Yup, just say no to "BIG TECH" we need to be able to operate independent systems for any reason or any occasion. I work in technology and can see where the industry is heading, they want to own everything, thankfully where I work we haven't put everything in the cloud, but using it as a backup for business continuity..........not dependence.
I've been in tech for 25 years and I've seen the evolution of data being stored locally on personal computers (on magnetic/optical media), to client-server Intranets, to the Internet, to a world where everything is in the cloud. Take back your data, people!
This almost reminds me of the old BBS services with dialup. I miss the simplicity of the internet where it wasn't information overload all the time. Granted we have lots of information at our fingertips now it is a double edged sword sometimes. I see the utility in this system and it looks fun too.
Yes, I walked away with the same impression. I plan to expand this "server model" and build a service that responds to a small set of commands outside of this microblog/bulletin style service.
Most EmComm applications don't need a lot of data. Usually a couple of sentences will suffice. JS8 works great for that, with an absolute minimum of equipment and power. I'd like to see greater message integrity, with the receiving station able to request packet re-transmission when there are lost blocks.
Good info. I'm extremely concerned with the current direction. Politicians seem to want to control all aspects of our lives. What we can say, what we hear, what energy we can use and how much, what we can protect ourselves with. It is a nightmare.
It's worth noting that this system transmits everything in clear per FCC regulations, so be careful with what you share over the airwaves. Encryption over radio should be legal in my opinion. Heck, it's allowed on the Internet.
@@TheTechPrepper _"Heck, it's allowed on the Internet."_ Yes, but for how much longer, I wonder. Maybe the government won't ban encryption outright, but they'll ding your social credit score if you use it.
Dang it Gaston, I'm already poor enough and now I think you convinced me to buy a QDX or some SDX clone after doing mostly monitoring on JS8Call this weekend.
More on the way. The MbClient is neat, too. It has some nice features for capturing posts in a promiscuous mode. The UI is also purpose-built for the receiving microblog content.
The throughput is a daunting limitation. Pity this wasn't built over a protocol with greater throughput, like VARA. It doesn't help that we're limited to 300 baud over HF, but FT8/FT4 don't even come close to 300 baud. Hopefully the FCC will see reason and raise the throughput limits like so many other countries have.
Yes, but you can select your message payloads carefully to be more efficient. Our group is working on a comms plan to make the most use of this mode by designing shorthand for common messages and bulletins. It would be nice to have wider bandwidth. The FCC needs to embrace the times and stop selling off spectrum to big tech.
Great showcase, and yet another reason (as if I needed any more) to pickup a QDX, and put together a JS8 field station. Looking forward to future videos in this series!
Thanks, Kenny. Please be careful operating the QDX. It is easy to cook these stations. They have no safeguards. If you can provide a regulated supply as close to (12.0V) and make sure you have a good antenna match. I still plan to use it for field work, but I need to evaluate the QDX as the transceiver for the server-side component that runs 24x7 at home. More updates coming on this topic.
@@TheTechPrepper Thanks for your thorough testing, Gaston! The easy cooking is what has forced me to hold off on purchasing. Since my use-case would be in the field only, at this point, I feel pretty confident in buying one along with the Talentcell battery, and something like a SOTABeams end-fed half-wave to use with it. I may wait a bit for you to release more vidoes and discussions on this, though. I'm also evaluating the (tru)SDX, just in case the QDX proves to be too fussy.
@@KenReynolds I think you're making a wise move and planning to just run it for occasional field use. I am going to go back to my TalentCell as I like the fact that it provides less voltage. Even at 10.8 to 11.8V I was still putting out 3.5-3.8 watts and was hitting all of my communications goals.
Great video and great hook for future series. I have 2 of the QDX ordered, one for myself and one for my brother about 180 miles away. Having exactly zero experience with digital modes, I am excited for your series. Thanks!!!
Excellent. Good luck with your QDX. Make sure that you supply it with exactly 12V using a regulated power source and have a good antenna match (SWR < 1.5:1). People have been known to cook these QDXs.
