![]() It has been intense for the dedicated crew of testers from all over the globe. fldigi has been the most intense and took place over the last 9 months. I made a half hearted attempt at the shareware world, but turned everything into give away software after a few months. Prior to Linux development I wrote applications for DOS and Windows. But that is why the GPL codeĪt present there are 11 programs offered on my web site, all GPL. You need to realize that there is no criticism only critical analysis when you get feedback that is not flattering. GPL is not for everyone though as you do expose yourself to a very wide audience of very skilled programmers. The greatest flattery one can receive in the GPL world is for someone to take yourĬode and build a better application or perhaps apply your ideas in a newĪnd unique way. Some of my work is original, but much depends on the generosity of others such as the author of gmfsk. I have no need for additional income and I like the concept of shared knowledge. I asked why he chooses to release his software under the GPL and he said: He started using sound card digital modes in 2001, and has written more than 20 GPL licensed programs over the years. He’s been a Linux user almost from its inception, using SCO Unix and Minix before starting to use Linux. ![]() The applications range from machine control to business management and nearly everything in He started his programming career in 1966 and has worked on everything from “I have programmed everything from big IBM iron to embedded microprocessors. He is a graduate of both the Coast Guard Academy (BS-1960) and the Navy Postgraduate school (MSEE-1966). Even with my modest setup, running between 25 and 50 watts of power into a ground-mounted vertical antenna, I’ve enjoyed PSK QSOs with Cuba, South America, and Burkina Faso in Central Africa.ĭave Freese retired from the Coast Guard in 1980. You don’t have to compete with expensive rigs generating megawatts of power to do global QSOs with PSK, for example. PSK in particular offers further advantages. They are the amateur radio HF equivalents of instant messaging. First of all, other than the original equipment setup, using these modes is as easy as typing at your keyboard and reading from your computer screen. There are several reasons why “sound card” digital modes are growing in popularity. The new modes are proving as popular with long time hams as they are with new hams, like me. ![]() Older digital modes like RTTY have been revitalized as “sound card” modes, and completely new modes like PSK and MFSK have appeared. It’s called PSK, for Phase Shift Keying, and it’s known as a “sound card” digital mode because it uses a computer’s sound card to encode and to decode the transmitted signal. ![]() In 1999, a new kind of digital mode appeared. The FCC has recently decided to do away with the code test, and beginning in February of 2007, it will no longer be required. You could get a beginner’s license without passing the code test, but you couldn’t progress to the next higher level without it. Learning Morse code and passing a test on it has long been a barrier to entry for new hams. Over time, the popularity of morse code - also called simply code or CW - has waned and interest in voice communications - an analog mode as opposed to the on/off digital of CW or RTTY (radio teletype) - has grown. They chat, they invent, they have contests to see how many stations they can contact within a given time frame, and when natural or man-made disasters occur, they are usually the first to establish any kind of communications between the stricken area and the rest of the world.Įarly hams used Morse code sent by CW almost exclusively. Hams communicate by radio, but only on government-allocated frequency bands where they are allowed to operate. The ARRL, which is the national association for amateur radio in the United States, was founded in 1914 and counts 150,000 active members today. There have been amateur radio operators for as long as there has been radio. I’ve included a brief glossary of terms used in this story, but for the inquisitve, here is a link to a more complete reference work explaining ham jargon.Īccording to Wikipedia, there are about 3 million amateur radio operators - or hams - around the world. Here’s the story behind both the rising popularity of “sound card” digital modes in amateur radio and how Fldigi lets you enjoy enjoy them on Linux.Hams use their own jargon, which is just as obscure to non-hams as IRQ, USB, or DDR are to non-computer geeks. Dave Freese has just released version 1.2 of Fldigi, a popular new program for Linux and FreeBSD which enables amateur radio operators to join their radios and their computers at the hip and create a new kind of ham shack: a digital ham shack.
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