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https://github.com/kyleterry/awesome-radio

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https://github.com/kyleterry/awesome-radio

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# Awesome Radio [![Awesome](https://cdn.rawgit.com/sindresorhus/awesome/d7305f38d29fed78fa85652e3a63e154dd8e8829/media/badge.svg)](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome)



A curated list of awesome radio resources. Inspired by awesome-*.



I recently pulled out my CB radio and installed it in my truck. This inspired me

to create an open source repository of all the radio related resources I found

helpful and my notes on the subject.



This project is aimed at hackers who enjoy all aspects of radio communication.

While a lot of this technology isn't usable by citizens and is heavily regulated

by the FCC, just knowing anything about it is special. I've been interested in

learning the ins and outs of radio, as well as hearing stories, new and old.



## General



### Links



* [Radio (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio)

* [Radio Spectrum (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_spectrum)

* [Skywave (skip) (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skywave)

* [Mystery signal from a

  helicopter](http://www.windytan.com/2014/02/mystery-signal-from-helicopter.html)

* [Portable SDR](http://hackaday.io/project/1538-PortableSDR)

* [N0NBH's Solar-Terrestrial Data](http://www.hamqsl.com/solar2.html) - Current

solar-terrestrial data, with explanation of their influence on HF propagation

and propagation forecast.



## CB



Citizens band radio, or CB, is a two way radio spectrum dedicated to open use by

anyone for almost any purpose. In the US and many other countries, it

does not require a license to operate. CB consists of 40 channels between 26.965

MHz and 27.405 MHz with channel 09 being dedicated to emergencies.



CB is more popular among truckers and radio enthusiasts, but its usefulness

does not stop there. It's great for long distance travel on popular trucking

routes. You can tune to channel 19 (an unofficial trucker's channel) and get

real time traffic updates, alternate routes and accident warnings.



Given a good antenna that's properly tuned, a typical range to expect out of

your CB is about 2 - 5 miles (3.2 - 8 kilometers).



### General Use



I've found a lot of my information on Jeep and trucker forums. From my own

experience, it seems about half the CB transmission I hear include a handle of

some kind. I also hear a lot of swearing, so I wouldn't sweat accidentally

letting a "fuck" or a "shit" go.



CB is public. Very public. That seems like a "no shit" kind of thing, but with

the current generation pretty much only using cell phones, it's easy to forget

that using something as "primitive" as a CB radio is essentially [broadcast to

the world](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_band_radio#Working_skip).



Truckers tend to use channel 19. This is a good channel to monitor for traffic

conditions.



Channel 9 is for emergencies only. No general chatter on this channel. If you

are broke down, or your car catches fire, besides calling 911, this is a good

channel to transmit on for help.



Around Portland, I hear a lot of chatter on channels 6, 17 and 28. These are

good channels for entertaining conversation.



### SWR



[SWR](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_wave_ratio), or Standing Wave Ratio

is a measurement of efficiency when connecting your antenna to your radio.



Optimum ratio is 1:1, although you'll probably end up with 1.3:1 or so. Anything

higher than 2:1 should be considered a no-no since it can damage your radio and

give poor transmission. Read up on [how to tune

SWR](http://www.rightchannelradios.com/tuning-cb-antenna-adjusting-swr).



### Installing a mobile CB



Installing your CB right is key to A) not damaging your radio hardware and B)

getting good range and quality on both the receiving and transmitting ends.



Following the advice in the following articles will ensure you have a quality

setup.



### Links



* [Right Channel Radios](http://www.rightchannelradios.com/) - Good online shop

for parts, radios, antennas and mounts.

* [CB Slang](http://www.cbslang.com/) - mostly humorous, but kinda helpful.

* [CB Slang (wikipedia)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CB_slang)

* [CB Talk and etiquette](http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/cb-radio-etiquette-jeep-trail-1169815/)

* [Skip](http://cbradiomagazine.com/Articles/How%20to%20Shoot%20Skip.htm)

* [Silly CB Handles](http://www.somethingawful.com/news/cb-handles/)

* [CB FAQ](http://www.advancedspecialties.net/cb-radio-faq.htm)

* [Frequency Table](http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=7731)



## SDR (Software Defined Radio)



Software Defined Radio is a way to define components that are typically

hardware, such as filters and amplifiers, as software. It has been around for a

while, but with the cost of digital electronics needed to run SDR becoming

increasingly cheaper, we are seeing a rise in hacker folk playing and building

with SDR.



