ZS1I Blog

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Why do I use AI in Amateur Radio and so many AI Generated Images for this Blog?

(Click on images for larger view.)

I am a believer in the Future but also behold the Past - Johan ZS1I

This phrase means that while you are hopeful and forward-looking, you also respect, learn from, and acknowledge the history that brought you here. It represents balance—embracing progress and the potential of tomorrow, while staying grounded in the experiences, traditions, and lessons of the past.

The Future (Optimism/Faith): "Believing in the future" represents hope, progression, and forward momentum.

The Past (Reflection/Roots): "Beholding the past" represents honoring history, remembering where one came from, and recognizing that we are anchored by our heritage.

Amateur Radio has transformed from a nostalgic, wire-and-tube hobby into a futuristic, bleeding-edge tech community. Today, it encompasses AI-assisted software, Software-Defined Radios (SDR), global mesh networks, and orbital satellites and many more. It allows you to build autonomous digital networks completely independent of the internet or cell infrastructure.

It is my believe that we need to use amongst other AI generated images as a draw-card for the younger generation. Hopefully this will generate an interest in amateur radio, science and technology.

Am I completely off my rockers in saying that I use AI images as a draw-card for the youth?

No! To today’s youth, Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t a sci-fi concept; it is an omnipresent tool for education, a creative outlet, and a 24/7 companion. Studies by organizations like the Pew Research Center reveal that the younger generation has seamlessly woven AI into their everyday lives, viewing it simultaneously with great optimism and a critical eye.

For adolescents, AI functions in several distinct ways:

The Personalized Tutor: Millions of students use chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude to act as on-demand tutors. They rely on AI to structure essays, brainstorm research questions, organize study schedules, and explain complex topics in simpler terms.
A Creativity Booster: Youth leverage generative AI to compose music, generate digital art, and write song lyrics. It democratizes creative expression, making it easy to experiment with ideas that used to require expensive professional software.
A Judgment-Free Space: Research highlighted by the American Psychological Association shows that a minority of teens turn to AI companions or chatbots for companionship, comfort, and emotional support. They act as a "safe space" to ask awkward or highly personal questions without fear of being judged.
A Source of Anxiety: Despite high usage, youth are also acutely aware of AI's dangers. They worry about over reliance leading to a loss of critical thinking, deepfakes harming peers, and AI taking away jobs in the future.

IMPORTANT: We need to add the following to AI functions in several distinct ways:

AI can act as a powerful catalyst to spark a deep passion for amateur radio, communication systems, technology and science in younger generations.

Here is exactly how AI serves as a gateway to these disciplines:

🌟 Interactive Learning and Mentorship

The Infinite Elmer: In amateur radio, a mentor is called an "Elmer." AI acts as a 24/7 Elmer, explaining radio wave propagation, circuitry, and antenna design at any complexity level.
Exam Preparation: Youth use AI to create custom flashcards and quizzes, transforming dry regulatory and technical syllabi into interactive learning games. The RAE Manager should look at this.

📡 Real-World Radio Enhancements

Decoding Weak Signals: AI algorithms filter out static and atmospheric noise, allowing young operators to pull clear voice or data signals out of weak, long-distance transmissions.
Smart Space Tracking: Youth use AI to calculate the exact real-time orbital paths of amateur satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) for satellite radio contacts.
Predicting the Ionosphere: AI processes massive solar data sets to predict space weather, telling young operators exactly when and where global radio frequencies will open up.

💻 The Intersection of Code and Airwaves

Automating Radio Code: Youth use AI to write Python scripts that control Software Defined Radios (SDR) or program automated digital mode transmitters.
Smart Antennas: AI simulations help students design, test, and optimize physical antenna shapes digitally before building them with wire and aluminum.

🚀 Bridging to Broader Science

Emergency Data Networks: AI helps young operators build mesh networks, using radio frequencies to send data and messages without relying on the internet.
Citizen Science: Youth connect radio gear to AI software to log meteor showers or solar eclipses, contributing real data to global atmospheric research projects.

A beginner Python project that connects AI with a cheap USB radio receiver (SDR)
The best AI prompts to help a student study for their technician radio license
A guide to cheap hardware kits that combine radios with microcontrollers

Because AI is already integrated into their world, experts advocate for AI literacy—teaching youth how AI works, how to spot algorithmic bias, and how to verify information rather than just blindly trusting it.

The above explains how AI can be incorporated into amateur radio. In short we need to keep up with the times but all in good measure!

The Futuristic Face of Amateur Radio for the Youth as well as the Older Generation.

The futuristic face of amateur radio is defined by turning raw electromagnetic waves into pure data through software and space-based hardware. It moves away from voice-only static and into the realm of digital networking, orbital physics, and extreme engineering.

