Introduction: Why Talk About Ham Radio in 2026?

In an era where you can FaceTime someone in Tokyo while ordering a latte through your smartwatch, amateur radio feels like a relic. But the hobby that gave us broadcast radio, television, Wi-Fi, and even the early Internet is not just surviving. It is evolving, and it is doing it with open-source software, digital signal processing, and a community of builders who refuse to let curiosity die.

Diane Bruce, VA3DB, a FreeBSD contributor with 40+ years in embedded systems and a ham since 1968, wrote “Amateur Radio and FreeBSD” for the July/August 2016 FreeBSD Journal. Her article is not a nostalgic look backward. It is a technical tour of how modern computing has transformed amateur radio, and how FreeBSD quietly powers much of that transformation.

I read the piece closely, and here is the long-form breakdown you asked for. No fluff, no rambling. Just the substance, context, and why it still matters in 2026. This post is over 2,000 words.

1. The Core Premise: Ham Radio Is the Original “Maker” Movement

Bruce opens with a reality check: wireless communication and the global Internet still depend on radio. Cell towers, Starlink, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. All radio. Amateur radio operators, or “hams,” were the first to make radio practical for commercial use.

Before GitHub, before hackspaces, there were hams in garages winding coils, etching circuit boards, and building transmitters from war-surplus parts. That tinkering DNA is the same “maker” ethic you see today in 3D printing, Arduino projects, and FreeBSD ports. The difference is that hams are federally licensed and can legally transmit, experiment with new protocols, and build their own radios. You cannot do that with your iPhone.

Licensing is easier now. Morse code is no longer required. If you have a technical background, the exam is straightforward. That low barrier is intentional. The FCC, ISED in Canada, and regulators worldwide want more people experimenting, not fewer.

2. Why Computers and Ham Radio Became Inseparable

Bruce asks, “But why use computers with ham radio in the first place?” The answer is that both fields changed radically.

Modern hams use computers for:

• Satellite prediction: Knowing when the ISS or an amateur satellite passes overhead
• Digitally encoded voice: D-STAR, DMR, System Fusion
• Logging: Tracking thousands of global contacts automatically
• Digital modes: WSJT-X, PSK31, RTTY, FT8
• Software-defined radio: Turning $30 USB dongles into wide-band receivers
• APRS tracking: Real-time GPS position reporting

The result is a flood of ham applications, many written for Linux. Bruce and others on the FreeBSD ham radio team want to change the assumption that ham software only runs on Linux. Most Linux ham apps port to FreeBSD easily.

3. From Teletype to fldigi: The Evolution of Digital Modes

Ham radio was digital before “digital” was cool. In the 1950s, hams used surplus Model 15 teletype machines with external radio modems to send RTTY, radio teletype. These mechanical monsters used 5-bit Baudot code, a predecessor to ASCII.

The machines were clunky, loud, and impractical. Early home computers like the Apple II changed that. You could generate and decode 5-level code with software, though you still needed an external modem.

Today, CPU power means you do not need the modem. Signal processing in software decodes RTTY directly from the radio’s audio. The “Swiss army knife” for this on FreeBSD is fldigi. It handles RTTY, Hellschreiber, and modern modes like PSK31.

Hellschreiber deserves a mention. Developed in WWII, it used tones to paint characters on a moving drum. Early SSTV used long-persistence P7 radar tubes that were harsh on the eyes. Now it is all done in software, in full color.

4. Weak Signal Revolution: WSJT, JT65, and Bouncing Signals Off the Moon

The most dramatic change in ham radio is weak-signal work. Joe Taylor, K1JT, is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and radio astronomer. He wanted to do Earth-Moon-Earth, or EME, communication.

Traditional EME required huge antenna arrays and high-powered amplifiers. Taylor applied radio astronomy DSP techniques and created WSJT, Weak Signal JT, with the JT65 mode.

Result: EME with a modest station that is far less expensive. Hams worldwide now use WSJT-X and its offspring WSPR daily to work the globe with very low power. Not just via the moon. Traditional shortwave using the ionosphere works too.

One 2014 trans-Atlantic 2m attempt succeeded because the signals bounced off the International Space Station at exactly the right time. That is the kind of accident that only happens when you have thousands of experimenters and good software.

PSK31 is another low-bandwidth mode popular for low-power operators. It can be heard below the noise floor. Again, fldigi is the program of choice.

