Category: Raspberry Pi

Moving to VNC Connect from TeamViewer

TeamViewer Commercial Use message

Technically this isn’t directly about amateur radio although there is a sort of radio connection. As part of my involvement with the Martello Tower Group, I look after some equipment at two of our remote sites. We have a Linux server running our D-STAR repeater, a Windows 10 PC running our SSTV repeater and a […]

An updated internal and external ADS-B comparison

ADS-B receiver mounted on a rifle cleaning rod

It’s been well over a year since I moved my external ADS-B receiver to the top of my Alimast and it’s been performing very well, regularly sitting in the top five of the UK receivers according to the FlightAware statistics page and in the top ten world wide on the PlaneFinder sharers list.  A good location […]

Running my own DX Cluster again

A few years ago I set up a DXCluster using AR-Cluster on my old Mac Mini with Windows XP installed.  It ran for a long time, I had good connections into the network and although it was listed on the DX Cluster info page, nobody ever connected to me.  This was fine, the cluster was […]

Updated guide to setting up an APRS RX only iGate using a Raspberry Pi, RTL-SDR dongle and a pre-built image

Initial test of the RPi and RTL-SDR Dongle APRS RX only iGate using Raspbian Stretch

** image has been updated as of 21/04/2018 to resolve the problems some people had booting their Pi ** Note: 27/02/2022 I am no longer seeding either of the two source files via BitTorrent.  The compressed version is available via SourceForge, is not corrupted and will still work if you can decompress it. Other people may be seeding […]

Accurate time keeping on an Apple Mac or Raspberry Pi for WSPR/JT65/JT9/FT8

If you use any of the data modes for QSOs such as JT65, JT9, or FT8 or if you operate using WSPR then you’ll know how important it is that your computer clock is accurate.  Anything more than a couple of seconds out and you won’t decode anything and nobody will decode your signal. On […]

Installing a new external ADS-B receiver

External ADS-B receiver using a Raspberry Pi and Poe to power it

Not long after my last post on this subject, back in January, the preamp I had mounted in the box at the top of 30ft of pole strapped to the side of my house failed and I was forced to removed that particular ADS-B aircraft tracker.  I still had my loft unit running and working […]

Learning to code in Python – Hello Raspberry Pi!

Hello Raspberry Pi! by Ryan Heitz from Manning Publications

After my posts about building an APRS RX iGate, I entered into email discussion with Alan, K2RHK who pointed me towards his website specifically to see his experiments in APRS.  While looking through his site, I noticed he’d recommended a book for those looking to learn how to program a Raspberry Pi.  I mentioned that this was […]

Building a Raspberry Pi internet watchdog

Finished Raspberry Pi Zero W internet watchdog

I wasn’t sure whether to post this or not as it’s not specifically amateur radio – But there’s a small amount of electronics involved so I figured it might be of interest. A few days ago while Susan and I were out, I received a text from my son saying “I thought you’d like to […]

MB7UIV is back

A little history In January 2000 I started running the first licensed APRS Internet gateway in the UK originally with the callsign GB7UIV.  Within a week of experiments starting on the 26th January 2000, the gateway was on air and connected to the internet 24/7 except for periods when the connection dropped out and the […]

Setting up an APRS RX only iGate using a Raspberry Pi, RTL-SDR dongle and a pre-built image

After my previous post, it was suggested that an easier way to set up a receive only APRS iGate would be to provide a pre-built image which only needs slight tweaking to go live.  That seemed like a good idea to me so I’ve prepared an image that just requires a handful of configuration changes which I will […]