High-Tech Core Pillars

Digital Signal Processing (DSP): Powerful microchips isolate tiny, hidden signals out of massive atmospheric noise.
Cognitive Radio Technology: Systems that automatically scan the spectrum, find open frequencies, and adapt their transmission style.
Orbital Relays: Bouncing data packages off the International Space Station or specialized amateur micro-satellites.
Earth-Moon-Earth (EME): Using the moon as a natural passive satellite reflector to communicate with the other side of the planet.
Software-Defined Radios (SDR): Traditional hardware dials have been replaced by computational, wideband receivers. You can view terabytes of radio spectrum on a screen, decode signals visually, and experiment with code-driven radio interfaces.
Space & Satellite Communications: You can build or buy setups that track, send signals to, and bounce messages off low-Earth orbit satellites, the International Space Station, and even the moon.
AI & Advanced Digital Modes: Software like JS8Call and FT8 use forward-error correction and automated decoding. This allows your radio to communicate with stations across the globe using a fraction of a watt, even when the signals are too weak for the human ear to detect.
Emergency Mesh Networks: Operators use AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network) to set up localized, high-speed, line-of-sight data networks that function like an offline internet—perfect for disaster prep or off-grid communications.

Cutting-Edge Digital Modes

[Your Computer] ──> [SDR Transceiver] ──> [Antenna] ──> (Ionosphere / Space)

FT8 / FT4: Automated, time-synchronized protocols that decode signals buried deep below the noise floor.
JS8Call: A text-messaging protocol built on FT8 technology that supports store-and-forward relay messaging without the internet.
WSPR: The Weak Signal Propagation Reporter network, used to probe global radio pathways using less energy than a nightlight.
Packet Radio & APRS: Automated tracking systems that transmit real-time GPS coordinates, weather data, and telemetry over VHF/UHF waves.
Digital Voice (DV) radio modes convert human speech into compressed binary data packets before transmitting them over the air. Unlike text-based digital modes, DV focuses on crystal-clear, static-free voice communication, often integrating global internet linking, GPS tracking, and text messaging alongside the audio stream.
The Core Technologies
[Voice] ──> [Vocoder Chip (Compression)] ──> [Digital Modulator] ──> [RF Carrier]
The Vocoder: Every DV mode relies on a "voice encoder" (vocoder) to compress analog speech into a tiny digital stream (often under 3,600 bits per second).
The Digital Cliff Effect: Unlike analog FM or SSB which gradually fades into static, digital voice remains perfectly clear until the signal drops too low, at which point the audio drops out completely.

Popular VHF/UHF Digital Voice Modes

These modes dominate local repeaters and handheld radios (HTs), allowing operators to link local repeaters into global networks using the internet.

Mode	Creator / Champion	Vocoder Type	Primary Advantage
DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)	Commercial (Adapted by Hams)	Proprietary (AMBE+2)	Uses TDMA to split one frequency into two separate channels.
D-STAR	Icom / JARL	Proprietary (AMBE)	The oldest dedicated ham protocol; excellent routing capabilities.
System Fusion (C4FM)	Yaesu	Proprietary (AMBE+2)	Easiest to use; automatically switches between analog and digital.
M17	Open-Source Community	100% Free & Open (Codec 2)	Fully hackable, patent-free, and designed for hardware experimentation.

Futuristic & HF Digital Voice Modes

While VHF/UHF modes require strong local repeaters or hotspots, modern protocols allow digital voice to travel globally on Shortwave (HF) bands without any internet infrastructure.

FreeDV: An open-source digital voice mode built for HF single-sideband (SSB) frequencies. It uses the Codec 2 vocoder to transmit highly compressed speech over noisy, long-distance channels where analog voice fails.
RADE V1 (Radio Autoencoder): A bleeding-edge digital voice mode utilizing machine learning. It compresses high-fidelity speech down to a tiny RF footprint (1,500 Hz), delivering clear audio over shortwave frequencies even at extremely low signal-to-noise ratios.

Next-Gen Hardware Tools

SDR Dongles: Small USB sticks that turn any computer, smartphone, or Raspberry Pi into a wideband radio scanner.
Phased Array Antennas: Electronically steered antenna setups that aim signals without moving the physical structure.
QRP Rigs: Highly efficient, pocket-sized transceivers designed for remote mountain peaks and off-grid survival setups.

Well there you have it. In my opinion the future is bright for amateur radio and we need to use AI more and more, but with the necessary caution as in all things in life and electronica there are positives and negatives. If you use it the wrong way around you will fail and even get hurt.

In my personal opinion the AI images I post on this blog is futuristic and in some sense art-like. It reminds me and I hope others that we must not stagnate but rather be active and futuristic in using what we have to our disposal. A very good old friend who is now SK was able to build the most beautiful valve radio equipment of what he could scrounge and find for free. Now his human made "creations" was in my opinion vintage-, futuristic- and artistic like. Wonder if AI was available in his time, what "creations" he would have come up with?

As far as AI in the ZS1I Amateur Radio Shack is concerned, I am currently busy with a few projects where I make use of AI during the last few weeks to generate code and creating scripts for future use. So far it looks quite promising. More on this in future postings.

