Radio thread

There are almost no radio threads on Jow Forums because
Jow Forums is mostly about software and when there are threads about hardware it's usually arguments over macbooks and chinkpads and pc components. This thread would be more suited for /diy/.

I fairly certain there's more people working radio now, than there has ever been. I witness pile ups on many of the frequency bands almost daily. And that's just in the voice regions, there's a shit ton of digital modes and cw that are getting a lot of traffic too.

Maybe it would make sense to discuss software for radios then. For example with WiFi radios: what are your thoughts on iw, everyone?

>normal times if you want to circumvent the (((internet)))
That's what got me interested in the hobby. While there are a lot of contesters hogging up bandwidth with their annoying screams of "CQ!", and old geezers complaining about their health, you can find some pretty amusing crap in the "rag chewing" frequencies. Some of the nets are like listening to audio versions of Jow Forums, /x/, Jow Forums,and pretty much any other board containing paranoid and antisocial grouches.They even spout their own versions of memes occasionally.

when I was a kid I pretended to be a cw numbers station thinking that would attract spooks (nothing ever happened), I also insulted some random Poos and they were very angry even though they werent on ham frequencies

Radio and computers are nearly inseparable these days.Only the plebest of the plebs don't utilize computers in their daily usage. Many of these old bastards are literal computer wizards, having come from military and engineering backgrounds. My only complaint about the amateur radio hobby is that it clings too tightly to the boring formats of doing nothing but collecting contacts and stupid shit like "My station consists of..." and "The weather here is..." For whatever reason they are obsessed with this ridiculous scripted conversation pattern outside of the nets. Some of the nets are almost like podcasts with listeners calling in, though. These are where you'll tend to find the funny shit.

I want to dip my toes in the radio water but don't feel like putting much time or money in yet. What's a good receiver that I can listen in? I'm assuming receiving only does not require a license.

>but don't feel like putting much time or money in yet.
What's your budget?

>license
nobody cares about that if you're not a rich company that the government could milk dry
you think all those airsoft and paintball people have licenses for their 5W baofengs?

what are some fun projects to get me interested in radio? i want to be interested in it but honestly it always seems sort of boring what i could do with it

websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ is a goldmine for anything in the 0-30Mhz (longwave, mediumwave and shortwave bands). Try it at night Europe time for the best signals.

>5W baofengs
You'd be amazed at how intense the witch hunt against those radios is right now.The "Spurious Emissions" meme has reached epic proportions.

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You can build a crystal radio. It's pretty easy, cheap, and fun.

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i did that when i was 10 using the exact same kit actually

It's literally too large of a topic to cover in any meaningful way without you giving some sort of specifics to narrow things down. Are you interested in transmitting? More into listening? Building electronics? We need some details.

People are still buying and selling them so idk what you mean.

This guy made a nice video about the topic two months ago: youtube.com/watch?v=SGFbeNaOypk

i guess i'm most interested in greyhat shit that isn't going to get me in hot water

My grandma told me that in the mountains they used to make a radio out of some particular rock, a nail and some cooper wire. Is that true?

Digital modes are all the rage now on HF now.
FT8Call is a newer one ft8call.com/

Lots of PSK31 if you just want to use radio like an chat. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSK31

Also I was was in to "Network 105" when I had a better HF setup.. Not sure how active it is anymore. Check some of the webSDR's and see if you hear packet data on 14105Khz.

People use car radios when they don't have music downloaded and cell phones use radio to communicate with the cell towers

I think he was referring to Crystal Radios, like mentioned.

I don't know about that particular setup, but in the World Wars soldiers often made their radios with some copper cables and a pencil lead, so I don't think she's lying.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxhole_radio

what's the thinkpad of ham radio handsets?

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$200 tops

Will check this out, thank you

Oh, I know that. The complaints largely seem to come from the elitist assholes sitting behind 10 $5000 transceivers. A lot of the people in the hobby view Baofengs and their like as an open gate for the unclean masses. Fact is, you can transmit noise and act like an asshole with any radio, regardless of price.