5. Packet Radio, APRS, and the Internet Before the Internet

Amateur radio operators were instrumental in early packet radio. That tech found its way into encrypted digital systems for police and emergency services.

Store-and-forward networks using AX.25, a modified X.25 protocol, are still used worldwide. AX.25 is the backbone of the Amateur Positioning Radio System, or APRS.

APRS is well supported on FreeBSD using Xastir and YAAC. Stations use GPS to broadcast positions over AX.25. Search and rescue groups like Civilian Air Patrol rely on it.

Those packets also get relayed to the Internet. Go to aprs.fi and you can watch hams move in real time. Bruce’s example: aprs.fi/#!addr=FN25 shows her area near Ottawa. The screenshot in the article shows dozens of stations around Ottawa.

6. Software-Defined Radio: The $30 Revolution

Software-defined radio, SDR, is one of the hottest techniques in ham radio. Instead of analog mixers and filters, you use fast A/D converters to sample RF directly from the air. The data becomes I/Q signals: two streams 90 degrees out of phase. Decode them with a computer.

You can also generate signals with D/A converters and transmit.

Adrian Chadd, KK6VQK, a FreeBSD developer, wanted to analyze Wi-Fi spectrum layout. He needed SDR software that was well supported. That meant porting drivers for Ettus USRP hardware to FreeBSD so he could use it with gnuradio.

GNU Radio is a framework of DSP components linked with a graphical interface to build SDR systems. High-end RF A/D systems can handle many MHz at once, useful for radio astronomy or Wi-Fi analysis.

But you do not need expensive gear. Much SDR works with a standard sound card or a DVB-T TV tuner USB dongle based on the RTL2832U chipset. The dongle can directly sample RF up into UHF. Use it with the rtl-sdr port and gnuradio to monitor ham bands or broadcast FM.

For HF, hams build upconverters to shift shortwave into the dongle’s range. The “SoftRock” is a low-cost RF converter used with QUISK to decode SSB, FM, and AM.

The gnuradio-companion screenshots show how you drag and drop filters, FFT plots, and scopes to build a radio in software. That is the maker ethic in pure form.

7. Satellites, the ISS, and Tracking Software

Hams have built their own satellites since 1974. AO-7 is still operating, though its batteries are dead. Building a satellite requires power engineering, battery tech, radio, and embedded systems. These are NASA-level skills.

For the rest of us, the challenge is pointing the antenna. That is where predict and gpredict come in.

The International Space Station has licensed hams on board. It is easy to hear in automated mode and to talk to when astronauts are active. They do not have much time, but they schedule school contacts. Gpredict shows the ISS and other satellites with coverage circles.

The ISS also broadcasts SSTV, slow scan TV. Hams decode it with QSSTV. What used to require P7 radar tubes now takes a laptop.

8. Repeaters and the Internet: Linking the World

Repeaters extend mobile range by receiving on a hilltop and retransmitting. Linking city repeaters worldwide via the Internet is trivial. Software like thebridge or svxlink does it.

That means a handheld in Shah Alam could talk to a ham in Ottawa through a local repeater gateway. The RF part is local. The Internet handles the distance. This hybrid model is why ham radio stays relevant. It is not competing with the Internet. It is integrating with it.

9. FreeBSD’s Role and the Culture of Porting

Bruce’s subtext throughout is that FreeBSD is a first-class ham radio OS, even if most guides assume Linux. The FreeBSD ham radio ports team actively maintains Xastir, YAAC, fldigi, WSJT-X, gpredict, gnuradio, QUISK, and more.

Porting is not just recompiling. Adrian Chadd had to port USRP driver support. That kind of low-level work keeps FreeBSD relevant for SDR.

The ports model fits ham radio culture. You build what you need. You share it. You document it. Bruce herself has 35+ years in embedded/real-time and contributes to FreeBSD ports. She was first licensed in 1968.

10. So, Should You Get Licensed in 2026?

Bruce closes by saying amateur radio can be as technical or as relaxing as you want. The era of inexpensive computing has made it more interesting.

Here is why that still holds:

If you code, if you like hardware, if you want a wireless sandbox where the only limit is physics and your license, ham radio is still the best deal going. No, Morse code is not needed. Yes, your FreeBSD laptop is enough to start.

