4 ms·

I think HAM radio could be more interesting if there were some compromise between "you can use lots of power but you need a license and you're prohibited from d

by elihu 8y ago

I think HAM radio could be more interesting if there were some compromise between "you can use lots of power but you need a license and you're prohibited from doing anything useful except in an emergency" of HAM and "you can use a little bit of power and don't need a license, but you can send whatever traffic you want" of 802.11-type unlicensed spectrum devices. For instance, I would be more interested in packet radio if there was a shared band that required a proficiency test like HAM radio, but with more permissive rules. For instance, being able to use crypto or relay Internet traffic (which might have music or swear words). The usual argument is that if you let commercial traffic into the HAM bands, it'll just turn into a free-for-all and you'll have a bunch of crowded bandwidth with angry people, but in that case at least the bandwidth will get used by somebody.

femto 8y ago
Maybe there is a niche for "license free" radio communications as a hobby? It could operate at two levels. The first level is to operate completely inside the rules. The rules don't say that a device can't radiate, just that it has to be within very strict "unintentional radiator" limits which are judged to produce negligible interference. How far can communications be pushed within these limits? The second (more risky) level is to operate on the basis of living within the spirit of the law, but not the letter. The spirit of the law is that you shouldn't cause any interference. At this level, you transmit, but in such a manner that you never interfere with anyone else. How do you do it? That's why it would be an interesting hobby, as it would be truly state-of-the-art. (Think cognitive radio on steroids.) The fact that you don't get caught would be a metric of success: in the best case that your transmissions have never been detected, or in the worst that you haven't interfered with someone and prompted a complaint. Of course if you mess up you're in it big time.

by elihu 8y ago

femto 8y ago

Maybe there is a niche for "license free" radio communications as a hobby? It could operate at two levels. The first level is to operate completely inside the rules. The rules don't say that a device can't radiate, just that it has to be within very strict "unintentional radiator" limits which are judged to produce negligible interference. How far can communications be pushed within these limits? The second (more risky) level is to operate on the basis of living within the spirit of the law, but not the letter. The spirit of the law is that you shouldn't cause any interference. At this level, you transmit, but in such a manner that you never interfere with anyone else. How do you do it? That's why it would be an interesting hobby, as it would be truly state-of-the-art. (Think cognitive radio on steroids.) The fact that you don't get caught would be a metric of success: in the best case that your transmissions have never been detected, or in the worst that you haven't interfered with someone and prompted a complaint. Of course if you mess up you're in it big time.