{"id":9407,"date":"2014-04-27T08:16:39","date_gmt":"2014-04-27T12:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9407"},"modified":"2014-04-27T08:16:39","modified_gmt":"2014-04-27T12:16:39","slug":"airchat-long-distance-digital-communications-via-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/airchat-long-distance-digital-communications-via-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"AirChat: Long-distance digital communications via radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AirChatLogo-001\"<\/a>Last month, I was interviewed by NK News<\/a>\u00a0regarding\u00a0the possibility of using inexpensive\u00a0SDR dongles<\/a>\"\"\u00a0as a means for citizen journalists to receive and potentially\u00a0send<\/em>\u00a0information across the North Korean border. Of course this is possible: digital communications over radio is becoming easier and more accessible all of the time.<\/p>\n

While not yet as portable as an\u00a0SDR\u00a0dongle, Anonymous<\/em> is developing a tool called AirChat<\/em> which will allow long-distance communications via radio. AirChat<\/em> borrows from Fldigi<\/a>: a free application that decodes a variety of digital modes and has been used by amateur radio operators for years. Indeed, Fldigi is the same software you’ve used to decode broadcasts from\u00a0VOA Radiogram<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and the new STF Radio<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to the excellent \u00a0Southgate ARC<\/a> news site for this article\u00a0about AirChat<\/em>:<\/p>\n

(Source: Southgate ARC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>International Business Times<\/em>\u00a0reports that the online hacktivist collective\u00a0<\/span>Anonymous<\/strong>\u00a0has announced that it is working on a new tool called Airchat which could allow people to communicate without the need for a phone or an internet connection – it uses radio waves instead\u00a0<\/span>

Initially the data mode software AirChat used code from ‘minimodem’ and then from ‘soundmodem’ sources but they say after suggestions from radio amateurs involved in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), they decided to make it modular to use the Fldigi software, a broadly deployed solution for use with ham radios.<\/span>

They say\u00a0<\/span>“So far we have played interactive chess games with people at 180 miles away. we have shared pictures and established encrypted low bandwidth digital voice chats. We have 3D printed over distances of 80 miles and transmitted medical orders at distances of over 100 miles.”<\/em>

So far Yaesu FT-897D’s amateur transceivers have been used and the developers are also looking at using low-cost ($40) VHF\/UHF handheld transceivers.<\/span>

Read the International Business Times story\u00a0<\/span>
http:\/\/www.ibtimes.co.uk\/anonymous-airchat-aims-allow-
\ncommunication-without-needing-phone-internet-access-1445888<\/a>

LulzLabs AirChat<\/span>
https:\/\/github.com\/lulzlabs\/AirChat\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read about the goals of\u00a0AirChat<\/em> on their Github site<\/a>\u00a0and follow AirChat<\/em> on Twitter with the hash tags #lulzlabs<\/a> and\u00a0#AirChat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anonymous<\/em>\u00a0has also posted the following video–a demo of AirChat<\/em>:
\n