On 04/27/2011 09:33 PM, Eric Christensen wrote:
On Wed, 2011-04-27 at 09:00 -0500, Gregg Wonderly wrote:
This is one of those experimentation moments. Not everyone is happy with where it is at, but without some more participation, those experimenting now will be the ones setting the standards, and if you are not happy with those results, it will be your fault not theirs, because you chose not to participate.
I'd like to point out that it's difficult, at best, to participate when you can't "roll your own".
See, while I don't like AMBE, that's a bunch of shenanigans. You can roll your own stuff with D-STAR:
http://www.gmskhotspot.com/ http://www.w9arp.com/hotspot/ http://www.d-star.asia/index.html.en
Packet radio, however, is a good example of an open project. AX25 is the basis for packet radio and since the specification was released it allowed anyone to design and develop their own software and hardware systems. Take a subset of that project, APRS, and you'll see this even more. How many software clients are out there that use the APRS specification as a means to communicate with other APRS users? Kenwood, Byonics, and Yaesu, among others, have all made hardware devices utilizing the APRS and AX25 open specifications and more will come.
D-STAR *is* an open protocol. D-STAR Audio, however, has a codec that is encumbered by patents, I'm not touching AMBE, but I enjoy the idea of a digital data mode developed within the past decade. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.