This new manpack has been a great addition over the last few months of portable operations. It's nice to have a light weight rig. Checkout the last video as it makes another appearance. Cheers!
Very cool concept and I am intrigued, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this won't become a huge traffic jam on the airwaves if it truly takes off. Weak-signal slow modes aren't really made to be offgrid Twitter/Mastodon.
I think JS8Call can utilize different frequencies other than the standard ones unlike WSTJ-X. If that is the case, a MAG could pick a frequency away from the standard ones that are listed in JS8Call. This could lessen the traffic jamming. I don't think it will take off though. Interesting and gamechanging concept, but from my observation this weekend (just monitoring, HB'ing and replying to two others), there is not much on JS8Call network (esp. in my region) so it is probably not much of an issue to begin with. Edit: yes. Just checked again. You can select a custom frequency when switching bands.
Maybe using Twitter as an example was a poor choice. I'll clarify this in my next video. I actually do not see it has being very high volume, especially if people running the MbClient (that I did not show). It has a promiscuous receive mode and will pickup any posts that it hears and will store posts on your machine. I actually see this more as a message bulletin service whereby only meaningful content is posted. For example, my second post ("TTP Blog Schedule") announced my station's operating windows (frequency and time). I plan to use it distribute Geomagnetic events from NOAA, Solar Sunspot Smoothing Numbers (SSN) once a month, regional disaster information, etc.
Dennis is absolutely right. We need to keep those airwaves dead and unused at all times just in case some old guys need to talk about their colonoscopies, before making up an uncomfortable excuse about why they need to get off the radio.
@@drewrinella1646 I haven't even gotten fully into ham yet and I'm already sick of the boomer OM. How many weather reports can you make before that gets old lol.
@@TheTechPrepper this would be invaluable if for some reason traditional comms went down. Knowing tomorrow's weather is something we take for granted but most don't realize how significant it is when planning logistics.
I have been thinking on how hams could keep the news flowing if there is a large communications disruption. winlink has a BBC page but it is a download/converted webpage very cluttered and way to much bandwidth. it would be handy if the RMS stations could hold a news letter that could be requested.
Honestly, probably a network of Morse operators (CW and wired) and printing shops. Encoding and decoding could even be automated if a net adopted a fixed speed and so forth.
This is fantastic, I'm thrilled that work is being done towards the vision that @OH8STN set out, looking forward to seeing the server side configuration and mechanics of publishing etc
super cool! if this could enable the remote monitoring of something it would be amazing! read data on a .txt on the computer, and having the microblog thingy read the most recent line and feed the information thru HF. it would be most useful for alot of people! especially when the distance of obstacle prevent the use of VHF.
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 In principle, this is pretty close to an RSS feed if consumers of a given Microblog use the corresponding Microblog Client (MbClient). I did not show that software yet.
I hadn't heard of the microblogging software for JS8. Very cool. I think the standard JS8Call message storage and retrieval features are underutilized and have great potential for EmComm, but I'd like to see automated JS8 message routing, perhaps implemented with JS8 client software for users and JS8 server software for a persistent 24/7/365 network backbone.
JS8Call is pretty powerful. Our group has been leveraging the message inboxes for asynchronous communication for a few months now. We'll also store messages on other people's stations as needed if we don't have a direct path. In general, we don't do much direct, real-time messaging, but we have tested it as well as relays with good success. At this point, I plan to use the microblog more for high-value message bulletins. One more thing, I am adding automatic message routing into EmComm Tools. It will be a nice abstraction on top of JS8Call and JS8.
