[VicPiMakers Projects] cyber-punk ARM64 uConsole -- ham radio

[Peter Sprague]

Hi Deid,

Truth be told, I do way more COTA [Camping on the Air] than SOTA/POTA.  
Our mountain topography doesn't work that well under the SOTA rules, and 
POTA, being USA centric, doesn't seem to recognize many of our regional 
parks.  Don't need to drag more rules out into the bush on a wonderful 
sunny day camping near an alpine lake?

Just got a QDX kit from QRP Labs.  Its a qrp digital only radio about 
the size of a pack of cigarettes.  Will probably get a Hermes-Lite kit 
once they come back on the market.  Part of my leaning towards building 
my radio equipment vs just buying off the shelf.  Have a steep learning 
curve ahead, but it takes me back to when I was young and Hams built 
most of their gear.

Learning how to use a SDRplay receiver as both a panadapter and to 
provide spots for FT8, JS8 and WSPR.  Also want to experiment with 
satellites with it.  Working in Fedora, so can be a bit of a challenge 
compared to the ready made canned W10 solutions out there.  Fedora has 
pretty good support for most of the popular open-source ham software, 
but I still have to build from source.

Main QTH/portable HF rig is a G90, backed up with an assortment of HT 
and a 2m ICOM mobile as a base.

All running through an assortment of Pi4, Pi Zero, and a Fitlet2 for 
Digital modes, APRS IGate, HF spotting, satellite tracking, mapping, 
etc.  Partially powered by solar.

Peter Sprague MSc.
GeoVision Environmental Informatics
peter.sprague at geovisionenvironmental.ca
250-412-3444 Victoria
VE7PPE

On 2022-11-10 04:18, Deid Reimer wrote:
> Thanks Peter.
>
> I prefer HOTA/TOTA (home/trailer) myself...
>
> But it sounds like fun.  What are you using for radios?
>
> ⁣Deid
> va7rei​
>
> On Nov. 10, 2022, 12:15 a.m., at 12:15 a.m., Peter Sprague <peter.geovision at shaw.ca> wrote:
>> Speaking of kool kids, I pre-ordered the A-06 version of these:
>> https://www.clockworkpi.com/uconsole
>>
>> Craig had an early Pine-64 11.6 inch ARM laptop, which has been updated
>>
>> to a 14 inch with similar specs and pricing as the A-06. Decided to
>> take
>> a ringer on the uConsole after the various editions of Pine-64 tablet
>> and laptop go in/out of availability. Hams using the Pine-64 SMB for
>> SDR
>> have had issues with the supported OS vs Pi.  There also seems to be a
>> bit of internal politics splattering about with Pine-64.
>>
>> Use case:
>>
>>   * For SOTA/POTA activations - want to do FT8 digital ham signaling
>>     from the top of mountains or chilling in parks. Digital can be
>>    fairly CPU intensive, so its always an experiment to get the balance
>>     of processing vs weight/energy usage/decoding efficiency.  Prefer
>>    equipment that is light, power conserving and rugged - think banging
>>     around a backpack up a mountain
>>   * To provide inputs to my revived robotics project.  Thinking direct
>>     control via game pad, screen to display - camera imaging, location
>>     on a map, and AI/ML Lidar interpretation of surroundings
>>   * ????
>>
>> Let you know how the adventure goes
>>
>> Peter Sprague MSc.
>> GeoVision Environmental Informatics
>> peter.sprague at geovisionenvironmental.ca
>> 250-412-3444 Victoria
>>
>> On 2022-11-09 11:52, Mark G. wrote:
>>> I wanna be part of the cool kids, too.  Add me.
>>> I think Murray wants one, as well.
>>>
>>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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