In newbie radio circles, just about no single piece of devices serves as more of a magnet for controversy than the humble Baofeng handheld transceiver. It is easy to understand — the radio is a shining instance of price engineering, with just adequate sections to its task although remaining just on the edge of FCC procedures. And at about $25 a pop, the radios are affordable plenty of that experimentation is practically a need of possession.
But stripped down as the Baofeng may perhaps be, it holds strategies inside of that are even more tempting to perform with than the radio alone. And who greater than [HB9BLA], a person who has a suspiciously common Swiss accent, to guidebook us by the RF module at the heart of the Baofeng, the SA818. For about $8 you can get 1 of these minimal marvels off AliExpress and have virtually all the critical parts of a VHF or UHF radio — an SDR transceiver, a energy amp, and all the glue logic to make it function.
In the video clip down below, [Andreas] places the SA818 module by way of its paces with the enable of a board that pairs the module with a number of components, like an audio amp and a lower-move RF filter. With a Raspberry Pi and a Python library to manage the module, it is a decent imitation of the functionality of a Baofeng. But that’s only the commencing. By introducing a USB seem card to the Pi, the setup was able to get into just about every ham’s favourite packet radio technique, APRS. There are a ton of other purposes for the SA818 modules, some of which [Andreas] mentions at the end of the movie. Pocket-sized repeaters, a ridiculously tiny EchoLink hotspot, and even an AllStar node in an Altoids tin.
Of study course, if you want to get in on the fun, you’re going to require an newbie radio license. Don’t stress, it is straightforward — we’ll assistance you get there.
