Re: No 2m but still an APRS igate?
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Joshua Mesilane <josh@...>
Hi All,
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I LOVE what this radio stands for. I love the fact that it will be an open source radio, but is the hardware going to be open as well? PCB design, chip code, etc? Is the project going to be completely open source & open hardware, or only partially? As for APRS. Here in VK we primarily use the 2m network with a nation-wide frequency of 145.175 and to a much lesser degree 70cm is used typically for experimental purposes. I run a 2m IGate at home using javAPRSSrvr and the idea of having this run on the device directly I think is exciting, however: Will the radio be designed in such a way that if we wish to contribute to the project a "2m" version could be designed? Are the RF components modular and would they allow for swapping? (So that third parties could easily design and produce open hardware alternative RF boards) Is there any hope for an RS-232 port? USB-Serial/USB devices in general are notoriously bad for crashing and rebooting in RF environments which can easily cause the serial port to lock up and you then need to remove and re-plug the serial port. I'm not so sure that I'd want to use my NMEA GPS via a USB/Serial adaptor (Or even an FTDI USB GPS) if it were going to be hard wired into a mobile installation. In that environment (IMO and in the field experience) RS232 is the only way to go. In some applications (Remote telemetry systems - And we're not just talking about HAM radio now) quite a lot of gear still uses RS232. I can see a MUCH wider use for this radio if the cost can be kept low, if it has interchangeable/configurable RF stage an RS232 capability. You could even aim for certification of the RF boards to comply with govt standards and market the product as an "open" alternative to the proprietary telemetry/data radios currently on the market. Cheers, Josh
On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 5:37 AM, richark <richark@...> wrote:
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