I would like contributors for this section.



### Links



* [Gqrx](http://gqrx.dk/)

* [sdrsharp on .NET](http://sdrsharp.com)



### Hardware

* __Recommended starter hardware__ On the low end,

  [RTL-SDR](http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr) is a super-cheap usb

  dongle, around which a thriving community has been founded.

* On the other side of the cost spectrum, [pervices](http://www.pervices.com/)

  makes some really high-throughput, PCIe devices for when you need to log all

  the traffic ever. The software and community support for this is less good,

  though (for which you can blame @outofculture).

* You can also browse through the [big

  list](https://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/gnuradio/wiki/Hardware) of all

  compatible hardware.

* Antennas are their own body of options and tradeoffs, about which I know

  nothing.



### Software

Depending on the hardware you're using, it may ship with some demo software to

play around with. This is great for just getting a chance to see some waves and

start to get an idea of what's possible. Otherwise, [GNU

Radio](https://gnuradio.org/redmine/) is going to where you'll spend your time.

It's mainly just a library, but it also has a supporting gui for combining

processing blocks that then outputs python. Once you're more comfortable, you

can also just use GNURadio to do any device tuning, setup and i/o, and then use

numpy for the signal manipulation math.



Just visualizing and manually inspecting a signal is a valuable part of learning

how to work with them. [Baudline](http://www.baudline.com/) is a janky old

thing, but it's the best there is. Be forewarned that learning the UI won't come

easily to anyone.



## Amateur Radio (a.k.a Ham Radio)



The hobby of Amateur Radio has a long and proud tradition. The very first radio

amateurs were true pioneers of radio technology. Amateurs 'invented' and refined

much of the early radio technology and were the first to transmit music, radio

plays, and information to the handful of people who had the new fangled radio

receivers.



After World War II the hobby of amateur radio flourished. Radio clubs sprang up

in schools all over the world and kids went home each night to build some new

contraption, or have a chat with someone over the wireless. These young people

became the mainstay of the technical professions and developed much of the

modern technology we use today.

([WIA](http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/about/))



[What is Ham Radio?](http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio)



### Links



* American Radio Relay League - [ARRL](http://www.arrl.org/)

* The Wireless Institute of Australia [WIA](http://www.wia.org.au/)

* Radio Society of Great Britain - [RSGB](http://rsgb.org/)

* Pakistan Amateur Radio Society - [PARS](http://www.pakhams.com/)

* [The International Amateur Radio Union](http://www.iaru.org/)

* [Japanese asteroid mission](http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-transponder-will-accompany-japanese-asteroid-mission-into-deep-space)

* [Slow-scan Television](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow-scan_television)



I would like contributors for this section.



### Amateur Radio License



* In the [US](http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed) there are three license

  classes—Technician, General and Extra.

* [The Foundation Licence](http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/about/) in

  Australia.

* [Foundation Licence]

  (http://rsgb.org/main/clubs-training/for-students/foundation/) in the UK.

* In

  [Pakistan](http://www.pakhams.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=92)

  first you apply for SWL (Short Wave Listener) membership and then you are

  eligible to [apply for the HAM

  License](http://www.pta.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=466%3Aamateur-wireless-license&catid=138%3Aguidelines&Itemid=349).



## Public Health and Safety



Police and fire in the United States typically communicate over trunked radio.

This makes it hard to scan using normal reciever without trunk tracking

abilities. See more in the [trunking](#trunking) section.



### Trunking



While not strictly specific to public health and safety, it is usually the first

thing that comes to mind when talking about trunked radio.



Trunked radio is a form of digital-two-way communication where multiple

organizations can share a small spectrum of real frequencies without hearing

another organizations conversations. A user can choose a logical channel or

group and the base station will find an empty frequency to transmit on.



### Links



* [Project 25](http://www.project25.org/)

* [Project 25 wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_25)

* [Trunked Radio wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trunked_radio_system)