@@TheTechPrepper - I am SO happy to hear that your local group is utilizing the message features of JS8. For that to be maximally effective, you need a JS8 station that's available, and your 5AM to 5PM JS8 station could serve as a message server although 24/7 operation would be a little better. A 100W solar panel and a 100 amp hour battery would get you to 24/7 operation, even during monsoon season. I'm also very happy that you are implementing automated message routing on top of JS8Call. Jordan was reluctant to implement that feature for some reason but he deserves huge thanks for creating the awesome JS8. It's by far my favorite mode and my favorite way to ham. My primary interest is personal EmComm and JS8 has excellent potential for that. Hopefully, you will help to popularize JS8 and we can finally get out of the chicken and egg problem. If enough people use it, more people will use it. Then again, it's not going away so it'll be here for personal EmComm even if only a few people use it. For continental and international EmComm, sharing information with people outside a regional group, it would be good if more people used JS8. JS8 Microblogging might be a good way to disseminate a lot of useful information.
Enjoy the build. I just cooked my first QDX yesterday, so make sure you supply 12V and have a good antenna match, otherwise you will be repairing that little guy.
@@TheTechPrepper - The BS170 MOSFETs used as final drive transistors are susceptible to high SWR but are cheap & easy to replace. I recommend a pre-tested dedicated resonant antenna for the QDX, as well as a standard power supply that's used every time with an idiot proof polarized connector. Reliability is enhanced and success is maximized by not experimenting with the configuration.
@@Liberty4Ever That's a good point. The issue here is that I was supplying regulated voltage between 12.10v and 12.20v and have an SWR under 1.5:1 on 20m, 40m and 80m. While I would prefer to run a resonant dipole, I want to be able to have my station change bands throughout the day. Our group is working on some aftermarket designs to add additional protections to the QDX.
@@TheTechPrepper - NVIS needs to use 40m and 80m depending on atmospheric conditions if you want to be able to communicate at all times of the day. You may get by with 40m if you only check in during the afternoon, or 80m if you check in at dawn or early night, but the band conditions change seasonally and with sunspot activity as well.
@@Liberty4Ever We're very consistent with good regional coverage in the southwest on 40m starting as early as 0700 to about 1900. We're experimenting with 80m now over night. 20m is just for the scenario where we want a skip that gets across the country.
Interesting. Perhaps for redundancy. A MAG with BBS nodes both 2m and HF would be a better and faster system. Using Packet, ARDOP or VARA. Not an option with QDX though. However, I do recall that slow speed VARA is perhaps single tone. I have not tested on my unit. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Dan. We'll do a deep dive in the next video. This was just fun video to get people excited about what's possible. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Close. It's the Little Trick. I do NOT like this pack at all. I picked it up as an EDC bag last year and I regret it. I only carried on this trip as I tore my mid calf muscle 10 days ago and needed a lighter pack. However, I love my Eberlestock FAC Track (39L). It's a bigger pack, but it has been my go-to backcountry pack for 12-48 hour trips in the backcountry.
I was only about 2 miles out (ground wave), but we're having the same results across the southwest region. My testing partner is about 220 miles from my home station. We both have our antennas deployed in an NVIS configuration.
@@TheTechPrepper Our NVIS teating has shown that 50-100 miles is easy but less than about 20-30 miles is pretty tough. 5w not often usable on SSB. 20w SSB sometimes. Using both horiz EFHW or dipole @7ft and inv-v at 20 ft. 3 ground reflector wires gave about 7db improvement on receiving side, wasnt very noticable on SSB. We did a CW tone in all our test locations and it always came thru, even at 5w. Digi is probly much more usable for close in NVIS. Gonna be testing more.
@@LobanzTheGreat Thanks for sharing your results. I actually prefer 2m SSB for short range communication. That's what I use to fill in the gap. This is another reason why my go-to rig the Yaesu FT-818ND, all-band, all-mode rig.
@@LobanzTheGreat - I've noticed a doughnut and doughnut hole pattern with low power NVIS. The doughnut hole contacts close to the station is ground wave propagation. Then there might be a range beyond that where the signal is too weak, then a little farther out the signal strength increases where NVIS propagation picks up and is often good out to a few hundred miles. With good ionospheric conditions it may be possible to get a skip but that is more likely with higher transmit power.
