This is our place on the Internet.
Something I have been interested in for a long time. The more we use RF for data and voice, this technique becomes more effective.
Here are a few links that may be of interest to others.
http://www.google.com/patents/US3218642
http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/21074/1/Very_small,_light_dipole_harmonic.pdf
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.20.9185&rep=rep1&type=pdf
I have a Iphone and have been loading Ham applications onto it… Below is a list of some of them.
UPDATE
EchoLink is finally available for the iPhone and iPod touch. It even allows me to use my Bluetooth car kit to have a QSO.
HAM’s who use EchoLink on the PC and Mac will appreciate the value of this on the iPhone.
This is something which could be useful going into fire season here in South Australia. It is a feed from the SA government trunk radio network.
I will see if there are more feeds like this that also include the regional and remote area trunks. This sounds like the Adelaide CBD feed.
http://audio4.radioreference.com:80/890591256
Hear the GRN live here:
The links came from http://www.sascan.net.au/?page=onlineScanners
The SA Government Radio Network also has a paging service. http://www.sascan.net.au/?page=grnPaging or http://paging1.sacfs.org/public.php
Find the full list of live audio here.
Some related interesting links from the SA SCAN site.
South Australian Emergency Services South Australian Police (SAPOL) South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) South Australian State Emergency Service (SES)
Scanning Resources Aurfscan.com – Australian scanning forum Sasruf.net – South Australian scanning forum Ausfreq.com – Wireless communications monitoring enthusiasts group VicScan.org Lake Macquarie (NSW) Scanning ACMA Online Frequency Search Australia Sydney Scan Radioreference.com The Strong Signals Homepage Digital Modes Audio Samples Butel Scanning Software
Citizen Band (CB) Radio Australian Citizen Radio Monitors (ACRM) Australian Association of Citizen Band Radio Operators UHF World – Repeater List CBDomain.com – Australia’s #1 Radio Hobby Website
Radio Equipment AJK Communications Please support SA Scan by making a donation on their PayPal link
Other South Australian Online scanners Adelaide Scan – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Adelaide metro area – may need Winamp to run Scan Adelaide – Online scanner covering emergency services and Transport S.A. in the Adelaide metro area. Barossa Scan – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Barossa Valley SAGRNÂ Scan – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Adelaide area and northern suburbs SAGRN Paging Feed 1 – Online SAGRN paging feed Adelaide Airport – Online feed covering all the airband frequencies used at Adelaide Airport (YPAD)
Other Australian Online scanners Dubbo Scan – Online scanner with display covering emergency services in the Dubbo area Sydney Scan – Online scanner covering the Campbelltown / Sydney area Scan Northern NSW – Online scanner with display covering emergency services in the Tweed Heads area Scan South Coast NSW – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Bega area NSW Online Scanner – Unsure where this one is located, monitors emergency services in rural NSW Scan ACT – Online scanner with display covering emergency services in the Canberra area Melbourne Online Scanner – Online scanner with display covering emergency services in the Melbourne area Victoria CFA Online Scanners – Multiple online scanners covering various parts of Victoria Bendigo Online Scanner – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Bendigo area Brisbane Scanner – Online scanner monitoring the Police in the Brisbane and Gold Coast areas Mareeba Scanner – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Mareeba area (near Cairns), may not be online 24/7 Cairns Online Scanner – Online scanner covering emergency services in the Cairns area, may not be online 24/7
To listen to a feed using the online player, choose a feed in the playlist in the above player. To listen using other methods such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, or Winamp, choose your player selection and click the speaker icon to start listening. Premium Subscribers can set their default external medial player format on their MyRR Personalization Page. Feed archives can be found by clicking the additional feed details icon 
for each feed.
| Listen | Feed | Genre | Listeners | Player Selection | Links | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  South Australian Emergency Services Fire, Ambulance, Rescue, Marine | Public Safety | 7 |  | Online |
I thought this was cool. It may come in handy for Ham Radio.
I recently downloaded the IC2820 V19a channel mapping for the ICOM 2820 from IC2820_VK5RWN_C_V19a.icf.
After uploading the file to the radio I discovered that many of the simplex channels I previously used on my IC2820 were now gone (not surprising). Lucky I copied the original radio config to a new .icf file before I uploaded the new one.
