Digital Voice on Baofeng Radios via FreeDV

[@ghostedyoutuber263]

The word "AND" is a single syllable word. Quit trying to turn it into a two syllable word by saying "AYE-AND".

[@ModernHam]

You're not wrong. I'm going to pin your comment so you can feel as special and smart as what you did while writing it. Now everyone can clap for the anonymous KZbin commenter who gets triggered by the way someone said "AYE-AND".

[@ghostedyoutuber263]

@@ModernHam Thanks so much!! I feel so pretty now!!

[@Mrbroccolirobert]

@@ghostedyoutuber263 do you keep commenting on his videos so you feel like you have relevance in life? You sound like a 40 year old substitute teacher living as a keyboard warrior in his moms basement.

[@junkman2758]

Notarubicon would have pinned this also. Still waiting to hear the 2 silabel version of and. 😂

[@adailyllama4786]

Aww, he liked his own post too. 😂❤ What a toolbox.

[@dean5263]

I think this is a great video, there are way too many people who don't know how much work goes into these types of videos. They are quick to judge the learning process of any creator because of the plastic world we live in. Content is spot on for what I searched for.

[@ModernHam]

Glad you found something that worked. I appreciate the compliment as well.

[@albing1397]

I learned more about FreeDV and Digirig on this video than anywhere else. Concise and to the point.

[@ModernHam]

Glad I could help! Maybe I should talk about these audio interfaces on a video.

[@kc1awv-m17project7]

I really like videos that show not only the successes, but also include the failures. It definitely shows real-world expectations when trying out new stuff. Never be afraid to test and experiment! Whether something goes right or wrong shouldn't be the point - just do it, and share your experience! Great video!

[@ModernHam]

I've heard that before. I try to remind myself that people want to see real world results and not a perfect scenario all of the time. Thank you for your comment!

[@inrit]

Love the great new ham radio content you're bringing to KZbin, keep it up!

[@ModernHam]

You're awesome. Thank you so much. I'll keep trying new things!

[@tmiw]

As one of the developers on the FreeDV project, I'm glad more people are playing with it! It is indeed more commonly used on HF as others have mentioned and can get pretty good results depending on band conditions. (For example, I've been able to decode my signal from an Australian based KiwiSDR late at night on 20 meters before. ~50W into a magnetic loop from the Western US, too, which isn't the best kind of antenna out there for sure.) Anyway, if any of the technical issues you found were related to the application itself, definitely reach out and I can work with you to fix those bugs. While the stability has improved since I first started working on it, there's definitely more that can be done.

[@ModernHam]

Will do! Thank you for your comment. I'm looking to do a HF video in the future.

[@chrissewell1608]

What exactly does FreeDV do, or is used for? (He really did not say!)

[@tmiw]

@@chrissewell1608 FreeDV is basically a digital voice system (similar to DMR or D-Star) but optimized more for use on HF (vs. something like DMR which isn't set up to deal with HF specific propagation characteristics). Unlike a lot of the other digital voice modes out there, FreeDV also isn't subject to patents nor does it require use of any closed-source software. One of the really nice things about FreeDV is that it's extremely spectrally efficient versus, say, SSB. The narrowest FreeDV mode currently available (named 700D) is only 1 KHz wide, for instance, while the others aren't much bigger. This is really good, for instance, if you happen to be somewhere where you have to run a compromised/lower power station as you may not be able to use voice otherwise. I will say that the audio quality is also pretty similar to other digital voice modes as in it's not going to sound as nice as a really strong analog SSB station, but that's something being actively worked on. Especially now that we've gotten funding from ARDC, that will definitely let us put more work into that for sure (among other things). Anyway, hope this helps!

[@MichaelBuckley284]

Thanks for your effort! If you show in my feed, I almost always check your content. I like seeing the frontiers of Amateur radio being expanded and you reliably bring content I'm interested in. While I am in school and withdrawing hours at work to study, I don't get much discretionary funds. So I'm running with the equipment I have. Your content often takes innovative spins on my existing equipment which continues interest and learning to tie me over for the next year and a half when I hopefully graduate and spend my free time studying for general and moving to the HF realm. Again, thank you very much for your effort!

[@ModernHam]

Thank you. It's nice to hear that. The amount of times I had to film this due to crashes etc was a little disheartening, so it feels nice to see some feedback in the comments. I'll keep experimenting!

[@rauljosegarcia]

Hi MB, just here to share one of my favorite sailing phrases: to tide over. (though I also agree regarding the content of the channel)

[@JD-xk4wp]

I'm not a ham yet but am a new GMRSr. will study for ham license at some point. have been very curious about Digital and this explains a bit of how it might work. So Thank you for your effort. It has not gone down the tubes for nothing. It does help. Keep up the good work.

