VHF/ VHF Radio Firmware

For those of you who have noticed, I have not been active.

I started this blog many moons ago, when blogging/RSS was new as were smartphones. There was a pretty good following then as most web content wasn't very mobile friendly.

A different Steve, Steve Stroh, N8GNJ has been pointing out much of the same sort of thing I had been doing here. Advancing ham radio, this blog's title was supposed to focus on more modern things, that the traditional sources I felt overlooked.

So I encourage you to check out his news letter, which he calls Zero Retries: https://zeroretries.substack.com/

Wayne Green once said he was impatient with new technologies. I can see that had rubbed off on me. I am beyond annoyed that we still don't have a mainstream radio that we can load our own firmware on.

I've written about that at length here as it related to AMBE and M17.

As a matter of fact in 2008 (15 years ago), I made the observation that ;

Technology is ever changing, which makes standards hard to set. This is why open standards are so very important. It expedites production and advancements , as you are effectively working together or sharing information. Be wary of any thing proprietary, as this impedes technology and is terribly unhealthy for the hobby.

Protocols and standards need to be dynamic as possible to avoid equipment obsolesce. This is where the software defined radio (SDR) concept is key. However once again between here and there, manufactures should highly consider flash/field upgradeable firmware.

While some very talented hams have spent the time and effort reverse engineering a few radios to bring us closer, the fact is, 15 years later we still have a manufacture controlled firmware scenario instead of that radio with an open application space (apps) idea.

And I am pretty much tired of beating the drum that we need better leadership than the ARRL knuckleheads who are really good at drama, but sadly not very good at their job of advancing the radio art.

PS; If you are thinking of publishing a ham radio book, please do NOT reach to the ARRL to be the publisher. I have spent a good portion of my life trying to track down and obtain copies of information (mostly obscure/local history) that is out of print. Here is to hoping future content creators are smart and don't give all their rights away all haphazardly like in years past. Self publishing and crowd funding are more logical this day in age, than continuing to fund the ARRL and their tantrums.