@@Liberty4Ever Yeah. That sounds exactly like what we saw. Thanks. Best I can figure, the angle is either too steep for much reflection or there is less high angle radiation from my antenna to begin with. Now, almost all of our testing was 40m SSB during the day from 20W down to 5W. 80m at night may have been better since it may reflect better. A vertical antenna is worth a try for ground wave. Also, military style terminated dipoles like the (overpriced) Chameleon Tactical Dipole 2.0 when deployed in a bent inv-v look like they are designed to enhance ground wave in a certain direction (see pics in its manual). I know someone who used this type of antenna as a comms guy in the Korean war and he confirmed that in this config it's for ground wave, but also can be setup for NVIS by lowering the feedpoint. The terminators make it broadbanded. He also said they used mostly digital modes even back then. This was right before ALE became big in the military. Thinking about building one.
Have you checked out mesh networks like meshtastic? They are a really interesting solution to short range data transfer. In decent conditions they can reach a couple miles with good bandwidth. On low bandwidth modes they can reach quite far. The biggest limitation is the one-to-one device pairing which really restricts who can receive the messages. I'm still thinking about writing some firmware for LORA + ESP32 devices that can support multiple devices at once using message signing instead of HWID for identity.
Only briefly. It's been on the whiteboard for a while, but I've been pushing it out as I tend to rely more on a longer range of communication. It would be great for our neighborhood comms.
In a lot of ways, the system shares a lot with packet radio. I'm very likely going to write a server extension to JS8Call and provide a set of services found in traditional BBSs.
It's been stable, is well archirected, and does most everything it was designed to do. It would be nice to have automatic routing, but personally, I prefer stable software that does not change. I have no visibility into Jordan's plans. Remember, this is free and open source software.
Yes. That's the way that I'm personally looking at it. This server model can be extended a bit further to provide other services similar to what a traditional BBS would provide.
Correct. I'm nursing a calf muscle tear and can't go out very far. This same system is running with an NVIS antenna at the shack and users in the Southwest are interacting with this service.
I feel like it SHOULD be realistic to swnd large data. Hams should have the same access to large data modes that cell phones do. Why on earth is it limited?
I agree. I'm going make that happen. I've been working on a solution that will have a much simpler interface that follows the "iPhone" model. The author of this server also has a corresponding client program with a simpler, purpose-built user interface for interacting with the blog server.
![อยู่ได้แล้ว - LIPTA feat. Mirrr [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-9-hpntNym4/mqdefault.jpg)
Yup, just say no to "BIG TECH" we need to be able to operate independent systems for any reason or any occasion. I work in technology and can see where the industry is heading, they want to own everything, thankfully where I work we haven't put everything in the cloud, but using it as a backup for business continuity..........not dependence.
I've been in tech for 25 years and I've seen the evolution of data being stored locally on personal computers (on magnetic/optical media), to client-server Intranets, to the Internet, to a world where everything is in the cloud. Take back your data, people!
This almost reminds me of the old BBS services with dialup. I miss the simplicity of the internet where it wasn't information overload all the time. Granted we have lots of information at our fingertips now it is a double edged sword sometimes. I see the utility in this system and it looks fun too.
Yes, I walked away with the same impression. I plan to expand this "server model" and build a service that responds to a small set of commands outside of this microblog/bulletin style service.
Most EmComm applications don't need a lot of data. Usually a couple of sentences will suffice. JS8 works great for that, with an absolute minimum of equipment and power. I'd like to see greater message integrity, with the receiving station able to request packet re-transmission when there are lost blocks.
I have so much new gear waiting for in my pile of mail to set up when I get back to the US. Cant wait to catch up with everyone on all of this!
Good info. I'm extremely concerned with the current direction. Politicians seem to want to control all aspects of our lives. What we can say, what we hear, what energy we can use and how much, what we can protect ourselves with. It is a nightmare.
Truly the government our fore fathers warned us about
It's worth noting that this system transmits everything in clear per FCC regulations, so be careful with what you share over the airwaves. Encryption over radio should be legal in my opinion. Heck, it's allowed on the Internet.
