You know how sometimes in a show or a movie there is a character that has a “radio friend” that they talk to? Yeah that’s what I want to do.
But I do not know how to so I came to ask you! Cheap, preferably.
Out of curiosity, I found this app on IzzyOnDroid, (which gave me the idea in the first place) Codec2Talkie that seems to be what I’m looking for but I’m unsure due to my ignorance.
A radio modem seems to be required as the app description dictates. I can find one somewhere no issue. But is this the correct approach? Is there a better way that I don’t know of?
- CanadaPlus ( @CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org ) 18•3 months ago
Yeah, ham radio. If I was doing it all over again, I’d go for the most basic SSB radio I can find that plugs in to a computer sound card - that should in theory be able to do anything reasonable. You’ll also need feed lines, an amp and a large-ish antenna, which is where things get a bit more technical hardware-wise, especially if you’re in an apartment or have something like an HOA, but it nothing you can’t figure out.
And yes, a licence. So far I’ve found the requirements pretty reasonable in my jurisdiction, they relate to not frying yourself or your equipment, and how not to be a menace to other people sharing the radio bands. You used to need to learn Morse code fluently enough to pass a practical test, but most places have gotten rid of that.
- Lem453 ( @Lem453@lemmy.ca ) 3•3 months ago
Any recommendations for basic equipment for someone wanting to get into ham radio?
- qjkxbmwvz ( @qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website ) 6•3 months ago
It can be daunting to get into the hobby, there are a ton of niches.
To start: where are you? I’m in the USA, so that’s where my experience is.
License: required to transmit on the ham bands; you can listen without a license.
Range: are you looking to talk to people in your city/region? If so, a cheap “walkie-talkie” style (called “HT” in the biz — best avoid “walkie-talkie”) is a good place to start. These VHF/UHF (very/ultra high frequency) radios are affordable — something from Baofeng(~$30) or similar will work just fine, though they are often looked down on (I have one — for the price, it’s great). You will have the most luck if there is an active ham scene in your area, in large part because they may have a repeater, which can greatly extend your range. Many regions will have scheduled “nets” where you just go around and chat.
If you’re looking for the ability to chat with folks on the other side of the world, you’ll want to look into HF (high frequency). This is much lower frequency, thus longer wavelength, than the handheld VHF/UHF HTs. So…the antennas take up a lot of space. Mine is 52 feet long, in the attic. And the radios are much more expensive (more like $1k new). ICOM 7300, Yaesu FT710 are popular entry level units (but you also need power supply, cables, and antenna).
That said: if you just want to listen to HF, the antenna doesn’t matter as much at all, and you can use an SDR (RTL-SDR probably works?) for listening. You can probably also find a used shortwave radio that covers some of the HF ham bands.
- CanadaPlus ( @CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org ) 2•3 months ago
Disclaimer that I’m still a noob, too.
I gave my main recommendation there, for transceiver. I haven’t done the research to have a model or brand in mind, but a cheap SSB (single side-band) radio seems like it should exist, given that you can make such a device with just 7 transistors. Any remotely modern computer will be able to generate an audio signal that, when mixed up to RF the way a SSB radio does, will look like the mode of your choice. Software-wise, I’ve really liked working with GnuRadio so far.
Amps go for a lot more new, because they have to handle both radio frequencies and >100W powers, and do so without causing distortion. Ham radio is a dying art, so poking around for ones at estate sales or similar seems promising. 100W is generally the recommended minimum if you don’t want to be frustrated.
For the feedline, assuming you’re doing coax, the design tension is between bendability and DB/meter attenuation. For radio 50 ohm impedance is standard, not 75, so you can’t reuse stuff from cable TV without transformers. (Impedance matching is very important, as you’ll learn getting a licence)
For the various accessories you may need to connect cables, amps, antenna wires and maybe filters, Amazon. They even have the obscure stuff I’ve needed for my direct sample radio.
All the prefab antennas I’ve seen seem ludicrously expensive, given that it’s a chunk of ordinary metal, so probably skip that and cut your own. Antenna recipes are all over the place on ham homepages. If you’re doing a bunch of non-resonant antennas, a tuner will save you time, but they cost as much as an amp. Everything that works at the high-power end is expensive.
- bruhbeans ( @bruhbeans@lemmy.ml ) 8•3 months ago
Does it have to be audio? A meshtastic radio like what you get from https://www.lilygo.cc/collections/lora-or-gps will pair to a smartphone app (or browser app) and let you text with people who also have a meshtastic radio nearby. If you’re in a reasonably dense area there may be several people chatting.
- Onno (VK6FLAB) ( @vk6flab@lemmy.radio ) 5•3 months ago
There are at least three legal ways to do this. CB radio, ISM frequencies and amateur radio. I say legal because the radio spectrum is heavily regulated because every transmitter affects everyone else to more or lesser extent.
You can buy CB or ISM band radios and get started.
Amateur radio is a better option in my opinion. There are many more frequencies to experiment with, people who can help and people to talk to.
Amateur licensing is different in each country, but an introductory licence is often no more than a weekend course and exam. I know of nine year olds who have done this. It’s not hard. No Morse code required either.
With such a licence in hand you can use things like JS8Call, CODEC2, Olivia, WSPR and hundreds of other protocols to communicate using just a radio and a computer.
Disclaimer: I’m a licensed amateur in Australia and have been since 2010. I hold an introductory licence, here it’s called a Foundation licence, and have been having an absolute blast with all that I can do.
If you have specific questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
- ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕚0𝕤 ( @helios@social.ggbox.fr ) 3•3 months ago
I realize this in not answering your question, but I thought you might like to know that some people share access to their antenna on the web at http://websdr.org/. This sdr webapp lets you listen to the airbands from their antennas basically, and each user can tune it to their own frequency at the same time.
- AngryishHumanoid ( @AngryishHumanoid@reddthat.com ) 3•3 months ago
To go along with all the people mentioning the need for a license for ham radio: there is a study app with literally all the questions that might be on the test and it’s all multiple choice. Just keep answering the questions till you remember enough of em.