It's Alive!

Like Frankenstein (or maybe Lazarus?), a bit of ham radio software I thought was dead seems to have arisen.

JS8CALL

I've written a lot about JS8CALL over the years, and was an early adopter when the developer, Jordan Sherer, KN4CRD, first released it back in 2019. It's weak signal keyboard-to-keyboard chat properties were unmatched at the time, and I always thought the program had a lot of potential in the EMCOMM world. Jordan took JS8CALL through several development cycles, all the way up to version 2.1 or 2.2, then development stalled. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that life simply got in the way. Jordan's a young guy and family, work and other interests likely pulled him away from ham radio and JS8CALL development. JS8CALL remained good software, but there was no forward movement. No new features, no bug fixes. It was going stale.

From the beginning, Jordan published JS8CALL as open source, and the code and packages were always available on Github. I think he understood that the time would come when another developer or team would have to carry JS8CALL forward. Starting in 2025, a small development team began work on an improved version of JS8CALL, which led to some 'Improved' releases starting in late 2025. In February 2026 the newest Improved version was released, version 2.5.2.  

It looks like Joe Counsil, K0OG, is herding the development cats on the Improved versions, and it's interesting to read the developer discussions on the Github threads. The team, particularly Joe, have a clear-eyed vision of what JS8CALL's role is, what is good at, what it's not good at, and likely never will be good at. This is a refreshing perspective. The developers understand there are better formal messaging applications available (Winlink, VarAC and even Fldigi), so their goal is to make JS8CALL a very robust weak signal chat tool, not a do-everything application. 

Here's a screen capture of part of a discussion thread regarding building an automatic missing message frame request tool into the application. I think Joe and Chris, AC9KH's comments are refreshing in their honesty about JS8CALL functionality:

Joe, K0OG, notes: 'This was discussed at the beginning of JS8Call, and I think the conclusion was (and I still agree with this) that there are better tools already available to do this, and JS8Call is not intended to be the best tool for formal messaging. This is partly due to upper-case-only text. In my opinion, JS8Call is good for coordination, informal chat, and very-light messaging duties, strong points being the mesh network and weak-signal capability. For more-reliable messaging, at the time I recommended the Fldigi-based toolset. I would still recommend that (there are some excellent weak-signal modems with FEC, and ARQ can be used with some of the tools), but also now Vara-based tools are good. I suggest that as a strategy, this is not something we need to do with JS8Call.' (my emphasis)

While JS8CALL was sitting dormant I dropped my support for the platform as a standard emergency communications tool. The weak signal chat and coordination mission was still there, but if JS8CALL was approaching orphanware status, I really couldn't recommend it. Now that development has ramped back up and a serious development community is plugging away at improvements and bug fixes, I think it's time to give JS8CALL another try.

W8BYH out

The IC-705 In Fixed Station Mode

For me, the Icom IC-705 radio has been a very frustrating radio. One one hand, as a transceiver it's typical Icom. That means it's great. Icom builds excellent radios, and their user interface is the result of almost two decades of tweaking. It is perhaps the best in the industry. It's also, by a long stretch, the easiest radio to run on digital modes next to the IC-7300, which says a lot. The internal design is an engineering marvel, particularly considering how cool the little radio runs, even  under constant digital mode operations (by comparison, the new Yaesu FTX-1 gets hot enough to light cigarettes off of).

On the other hand it's typical Icom in some not-so-good ways. An awkward case design, poor RF shielding, limited on-board battery capacity, a over-sized tuner that seems an after-thought, outdated connector technology (MicroUSB vs USB-C), a single combined HF & UHF/VHF antenna connector, overpriced accessories, and the need to buy expensive software (Icom's RS-BA1 package) just to get the radio to run properly on digital modes.

Honestly, the easiest way to get over most of these shortcomings is to buy an IC-7300 and take it to the field. The IC-7300 is a better field radio than the stock IC-705. There, I said it.

This leads to what will be a contentious observation. The IC-705 can be a better shack radio than the IC-7300. Not out of the box, of course. It takes some work (and expense), but it is possible to piece together a radio system, with the IC-705 at the center, that meets or beats the IC-7300 in fixed base operations. 