@@TheTechPrepper _"Heck, it's allowed on the Internet."_
Yes, but for how much longer, I wonder. Maybe the government won't ban encryption outright, but they'll ding your social credit score if you use it.
Dang it Gaston, I'm already poor enough and now I think you convinced me to buy a QDX or some SDX clone after doing mostly monitoring on JS8Call this weekend.
It's a great little field rig for doing very limited digital modes like JS8Call. Have a good and happy Monday.
Nice intro to the micro service
More on the way. The MbClient is neat, too. It has some nice features for capturing posts in a promiscuous mode. The UI is also purpose-built for the receiving microblog content.
The throughput is a daunting limitation. Pity this wasn't built over a protocol with greater throughput, like VARA. It doesn't help that we're limited to 300 baud over HF, but FT8/FT4 don't even come close to 300 baud. Hopefully the FCC will see reason and raise the throughput limits like so many other countries have.
Yes, but you can select your message payloads carefully to be more efficient. Our group is working on a comms plan to make the most use of this mode by designing shorthand for common messages and bulletins. It would be nice to have wider bandwidth. The FCC needs to embrace the times and stop selling off spectrum to big tech.
@@TheTechPrepper you could have a decoder ring lol, or a laminated card, with the codes as you say, it would be also a way to encode your messages.
Great showcase, and yet another reason (as if I needed any more) to pickup a QDX, and put together a JS8 field station. Looking forward to future videos in this series!
Thanks, Kenny. Please be careful operating the QDX. It is easy to cook these stations. They have no safeguards. If you can provide a regulated supply as close to (12.0V) and make sure you have a good antenna match. I still plan to use it for field work, but I need to evaluate the QDX as the transceiver for the server-side component that runs 24x7 at home. More updates coming on this topic.
@@TheTechPrepper Thanks for your thorough testing, Gaston! The easy cooking is what has forced me to hold off on purchasing. Since my use-case would be in the field only, at this point, I feel pretty confident in buying one along with the Talentcell battery, and something like a SOTABeams end-fed half-wave to use with it. I may wait a bit for you to release more vidoes and discussions on this, though. I'm also evaluating the (tru)SDX, just in case the QDX proves to be too fussy.
@@KenReynolds I think you're making a wise move and planning to just run it for occasional field use. I am going to go back to my TalentCell as I like the fact that it provides less voltage. Even at 10.8 to 11.8V I was still putting out 3.5-3.8 watts and was hitting all of my communications goals.
Great video. Thanks for sharing microblogging with the community.
WTH happened to your hedge Gaston?!? Don't give me that summer in AZ excuse!! 😂
The wife asked me to trim it. It's growing back. It will be back in about 4-6 weeks...I'm a Chia Pet. I don't mind an oversized beard in the summer.
@@TheTechPrepper I guess it's doable when the boss asks.
I was going to ask the same question.
Great video and great hook for future series. I have 2 of the QDX ordered, one for myself and one for my brother about 180 miles away. Having exactly zero experience with digital modes, I am excited for your series. Thanks!!!
Excellent. Good luck with your QDX. Make sure that you supply it with exactly 12V using a regulated power source and have a good antenna match (SWR < 1.5:1). People have been known to cook these QDXs.
You content is consistently perfect for the direction I am heading...so to speak. As always, Thank You Shalom
Great demo, Gaston. Nice to see it in use in the field.
This new manpack has been a great addition over the last few months of portable operations. It's nice to have a light weight rig. Checkout the last video as it makes another appearance. Cheers!
Very cool concept and I am intrigued, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this won't become a huge traffic jam on the airwaves if it truly takes off. Weak-signal slow modes aren't really made to be offgrid Twitter/Mastodon.
I think JS8Call can utilize different frequencies other than the standard ones unlike WSTJ-X. If that is the case, a MAG could pick a frequency away from the standard ones that are listed in JS8Call. This could lessen the traffic jamming.
