http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/10/02/10371/?nc=1
ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference: "Pretty Interesting!"
The main presentation room at the 2008 ARRL/TAPR DCC provided ample seating and
tables, as well as power supplies, for laptops. [Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, Photo]
Kermit Carlson, W9XA (left), and Rick Muething, KN6KB, go over the final
arrangements just before Muething's presentation on audio/visual equipment.
Carlson coordinated the a/v for the DCC. [Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, Photo]
Almost 150 aficionados of digital communications came to Chicago for the 27th
annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC) the weekend of
September 26-28. This conference is an international forum for radio amateurs
to meet, publish their work and present new ideas and techniques. Presenters
and attendees had the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about recent
hardware and software advances, theories, experimental results, and practical
applications. Not only was the conference technically stimulating, it was a
weekend of fun for all who have more than a casual interest in any aspect of
amateur digital electronics and communications; introductory sessions were
scheduled throughout the conference to introduce new technical topics for both
beginners and experts.
One of the attendees was QEX Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, representing the
ARRL. He gave a talk "Writing for Publication - It's Not Rocket Science (Even
if You Are Writing About Rocket Science!)." Retired ARRL Chief Technology
Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, also represented the League, speaking on "SDR
Outlook." Central Division Vice Director Howard Huntington, K9KM was present,
as was ARRL Contributing Editor H. Ward Silver, N0AX.
Wolfgang gave his presentation on Friday morning and said he talked with many
participants throughout the conference who told him that he had them enthused
about writing something for QEX. "It also seemed like almost everyone there was
making a point to stop me in the hallways or at mealtimes to tell me how much
they are enjoying QEX, and to thank me for the effort I putting into the
magazine," he said.
Friday was a full day of technical presentations, including "A Protocol for
Multicast Weather Data Distribution over AX25," by Nick Luther, K9NL;
"SuitSat-2 Update," by Steve Bible, N7HPR; "EcomScs and GateWayScs AX25 Packet
Radio E-Mail," by John Blowsky, KB2SCS, and "Frequency and Other New
Initiatives in APRS," by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR. The last presentation of the
afternoon was "D-STAR Uncovered," by Peter Loveall, AE5PL.
The DCC provided a separate demonstration room for participants to bring and
show off their latest projects. Participants were encouraged to bring their own
equipment and display for all to see and learn. Wolfgang said he had some "play
time" in this room after all the presentations on Friday. After dinner that
evening, he said there was "a string of D-STAR presentations starting at 7 PM
and lasting until after 10 PM. These were all very interesting presentations,
including the D-RATS messaging software by Dan Smith, KK7DS. Peter Loveall,
AE5PL, presented "D-PRS Update" about ways the D-STAR data links can be used to
send and plot APRS position maps or interface to the APRS system. Robin
Cutshaw, AA4RC, gave a presentation about DV-Dongle, a PC add-on that allows
connection to D-STAR repeaters around the world through your PC and an Internet
connection. Pretty interesting!"
In addition to the main technical presentations on Saturday, there was also a
full day of introductory sessions, mostly about digital voice and D-STAR.
Also on Saturday, Matt Etttus, N2MJI, gave a report on the Ettus Research
USRP2. Tom Clark, K3IO, gave an "AMSAT Update." Paul Wiedemeier, KE5LKY,
presented his paper on "Using UDPcast to IP Multicast Data over Packet Radio."
Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, gave his "SDR Outlook" that covered the international
regulatory front and presented some of the concerns that some world governments
have with regard to the flexibility of SDR. Scott Cowling, WA2DFI, gave an
"HPSDR (High Performance Software Defined Radio) Update" during which he
described the various circuit boards that make up the HPSDR project. He also
demonstrated a complete working radio in the demo room. Jerry Shirar, N9XR,
presented a paper called "Clocking the Data," concerning the use of an inverter
and a crystal to form a Colpitts oscillator.
Victor Poor, W5SMM, gave an update on Winlink 2000. "He reported that there is
one Web site, five Common Message Server sites around the world, 150 Radio
Message Service Pactor Gateway sites, 800 RMS Packet Gateway sites and over
13,000 registered users," Wolfgang said. "He also mentioned that inactive users
are purged from the system from time to time."
Rick Muething, KN6KB, described his "WINMOR Soundcard ARQ Mode for Winlink HF
Digital Messaging." Wolfgang said that this was a much anticipated
presentation: "Rick reported that WINMOR is 3 to 4 months from beta testing.
His preliminary comparisons to Pactor 1, 2 and 3 use a simulator. He indicates
that WINMOR will have better throughput than Pactor 1 and comparable to, or
perhaps a bit better than Pactor 2, but not quite as good as Pactor 3. He
indicated that the efficiency is within about 70 percent of Pactor ARQ."
The TAPR Annual Meeting was held after all the presentations on Saturday where
the Board of Directors discussed the idea of coming back to the same hotel for
next year's DCC. "The local group that supported DCC this year, including Mark
Thompson, WB9QZB, and Kermit Carlson, W9XA, did a great job of providing AV
support," Wolfgang said. "Ron Steinberg, K9IKZ, who owns a local audio/visual
company, provided two large projection screens and projectors, so every
presentation was shown on both sides of the room, as well as on a widescreen TV
outside the room. The audio was very easy to hear, even if you were in the hall
outside the room or in the demonstration room; the set-up was left there from
the W9DXCC Convention the previous weekend. They offered to provide the same
support for next year, if the DCC returned. So, the decision was made to break
with tradition, and return to Chicago next year, September 25-27."
Phil Harman, VK6APH, presented the Sunday morning seminar, "Software Defined
Radio Through the Looking Glass." Wolfgang said he found Harman's presentation
to be understandable "at my level of knowledge, and he gave a lot of good
insight into many of the design decisions that went into the High Performance
Software Defined Radio Project. I found his descriptions of how the hardware
and software work to be very interesting. The four hours went by quickly."
For more information on the 2008 Digital Communications Conference, please
visit TAPR's DCC Web page.
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