Shall I be blunt? Sunspots are hanging around Zero pretty much constantly. With low sunspot numbers we see unusable bands, bands with limited activity, and hf antennas that are wanting for more, more more!!!
However, we shall have to wait for a while before we see those big numbers. Don't get me wrong, there is activity on HF. I've worked plenty of new ones, like Ducie Isl., but those are mostly on 40m or 20m. There is FT8, of course, which has taken ham radio by storm, but with 15 second exchanges that are limited to "RR73," it isn't the most chatty way of having a QSO.
So that leaves CW mostly on 20, 30, 40, 80, maybe 17, and if you have the room, maybe on 160. Not bad really, there is plenty of CW activity.
Nevertheless, some very creative folks have come up with internet-based digital communications (e.g. DMR, D-Star, etc.). Now, I would like to state right up front, that of all the internet protocols out there, I am partial to Allstar. Allstar is ANALOG, and if it is set up correctly, then you have really good quality audio and you can connect to other Allstar "nodes" all over the world. I can't say enough about how great Allstar has been for us here in Israel...so I will save the Allstar Network discussion for another time.
The digital modes like DMR and D-star have become very popular. A DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) handheld can be had for around 100 bucks. D-star, a bit more. Then there is System Fusion, and some other modes. I am going to focus on DMR and D-star because they are my favorites, even though I really don't talk on internet-based ham radio that much. But, the really great part is that with the invention of digital protocols came a really nifty device called the Hotspot.
The SharkRF Openspot
My first hotspot was the SharkRF Openspot. With this little guy, and a cellphone, and a little portable router (TPlink 3020), I had access to DMR and D-star anywhere there was/is cellular service. This unit is no longer in production, and a new product is just hitting the market. Setting up the RF Shark was not super easy, but it does work, and it has 20mw of output power on uhf, so you can walk away from the device and still have a decent connection.
Then, for me, about 5 months ago, I went hog wild over the Zumspot with a Raspberry Pi-zero. As you can see in the pic below, the Zumspot is really small, but don't be fooled by the small package. After all, Napoleon was small, James Monroe was small, Joe Pesci, and most all of the horse racing jockeys are small, but they are/were still important and powerful, and so is the Zumspot.
The Zumspot board on top of a Raspberry Pi-zero
This little device is user friendly, fairly priced ($120 without the plastic case), and integrates beautifully with an awesome piece of software called Pi-Star.
So what does it all mean? Well, with a Zumspot and a Dmr or D-star radio, you can talk to all your buddies either locally or around the world. Let's take DMR, for example. DMR is organized into Talkgroups. These Talkgroups are numbered. As an example, we have Talkgroup 2350 which is focused on the UK. However, people from all over the world will connect to TG 2350 and make new friends and carry on "QSO's" with folks on this busy talk group. And there are a gizzilion TalkGroups out there. You can see a list at this link:
http://www.mw0mwz.co.uk/dmr_bm_talkgroups.php
The Talk Groups listed about are just some...but not all.
So let's talk about Pi-Star. Pi-Star is this amazing user interface (software application) that allows you to setup and monitor your Zumspot. Here is what Pi-Star looks like.
The Callsigns are blurry for privacy sake
So, if you get a Zumspot, you can then control and interact with your Zumspot using this very nice software application that is FREE.
Probably many, if not most of you are familiar with DMR, etc., but if not, then here is what you will need in the event that there is not a digital repeater near you.
1. an internet connection, either using your cellphone, or wifi in your house
2. a Zumspot board using a Pi-Zero (or another small board computer)
3. a radio (such as TYT380 for DMR, or an Icom ID51 for D-Star...there are plenty of others).
4. software to set up your Zumspot (like the pi-star above).
5. a micro SD card and a way to program it.
6. usb power for you Zumspot
So, once you have a Zumspot up and running, what's next? Talk. Hams all over the world are active on the internet-based digital modes. The audio can have a digital nuance to it, but it isn't analog after all.
I was so happy with my Zumspot, that I bought another one to use mobile. For that I added a fat battery pack of 10,000mah. I also went a step further and added a digital display to my Zumspot.
Above, the display with me keying up TG 42555
Below, my customized display of my Collins KWM-2
As you can see, I've attached an external display to my Zumspot. All of this is soon going to be installed into a little travel case and the display will be integrated into the case. This display is a 2.4" Nextion display. Whether using DMR or D-Star, I can see information on whoever is keying up the Talk Group (in the case of DMR), or the Reflector (in the case of D-Star). By the way, D-Star identifies their sites as "Reflectors."
So, you too can enter the realm of digital internet-based communications with a very good value of a Zumspot hotspot. If you have questions on any of this, then contact me and I will be happy to give you some pointers.
Next time we will be talking about ...hmm....not sure yet...but it will be something interesting I hope!
73 for now, Mark 4x1ks
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