I don't think it will take off though. Interesting and gamechanging concept, but from my observation this weekend (just monitoring, HB'ing and replying to two others), there is not much on JS8Call network (esp. in my region) so it is probably not much of an issue to begin with.
Edit: yes. Just checked again. You can select a custom frequency when switching bands.
Maybe using Twitter as an example was a poor choice. I'll clarify this in my next video. I actually do not see it has being very high volume, especially if people running the MbClient (that I did not show). It has a promiscuous receive mode and will pickup any posts that it hears and will store posts on your machine. I actually see this more as a message bulletin service whereby only meaningful content is posted. For example, my second post ("TTP Blog Schedule") announced my station's operating windows (frequency and time). I plan to use it distribute Geomagnetic events from NOAA, Solar Sunspot Smoothing Numbers (SSN) once a month, regional disaster information, etc.
Dennis is absolutely right. We need to keep those airwaves dead and unused at all times just in case some old guys need to talk about their colonoscopies, before making up an uncomfortable excuse about why they need to get off the radio.
@@drewrinella1646 I haven't even gotten fully into ham yet and I'm already sick of the boomer OM. How many weather reports can you make before that gets old lol.
@@TheTechPrepper this would be invaluable if for some reason traditional comms went down. Knowing tomorrow's weather is something we take for granted but most don't realize how significant it is when planning logistics.
I am hooked... gettin my general hopefully in june and i hope you can do a step by step for dummies😮😮😊 keep up the great work!
Awesome. General is where the sweet spot in terms of licensing. Good luck!
I have been thinking on how hams could keep the news flowing if there is a large communications disruption. winlink has a BBC page but it is a download/converted webpage very cluttered and way to much bandwidth. it would be handy if the RMS stations could hold a news letter that could be requested.
Honestly, probably a network of Morse operators (CW and wired) and printing shops. Encoding and decoding could even be automated if a net adopted a fixed speed and so forth.
This is fantastic, I'm thrilled that work is being done towards the vision that @OH8STN set out, looking forward to seeing the server side configuration and mechanics of publishing etc
It's a step in the right direction. Cheers!
super cool! if this could enable the remote monitoring of something it would be amazing!
read data on a .txt on the computer, and having the microblog thingy read the most recent line and feed the information thru HF.
it would be most useful for alot of people! especially when the distance of obstacle prevent the use of VHF.
Exactly. There is a lot of potential hear to modify the server software to handle more powerful requests. It's a great starting point.
@@TheTechPrepper wonder if a small rss feed tech could be implemented?
@@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783 In principle, this is pretty close to an RSS feed if consumers of a given Microblog use the corresponding Microblog Client (MbClient). I did not show that software yet.
I hadn't heard of the microblogging software for JS8. Very cool. I think the standard JS8Call message storage and retrieval features are underutilized and have great potential for EmComm, but I'd like to see automated JS8 message routing, perhaps implemented with JS8 client software for users and JS8 server software for a persistent 24/7/365 network backbone.
JS8Call is pretty powerful. Our group has been leveraging the message inboxes for asynchronous communication for a few months now. We'll also store messages on other people's stations as needed if we don't have a direct path. In general, we don't do much direct, real-time messaging, but we have tested it as well as relays with good success. At this point, I plan to use the microblog more for high-value message bulletins. One more thing, I am adding automatic message routing into EmComm Tools. It will be a nice abstraction on top of JS8Call and JS8.
@@TheTechPrepper - I am SO happy to hear that your local group is utilizing the message features of JS8. For that to be maximally effective, you need a JS8 station that's available, and your 5AM to 5PM JS8 station could serve as a message server although 24/7 operation would be a little better. A 100W solar panel and a 100 amp hour battery would get you to 24/7 operation, even during monsoon season.