Radios are an even worse hobby than smartphones.
>lets spend autistic amounts of time and money on nothing more than a one-way portal for official government propaganda and jewish cultural destruction

>particular rock,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_radio
Ya you could make a simple diode out of galena or iron pyrite.
Another method was to use a rusty razor blade and pencil lead. Those where called "foxhole" radio's because it was said they where invented in WWI by people making radios out of what they had on the front.

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Alex Jones, Christian preachers and the Voice of Russia are "Jewish cultural destruction"?

You've obviously never listened in on 80 meters. It's literally Jow Forums tier conspiracy nuts and anti-government screaming and fighting.

baofeng uv-5r or gt-3

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Nice, I always thought it was old people lying as usual, looks like I owe my gran an apology.

Even the international bands are full of Jow Forums lmao. In North America you will receive Alex Jones literally everytime your turn the radio on.

youtube.com/watch?v=GdvKDFz9Xi4
Even easier.

Requires a germanium diode, btw. You can get them for pennies.

>Alex Jones literally everytime your turn the radio on.
Filterman has nothing on Brother Stair aka overcomer. That motherfucker is on 24/7 on all bands. Its amazing how much air time he buys.

>one-way portal
Radio can be 2 way if you are in to amateur radio. It's not just sitting around all day listening to programing.

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>ctrl-f
>didnt see these:

radio-browser.info/gui/#/
radio.garden/

>>didnt see these:
Because this is a thread about shortwave. Not internet you nog.

>Why is there no radio thread here? Radio is an amazing technology. Let's talk about shortwave, mediumwave, longwave and FM radio.

looks like YOU are the nog, nog.

ugh, do I really have to buy ching chong? is there an equivalent to IBM Thinkpads?

when it comes to handheld radios under 100$ baofeng is the best. search "best handheld radio" online and it will mostly bring up baofeng. Even if it's chinese it's still good quality, I've been using my uv5r for 4 years now and its still working well

Nowadays Chinese brands are the ones that make the highest quality radios.

Anything from ICOM or Motorola (especially for digital) are very good, but the Baofeng is a well-round piece of equipment which is really cheap on the market.

You don't have to buy ching chong, but you'll pay out the ass for it. I got a Baofeng UV-5R new for $20. It's pretty hard to beat that.

>is there an equivalent to IBM Thinkpads?
Motorola.
Public safety radios that used to be a few grand and sold pennies now.

>"Let's talk about shortwave, mediumwave, longwave and FM radio"
>proceeds to post links to internet radios
Nog

ur fuckin stupid, bro.
Both of those links I posted are packed with FM radio stations, idiot.

The chinkbrands are popular because they are cheap. Not going to knock that but that is all they win on.
Take price out of it and put them next to one of the big 3 jap brands (yaesu/kenwood/icom) and they really look and sound like shit. The interface and software is also a joke. But your comparing a $20 radio to a $300+ radio.

And put them next to a pubsafety/commercial grade LMR Moto, ICOM, or Kenwood and they start to really look like toys.

Bofang is getting left in the dust with DMR stuff.They may not ever evolve past $20 FM only rigs.

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I mean, yeah, if you are into ham radio, probably. But if you want to listen to shortwave there's nothing better than a Tecsun chink radio. They are just the best. The era of cheap and shitty chink knockoffs does no longer exist.

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>But if you want to listen to shortwave there's nothing better than a Tecsun chink radio.
Not going to disagree with that. I was strictly talking about 2way.

The chinks are making shortwave great again. I have a few of the sub $20 "TIVDIO" shortwave rigs and they are great for portable knockaround rigs. They charge off normal cellphone miniusb like my cellphone and have SD card slots for recording. The higher up Tecsun portables are just as good as any other portable made by anyone in the past.

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Boomer-era but solid as they come, also sold as a Radio Shack brand.

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Here is a good WebSDR directory
sdr.hu/

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Same. Had it connected to a streetlamp pole and heard Radio Disney on it.

I still use my RadioShack DX440/Sangean 803a all the time. Hooked to a longwire. I'll bet it has mostly the same guts as that just with out the cassette port. I was inside it once repairing the power connector and noticed traces for a recorder.

For under $100 shipped this thing is well worth the price. Has SSB on AM and RDS on FM. Top right shows signal/time/temperature.