[@davidh3566]

Great work! I tested FreeDV several years ago on HF but never thought of using it for VHF/UHF.

[@ericm0612]

Excellent video. Opens up so much for hams. Thank you and look forward to more

[@ModernHam]

Looking forward to the future of open sourced digital codecs that are free for everyone.

[@pnowikow]

I just ordered my digirig with cables and I can't wait to try this

[@kingbroseph9773]

appreciate this i couldnt figure this out myself for the life of me

[@safety86]

Great video. The DigiRig is an awesome universal piece of kit. There's so many uses for it.

[@ModernHam]

Yeah I love this thing. Wish I would have gotten one sooner.

[@Petzel_KZ9ZAP]

Thanks for the video! I had never heard of FreeDV before. I am definitely going to try it.

[@ModernHam]

It's a cool mode. Will probably cover it on HF in the future.

[@ahendrix9787]

...no problem!...i have been looking for ways to go digital on a BTECH UV-5x3 with Digirig and windows 10...much appreciation for what you brought for us to check out! 73!

[@ModernHam]

Hoping to do some more Digital Baofeng stuff going forward.

[@mixmasterc]

LIKED. I appreciate the effort you put into this.

[@ModernHam]

Thank you. Hope someone finds it useful

[@CaptainHat12]

This is awesome. I hope the devs are able to make a version for Android devices since it's so convenient to use a phone or small tablet when operating portable using an application like AndFldigi. Gonna have to test this out myself at some point.

[@GunsandRadios]

glad your back missed the videos

[@chiphungerford]

Great content, glad to see you keep experimenting

[@mieszkogulinski168]

I'm a non-native speaker of English, and I could understand most of the FreeDV-encoded voice samples, even if it sounded a bit weird. I had a bit of difficulties understanding the first callsign, at 13:34. 73 de SQ2KTN :)

[@ModernHam]

Yeah the audio quality isn't perfect, but I guess you would "get an ear" for it eventually.

[@rauljosegarcia]

Regardless of the outcome it was an interesting video. The only thing missing, for beginners, is something about why one might want to even do this. Maybe it's obvious to most, but probably not to new hams. The experimental stuff is very interesting. Keep it coming! 👍

[@ModernHam]

Good point. I didn't consider that.

[@peterrock2838]

I got a lot out of this - thanks for the efforts!

[@ModernHam]

Glad you got something out of it

[@kylehines3185]

Thanks for showing me how to go digital with my UV-5R 😃

[@ModernHam]

Glad you found it useful!

[@aleksanderkac7530]

Thanks so much for doing this! Highly interesting.

[@KK4PYN]

Don't apologize...ham radio is all about experimentation, even lifelong rf engineers aren't always successful. Great video, keep it up. 73

[@lyledal]

Already subscribed, def hit the like button, and added this comment to feed the YT algorithm. 73!

[@ModernHam]

You're the best.

[@Chuck1855]

Doing this will this allow you use a hot spot with it to get in.

[@Rightly_Divided]

Great Video! I learned something new!

[@rickyzhang]

Can you elaborate a bit about freedv? It encoded your human voice into a bit stream. But how can it send the bis stream on FM analog?

[@rhcredcamofficerk456]

I’m probably gonna get that sweet

[@wealthtechnology]

Thank you for doing this. looking forward to the fm v free dv tests. 73 AA1UE

[@tomewatson]

Great video. Thanks!

[@ModernHam]

Glad you liked it!

[@88drones62]

Great video

[@ModernHam]

Thanks!

[@zerobow9413]

Great vid, Free-dv audio is terrible, is there "experimental settings" for tweeking bit rate/codec/etc etc ?

[@ModernHam]

I'm sure you could mess with some of the knobs. I will say HF actually sounds A LOT better.

[@allilve]

Liked and Subscribed ‼️‼️‼️

[@newYorkStories]

Oh, I like this!

[@chrissewell1608]

Have you tried the K2 cable wire to an external sound card, then to the PC?

[@dacodemonk]

I love those DigiRigs. I just wish he would have used jumpers on the pads on the circuit board. My IC-718 needs the attenuator trace cut on it to work well for FT8 and man that was hard to see! Additionally, I had to run small jumper wires to connect a couple pads to convert mine to CI-V for Icom. If it was jumpers it would be easy to change around.... I'll just buy more if I need them. lol

[@ModernHam]

Yeah I'd imagine it is hard to make a one size fits all, but this sure comes close.

[@chrissewell1608]

Can you use the K2 cable only? Then wire it straight to the sound card on your computer? Or does it need to the connected with the Digirig, first, just as a radio interface cable?