One frustrating thing I did discovered with the 2820 cloning software is that the EXPORT function appears to only export the stations heard by the radio to CSV and no the full radio configuration. A full copy of the config can only be stored in the native .icf file format, which is full of numbers (looks like memory contents). So manually editing the config file was out of the question.
eg.
00001008C2169C000927C0564B32524453414C
001010564B3552574E2043564B3552574E2047
0020107220208101090000564B325244532041
00301008C2169C000927C0564B32524453434C
For those who have played with the software (CS-2820), you may have noticed that you can only spawn one instance. So copying the frequencies from my old config to the new config (the above link plus my original mapping) was not going to be as easy as I thought i.e export both and combine in notepad or excel.
I discovered that it is possible to highlight and copy multiple lines in the channel map (only in the application copy buffer, not in the windows clipboard – can’t copy it to excel or notepad). Once you have copied the lines you want from the original config select ‘File – Open’ from the menu and open the new config (in my case the above file – renamed). If the application has not been closed it is possible to place the cursor where you want to add the channels from the old config and select paste (control v) and the copied rows will then be placed into the new config.
I originally based my simplex frequencies (2m and 70cm) on the AREG frequencies in the modified ham Motorola Syntrx radios located on the AREG website.
 | VK5 – 2M Syntrx Frequency Plan – Issued 22/11/2005 |
| VK5 – 70cm Syntrx Frequency Plan – Issued 22/11/2005 |
The new updated file containing the new D-Star mapping, supplemented by my slightly modified AREG simplex channels can be located here.
Here is a screen print.
CS-2820 copy screen print
This is the .icf file converted to a .xls (csv to xls – from excel). The conversion can be done with CHIRP.
The Freq and channel file: 2820h
I hope this information helps someone.
This is an article I found on the Phone Losers site I thought I would copy here so I can give it a go at some stage.
A few years back, some friends and I were messing around with a Taco Bell’s drive-thru frequencies. RijilV and isotek showed me how easy it was to hijack the frequencies of just about any fast food restaurant with a very simple mod to a ham radio. The radios they used were Yaesu VX-5 and VX-7 models. We had a few weeks of occasional fun, sitting a few parking lots away and saying all kinds of horrible things to potential fast food customers. For the most part, I didn’t record any of it. But you can find a few clips of our fast food hijinks if you scroll down on the PLA Sound Clips Archive page.
Finally we decided to capture a bit of our FCC violations on video. But instead of capturing actual customers being harassed by us as they placed an order, I drove through the Taco Bell drive-thru myself with a video camera sitting on the dashboard. As I attempted to place my order, RijilV informed me of some crazy new Taco Bell policies and a manager immediately rushed out to explain to me that I wasn’t actually talking to an employee. Here is that video:
After spending several years on Google Video and YouTube, it’s been watched approximately 20,000 times. And of those 20,000 people who have viewed it, approximately all of them have emailed me and asked me what kind of radio we used and how can they use a radio to do the same thing. So in the spirit of April 1st and in order to quell the number of emails sent to me and posts on the PLA Forums asking the same thing, I’ve decided to write this tutorial to help those people out.
But I’m not going to explain how to modify a Yaesu VX5 or a Yaesu VX7. A simple Google search will show you how to modify these ham radios. The problem with these mods is that, even though they’re fairly simple, you have to buy the radios which could cost you anywhere from $200 – $400. Then, after removing a couple solder points, you have to learn how to use it, you have to look up fast food frequency lists, you have to understand the difference between the transmit frequencies and the receive frequencies and you have to scroll through PL tones using trial and error to find the correct one.
Or how about we do this a different way. A way that uses a couple items that you might already have in your home. You can easily modify most old CB radios in a way that will allow them to transmit directly to drive-thru frequencies. You won’t have to scroll through hundreds of possible drive-thru frequencies, because a CB radio’s channels line up in exactly the same way as most drive-thru’s channels, only at a higher frequency. How do you get your CB radio to run at a higher frequency? A simple replacement of the crystal inside, with a 6.5536 MHz crystal. This triples the megahertz that are broadcast on and there is no learning required. You just take the modified CB radio to a fast food restaurant and start broadcasting to the customers.
