206 lines
9.3 KiB
Markdown
206 lines
9.3 KiB
Markdown
# Awesome Radio [](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome)
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A curated list of awesome radio resources. Inspired by awesome-*.
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I recently pulled out my CB radio and installed it in my truck. This inspired me
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to create an open source repository of all the radio related resources I found
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helpful and my notes on the subject.
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This project is aimed at hackers who enjoy all aspects of radio communication.
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While a lot of this technology isn't usable by citizens and is heavily regulated
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by the FCC, just knowing anything about it is special. I've been interested in
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learning the ins and outs of radio, as well as hearing stories, new and old.
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## General
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### Links
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* [Radio (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio)
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* [Radio Spectrum (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_spectrum)
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* [Skywave (skip) (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skywave)
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* [Mystery signal from a
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helicopter](http://www.windytan.com/2014/02/mystery-signal-from-helicopter.html)
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* [Portable SDR](http://hackaday.io/project/1538-PortableSDR)
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* [N0NBH's Solar-Terrestrial Data](http://www.hamqsl.com/solar2.html) - Current
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solar-terrestrial data, with explanation of their influence on HF propagation
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and propagation forecast.
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## CB
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Citizens band radio, or CB, is a two way radio spectrum dedicated to open use by
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anyone for almost any purpose. In the US and many other countries, it
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does not require a license to operate. CB consists of 40 channels between 26.965
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MHz and 27.405 MHz with channel 09 being dedicated to emergencies.
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CB is more popular among truckers and radio enthusiasts, but its usefulness
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does not stop there. It's great for long distance travel on popular trucking
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routes. You can tune to channel 19 (an unofficial trucker's channel) and get
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real time traffic updates, alternate routes and accident warnings.
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Given a good antenna that's properly tuned, a typical range to expect out of
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your CB is about 2 - 5 miles (3.2 - 8 kilometers).
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### General Use
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I've found a lot of my information on Jeep and trucker forums. From my own
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experience, it seems about half the CB transmission I hear include a handle of
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some kind. I also hear a lot of swearing, so I wouldn't sweat accidentally
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letting a "fuck" or a "shit" go.
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CB is public. Very public. That seems like a "no shit" kind of thing, but with
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the current generation pretty much only using cell phones, it's easy to forget
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that using something as "primitive" as a CB radio is essentially [broadcast to
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the world](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_band_radio#Working_skip).
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Truckers tend to use channel 19. This is a good channel to monitor for traffic
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conditions.
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Channel 9 is for emergencies only. No general chatter on this channel. If you
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are broke down, or your car catches fire, besides calling 911, this is a good
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channel to transmit on for help.
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Around Portland, I hear a lot of chatter on channels 6, 17 and 28. These are
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good channels for entertaining conversation.
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### SWR
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[SWR](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_wave_ratio), or Standing Wave Ratio
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is a measurement of efficiency when connecting your antenna to your radio.
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Optimum ratio is 1:1, although you'll probably end up with 1.3:1 or so. Anything
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higher than 2:1 should be considered a no-no since it can damage your radio and
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give poor transmission. Read up on [how to tune
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SWR](http://www.rightchannelradios.com/tuning-cb-antenna-adjusting-swr).
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### Installing a mobile CB
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Installing your CB right is key to A) not damaging your radio hardware and B)
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getting good range and quality on both the receiving and transmitting ends.
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Following the advice in the following articles will ensure you have a quality
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setup.
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### Links
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* [Right Channel Radios](http://www.rightchannelradios.com/) - Good online shop
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for parts, radios, antennas and mounts.
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* [CB Slang](http://www.cbslang.com/) - mostly humorous, but kinda helpful.
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* [CB Slang (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CB_slang)
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* [CB Talk and etiquette](http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/cb-radio-etiquette-jeep-trail-1169815/)
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* [Skip](http://cbradiomagazine.com/Articles/How%20to%20Shoot%20Skip.htm)
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* [Silly CB Handles](http://www.somethingawful.com/news/cb-handles/)
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* [CB FAQ](http://www.advancedspecialties.net/cb-radio-faq.htm)
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* [Frequency Table](http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=7731)
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## SDR (Software Defined Radio)
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Software Defined Radio is a way to define components that are typically
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hardware, such as filters and amplifiers, as software. It has been around for a
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while, but with the cost of digital electronics needed to run SDR becoming
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increasingly cheaper, we are seeing a rise in hacker folk playing and building
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with SDR.