[@ModernHam]

You can use the K2 wire only.

[@toddlittles2786]

so you set this up to talk or to listen? i want be able to listen to folks again!

[@ModernHam]

You can do either. You can listen or talk if you'd like.

[@ToNzHoLtZ]

Good work bud... very interesting..73 to you

[@ModernHam]

Glad you liked it!

[@W4TRI_Ronny]

BTW love the videos! Keep doing what you do man! Try a good mag mount on the car.

[@ModernHam]

Thanks! Yeah decided not to use it because I wanted SOME static for the comparison. But I overshot it, and way over estimated how the baofeng with the rubberduck would operate. Now I know I guess.

[@Chuck1855]

You have to solder everytime you use a different radio. On the digirig.

[@ModernHam]

Nah, maybe very specific ones, but I can bounce between the 4 I have just by swapping cables.

[@madmax2069]

I asked someone if this was possible, just to use the baofeng as the transceiver and use computer to handle the digital audio signal but everyone told me it wasn't possible as it does something to the audio signal thats fed into the radio. But that being said it's very muffled, like you're trying to talk with a sock in your mouth, or talking into a pillow.

[@ModernHam]

Everyone was wrong. This is how all ham radio digital modes work. Just audio in and out of the radio coded and decoded by a computer. Sounds a lot better on HF though.

[@madmax2069]

@@ModernHam now, would this be able to work say like listening to a D-Star or FM Fusion repeater and sending the audio into a PC to decode, or would the audio output from the Baofeng be too filtered for the PC to decode?

[@haydenc2742]

Rubber ducky in cars suck (rolling faraday cage more or less)...get an external antenna magmount and it will increase range ALOT

[@ModernHam]

Yeah. I had one, but thought it was overkill. (Wanted a little weak signal to show the difference) I guess I overdid it.

[@super66craig]

Not really all that bad, the glass, not metallic shielded is opaque to RF and the primary near field is all side lobes. A magnetic mount is a poor capacitive coupling for ground planes, Diamond recommends not using for HF at all. A fender or hatch mount K40 style with a dedicated ground wire is the best of all worlds. Adding a counterpoise of 19" with some silicone probe wire to the antenna barrel of the handheld will make the far field of an HT quite good in those confines. I myself would choose the Signal Stick with the counterpoise adapter.

[@Thatsmisteroldguytou]

Can I have your permission to use parts or all of this at my local radio meeting?

[@ModernHam]

You can use anything you like. Thanks for asking. I'm just here to share information.

[@Thatsmisteroldguytou]

@@ModernHam Thanks Buddy 73.

[@super66craig]

​@@ModernHam Doing a great job!

[@W6IWN_Radio]

Billy 2024!

[@JHogan-o4l]

Free! for $90...🤣 Great video, thanks!

[@W4TRI_Ronny]

You know there is no difference right? You are going Dig to Analog then Analog to digital. Still the same FM signal and bandwidth. Where FreeDV really shines is in a bandwidth saving on HF. Nothing is different on FM.. It does obscure the transmission in a legal way if you were in a situation where you were passing sensitive traffic like for ARES. The media listens to us on scanners but they would probably not think to decode FreeDV.

[@ModernHam]

2400B/2400A is designed to be “readability 5” at -132dBm, which is 10dB beyond the point where analog FM stops working. Listening to others who have done field tests, I am able to hear the digital better at range, but I don't have a good ear for static.

[@W4TRI_Ronny]

@@ModernHam Ohh it excels there. Just not a bandwidth saver like DMR.

[@super66craig]

If the method to decode is publicly available its legal, like FSK style Rattler

[@W4TRI_Ronny]

@@super66craig I never said it was illegal. Take another read

[@super66craig]

Lol, its just ocurred to me your actually an "Elmer" in your own right to a good number of folks. That military leadership training is shining through. Army leads the way!

[@ModernHam]

I'm glad you could get something out of it. I appreciate the compliment.

[@ToNzHoLtZ]

DOUBLE THAT IF YOUR CANADIAN

[@Francois_Dupont]

i already tried FreeDV in the pass, too bad it sound like utter garbage.

[@ModernHam]

Yeah. HF sounds much better. But I like it much better than listening to open squelch.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

13 minute video for 4 minutes worth of information. I can't like it.

[@ModernHam]

The comment does even better for the algorithm than a like. Thank you.

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

@@ModernHam Yes, I knew that. I was hoping that you were in the mood for constructive criticism.

[@ModernHam]

@@KeepEvery1Guessing I am, but I think you missed the constructive part. What 4 minutes of information would you keep, and what 9 would you throw away?