Simplest APRS Digipeater and iGate on MCU!

Description We have built the simplest, power efficient and 'ready-for-solar' APRS Digipeater and iGate on a MCU (RPi Pico 2 W)! Our existing KISSLink v1 BLE KISS TNC device is capable of running in standalone mode with an alternate firmware! Goal(s): Our design prioritizes low power, reliability, and unattended deployment over flexibility. And yes, we want to do this with cheap, widely available BaoFeng radios. This means a couple of things: ...

February 7, 2026 · 1 min · 198 words · Dhiru Kholia

Wireless APRS interface for BaoFeng and other radios!

Description We have built a Bluetooth-enabled and APRSdroid-compatible digital interface (KISS TNC) for less than 15 USD (for the fully-loaded make including cables). We call it the KISSLink v1. This digital interface can be powered from the USB 5V or the inbuilt battery. Schematic Previous Next     / [pdf] View the PDF file here. RX path simulation (AF front-end) ...

January 29, 2026 · 3 min · 456 words · Dhiru Kholia

APRS interface for BaoFeng and other radios

The design Here is a "safe" APRS interface for BaoFeng and other radios. Sample schematic: Previous Next     / [pdf] View the PDF file here. Render ...

January 17, 2026 · 2 min · 224 words · Dhiru Kholia

A VFM ADS-B receiver

Idea Ismo recently shared the https://github.com/CoolNamesAllTaken/adsbee project which is pretty cool. Challenges The ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) system uses a data rate of 1 Mbit/s (1 megabit per second) for its aircraft position and identification transmissions on the 1090 MHz frequency. This is too much for HOPERF CMT2300A and related transceiver chips unfortunately! This got us thinking about the following VFM ADS-B RX chain. Architecture Here is a simple ADS-B RX circuit description. ...

January 12, 2026 · 1 min · 154 words · Dhiru Kholia

433 MHz CW signal source

For HF and amateur VHF bands our WiFi VFO works great. But we didn't have a cost-effective UHF signal source until now… Design Thanks to Ismo (OH2FTG), we recently experimented with a HopeRF CMT2119A powered board called HOPERF RF module RFM119W-433S1. Here is the CMT2119A powered board in action producing a CW (OOK) signal at ~433 MHz. The stability is pretty good and a bit surprising considering that the board uses a 20ppm 26 MHz regular quartz crystal - not bad! ...

October 4, 2025 · 8 min · 1626 words · Dhiru Kholia