So why can the 705 perform better than the 7300? Two things: wi-fi and Bluetooth. These two features, not found in the first generation IC-7300, can make shack operations much more effective. The built-in wi-fi capability allows you to take your radio control interface remote, to the next room or the next continent. Bluetooth is much more 'local' due to it's limited range, but the radio's Bluetooth capability means it can connect to a variety of Bluetooth devices like headphones, microphones, speakers and other devices.

(Let me pause and mention an elephant in the room - the new IC-7300MK2 which is hitting the store shelves as I write this. This new Icom has built-in network capability, but not wi-fi. You still need to hard-wire it (via CAT6 cable) to a router or other node, which can be wireless. So the IC-7300 gets us further down the road in terms of connectivity, but it's not natively wi-fi capable.) 

OK, so what's needed to get the IC-705 up to snuff as a fixed station radio? Here's my list:

• An amplifier with an integrated tuner. I'm using a HobbyPCB Hardrock 50 amp with a built-in tuner and a Bluetooth IC-705 interface (another good use for Bluetooth). The interface automates band switching and antenna tuning from the IC-705. A very slick and effective integration.
• Duplexer. The 705 is both HF & UHF/VHF, but only has one antenna connector. Antenna switching is a real pain, and reflects one of the 705's design shortcomings. An antenna duplexer can fix this, so you can move from HF to VHF seamlessly without worrying about antennas and SWR. A duplexer is a bit clunky to drag to the field, but works fine in the fixed station mode.
• Bluetooth headset & microphone. A feature that can free you up to move around the shack, or at least relieve you of the tyranny of the corded microphone. I use Icom's own VS3 Bluetooth mic & earbuds. It works quite well and allows me to roam in Bluetooth range and still engage in conversations. It works well with a wide range of Icom (and Kenwood!) Bluetooth enabled radios.
• Software. The worst thing about Icom's RS-BA1 software is that you MUST have it to run digital modes, because of the 705's RF shielding problems. That said, the software is useful in this fixed station mode because of the radio control it provides over wi-fi. It also does an excellent job of out-boarding the band scope functionality. When connected via wi-fi I can carry my laptop to anywhere that I'm in range of the wi-fi node (my home wi-fi or my phone hotspot).
• Remote tuning knob. Nobody's made a good remote tuning knob for desktop rigs since Ten-Tec left the market. Their Model 302 remote knobs with keypad were exceptional. I used one with my Jupiter and it fundamentally changed how you operate the radio. One of the best features was that the remote plugged into the radio and controlled it directly. I know hams who bought Ten-Tec radios specifically to get that remote knob functionality, it was that good. Today, with the exception of Elecraft and their K-Pod, no other manufacturer offers a direct connect remote knob for their radios. Icom, however, comes close. Their RC-28 remote tuning knob doesn't connect directly to the radio, but interfaces with it via the RS-BA1 rig control application via USB. In typical Icom fashion, it very well built, over priced, and offers only limited functionality. But the functionality it does offer is well executed in the RS-BA1 software interface. I have my RC-28 configured to do frequency steps up/down with button clicks, initiate a tuning sequence, change pre-amp settings, and can be used as a PTT switch when using a Heil headset. 

When wired up, this combo makes a very good fixed station setup. Everything works quite well, plus there's the added bonus of having VHF & UHF available, and DSTAR (important in Georgia for state-wide emergency coverage).

Hams get grumpy when a radio doesn't offer all the features they want. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. But I also come from a communications environment - the US Army - where most radios were modular. You had the transceiver as a single low power unit, but then you were issued a separate battery module, power supply, amplifier, digital interface, antenna matching unit, vehicle mount, and more. Nothing was 'all-in-one', and this is a sound approach for ham radio. The IC-705 is a very good hub around which you can build an effective fixed station setup. But in the field, trying to operate at more than 10 watts... like I said, you're better off with an IC-7300.

W8BYH out

A New Computer and Oh, What a Mess

In my last post I discussed a bit about my search for a new computer. At the time, I was keeping an eye on the pricing moves for two computer models, the Microsoft Surface 13" laptop and the ASUS ProArt 13. Both get good reviews and feature the new SnapdragonX ARM-based CPU

Well, I got tired of waiting and watching. I took the recommendation of an on-line reviewer that I trust and I bought an HP Omnibook 14. WalMart was offering it at a good price, several hundred dollars below both the Microsoft and ASUS units. Like the Microsoft and ASUS computers, it uses the SnapdragonX CPU.