“But RBCP, I don’t have a 6.5536 MHz crystal lying around my house,†you might be whining at this point. But this isn’t true. Just about any house has several 6.5536 MHz crystals in them if you know where to look. This just happens to be the exact same crystal that you can find in electric heaters, hair dryers, electric stoves, curling irons, electric hot water heaters, irons, and toasters. These crystals are in just about any item that has heated coils and are used to control the frequency of the heating elements so that they don’t burn your house down.
So for this modification you need…
Even if you have to buy all these materials, you’re only out $30. That’s a lot better than the $300 you might end up spending on a Yaesu radio. And some of you might already have all these items so you don’t have to pay anything. Ask a friend or a relative if they’ve got an old toaster or CB radio lying around that they don’t need.
First you’ll want to take apart your toaster. This isn’t too hard. Just flip it upside down and start removing the screws. You’ll probably need to pull off the plastic lever and knobs before you remove the top of the toaster. Once you have the top off, you’ll see a green or brown circuit board inside.
Flip the circuit board down and you’ll see all the components on the other side, including the 6.5536 MHz crystal. The crystal is silver and will have 6.5 stamped on the side of it. In the picture below, I’ve used an arrow to show you where it’s located.
The crystal is likely in a different spot in other toasters, but it’s hard to mistake for any other electronic component. The crystal will have some form of 6.5 stamped on the side of it. In my toaster, it showed 6.55-12. While the official frequency needed is 6.5536 MHz, anything within 1.6 megahertz will work. So don’t worry if your crystal just says 6.5 or 6.50 – it’s all the same for our purposes.
It’s kind of hard to see what I’m doing in the picture above, but I’m heating up the leads on the crystal from underneath with my soldering iron to melt the solder, and I’m pulling on the crystal from above with a pair of needle nose pliers. It only takes a few seconds to get the crystal out of the toaster.
Now that the crystal is out of your toaster, throw your toaster away! Do not attempt to use it once the crystal is removed. Remember, the crystal is in there for safety and using your toaster without the crystal could burn your toast and/or start a kitchen fire. It’s likely your toaster won’t even turn on with the missing crystal, but please don’t even try. Just throw it away.
As I mentioned before, just about any brand and model of CB radio will work, as long as it has the digital display on it. Which means, just about any CB radio manufactured after the mid 1980’s. These are the kinds of CB radios whose frequencies are controlled by a single crystal inside of them. For my mod, I used a Radio Shack TRC-207 walkie talkie CB radio, which is pictured above. I prefer using a walkie talkie CB radio because it doesn’t requiring sticking a huge CB antenna on the roof of my car which might be noticed if a fast food employee starts looking around the parking lot for the culprits.
Taking apart your CB radio is just as easy as taking apart the toaster. Remove the screws and pop it open. You may or may not have to lift up the circuit board inside to find the crystal inside. In my particular model, the crystal actually plugged into a socket so I didn’t need to even desolder the old crystal. I just pulled it out with my fingers and then plugged in the new 6.55 MHz crystal. I don’t know how common this is, because in other CB radios that I’ve modified the crystal was soldered to the circuit board, just like in the toaster.
Put your CB back together and test it to make sure it’s working. You’re finished! Obviously, you won’t be able to talk on normal CB channels anymore since your CB is transmitting and receiving at a much higher frequency now. But who cares, CB channels are lame anyway. Let’s hop in the car and drive to our nearest fast food establishment to test it out.
Sit near the drive-thru and wait for a customer to pull up. While the customer is talking to the drive-thru speaker, start flipping through your channels until you hear them talking. I’ve found that most drive thrus end up being somewhere in the 16 – 25 channel range. I’ve never found one above channel 30 and only a few on channels 1 through 15. It all depends on how their drive-thru is set up and what frequencies they’re using. Anyway, push down your talk button and start talking to the customer.
The cool thing about using a CB radio to transmit on drive-thru frequencies is that a CB is designed to work for several miles. The headsets that those fast food people wear are only designed to work for about 100 feet. So you can easily overpower the employees, even if you’re several parking lots away. In fact, you may be inadvertently screwing with several other drive-thrus in town without even knowing it. This is more likely when you’re using the kind of CB radio that’s supposed to be installed in a car. Those usually run on 5 watts and can cover an entire city. This is another reason I like to use my walkie talkie. It’s lucky if it will work for even a mile, so I’m only harassing one restaurant at a time.
