VHF/UHF frequency monitoring

VHF/UHF frequency monitoring

[Kevin]

Hi List-

I'm new to the list and have never done any radio frequency surfing with 
Linux, but I'm a longtime (10 year) Linux enthusiast with a pretty good 
understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum (no HAM experience although I 
hope to change that soon) and would like to learn more about this subject and 
in particular, would like to try and do something akin to what TiVo and 
MythTV do for TV except with strictly radio on the VHF/UHF part of the 
spectrum.  I've been reading and noticed a receiver (PCR-1000) and linux 
software to work with it.  I've also read about GnuRadio and the USRP.  The 
GnuRadio/USRP route seems like it would offer the greatest long-term 
flexibility, but I'm not sure if the combination would allow me to do what 
I'm after in the short term.

Can anyone offer some suggestions to this linux-ham newbie on the best 
hardware route to go with initially given my short and long-term goals?

Thanks.

-- 
Kevin

Re: VHF/UHF frequency monitoring

[Braddock]

Kevin,

I've had similar interests before I dove into HAM radio...it always
seemed that I should just be able to plug a radio IF into a big-ole
ADC and slup down then entire HF band at once, and have that dream
"TiVo" web site that allows perusal of all morse QSOs across a band
from all day.  That is effectively the dream of many of the GnuRadio
folks.

However, what I needed to do first is just to buy a scanner and get a
no-code HAM license (not at all hard for the technically minded...I
think I studied about 4 hours total for my technician exam) and buy a
handie-talkie.  Then play with the scanner the "old fashioned way" and
get a real feel for the RF spectrum.  I went from there straight to
jacking the scanner into the sound port and tracking APRS GPS signals,
packet, controlling and programming my handie-talkie via the Linux HAM
radio libraries, putting up antennas of various effectiveness...I love
my little Kenwood TH-F6A, probably perfect for you as well.  Then you
can help the GnuRadio/USRP folks, which need all the experienced help
they can get to achieve prime-time usability.

Radio can be a frustrating thing, and GnuRadio/USRP is definitely the
deep deep deep end of the pool right now.  I'm sure GnuRadio won't be
much fun at all if you haven't at least put in some time learning how
to seek out the interesting bits of the spectrum with a simple scanner.

	-braddock

On Thu, Apr 28, 2005 at 03:37:09PM -0400, Kevin wrote:
> Hi List-
> 
> I'm new to the list and have never done any radio frequency surfing with 
> Linux, but I'm a longtime (10 year) Linux enthusiast with a pretty good 
> understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum (no HAM experience although I 
> hope to change that soon) and would like to learn more about this subject and 
> in particular, would like to try and do something akin to what TiVo and 
> MythTV do for TV except with strictly radio on the VHF/UHF part of the 
> spectrum.  I've been reading and noticed a receiver (PCR-1000) and linux 
> software to work with it.  I've also read about GnuRadio and the USRP.  The 
> GnuRadio/USRP route seems like it would offer the greatest long-term 
> flexibility, but I'm not sure if the combination would allow me to do what 
> I'm after in the short term.
> 
> Can anyone offer some suggestions to this linux-ham newbie on the best 
> hardware route to go with initially given my short and long-term goals?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> -- 
> Kevin
> -
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> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: VHF/UHF frequency monitoring

[M Taylor]

On Mon, May 02, 2005 at 07:44:17PM -0400, Braddock wrote:
> 
> However, what I needed to do first is just to buy a scanner and get a
> no-code HAM license (not at all hard for the technically minded...I
...
> my little Kenwood TH-F6A, probably perfect for you as well.  Then you
> can help the GnuRadio/USRP folks, which need all the experienced help
> they can get to achieve prime-time usability.

I want to agree with your ideas, I think it is important that Kevin
take the time to get his (in the US) Technician license as a first step,
because if he wants to "market" (commercially or even just a successful
and popular open source project) his ideas he needs to understand the
ham community (their demographics are funny). I figure most people who
are good at learning can easily past a no-code Tech in a weekend.

The second thing is I thing the GNU/Radio and USRP (or SSRP) are an
excellent choice for a ham interested in experiencing with a truly 
affordable, flexible, and powerful Software Defined Radio. However 
GNU/Radio and USRP (or other Hardware) are not plug-and-play. They 
require some skills and patience of a software tinker (comfortable 
compiling and install software with many dependencies under Linux or BSD) 
and at least some homebrew skills (can use a soldering iron and build a 
simple SMT project for maximium experimentation).

I have USRP with the Basic RX & TX boards and plan on doing some more
experimenting this summer.

Good luck,