A German Welcome to the World for HAMRadio 2017

Europe's leading Amateur/Ham Radio exhibition, HamRadio located at the Fairgrounds in Friedrichshafen, Germany will take place over the weekend of 14-16 July 2017.

This year's motto is "Germany welcomes the world" providing a platform for amateur/ham radio enthusiasts to meet and share their radio experiences. This year is HamRadio's forty-second event.

This year's event will be attended by over 200 exhibitors from 30 countries, including 70 National Associations. The German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) will be celebrating their 45th anniversary, and plan to have activities and presentations to mark the event.

Details of this year's event can be found at http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de

Portable RF Hacking Tool with a Sub 1GHz RF Transceiver, BLE and USB

PandwaRF is a pocket-sized, portable RF analysis tool operating the sub-1 GHz range. It allows the capture, analysis and re-transmission of RF via an Android device or a Linux PC.
 
It removes the ‘standard SDR Grind’ of capturing, demodulating, analysing, modifying and replaying by hand – replacing it with a simple but powerful interface.

 
System Overview

The PandwaRF system consists of two elements: the hardware device and the software controller, either an Android device or a PC. The hardware is a very capable device, tailored for beginners and advanced users alike. Beyond the functionality provided by the Android interface, the PandwaRF can be easily controlled and customised. No need to risk bricking your device or writing in C, the PandwaRF can be controlled by JavaScript, directly on the smartphone. 

• Capture any data in ASK/OOK/MSK/2-FSK/GFSK modulation from the 300-928 MHz band
• Transfer the captured data to your smartphone & save/share it
• Send the captured data in JSON to your own server for post-processing
• Write your own scripts or use a provided one
• Transmit
• Transmit previously captured data or write your own
• Transmit data from a smartphone or directly from PandwaRF
• Brute force with a predefined transmission pattern (encoders or devices)
• Transmit power: +10dBm
• Analyze
• Visualize the frequency used by any device using the PandwaRF built-in Spectrum Analyzer
• Directly show the maximum and average RSSI for a specific frequency band
• Technical Specs
• Bluetooth Smart Module ISP130301, based on nRF51
• CC1111 Low-Power SoC with Sub-1 GHz RF Transceiver
• Multi frequencies (from 300 MHz to 928 MHz)
• Multi modulation (ASK/OOK/MSK/2-FSK/GFSK)
• Transmit and receive in half duplex mode
• Support data rates up to 500 kBaud
• Open hardware
• Full speed USB: 12 Mbps (Linux or Android)
• Bluetooth Smart 4.0 (Android/iOS)
• USB charging & battery powered
• 4 buttons to assign codes
• 4 Status LEDs
• 16 Mbit Flash Memory to save custom RF protocols
• Rechargeable battery powered for stand-alone operation
• Battery fuel gauge
• RX amplifier for improved sensitivity: +13dB from 300MHz-1GHz
• TX amplifier for higher output power: +20dB @ 433MHz & +17dB @ 900MHz
• SMA connector for external antenna
• Antenna port power control for external LNA
• 22-pin expansion and programming header
• Included: Battery and injection molded plastic enclosure

 More information - https://www.tindie.com/products/comthings/pandwarf-rf-analysis-tool

Successful Radio Symposium Supported by Harvard Wireless Club

The symposium, which took place on 29 April 2017, featured speakers from the University and elsewhere, including appearances by W1AF’s incoming president Ben Lee, K7JS, and the club’s outgoing president Douglas Maggs, KK4UHK. Both men were joined by Yale University Amateur Radio Club (W1YU) President Scott Matheson, N3NFP; First Vice President James Surprenant, AB1DQ, and past president Martin Ewing, AA6E, in recounting the distinguished histories of these two collegiate Amateur Radio clubs.

Flavio Jorge, CT7AQK, of the University of Aveiro, discussed microwave propagation for space systems in his presentation, “Knocking down walls, changing mentalities and breaking rules — a case study on radiowave propagation for space systems.”

Emeritus professor of electrical engineering Paul Horowitz, W1HFA, delivered a thoroughly enjoyable presentation and discussion of the ultimate DX — monitoring the universe in a search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Matheson and Ewing participated in a roundtable forum, “Youth in Amateur Radio.”

That group was joined later via Skype by Martin Atherton, G3ZAY, the master of Cambridge University’s G6UW and two of his student colleagues. Vasiljie Perovic, M0HZC, spoke on   “Extremely Low-Frequency meteor detection,” while William Eustace, M0WJE, discussed “LoRa spread spectrum radio.”

Others taking part were Daniela Marcelino, CR7AQM, and Micael Rebelo, CR7AQL, of the University of Aveiro, and Nicolas Weninger, KC1GLI, and Saahil Mehta, KG5HEW, both of Harvard.

Also on hand was ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, who presented a progress report from League Headquarters and emphasised the need to welcome new hams into the Amateur Radio community. Attorney Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, shared some of his career highlights in his talk, “Ham radio pays my mortgage and other thoughts.” Hopengarten is the author of the book Antenna Zoning for the Radio Amateur.

“The Harvard Wireless Club made a strong showing on Saturday. They combined excellent material with a fast-paced program that never bogged down — from Professor Paul Horowitz’s description of chasing DX across the universe to live transatlantic conversations with Cambridge University’s radio club members.”

— ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF

Attendee George Allison, K1IG, summed up the proceedings this way: “A full day with no fluff...accomplished and proficient speakers…absorbing and enlightening…wholehearted League support...and all-you-can-eat free ice cream is always a winner!”

Last fall, ARRL announced its Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI) to assist college and university ham radio clubs in collaborating and networking. The community has grown rapidly since then, with membership in the Facebook CARI group growing fivefold to nearly 500 individuals.

Harvard Amateur Radio Symposium (YouTube) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr2sUtDldXI