There’s so much interesting stuff out there that I’m never going to get to it all. I blog about these projects, though, so that I don’t forget about them and to let others know about them. If you’v ever built or used one of these projects, please leave a comment below or email me directly.
Pico-based SDR runs stand-alone
Microcontrollers are getting to be very powerful. The Raspberry Pi Pico, for example, feature dual core processors, running at frequencies up to 150 MHz, with 520 kB of SRAM, and 4 MB of on-board flash memory. They’re very inexpensive, too. You can get one of these microcontrollers from reputable dealers for less than $8. If you’re willing to take a flyer on Ali Express, some of them are going for less than $2.
As shown in the video, this lets one build a software-defined radio (SDR) without a PC!
For more information:
- Article discussing how it works.
- Discussion on [email protected].
Chirp to send text messages
PA3FWM has developed a new digital mode he calls LongChat that uses chirp signals with an audio bandwidth 300 Hz–2700 Hz. Pieter claims that LongChat is very power-efficient and offers good performance even at very low power.
- Article: Signal/noise ratio of digital amateur modes.
- Free LongChat software and setup instructions.
HamClock on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
The September-October 2024 issue of the Surrey Amateur Radio Club (SARC) Communicator has a great article on using a RPi Zero 2W to run HamClock. The unique thing about this implementation is that is uses the WiFi capability of the RPi Zero 2W to make, in effect, a HamClock server. With this running, you could then display HamClock on your laptop, a tablet, or even your phone.
For more information, see PE4BAS’s implementation of this project.
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