I'm also very happy that you are implementing automated message routing on top of JS8Call. Jordan was reluctant to implement that feature for some reason but he deserves huge thanks for creating the awesome JS8. It's by far my favorite mode and my favorite way to ham. My primary interest is personal EmComm and JS8 has excellent potential for that. Hopefully, you will help to popularize JS8 and we can finally get out of the chicken and egg problem. If enough people use it, more people will use it. Then again, it's not going away so it'll be here for personal EmComm even if only a few people use it. For continental and international EmComm, sharing information with people outside a regional group, it would be good if more people used JS8. JS8 Microblogging might be a good way to disseminate a lot of useful information.
Great video! A lot to absorb!
My QDX kit is on order. I'll skip that wait and assemble myself. I have a new solder station I'm itching to try out😊
Enjoy the build. I just cooked my first QDX yesterday, so make sure you supply 12V and have a good antenna match, otherwise you will be repairing that little guy.
@@TheTechPrepper - The BS170 MOSFETs used as final drive transistors are susceptible to high SWR but are cheap & easy to replace. I recommend a pre-tested dedicated resonant antenna for the QDX, as well as a standard power supply that's used every time with an idiot proof polarized connector. Reliability is enhanced and success is maximized by not experimenting with the configuration.
@@Liberty4Ever That's a good point. The issue here is that I was supplying regulated voltage between 12.10v and 12.20v and have an SWR under 1.5:1 on 20m, 40m and 80m. While I would prefer to run a resonant dipole, I want to be able to have my station change bands throughout the day. Our group is working on some aftermarket designs to add additional protections to the QDX.
@@TheTechPrepper - NVIS needs to use 40m and 80m depending on atmospheric conditions if you want to be able to communicate at all times of the day. You may get by with 40m if you only check in during the afternoon, or 80m if you check in at dawn or early night, but the band conditions change seasonally and with sunspot activity as well.
@@Liberty4Ever We're very consistent with good regional coverage in the southwest on 40m starting as early as 0700 to about 1900. We're experimenting with 80m now over night. 20m is just for the scenario where we want a skip that gets across the country.
Interesting. Perhaps for redundancy. A MAG with BBS nodes both 2m and HF would be a better and faster system. Using Packet, ARDOP or VARA. Not an option with QDX though. However, I do recall that slow speed VARA is perhaps single tone. I have not tested on my unit. Keep up the good work!
WELL DONE...TNX 73
Awesome stuff!
Thanks, Dan. We'll do a deep dive in the next video. This was just fun video to get people excited about what's possible. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Very cool Stuff!
This is very Interesting indeed. I assume an ft817 can be used with a digirig to do this?
It will. I run my FT-818 and DigiRig with JS8Call.
Excellent, thanks.
You're welcome!
Seems like building it over something like RTTY would be way more efficient.
Maybe. I have not used RTTY as I am late to the party. Does is work well as JS8 in terms of handling very weak signal approaching -28dB?
It's not going to be as good weak signal, but text handling is faster. JT modes are trash for sending long text.
Love it!
Right? We are going to do a lot with this mode. Checkout the #js8call in Discord over the next week or so if you have time. Thanks for the support!
@@TheTechPrepper will do!
Way to go !!!!
Thanks!
Just started watching this video but are you rocking the eberlestock switchblade?
Close. It's the Little Trick. I do NOT like this pack at all. I picked it up as an EDC bag last year and I regret it. I only carried on this trip as I tore my mid calf muscle 10 days ago and needed a lighter pack. However, I love my Eberlestock FAC Track (39L). It's a bigger pack, but it has been my go-to backcountry pack for 12-48 hour trips in the backcountry.
How far away from the home station were you?
I was only about 2 miles out (ground wave), but we're having the same results across the southwest region. My testing partner is about 220 miles from my home station. We both have our antennas deployed in an NVIS configuration.
@@TheTechPrepper Our NVIS teating has shown that 50-100 miles is easy but less than about 20-30 miles is pretty tough. 5w not often usable on SSB. 20w SSB sometimes. Using both horiz EFHW or dipole @7ft and inv-v at 20 ft. 3 ground reflector wires gave about 7db improvement on receiving side, wasnt very noticable on SSB. We did a CW tone in all our test locations and it always came thru, even at 5w. Digi is probly much more usable for close in NVIS. Gonna be testing more.
