DLARC amateur radio library tops 90k items | Hacker News Reader

DLARC amateur radio library tops 90k items

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58 pointsohjeez17 comments

Oh very nice - note the text search isn't great for OCR'd callsigns; eg if you search for a callsign with an 'O' in it then it might not find it, try a 0 instead. That found some mentions of my dad from before I was born.

I would like this to strike a note with all of the amateur's who produce closed source software, and give it away free on their websites. When they die the software dies. I wish they would put it on Github. Culturally there is no problem sharing schematics, so why not code?

To me (and presumably others) those digital modes that are only available via closed source binaries effectively don't exist. I would venture it's one reason why things like AX.25 have such staying power. It would be fun and most constructive to write some compatible open source equivalents but there are only so many hours in the day.

> Culturally there is no problem sharing schematics, so why not code?

HAM operators are for a big part middle aged or older, which could mean for most of them being not fluent with programming, while in theory most of them should have passed an electronics exam. As a result, software knowledge is more rare and could be monetized more easily. Also, the final product of a schematic has to be rebuilt each time in order to be sold, while software can be just copied; that could make a further incentive to keep source code secret.

But... they give it away for free! There is no monetization.

Because they don't have to. And because the first thing that happens when you open source a bunch of code is that you get an extra dayjob in dealing with the fall-out of it for any non-trivial project.

Wow! I searched and found old USENET threads where I was ranting about proposed "no code" licencees and how they were going to ruin Amateur Radio!

I'm working diligently on it, don't worry. Someone gave me a extra but I can't speak a dit of morse.

I've made peace with non-code hams. But still, at my advanced age, I send morse by hand (with a bug/paddle) and receive in my head. Still my favorite mode.

It sounds like a lot of fun honestly. I tried learning and made some progress but that was a long time ago. Lots of other stuff to do and it's fairly time consuming I found.

It's surprisingly straightforward to learn the characters! I was intimidated at first but realized it's super-accessible, just a matter of spending 5-10min every day (or so) for some weeks. I mean, you could really crunch it in a few days or so but.. might be difficult. What I'm finding an actual challenge now is copying, especially at any decent speed, haha.. For anyone interested, I can definitely recommend https://lcwo.net/ for learning the characters. I'm still pretty noob but my advice is to learn character speed 25wpm, effective speed 5wpm. Learning at a high character speed helps ensure you are truly hearing the "shape" of the character's sound, as opposed to counting the dits and dahs. It's a seriously badass sense of achievement the first time you realize you "understood" a character instantly, without thinking about it. :)

I should think there’s software and/or websites in the Guitar Hero style that exist for learning Morse.

haha, yeah I'm not sure about software or sites but there is this Morserino[0] kit which is basically a hardware "morse training" device, has various methods of helping you learn copying and sending (has integrated touch paddles).

[0] http://www.morserino.info/

Nice. What's your favorite key/paddle? Assuming you have a particular favorite, that is! I notice CW ops are quite particular about such an instrument, and I can see why. Each has its own characteristics and feel, and becomes a familiar part of your arsenal as you use it. Sort of like a keyboard for a programmer! ;)

Great username, the first language I was formally taught.

You were right. Give it another 25 years. sincerely, a no code extra.

mods: the title is "DLARC" not "Dlarc", it's an initialism. would be sweet if it's corrected

As for the collection, I was pretty happy to kick off the inclusion of my local radio club's newsletter into DLARC, some 143 issues and counting[0]. We also had a nice videoconf presentation to our club by the program manager of DLARC, Kay Savetz, K6KJN -- a very kind and humourous guy!

[0] https://archive.org/details/sarc-communicator

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