebSTR and WSJX will get

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you on your way. You might

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ask why I'm advocating WSJTX even

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though it only supports a small

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set of modes. And that's a

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fair question. In my experience,

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it's the simplest to get running

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and get results. Two tips.

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Make sure you set your configuration

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to indicate that you don't have

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a radio, otherwise it's going to

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attempt to control something that isn't

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there, and make sure that your

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computer clock is set accurately using

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NTP or network time protocol. You can

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thank me later. Now, I hinted earlier

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at transmitting. There's a growing range

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of places where your amateur license will

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give you access to a station somewhere

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on the internet, and with that the ability

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to get on air and make noise.

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An increasing number of radio amateur

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clubs are building remote stations for

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their members to enjoy. There are

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also individuals and small groups doing

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the same independently. A few organisations

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are offering this as a service

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to paid subscribers. These tools often

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implement a remote desktop session where

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you connect to a computer that

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in turn is connected to a radio.

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The supported modes depend on what is

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installed at the other end. Others implement

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a slightly different method where

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you run specialised software locally,

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sometimes inside a web browser,

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that connects to a server across the

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internet, allowing you to run whatever digital

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mode you want on your own computer.

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I'll point out that even if you start

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with receiving digital modes using a

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web SDR, you can expand that

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into transmitting at a later stage.

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So, no antenna, no transmitter, no

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problem, no problem, still an amateur.

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Still an amateur. Still an amateur.

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I'm Ono, Victor Kilo, 6, Foxtrod,

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Lima, Alpha Bravo.