If you found this tutorial useful, you might also enjoy the video I’ve made on the same subject. It includes much of the same information in this tutorial, but also includes actual footage of us messing with a drive-thru with this CB mod. Enjoy!
You might also enjoy our original Taco Bell Takeover video, our Happy Birthday drive-thru video and our Drive-Thru Shenanigans video.
PLA TV: Hijacking Fast Food Frequencies [9:12m]: Download (4913)
Local Copy
Something I have been very wary about for some year had begun to be better understood over the last few years.
I remember a doctor from an Adelaide hospital who presented at an IEEE meeting saying “on the record there hasn’t been enough research performed to prove that electromagnetic radiation causes cancer, but off the record I have seen enough cases where I am convinces it does”.
This simple statement and other examples provided during the presentation really drove home that we must be wary and respectful when using an existing near electromagnetic emitting devices.
This article came from the local South Australia Amature Radio Experimentes Group Website – Thanks for allthe great work. See link http://www.areg.org.au/info/radhaz/radhaz.html
General Background Information
The question of Radhaz has to be considered when you are constructing an Amateur Radio station that will operate near members of the general public as well as your self.
The responsibility for ensuring that the operation of an Amateur Radio transmitting station is operating with in the ARPANSA and ACMA guidelines is souly the responsibility of the amateur radio operator in control of the radio transmitter.
As the standard for Radiation Protection Standard for Maximum Exposure Levels to Radiofrequency Fields – 3 kHz to 300 GHz changes from time to time. The information on this web site will become out of date. AREG accepts no responsibility for the information presented on this page, the relative orginsations should be consolted for the latest up to date information.
For complete appraisal of your situation, you should consult one of the many orginsations that are NATA certified.
As of March 1st 2003, the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) introduced new limits for human exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) covering all mobile transmitters such as remote controlled toys, walkie-talkies and hand held two-way radios as well as radio communications installations such as broadcast towers and amateur radio stations.
Under the new regulations, mandatory limits are set by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and people who hold a licence for a radiocommunications facility will have to comply, and in certain cases, hold records demonstrating compliance with the limits.
For a complete details on the ARPANSA standard, please refer to the link below and the ARPANSA web site.
maximum-exposure-levels-to-radiofrequency-fields
The RPS No:3 Standard is known as, Radiation Protection Standard for Maximum Exposure Levels to Radiofrequency Fields — 3 kHz to 300 GHz (2002).
This Standard specifies limits of human exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields in the frequency range 3 kHz to 300 GHz, to prevent adverse health effects. These limits are defined in terms of basic restrictions for exposure of all or a part of the human body. Relevant derived reference levels are also provided as a practical means of showing compliance with the basic restrictions. In particular, this Standard specifies the following:
(a) Basic restrictions for occupational exposure with corresponding derived reference levels as a function of frequency.
(b) Basic restrictions for general public exposure, with corresponding derived reference levels as a function of frequency.
(c) Equipment and usage parameters in order to assist in the determination of compliance with this Standard.
The limits specified in this Standard are intended to be used as a basis for planning work procedures, designing protective facilities, the assessment of the efficacy of protective measures and practices, and guidance on health surveillance
IDEAS page is all about putting up design and other general ideas. These may include part circuits or drawings of things that we have thought other people may be interested in. In general don’t expect a complete package, as this page is only meant to give you some ideas on what we have done. So you can further your own experimentation.
An international standard for proximity or contactless smart card communication
ISO 14443 contactless card
ISO 14443 is an international standard which describes how contactless cards and terminals should work to ensure industry-wide compatibility, for example in identity, security, payment, mass-transit and access control applications.
ISO standards are developed by the ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. Technical committees comprising experts from the industrial, technical and business sectors develop the standards to increase levels of quality, reliability and interoperability on a global scale.
Gemplus has always had a strong involvement in ISO definition of the chip card standards, and has been represented in the development of this international standard. The ISO 14443 is divided into 4 separate parts outlining physical characteristics, radio frequency power and signal interface, initialization and anti-collision and transmission protocol.
Gemplus has developed a wide range of contactless payment solutions based on the ISO 14443 international standard. The speed and convenience of contactless technology has created a significant demand for this sort of solution in environments such as fast food restaurants, gas stations, public transport services, banks and many others.