WebSDR and Digital Modes#

So lately I’ve been using WebSDR to listen to various radio signals and listen into the various radio stations and signals that are available on the air. So far I’ve been able to listen to APRS signals, various weather stations and of course the odd ham radio signal or two. It certainly appears that digital modes appear to be significantly more common now than they were previously.

Things I’ve found interesting so far include the previously known (to me) digital modes such as RTTY and APRS, and also fairly new digital modes such as FT8 and JS8Call that simply were not available when I was a child. It’s been fascinating to see that the hobby has evolved and that there are now many more modes available to experiment with. I’ve also noticed that conversations on the airwaves are now more and more digital or at least more computer assisted, with many hams now using digital modes for their everyday conversations.

I’ve been fascinated by things like AllStar that allow you to connect to other ham radio operators around the world using the internet, transmitting and receiving on your local radio in good old analogue mode and then connecting to repeaters and other radio operators around the world via the internet, although I’m not sure if using the internet as a backbone for Ham radio is a good thing in a system down scenario, but certainly getting the chance to communicate with other operators around the world can only be a good thing while we still have the internet!

While of course I can’t participate in the conversations yet (not licensed), it has been interesting to see the new technologies and modes that are available and to get an idea of what I can expect when I finally get my license.

One of the other things I’ve been looking into is SSTV (Slow Scan Television) which allows you to transmit and receive images over the airwaves, but unfortunately I haven’t found any transmissions yet or they’re not being transmitted in my area, I’ll keep looking though!

I run Protoworks (NI) in Northern Ireland, helping small businesses design prototypes and build custom software. If you have a hardware or software idea you’d like to sketch out, feel free to get in touch.