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Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

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Re: Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

#81

Post by hakfoo »

Crunchified wrote: post #6

This doesn't turn your phone into a ham transceiver at all. It turns your phone into a transceiver controller . Given that a cell phone is a transceiver, this headline is rather disappointing clickbait.

Arguably, that's still a viable thing.

I've used a few handheld transcievers and they tend towards clunky user interfaces-- tiny, fiddly displays, highly modal keys, and basically needing to memorize the manual to use it.

Even worse-- there's not a strong correlation between the quality of the RF unit and the user-interface. The Yaesu FT-60 is a reliable, high-quality radio, with all the user friendliness of a live porcupine.

But with a 6-inch pocketable touchscreen you could solve most of the UI problems, and focus on the radio problems.

Keeping the division also gives you flexibility-- you could design a 25-watt tabletop unit, or modules for different bands, that shared the same basic control software and UI

Re: Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

#82

Post by iberator »

jimnotgym wrote: post #57
iberator wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wspr is known to work at 7mhz band with just cloth hanger as antenna. i think its totally possible to use headphones as shitty longwave antenna too

Wspr is very optimised for weak signals, though. You wouldn't actually hear anything but noise.

jt8 would work. designed for ultra low db reception. We are talking here -20 dbm and chattable

Re: Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

#83

Post by vitally3643 »

oslem wrote: post #66
s03nk3 wrote: post #10

Is it so difficult to have schematics and pcb exported as PDF so that people do not need to fire up KiCAD to view the stuff?

Sounds like a great contribution you could make!

There are like six ways to export PDFs from KiCad. Project owners choose not to.

Re: Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

#84

Post by atomicthumbs »

dTal wrote: post #75
wolvoleo wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but I think this is more because it takes them so much effort replicating the basic functionality and compatibility with e.g. android apps that they just don't have the energy for it. Also, the hardware for good peer to peer communication is just not present in regular phones. Some libre hardware projects do have optional addons for LoRa, such as the PinePhone: https://pine64.org/documentation/Phone_Accessories/L…

That's not at all true, phones have both WiFi and Bluetooth, both of which are perfectly capable of communicating peer to peer. Bluetooth file transfer worked 20 years ago. Wifi is physically capable but the software usually requires one phone to be the Daddy and host a hotspot, because god forbid an IP subnet exist without routable internet i.e. the mothership. There is a standard, "Wi-Fi Direct", that solves this -…

5G NR radios could also be capable of communicating peer to peer long distance if manufacturers (phone or baseband?) wanted them to. It's in the spec.

Re: Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

#85

Post by wolvoleo »

dTal wrote: post #75
wolvoleo wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but I think this is more because it takes them so much effort replicating the basic functionality and compatibility with e.g. android apps that they just don't have the energy for it. Also, the hardware for good peer to peer communication is just not present in regular phones. Some libre hardware projects do have optional addons for LoRa, such as the PinePhone: https://pine64.org/documentation/Phone_Accessories/L…

That's not at all true, phones have both WiFi and Bluetooth, both of which are perfectly capable of communicating peer to peer. Bluetooth file transfer worked 20 years ago. Wifi is physically capable but the software usually requires one phone to be the Daddy and host a hotspot, because god forbid an IP subnet exist without routable internet i.e. the mothership. There is a standard, "Wi-Fi Direct", that solves this -…

Bluetooth and WiFi on a mobile device don't have enough range for this stuff. You need to be too close to other participants.

Hence LoRa. Yes, 5G would be an option but the licensed spectrum (and firmware restriction) makes that impossible.

Re: Kv4p HT – A homebrew 1W radio (VHF or UHF) that plugs into an Android phone

#86

Post by dTal »

wolvoleo wrote: post #85
dTal wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not at all true, phones have both WiFi and Bluetooth, both of which are perfectly capable of communicating peer to peer. Bluetooth file transfer worked 20 years ago. Wifi is physically capable but the software usually requires one phone to be the Daddy and host a hotspot, because god forbid an IP subnet exist without routable internet i.e. the mothership. There is a standard, "Wi-Fi Direct", that solves this -…

Bluetooth and WiFi on a mobile device don't have enough range for this stuff. You need to be too close to other participants. Hence LoRa. Yes, 5G would be an option but the licensed spectrum (and firmware restriction) makes that impossible.

For the purposes of this thread, "this stuff" consists of:

>It's absurd that modern phones can talk to satellites hundreds of kilometers above, but not to other phones a few meters away in the same room, airplane cabin, train car etc.

Common everyday filesharing, not meshnet fantasies.

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