August 07, 2016

New Digital Voice Ham Radio Smartphone

August 07, 2016/ Colin Butler

Announced at HamRadio Friedrichshafen in 2016, the Austrian Amateur Radio Society (ÖVSV) backed smartphone is gathering pace.

Prototypes of the “NGRadio” device have appeared in Funk Amateur”, along with discussions and images on forums such as Reddit.

The information available suggests a development model catering for D-Star, DMT, YSF, TRBO, Codec2 and APRS is being tested.

Reddit Discussion - https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/4toef9/
this_is_a_real_working_initial_run_unit_of_a/

Imgur picture - http://imgur.com/r/amateurradio/5qarXDT

June 12, 2016

FCC Bans Custom Firmware

June 12, 2016/ Colin Butler

Following on from the FCC’s revised rules on radio-based equipment, Chinese company TP-Link have disabled a feature from their Wi-Fi routers.

The feature to allow the owner of a TP-Link router to install customised firmware has been made illegal in the United States by the FCC.

“Devices sold in the United States will have firmware and wireless settings that ensure compliance with local laws and regulations related to transmission power. As a result of these necessary changes, users are not able to flash the current generation of open-source, third-party firmware.”

— TP-Link

The issue has arisen because the FCC's job is to make sure devices only operate on the radio frequencies they are licensed to use. Equipment, such as home wireless routers, that can be reprogrammed by their owners can be potentially configured to operate on unauthorized frequencies, which is a major issue for the FCC.

The Register - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/11/tplink_kills_plan_for_open_routers/