11. Getting Started: Resources and Next Steps

Bruce recommends two starting points:

• ARRL, American Radio Relay League: http://www.arrl.org
• RAC, Radio Amateurs of Canada: http://www.rac.ca

For FreeBSD-specific info: https://wiki.freebsd.org/Hamradio On FreeBSD

A modern starter kit in 2026 might look like:

1. License: Study for Technician in US, Basic in Canada. Free PDFs and apps exist.
2. Radio: A $30 Baofeng UV-5R for local repeaters, or an SDR dongle for receive-only.
3. Software: Install FreeBSD, then pkg install fldigi wsjtx gpredict quisk gnuradio xastir.
4. Antenna: Build a dipole for HF or a tape-measure Yagi for satellites. Plans are free.
5. Elmer: Find a local club. Hams love to mentor.

Conclusion: The Quiet Engine of Innovation

Bruce’s article is not about nostalgia. It is a status report. Ham radio pioneered wireless, and it never stopped. The tools changed. Spark gaps became SDR. Paper logbooks became FreeBSD servers running fldigi. But the ethos is identical: understand the system, then improve it.

In 2016 she wrote that inexpensive computing was making amateur radio more interesting. In 2026, with AI, GPU-accelerated DSP, and even more spectrum pressure, that is even more true.

FreeBSD’s stability, documentation, and ports system make it a natural home for this work. And ham radio’s legal freedom to transmit, modify, and experiment makes it a natural home for FreeBSD users.

The next Wi-Fi, the next GPS, the next emergency mesh network might not come from a corporate lab. It might come from a ham in Ottawa running FreeBSD, or a student in Shah Alam with an RTL-SDR and a question.

That is why this 2016 article still matters. It is a map. The territory is still open.

https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/HAMradioBruce.pdf

The post How FreeBSD and Ham Radio Still Shape the Future of Wireless Communication appeared on Hamradio.my - Amateur Radio, Tech Insights and Product Reviews by 9M2PJU.

The world of amateur radio continues to evolve with new and exciting innovations, and the ESPRI project (ESP Radio Interface) is a standout example. Built around the ESP32 microcontroller, ESPRI aims to expand the capabilities of handheld and mobile radios by integrating digital features, wireless control, and more—all through a compact, custom-designed hardware module.

Whether you’re a seasoned ham operator or a curious maker, ESPRI offers a practical and powerful way to modernize your equipment.

What Is ESPRI?

ESPRI is an open-source project that acts as an intelligent interface between your ham radio (via the Kenwood connector) and an ESP32-based microcontroller board. Think of it as a digital co-pilot for your analog transceiver. The ESPRI board can record audio, send beacons, and even serve a full-featured web panel—directly from the ESP32 chip itself.

The project is actively developed and maintained by kamilsss655, with collaboration from contributors around the world.

Key Features

Web-based Control Panel
A responsive single-page app (SPA) served directly from the ESP module, accessible over Wi-Fi. Configure settings, browse files, monitor logs, and manage beacons—all from your phone or laptop.

Beacon Modes
Supports both AFSK and Morse code beacons. Easily configure interval, content, and modulation.

Wireless UART
Use the ESPRI module as a wireless serial bridge to control your radio remotely.

Audio Recording and Playback
Record audio from your radio to a microSD card or internal memory. Playback recordings as needed—ideal for remote operation or automated message loops.

Built-in DSP and AGC
Includes digital signal processing (DSP) filters and auto-gain control (AGC) to ensure clarity and consistency.

WebSocket Notifications
Real-time feedback and alerts through WebSocket, enabling live updates to your browser UI.

Hardware Overview

The recommended hardware platform is the ESP32 Lolin Lite due to its built-in LiPo charger and compact form factor. ESPRI adds a custom HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) to interface with Kenwood-compatible radios like the popular Quansheng UV-K5.

The custom board (latest version V2.2) includes analog circuitry to safely interface with your transceiver’s mic and speaker lines.

How to Get Started

Flashing the firmware is easy:

esptool.py write_flash 0x0 espri.bin

Once installed, connect to the ESP’s Wi-Fi access point (default SSID: NOKIA-3K9N4H1, password: mypassword) and open your browser to http://192.168.4.1.

Development is supported using ESP-IDF in Visual Studio Code or Docker. The GitHub repository provides detailed guides for both workflows.

Roadmap and Future Potential

The ESPRI project is still growing. Upcoming features include:

• Custom digital modes for messaging
• Integration with mobile apps (inspired by tools like Meshtastic)
• Advanced modulation and demodulation directly on the ESP32
• Wireless modem functionality for any analog radio

This project isn’t just about adding features—it’s about making amateur radio more accessible, portable, and connected.

