Notices by Mikel Forcada EA5IYL (ea5iyl@mastodon.radio)

@oh8hub @clacke @hb9hox When the encoding is performed using an undocumented and undisclosed method, yes.

@clacke @oh8hub @hb9hox My stance is even more radical. I'm in favour of *prohibiting* the use of digital modes which are undocumented and closed-source and therefore effectively *encrypt* ham radio traffic for anyone who is not using the closed hardware or software. Ham radio communications should always be in the clear.

@oh8hub @clacke @hb9hox I know that idiom well. And my question was absolutely intentional, about the object or aim. What job? What do you accomplish?

@oh8hub @clacke @hb9hox You did not mention the band for your 1000 km QSO, but I get the point. But my point was not about performance, but rather about transparency, openness and understanding, and how it relates to what one could call the ham spirit. There is no *understanding* here because the VARA developers (as ROS developers) have decided to hide their success behind a secret algorithm (which, by the way, has a bandwidth of 2 kHz [compare that to the few Hz taken by CW or PSK or FT8]).

@oh8hub @hb9hox I understand your point of view. I spun off a company from the University: it sells services (not products) based on free/open-source software: an alternative business model (still going). Maintenance: free/open-source software can be in the hands of a community and often is. Open-source innovation has the potential for a larger uptake, community and business building. If you do not use closed-source software and licences, VARA is effectively an encrypted mode.

Keep proprietary digital modes off ham radio!

https://ea5iyl.blogspot.com/2023/08/keep-proprietary-digital-modes-off-ham.html

@mireillevs

And currently she is (fortunately) credited for that discovery [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Payne-Gaposchkin