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I would like contributors for this section.
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### Links
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* [Gqrx](http://gqrx.dk/)
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* [sdrsharp on .NET](http://sdrsharp.com)
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### Hardware
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* __Recommended starter hardware__ On the low end,
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[RTL-SDR](http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr) is a super-cheap usb
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dongle, around which a thriving community has been founded.
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* On the other side of the cost spectrum, [pervices](http://www.pervices.com/)
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makes some really high-throughput, PCIe devices for when you need to log all
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the traffic ever. The software and community support for this is less good,
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though (for which you can blame @outofculture).
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* You can also browse through the [big
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list](https://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/gnuradio/wiki/Hardware) of all
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compatible hardware.
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* Antennas are their own body of options and tradeoffs, about which I know
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nothing.
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### Software
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Depending on the hardware you're using, it may ship with some demo software to
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play around with. This is great for just getting a chance to see some waves and
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start to get an idea of what's possible. Otherwise, [GNU
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Radio](https://gnuradio.org/redmine/) is going to where you'll spend your time.
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It's mainly just a library, but it also has a supporting gui for combining
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processing blocks that then outputs python. Once you're more comfortable, you
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can also just use GNURadio to do any device tuning, setup and i/o, and then use
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numpy for the signal manipulation math.
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Just visualizing and manually inspecting a signal is a valuable part of learning
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how to work with them. [Baudline](http://www.baudline.com/) is a janky old
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thing, but it's the best there is. Be forewarned that learning the UI won't come
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easily to anyone.
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## Amateur Radio (a.k.a Ham Radio)
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The hobby of Amateur Radio has a long and proud tradition. The very first radio
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amateurs were true pioneers of radio technology. Amateurs 'invented' and refined
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much of the early radio technology and were the first to transmit music, radio
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plays, and information to the handful of people who had the new fangled radio
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receivers.
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After World War II the hobby of amateur radio flourished. Radio clubs sprang up
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in schools all over the world and kids went home each night to build some new
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contraption, or have a chat with someone over the wireless. These young people
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became the mainstay of the technical professions and developed much of the
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modern technology we use today.
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([WIA](http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/about/))
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[What is Ham Radio?](http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio)
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### Links
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* American Radio Relay League - [ARRL](http://www.arrl.org/)
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* The Wireless Institute of Australia [WIA](http://www.wia.org.au/)
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* Radio Society of Great Britain - [RSGB](http://rsgb.org/)
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* Pakistan Amateur Radio Society - [PARS](http://www.pakhams.com/)
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* [The International Amateur Radio Union](http://www.iaru.org/)
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* [Japanese asteroid mission](http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-transponder-will-accompany-japanese-asteroid-mission-into-deep-space)
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* [Slow-scan Television](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow-scan_television)
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I would like contributors for this section.
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### Amateur Radio License
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* In the [US](http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed) there are three license
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classes—Technician, General and Extra.
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* [The Foundation Licence](http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/about/) in
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Australia.
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* [Foundation Licence]
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(http://rsgb.org/main/clubs-training/for-students/foundation/) in the UK.
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* In
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[Pakistan](http://www.pakhams.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=92)
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first you apply for SWL (Short Wave Listener) membership and then you are
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eligible to [apply for the HAM
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License](http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=466%3Aamateur-wireless-license&catid=138%3Aguidelines&Itemid=349).
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## Public Health and Safety
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Police and fire in the United States typically communicate over trunked radio.
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This makes it hard to scan using normal reciever without trunk tracking
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abilities. See more in the [trunking](#trunking) section.
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### Trunking
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While not strictly specific to public health and safety, it is usually the first
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thing that comes to mind when talking about trunked radio.
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Trunked radio is a form of digital-two-way communication where multiple
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organizations can share a small spectrum of real frequencies without hearing
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another organizations conversations. A user can choose a logical channel or
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group and the base station will find an empty frequency to transmit on.
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### Links
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* [Project 25](http://www.project25.org/)
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* [Project 25 wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_25)
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* [Trunked Radio wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunked_radio_system)
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[radio.md Github](https://github.com/kyleterry/awesome-radio
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)
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