Why It Matters

For radio enthusiasts, tinkerers, or emergency responders, ESPRI offers an affordable, compact way to bring digital intelligence to traditional radio hardware. Whether you’re logging QSOs, experimenting with DSP, or building a field-ready APRS tracker, this project provides the foundation.

And because it’s open-source under the Apache 2.0 License, you’re free to adapt and extend it for your own use.

Explore the project, get involved, and see what your radio can really do.
GitHub Repository

The post Unlock New Potential for Your Ham Radio with the ESPRI Project appeared on Hamradio.my - Amateur Radio, Tech Insights and Product Reviews by 9M2PJU.

If you’re passionate about amateur radio and embedded systems, you might want to check out HFTRX, an advanced SDR transceiver project hosted on GitHub by ua1arn. Designed with serious radio operators in mind, HFTRX stands out for its deep integration of SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology, open-source firmware, and support for a wide range of hardware platforms—from STM32 and Cortex-A series to Zynq and even Allwinner SoCs.

But this isn’t just another software project. It’s the backbone of a high-performance HF transceiver called Storch (Аист), aimed at covering the entire 30 kHz to 54 MHz band with robust transmit power and excellent receive sensitivity. With extensive documentation, build instructions, and community support, the HFTRX project is accessible for DIYers, radio builders, and embedded developers alike.

Key Features of the “Storch” Transceiver

The HFTRX-based Storch is no toy—it’s a serious rig capable of:

• Wide Frequency Coverage:
  • Receive: 30 kHz to 54 MHz
  • Transmit: 500 kHz to 54 MHz
• High Power Output:
  • 100W typical from 1 MHz to 40 MHz (200W with tuned antenna)
  • 10W below 1 MHz, and 20–35W above 40 MHz
• 16-bit ADC @ 122.88 MHz, delivering high dynamic range (≥125 dB)
• 24-bit audio for crystal-clear sound quality
• Multi-band reception across sub-bands simultaneously

Built for Performance

What makes the HFTRX design unique is its direct digital conversion (DDC) architecture, which eliminates many analog stages and offers superior performance with fewer components. This not only simplifies design but also boosts stability and scalability.

Some standout components of the design include:

• Built-in antenna switcher (2 TX/RX + 1 RX)
• Automatic antenna tuner (ATU) with memory presets
• IQ output for external signal processing
• Remote access via Ethernet
• USB recording and control
• Adaptive cooling system with low noise levels
• Robust protection circuits against overheating, ESD, and polarity reversal

Developer & Maker Friendly

HFTRX isn’t just plug-and-play—it’s also developer-friendly with source code and hardware documentation readily available. Whether you’re a hardware hacker, firmware tinkerer, or FPGA enthusiast, you’ll find valuable resources like:

• Full Gerber files and schematics
• Detailed BOM (Bill of Materials)
• Assembly and tuning manuals
• Support for Eclipse and CMSIS-based IDEs
• FPGA projects in VHDL and Verilog
• Modular structure across STM32, Zynq, and Allwinner targets

Developers can jump right in with setup instructions and an active development branch, while radio builders can dive into the assembly and tuning docs to bring their own Storch to life.

Community Support & Collaboration

The project is spearheaded by Gennadiy Zavidovskiy (UA1ARN) and features contributions from a small but passionate group of developers and amateur radio operators. Communication channels are available through Telegram:

• Chat: Sokol_SDR_DDC
• Channel: sokol_ddc

This open collaboration approach makes it easy to ask questions, share builds, and contribute code.

Ideal for Experimenters, Hackers, and Operators

If you’ve been looking for a modern, DIY-friendly SDR project that doesn’t skimp on features or performance, HFTRX is a solid contender. Whether you want a powerful HF transceiver, a flexible SDR platform, or just a way to dive deeper into embedded development for radio systems, this project has something to offer.

With the added flexibility of external VHF transverter support (e.g. 144–146 MHz), Ethernet and USB interfaces, and high-quality digital audio paths, this project is a future-proof entry into the world of homebrew high-performance rigs.

Get Started

You can explore the project, download the code, and access all documentation here:
https://github.com/ua1arn/hftrx

The post Exploring the HFTRX SDR Transceiver: A Powerful Open-Source Project for Ham Radio Enthusiasts appeared on Hamradio.my - Amateur Radio, Tech Insights and Product Reviews by 9M2PJU.