@@LobanzTheGreat Thanks for sharing your results. I actually prefer 2m SSB for short range communication. That's what I use to fill in the gap. This is another reason why my go-to rig the Yaesu FT-818ND, all-band, all-mode rig.
@@LobanzTheGreat - I've noticed a doughnut and doughnut hole pattern with low power NVIS. The doughnut hole contacts close to the station is ground wave propagation. Then there might be a range beyond that where the signal is too weak, then a little farther out the signal strength increases where NVIS propagation picks up and is often good out to a few hundred miles. With good ionospheric conditions it may be possible to get a skip but that is more likely with higher transmit power.
@@Liberty4Ever Yeah. That sounds exactly like what we saw. Thanks. Best I can figure, the angle is either too steep for much reflection or there is less high angle radiation from my antenna to begin with. Now, almost all of our testing was 40m SSB during the day from 20W down to 5W. 80m at night may have been better since it may reflect better. A vertical antenna is worth a try for ground wave. Also, military style terminated dipoles like the (overpriced) Chameleon Tactical Dipole 2.0 when deployed in a bent inv-v look like they are designed to enhance ground wave in a certain direction (see pics in its manual). I know someone who used this type of antenna as a comms guy in the Korean war and he confirmed that in this config it's for ground wave, but also can be setup for NVIS by lowering the feedpoint. The terminators make it broadbanded. He also said they used mostly digital modes even back then. This was right before ALE became big in the military. Thinking about building one.
Have you checked out mesh networks like meshtastic? They are a really interesting solution to short range data transfer. In decent conditions they can reach a couple miles with good bandwidth. On low bandwidth modes they can reach quite far.
The biggest limitation is the one-to-one device pairing which really restricts who can receive the messages.
I'm still thinking about writing some firmware for LORA + ESP32 devices that can support multiple devices at once using message signing instead of HWID for identity.
Only briefly. It's been on the whiteboard for a while, but I've been pushing it out as I tend to rely more on a longer range of communication. It would be great for our neighborhood comms.
I will likely be doing this over old style packet. The equipment for old packet is a bit clunker.
In a lot of ways, the system shares a lot with packet radio. I'm very likely going to write a server extension to JS8Call and provide a set of services found in traditional BBSs.
What is up with JS8CALL? Software hasn't seen an update since 2020. Is development continuing or not?
It's been stable, is well archirected, and does most everything it was designed to do. It would be nice to have automatic routing, but personally, I prefer stable software that does not change. I have no visibility into Jordan's plans. Remember, this is free and open source software.
So this sort of marries JS8 Call and Packet BBS?
Yes. That's the way that I'm personally looking at it. This server model can be extended a bit further to provide other services similar to what a traditional BBS would provide.
You have an NVIS antenna deployed in this video but it is using ground waves in this demo.
Correct. I'm nursing a calf muscle tear and can't go out very far. This same system is running with an NVIS antenna at the shack and users in the Southwest are interacting with this service.
I feel like it SHOULD be realistic to swnd large data. Hams should have the same access to large data modes that cell phones do. Why on earth is it limited?
We do have access to higher data rates on higher bands.
Yes, it is technically possible. A lot of the limitations are based on FCC regulations.
And due to physics?
Having to learn and remember commands, ugh. What happened to the “no manual needed like an iPhone” mentality?
I agree. I'm going make that happen. I've been working on a solution that will have a much simpler interface that follows the "iPhone" model. The author of this server also has a corresponding client program with a simpler, purpose-built user interface for interacting with the blog server.
@@TheTechPrepper awesome….looking forward to seeing this develop. Tnx
JS8Call needs accurate timing. Hardly off-grid. Unlike FSQ or Meshtastic.
I feel like OH8STN already covered this
Ok. A member put this software on my radar and asked that I make video.