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Recently, I asked a question about using an Arduino to send packet radio. I noticed that the top record speed for packet radio is 1 megabit/second, on a modified radio. Someone mention on stack overflow that the normal speed is around 120 kilobits/second! So is there an alternative to packet radio for sending digital bits over ham?

Jim MacKenzie VE5EV
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itisyeetimetoday
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  • Which amateur band(s) do you want to use? The allowable data rate depends on the band and/or the laws of the country you reside in. – Mike Waters Jul 10 '18 at 18:47
  • You are asking multiple questions. The ones about Linux and Virtualbox might be better asked on another SE site, so I have deleted that portion to clarify your question. – Mike Waters Jul 10 '18 at 18:54
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    @MikeWaters and the laws OP is under – so, this boils down to national law. – Marcus Müller Jul 10 '18 at 19:55
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    @MikeWaters That highly depends on country. Here in Canada, the data rate isn't defined; you can use the allowed frequency bandwidth any way you wish. There will be practical data rate limits based on that bandwidth allowance, but there is not an absolute declared maximum as, for example, the US imposes. – Jim MacKenzie VE5EV Jul 10 '18 at 22:38
  • @MarcusMüller Thanks, I've edited my comment to reflect that. Assuming there's no bandwidth limitation, *is* there a faster mode than packet? That's what he asked. – Mike Waters Jul 10 '18 at 23:16
  • @JimMacKenzieVE5EV I believe that the OP is in Canada. – Mike Waters Jul 10 '18 at 23:18
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    @MarcusMüller Yes, I wanted to know an alternative to packet radio that is faster. If it was slower and had no other benefits, it would be useless. – itisyeetimetoday Jul 11 '18 at 00:59
  • So, as you can imagine, there is (and one can invent) a lot of alternatives to APRS (which is the system most hams mean when they say "packet radio") that are faster. (APRS, the whole AX.25 packet format, and a lot of technical parameter choices there are really... unfortunate, if you ask me. There would've been a lot of opportunity to make the system better) – Marcus Müller Jul 11 '18 at 06:51
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    but: all these are made for a specific purpose. Can you elaborate on what you want to *do* in the end? What kind of data, to which end, do you want to transmit. – Marcus Müller Jul 11 '18 at 07:12
  • @MarcusMüller I may risk being pedantic, but APRS is simply packet radio used for a specific purpose (telemetry) in a specific way. But that doesn't change your point. – Jim MacKenzie VE5EV Jul 11 '18 at 14:32
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    @JimMacKenzieVE5EV you're not being pedantic, I just gave an incorrect definition :) – Marcus Müller Jul 11 '18 at 14:39

1 Answers1

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In absence of a clear indication of what Amateur Radio band is being targeted here, an answer for the 13 cm band:

You can use 802.11g/OFDM with a 20MHz bandwidth on 2400-2450 MHz Amateur band. You could even modify existing/consumer Wifi equipment to do so.

This would give you a (theoretical) 54 Mbits/sec throughput.

Obviously you need to check that you are licensed to do so, and I would advise you to check the bandplans as well.

There are 3 regions with different bandplans, here

From the 3 regions only Region-2 details the following footnote:

Broadband applications can be used in 2410 – 2450 MHz with the maximum CW of 22 MHz. The broadband applications should not cause interference on satellites communications

*) I believe the bandplan contains a typo. I seriously believe that where "CW" is mentioned in this footnote, it should read "BW" indicating Bandwidth.

Region-1 bandplan does not list such footnote, and Region-3 does not list anything above 1300 MHz. If you are located in those regions I would advise to consult with your regulatory body.

Edwin van Mierlo
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