Leap into action and nominate your favorite open source software

Leap into action and nominate your favorite ham radio open source software for the Amateur Radio Software Award!

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Nominations for the 2024 awards must be submitted by February 29, 2024. Please use the awards nominations form to submit your nominations. The award rules and the faq are good resources to ensure your nominations are eligible and may answer any questions you have.

The Amatuer Radio Software Award is in its fifth year. Past recipients were Anthony Good (K3NG) for Arduino CW Keyer, Jordan Sherer (KN4CRD) for JS8Call, David Rowe (VK5DGR) for Codec 2, and Stephen Loomis N0TTL and the GridTracker team for GridTracker. Checkout the Award Recipients page for more details about the past recipients.

The Amateur Radio Software Award is an annual international award for the recognition of software projects that enhance amateur radio. The award aims to promote amateur radio software development which adheres to the same spirit as amateur radio itself: innovative, free and open.

 

YT8CN FT8 software.
Portable - works on a smartphone, many folk have a spare old one hanging around. Can use audio cable or just mic and speaker.
Cost to implement can be zero!

 

I've looked very hard, but I see nothing in Part 97 which relates to a "spirit of innovation, free and open".

In fact, I see a lot of INDIVIDUALS who bootstrap themselves and are rewarded by benefiting others. That is NOT 'free'.

Open source is fine and certainly has its place in amateur radio. I am delighted that this award exists and am also happy to see it publicized.

But please-- when an INDIVIDUAL moves forward in a "free market" but not "free" system, don't imply they are OUTSIDE the spirit of amateur radio.

Frankly, that's distasteful, much as saying 'open source has no place in ham radio'-that would be equally distasteful. And both comments would be factually wrong.

Wishing you the best,
Chip W1YW

 

Hams are inherently cheap... Kind of like welfare dependent.
With that said... One can always Homebrew their entire station... Use no software and just use HOMEMADE HARDWARE... Free and OPEN.

 

As usual, Chip has to be a wet blanket because he's totally consumed by the selfish patent system, and can't conceive of mutually beneficial collaboration from sharing as exemplified by open source.

 

Homebrew includes but is not synonymous with 'open source'. Homebrew means you made it and didn't buy it already made.

Open source means 'no one controls, no one owns'. Homebrew almost always invokes technology which is public domain, usually off patent. Obviously all PATENTED technology falls into the public domain after a generation.

When you combine the word innovation, as above in the OP, you are talking something 'new'. You might have used 'homebrew' to get there, but its up to the creator--the inventor,the innovator-- to give away or control.

There is a gross misconception that many hams have with Part 97 and has to do with the phrase 'not for pecuniary interest'. That doesn't refer to making something new. It refers specifically and is limited only to asserting that Part 97 licensees will not be PAID nor COMPENSATED for TRANSMITTING.

The FCC fully recognizes us as enhancers of 'the radio art' but makes no assertion nor inference that it is 'open source' for us to manifest it. Nor needs to be.

73
Chip W1YW

 

Sad Hams are the bane of the amateur radio community. Bloviating to no end about what's important to them and never missing the opportunity to poison the well for others.

 

Is there anything hams won't argue about?

 

Ask Charlotte. She's definitively bloviated. AND blueviated too!

 

And it just doesn't stop.
This thread is practically poisoned. I feel terrible for the OP.

 

I run Slackware nuff said

 

That demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of open source. That is not what it means. Open source software is owned by the creator(s) and is under copyright, and is released under license such as the GNU Public License or a variety of other licenses. The license on opensource is intended to make sure the source remains free (as in freedom) to all, even if modified by others. This open use of copyright is often called copyleft.

 

Ok, back on topic

I'll nominate gpredict again.

 

I just nominated OpenGD77. It took my incredibly frustrating TYT MD-UV390 and turned it into a lean, mean DMR machine.