Why Snapdragon? I'm after the advertised improved battery life the CPU offers, plus I've never played around with a computer that runs that processor. Since the Snapdragon processors use the ARM architecture and not an x86 one, I knew there were likely to be some compatibility issues with certain apps, but I figured I'd give it a go. What can I say, I like living on the edge.

My intent was to create a stripped down Windows laptop for use in the field. Something running a lean version of Windows 11. Only the absolutely essential Windows services, and no local or cloud-based Copilot spyware. As much as I like the idea of a Linux computer (I'm currently experimenting with a Mint-based laptop and desktop), I still need Windows in the field for one critical ham radio app - Winlink. 

Unfortunately, it seems Microsoft has other plans for my new laptop. It shipped with Windows 11 Home edition (as most do these days). Win11 Home no longer allows the creation of local accounts - you MUST connect to the Microsoft Borg via the internet and use a Microsoft account to activate the operating system. Until you do that, the new computer you paid good money for won't work. You will be assimilated. 

I'm not being dramatic here. Microsoft openly and somewhat crassly admits that their intent is to turn the computer you paid for into little more than an AI-driven dumb terminal that is hard-wired to Microsoft's Azure-based sales, services and gaming ecosystems, and snoops on everything you do.

So my OmniBook arrives, I go through the Microsoft setup process, reboot and... Good God, the bloatware! Why the hell does an operating system keep trying to stuff useless ads and announcements in my face? It's pervasive - it's EVERYWHERE. And it's not just Microsoft. HP has loaded their own layers of bloatware onto the computer that overlaps with Windows. Bottom line - as delivered, Windows 11 isn't an operating system, it's crapware.

Within 30 minutes of firing up this new laptop for the first time, I was thinking seriously about putting Linux Mint on it. Windows 11 is that bad.

The good news is that help is available. I ranted about my frustrations on Facebook, and a good friend contacted me to let me know about a couple of apps that de-bloat windows. The one I tried is called Revision (revi.cc). Revision acts as a configuration manager. When you run it, Revision goes in and makes configuration and registry changes to Windows 11 that switch off the bloatware and spyware settings. As far as I can tell, Revision doesn't delete anything (unless you direct it to), it merely turns off those bits in Windows that allow all the bloat. Revision will also shut down Copilot and Microsoft365. This breaks the cursed hard link to OneDrive and Copilot in the cloud.

Revision accomplishes a lot, but it can't do everything. Since it only touches the Windows settings I still needed to manually delete all the HP crapware. Then there was the annoying default directory settings for things like documents and photos that kept pointing to OneDrive, even though I shut down the OneDrive application. Revision doesn't correct this, but the fix is easy - go to the local folder properties window, click the Location tab and reset the target location so it doesn't point to OneDrive (or click Restore Default).The fact that you have to do this yourself, and Microsoft doesn't make it easy to find instructions on the process, reinforces my feeling that Microsoft doesn't give a crap about the individual license holder. 

The effort, however, was well worth it. Revision did a great job of shutting down the bloatware, breaking the OneDrive and Copilot dependencies, and stripping Windows down to it's basic role as an operating system. I highly recommend it.

And yet I know that Windows, in all its bloated glory, is bubbling just beneath the floorboards, waiting for any opportunity to pop back up. Windows is always just one update away from a version that will trigger a procedure that blocks Revision and other third party Windows configuration apps. How do I know this? Well, a few days ago I did a Windows update on the laptop, and to my surprise, the Microsoft Store app was back, flooding my Start and Search menu windows with annoying ads for garbage I have zero interest in. This is an app that I deleted when I ran the Revision software. Somehow, some way, the Windows update snuck the app back in. Microsoft isn't going to give up, and they hold all the cards when it comes to Windows configuration options. I have no doubt that once the number of Windows installs that have Revision (or a similar tool) applied crosses some unstated threshold, Microsoft will decide enough is enough, and it will punish the peasants by blocking these configuration apps. Bastards.

 W8BYH out