{"id":40446,"date":"2019-11-03T10:33:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T14:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=40446"},"modified":"2019-11-03T10:33:04","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T14:33:04","slug":"ieee-spectrum-build-a-long-distance-data-network-using-ham-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/ieee-spectrum-build-a-long-distance-data-network-using-ham-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"IEEE Spectrum: Build a Long-Distance Data Network Using Ham Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

(Source: F4HKD via YouTube)<\/p><\/div>\n

(Source: IEEE Spectrum<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Send data via IPv4 up to 300 kilometers with easy-to-assemble hardware<\/strong><\/p>\n

By F4HDK<\/p>\n

I have been a hobbyist and maker for almost 15 years now. I like inventing things and diving into low-level things. In 2013, I was looking at a protocol called NBP, used to create a data network over amateur radio links. NBP was developed in the 2000s as a potential replacement for the venerable AX.25 protocol [PDF] that\u2019s been in use for digital links since the mid-1980s. I believed it was possible to create an even better protocol with a modern design that would be easier to use and inexpensive to physically implement.<\/p>\n

It took six years, but the result is New Packet Radio (NPR), which I chose to publish under my call sign, F4HDK, as a nom de plume. It supports today\u2019s de facto universal standard of communication\u2014the Internet\u2019s IPv4\u2014and allows data to be transmitted at up to 500 kilobits per second on the popular 70-centimeter UHF ham radio band. Admittedly, 500 kb\/s is not as fast as the megabits per second that flow through amateur networks such as the European Hamnet or U.S. AREDN, which use gigahertz frequencies like those of Wi-Fi. But it is still faster than the 1.2 kb\/s normally used by AX.25 links, and the 70-cm band permits long-distance links even when obstructions prevent line-of-sight transmissions.<\/p>\n

Initially, I considered using different frequency bands for the uplink and downlink connections: Downlinks would have used the DVB-S standard, originally developed for digital satellite television. Uplinks would have used a variation of FSK (frequency-shift keying) to encode data. But the complexity involved in synchronizing the uplink and downlink was too high. Then I tried using a software-defined radio equipped with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). I had some experience with FPGAs thanks to a previous project in which I had implemented a complete custom CPU using an Altera Cyclone 4 FPGA. The goal was to do all the modulation and demodulation using the FPGA, but again the method was too complex. I lost almost two years chasing these ideas to their dead ends.<\/p>\n

Then, in one of those why-didn\u2019t-I-think-of-this-earlier moments, I turned to ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) chips.[…]<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full article.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marty, for the tip!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: IEEE Spectrum) Send data via IPv4 up to 300 kilometers with easy-to-assemble hardware By F4HDK I have been a hobbyist and maker for almost 15 years now. I like inventing things and diving into low-level things. In 2013, I was looking at a protocol called NBP, used to create a data network over amateur […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[8107,7322,8106],"class_list":["post-40446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-f4hdk","tag-ieee-spectrum","tag-networks"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-awm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38464,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/ieee-spectrum-is-ham-radio-a-hobby-a-utilityor-both\/","url_meta":{"origin":40446,"position":0},"title":"IEEE Spectrum: “Is Ham Radio a Hobby, a Utility\u2026or Both?”","author":"Thomas","date":"July 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who have shared a link to the following article that follows the debate and discussion over an FCC proposal--RM-11831 (PDF)--to \u201cReduce Interference and Add Transparency to Digital Data Communications.\u201d The IEEE article, written by Julianne Pepitone, covers both sides of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Icom-IC-7300-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Icom-IC-7300-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Icom-IC-7300-Front.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Icom-IC-7300-Front.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34312,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/ieee-spectrum-magazine-this-artist-made-a-radio-out-of-a-kitchen-sink\/","url_meta":{"origin":40446,"position":1},"title":"IEEE Spectrum Magazine: “This Artist Made a Radio Out of a Kitchen Sink”","author":"Thomas","date":"October 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source:\u00a0IEEE Spectrum via Ed C) Amanda Dawn Christie\u2019s work commemorates the fading glory of shortwave radio By\u00a0Stephen Cass Some artists work in oils, say, or marble. Amanda Dawn Christie works in radio. Not radio in the sense of performing on air. But radio in the sense of the giant cultural\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/SpectresOfShortwave.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34663,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/radio-spectrum-archive-featured-in-the-ieee-spectrum-magazine\/","url_meta":{"origin":40446,"position":2},"title":"Radio Spectrum Archive featured in the IEEE Spectrum Magazine","author":"Thomas","date":"October 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0Stephen Cass for the interview and excellent piece about the Radio Spectrum Archive in the\u00a0IEEE Spectrum magazine: Building a Time Machine for Radio The Radio Spectrum Archive will let you listen to old broadcasts as if they were live Stephen Cass Thomas Witherspoon is building\u00a0a time machine, of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/HDSDR-Spectrum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/HDSDR-Spectrum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/HDSDR-Spectrum.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/HDSDR-Spectrum.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34242,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/ieee-spectrum-long-running-u-s-federal-radio-stations-beloved-by-hams-in-danger-of-shutdown\/","url_meta":{"origin":40446,"position":3},"title":"IEEE Spectrum: “Long-Running U.S. Federal Radio Stations, Beloved by Hams, in Danger of Shutdown”","author":"Thomas","date":"September 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: IEEE Spectrum Magazine) Several public radio stations that have broadcast the time of day continuously for nearly 100 years are on the chopping block By Julianne Pepitone Starting in May 1920, the U.S. federal WWV radio stations have broadcast the official time without fail. For ham radio fans, hearing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/WWV-TimeCodeGenerator-1024x582.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/WWV-TimeCodeGenerator-1024x582.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/WWV-TimeCodeGenerator-1024x582.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46502,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/ieee-spectrum-the-11-greatest-vacuum-tubes-youve-never-heard-of\/","url_meta":{"origin":40446,"position":4},"title":"IEEE Spectrum: “The 11 Greatest Vacuum Tubes You\u2019ve Never Heard Of”","author":"Thomas","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Hi Thomas, SWLing Post readers who are fans of tube radios might enjoy reading about \"The 11 Greatest Vacuum Tubes You've Never Heard Of\" in this IEEE Spectrum article. While only a few of them have been used in radio and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35644,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/ces-hall-of-fame-the-grundig-satellit-650\/","url_meta":{"origin":40446,"position":5},"title":"CES Hall of Fame: The Grundig Satellit 650","author":"Thomas","date":"January 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: IEEE Spectrum via Paul) The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame: Grundig Satellit 650 Radio The market for expensive shortwave radios collapsed in the early 2000s. But before it did, Grundig created a blaze of glory Though they\u2019ll likely deny it, long-distance (DX) radio enthusiasts are also often romantics. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Grundig-Sattelit-650-1024x689.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Grundig-Sattelit-650-1024x689.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Grundig-Sattelit-650-1024x689.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40446\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}