While ham radio operators have been embracing digital mobile radio (DMR), the equipment is most often bought since — at least in early incarnations — it needs a proprietary CODEC to convert speech to digital and vice versa. But [QRadioLink] decided to tackle a homebrew and open source DMR modem. The setup uses a LimeSDR, […]
Would-be spooks and spies, take note: this one-transistor FM transmitter is a circuit you might want to keep in mind for your bugging needs. True, field agents aren’t likely to need to build their own equipment, but how cool a spy would you be if you could? Luckily, you won’t need too many parts to […]
If you paid attention to advertising in 1980s Britain, you were never far from Economy 7. It was the magic way to heat your house for less, using storage heaters which would run at night using cheap electricity, and deliver warmth day-long. Behind it all was an unseen force, a nationwide radio switching signal transmitted […]
If you flew or drove anything remote controlled until the last few years, chances are very good that you’d be using some faceless corporation’s equipment and radio protocols. But recently, open-source options have taken over the market, at least among the enthusiast core who are into squeezing every last bit of performance out of their […]
Radio waves travel fast, and they can bounce, too. If you are able to operate a 25-meter dish, a transmitter, a solid software-defined radio, and an atomic clock, the answer is: yes, they can go all the way to Venus and back. On March 22, 2025, the Dwingeloo telescope in the Netherlands successfully pulled off […]
Surely by now you’ve at least heard of RTL-SDR — a software project that let’s cheap TV tuner dongles work as a software-defined radios. A number of projects and tools have spun off the original effort, but in his latest video, [Tech Minds] shows off a particularly unique take. It’s a Web browser-based radio application […]
GPS is an incredible piece of modern technology. Not only does it allow for locating objects precisely anywhere on the planet, but it also enables the turn-by-turn directions we take for granted these days — all without needing anything more than a radio receiver and some software to decode the signals constantly being sent down […]
When your homebrew Yagi antenna only sort-of works, or when your WiFi cantenna seems moody on rainy days, we can assure you: it is not only you. You can stop doubting yourself once and for all after you’ve watched the Tech 101: Antennas webinar by [Dr. Jonathan Chisum]. [Jonathan] breaks it all down in a […]
Perhaps every gardener to attempt to grow a tomato, lettuce, or bean has had to contend with animals trying to enjoy the food before the gardener themselves can, whether it’s a groundhog, rabbit, mouse, crow, or even iguana. There are numerous ways to discourage these mischievous animals from foraging the garden beds including traps, but […]