Hungry for Ham?

By admin, September 30, 2016

I just built first units of a prototype custom USB peripheral for an amateur radio enthusiast (ham)…

I created a prototype PC board to combine a USB hub with multiple USB computer peripherals to yield one compact package to handle audio processing and serial communications. The idea is that this board will be used–primarily under Linux–to connect a ham radio transceiver to a PC for DXing or “contesting”. I built first boards on my rework station to avoid the considerable setup costs of having a CM (contract manufacturer) build first items.

I found an enclosure that should provide a pretty neat and professional looking package for this product. I expect we will make some refinements, then it may enter production or the public domain.

While I let my radio license lapse, I have a number of friends quite active in the hobby. I know a moderate amount about radio communications and am always interested in talking to enthusiasts about creating custom hardware and firmware solutions for the hobby.