Hamvoip dead?

There hasn't been a post on their list since May 2024.

And now that AllstarLink has annouced:

"AllStarLink is proud to announce ASL3, the next generation of AllStar repeater and hotspot software. ASL3 is built to run on Asterisk 20, the latest operating systems, and modern hardware. Asterisk 20 brings over 15 years of bug fixes, security improvements, and enhancements."

It begs the question if anyone will continue to care about hamvoip. While it wasn't opensource it may have served a role as a competitor to AllStarLink's distribution an caused them (ASL) to buckle down on development.

What is sad is all the time and improvements made to the hamvoip distribution is now effectively lost and a wasted effort since the source code was never made public.

This is kind of what needs to happen to the ARRL. They need a competitor so that they buckle down.... but I digress...

Re: What stalls amateur radio development?

Recently the leader of the M17 radio project, Wojciech, SP5WWP, wrote an interesting open letter.

He wrote; "amateur radio community depends on large companies (Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood) and solutions they provide."

What I have to add to this is as time has elapsed this dependancy has become more so than in it the early days of the hobby. And clearly this is not good without at least a better line communcations with these companies.

However, there are external to the hobby factors to consider. Globalization is what has lead us from a lot of small companies to a few large ones. Some good of globalization has come, but truthfully a lot of bad as well.

In am 45 and when and where I grew up there was still a vibrant manfactuting based economy. Now that has sadly shifted to a consumer based economy. And how does that house of cards even really work in a global society? What do you have to trade? You once did....

The education system (at least speaking of the American one) is another point of failure as it has really not kept in check with promoting technical schools and life skills vs 4 year colleges.

My grandfather and father's generation were handy, they could fix jut about anything they had. Why did this change? Part of it was they lived through or had an effect left by the great depression. Now are better off (at least in the pocket book), and really I hate to say it, this has made us lazy. Sure maybe you father now doesn't change his own oil for example, but if that's the case his son will likely never learn it. It's not rocket science, but if the future doesn't learn certain things then they die off.

Wojciech alos talks about pitfalls of volunteer-based work. He is talking about open source development, but when I look at any number of clubs or groups, be them ham radio or other; the bulk of the reliable volunteers are that of an older generation.

The question is what motivates people these days? The survival instinct of the older generation has faded.

Death to FM

It's no secret that I feel it's out lived it's usefulness. We are at a point where the commerical two way is near non-existant. That has mosly all moved to cellular. In the past we have had a lot of repurposed equipment from public safety and commerical markets. We've also seen "cycles" in the hobby. It started with spark and CW, then AM voice, then SSB, then the 70's and FM. In the 90's there was quite a fuss about spread spectrum, but sadly it never really look off in the hobby.

How we have the VHF/UHF bands carved up and regulated and adminstered by overbearing repeater coordination bodies plays a part on moving from FM to something more useful. If you have been reading my ramblings you know that I feel we could likely so with less repeater coordination. I feel more shared non protected pairs should exist for any system less than 100 watts and 100 feet etc, should just use those.

You've also likely noticed how I feel about mode disparity. Data has significantly more stringent regulations than other modes.. and well Spread Spectum... it's just unclear if this even exists as a mode, since we classify our transmissions by the content they carry, which is also just stupid.

I'd like to see the tables turned to promote advancements in the hobby. Make FM ugly and over regulated. Make voice also the ugly red headed step child.

It's time for QAM and other types of modern modulation.

But there are no radio's you say? Well that is where changing regulation will force a manufacturing change. An example of this is when PL became required for repeaters in the late 80's and early 90's. This mandate was from coordinaton bodies and in a few years user end radios began to have PL encoders in them as a standard. (Prior to that you had to wire in your own PL deck.)

Then there is the M17 labs that we don't hear really anything about. And for that matter in 2015 TAPR mentioned they's like to see the OFDM work of John, KD6OZH advanced...

In short FM is 40 year old technology. And most of the current Digital Voice modes are not using modulation that is a whole different than conventional analog FM. The only way to achieve better data rates is move to modulation that is significanly different than FM.

Some times I think the ARDC ought to post bounty grants to help move certain things forward.

Status of Further Notice (FNPRM) ?

In January I filed express comments on what bandwidth limit for above 30 Mhz should be set if any to replace the symbol rates for data in relation to the furhter notice for WT Docket 16-239.

I considered writing a longer paper, but Steve Stroh had already done that, covering everything nicely. The other reason I opted for the express route is because in the back of my mind I figued the good old (freaking) FCC would sit on this like the main HF part for god only knows how long. I even remarked on how it was unclear when a decision would be made by the commission.

I must be getting more impatient as I get older, as even at work and in other projects I particpate in, I look at what the outcome is and when it will be achived Before donating my time. Short summary: I like things the bear fruit.

So are we going to have to get congress woman Lesko involved again to kick the FCC in the rear end again?

For what its worth, in a somewhat private circle I have brought up the idea of having the whole amateur regulation business outsourced since the FCC does such a poor job. It seems almost inconceivable to accomplish, but I do believe we'd be better off that way.

Quansheng UV-K5

I have 4 hand helds now. I know people with a lot more than that, but in the end that IS NOT helping the digital fragmentation / manufacturing problem.

I picked up one of those Quansheng UV-K5's that there was a lot of buzz about in terms of aftermarket firmware development.

The chip/microcontroller that is has really limits what it could be doing (digital modes like M17, P25 etc).... it sad really.

If nothing else I hope the Quansheng's open popularity is noticed by other manufactures (Covalue?) to encourgage that sort of thing.

What hams should be doing is directly asking manufactures at Dayton and on their social media platforms when they will see a radio that does more tham one digital flavor.

As I said in the first part, continuing to buy radio after radio, without holding out for your principles is NOT helping change anything.