7 articles tagged with "hobby"
Forget traditional coding - I built FM radio receivers, spectrum analyzers, and custom signal processors by connecting visual blocks like LEGO! GNU Radio Companion turned me into an RF engineer without writing a single line of DSP code. Then I dove into Python and the rabbit hole got DEEP!
I thought programming radio signals required years of signal processing knowledge and complex C++ code. Then I discovered GNU Radio Companion - a visual drag-and-drop tool where you build signal processing pipelines like LEGO blocks. I decoded FM radio in 5 minutes without writing a single line of code!
I thought radio was just voices and music. Then I discovered digital modes - computers talking to each other through electromagnetic waves! PSK31, FT8, RTTY... it's like finding encrypted network packets in the air. Here's how I decoded my first digital signal and fell into the rabbit hole!
I thought antennas were just metal sticks. Then I learned they're actually resonant electromagnetic wave catchers tuned to specific frequencies using PHYSICS and MATH. Mind blown! Here's antenna theory explained for software developers who want to build better RF projects.
I passed my Ham Radio exam and unlocked a whole new world of RF experimentation, digital modes, and legal transmission! From SDR hobbyist to licensed operator - here's why software developers make amazing hams and how to get started with amateur radio.
Ever wonder how your car radio knows the song name and artist? I decoded RDS (Radio Data System) with my SDR and learned how FM radio actually works. Then I built a tiny transmitter and became my own radio station!
I plugged a $20 USB dongle into my laptop and suddenly could see aircraft positions, decode weather satellites, listen to police scanners, and explore the entire radio spectrum. Welcome to Software Defined Radio - where hardware becomes code!