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>tfw no hamnet

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I'm looking for a mobile radio, are there any DIN transceivers ~$200 or am I just looking at smaller ones that you mount on your dash?
Also I remember reading about this radio where the radio electronics are built into the faceplate and the PSU stays mounted in the DIN unit in the dash, and you can move the radio between cars or to your desk. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

There are plenty of remote mount radios that don't need to take up a whole DIN worth of space. Most connect the radio unit to the control head with a normal cat5 cable. Look for "remote head" radios.
200 bucks wont get you much unless your looking used.

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Baofeng's are interesting because there's a lot of hacks people have figured out over the years. As I recall they have a USB interface that they don't even use so you can upload new firmware and shit.

>There are plenty of remote mount radios that don't need to take up a whole DIN worth of space
But my new truck has a double DIN center console and I only need one for my stereo. I'd rather have it right there than an extra lump above the center console. And I don't mind getting a used radio

Most all ham radio mobiles are smaller then DIN. Just make a custom bracket and faceplate. Shouldn't be that big of a deal.

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Also look at what the JEEP guys are doing. Putting CB's in their rigs is popular for trail stuff and I have seen some creative mounting idea's there.

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Do you have all sorts of antennas on the back of your car like a police interceptor?

Yeah apparently radios belong to /diy/ for some reason.

>Why is there no radio thread here?
Bacause it is at where it is happening.

Radio is used everywhere and will be used for IoT. If you are thinking of ham radio it is also used in emergencies when normal infrastructure collapses, which is just about every disaster.

You were probably recorded and logged.

Check the FAQ for online resources and cheap receivers. Also links to crystal radio designs.

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It belongs here on Jow Forums. /diy/ is for people who like to abuse wood. This is a technology board, so radio related stuff belongs here.

So what's stopping me from buying a bunch of radio equipment and annoying boomers by broadcasting weebshit 24/7?

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Mostly the fact that source of broadcast can be located quite easily and there are laws about broadcasting.
Besides those, nothing I guess.

This.You should set up the transmitter in a ghetto so cops wont show up.

The FCC.

Your lack of skill, budget, and ADHD attention span.
Any retard can get a bofang and annoy the users in their neighborhood or on some FM only boomer repeater. But getting on HF takes work.

I'm a slav and FM signal is so pisspoor here that I thought it'd be nice to try alternatives but

why does DAB+ sound so shit? Same with internet stations?? It's like I'm listening to some 96kbps mp3s...

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That's how you think it'd be but in reality /diy/'s tech and other stuff while this is is consumer tech board

With DAB the bandwidth can be divided into several lower quality streams, which is exactly what they do

is there some antenna that i can connect to my pc to view radio frequencies around me?

>It's like I'm listening to some 96kbps
It's probably worse

Whoa! I can't wait to get my ham radio so I can listen to some old farts talk about the weather and the reception quality of everyone! Fun!

Start reading up on "SDR"s.
Software Defined Radio.
rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-quick-start-guide/

You want an sdr, you can get cheap ones for like $20

quite literally the most wholesome youtube content out there. Hes oddly well adjusted for a guy who is pretty clearly autistic, and has a legion of crazy fans who are almost unquestionably linked to civil disturbances in the country.

>no encryption over amateur radio
Its almost like the US government NEEDS you to be on the botnet

I have no college, but I have been repairing electronics for a living for a decade, but have no RF experience. Would I be qualified to become an RF technician, and if not, what would I need to become qualified? Thanks for your time

any input on the tecsun pl360? I like the form factor and price.

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Ive listened to his shortwave shows when they where on wbcq but never saw his youtube channel. I had a good lul when I figured out he was the kid from the suit memes.
The radio shows are actually decent. A variety format with a monologue and listener requested music. He focuses a lot on the lack of feedback from shortwave listeners but for some reason doesn't have a P.O. BOX. Lots of shortwave listeners are off the grid and will only write in by snailmail.

>>no encryption over amateur radio
Speak in code if it matters that much. No need for encryption if nobody knows who you are or where you are.

>tecsun pl360
No SSB is a deal breaker for me.

Ham radio's much more than talking to people

Those laws existed well before "the botnet" was a thing. You're free to communicate using your own undocumented protocol though

wat dat do?