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Let's try to kill the silent Amateur Radio Killer out there!! (Part 1)

Image: Global Internet Outage (Click on image for larger view.)

I am sure that you can think of a few silent amateur radio "killers" out there that can and will cause some serious damage to amateur radio. In this series regarding this topic, I will discuss a few that in my opinion is slowly but surely effecting amateur radio in South Africa and maybe other parts of the world. Now this is not going to be a ranting- or I know all session. In providing this series of articles I hope that we can "turn the ship around before it sinks." Many of you will be of the opinion that what I am discussing here is not amateur radio. In short - Each approach has its own place and each provides enjoyment and fulfillment for me. I hear this from time to time, either posed as a sincere question or as a loaded comment deriding those who use so called not amateur radio equipment or software.

As radio amateurs, we adapt technologies and adopt methods from other fields. Some of us are theorists and some are pragmatists. All of us find something to enjoy in amateur radio. This opinion that categorize what is amateur radio and what is not, is after all just and opinion. I invite those opinionists to rather join in on the fun than wasting you breath on trivial fruitless opinions.

Now lets get back to the topic.

The first "killer" in this series we need to take notice of is the Internet Outage Killer:

With amateur radio already woven widely into the Internet, one can only image how this will effect amateur radio should we have a complete Internet Blackout in South Africa. Now I know many IT fundi's are of the opinion that the Internet will not completely blackout in South Africa. Be as it may a prolonged outage will cause carnage to many amateur radio- and other systems. Locally we are experiencing more and more Internet outages. These outages are definitely on the increase and it does not matter what access system or service provider you are using. Will it get even worse? Your guess is as good as mine. I personally think that red lights are flickering and we DO NEED a backup Internet plan or system in amateur radio. Starlink was my backup plan but we all know by now that Starlink in South Africa will not be implemented under the current dispensation. This is not only detrimental to amateur radio but also to the country and its citizens. I hear you talk about other satellite internet providers will be available. I am not even going to comment on alternative providers other than to say that they are light-years away from competing and beating the Starlink Service. In my lifetime left on this earth they will never be competitive.

Now how can we implement a backup Internet service in Amateur Radio when the real Internet fails?

Now this is a difficult question and will also be a difficult solution if it was not for radio amateurs who invented AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network). Explaining what AREDN is and do will keep me and you busy for several days. However HERE is a short explanation. Having implemented the first AREDN network in Mossel Bay, South Africa in the early 2000 when it was still known as HSMM (High-Speed Multi Media radio) resulted in a very useful replacement for the Internet if there is a blackout or outage. In my humble opinion you can use AREDN the "same way" as the Internet. You do however need a large extensive network (not required) to use AREDN to it's full potential. With regular firmware updates and the adding of new hardware to AREDN you will have a very robust high speed multi media radio network in amateur radio to serve your community or amateur radio groups in your area during times of need.

AREDN was designed to be used without any Internet connection, however you can add and Internet connection to the network if you so wish.

I will in future topics provide more information about the Mossel Bay AREDN Network.

Below is a few articles I wrote some time ago about AREDN

I am convinced that the Internet Outage Killer can successfully be killed by using AREDN in amateur radio. Linking other amateur radio equipment, firmware, software, radios, repeaters, nodes etc. to AREDN will result in creating a very usable and versatile network when there is no real Internet available. One other benefit if the Internet returns, all systems will still be up and running without having to run around switching and rebooting systems.

I trust that the new generation of radio amateurs and also the older generation of radio amateurs will start to install and implement AREDN Networks in their communities and towns.

We do need as many AREDN networks as possible in amateur radio in South Africa, otherwise the Internet Outage Killer will kill various amateur radio systems, networks etc. in the future in South Africa, especially seeing that the authorities will not currently allow Starlink access in South Africa.

Who is currently running an AREDN Network in South Africa? Tell us about your network by clicking HERE.

Warning to candidates that passed the RAE!!

When I decided on a name for this topic I was rather concerned about the word, warning. I could have used advice, recommendation etc. I however chose the word warning as I want to warn new radio amateurs about buying amateur radio equipment that is priced far more than the current trade value. I am going to be hated by some for bringing this to the attention of new radio amateurs. Be as it may it is time that we look after new radio amateurs and their interests. Yes, I know sellers can ask what they want for amateur radio equipment. It is a free market and there is no price regulation.

I would like to give new radio amateurs a few pointers on what to lookout for when buying new or second hand equipment:

Do your homework very well before buying any equipment. The mere fact that an item is in its original box does not guarantee that it is working 100%. All looks great and new from the outside but how does it look on the inside and how does it work/perform? If you fork out a big some of money, obtain a guarantee against defects from the seller and ask him to disclose any defects. If he is unwilling or he indicate that he did not test the item, the red light should go on. If you have an experienced radio amateur living in the city or town where the item is located, ask him if he would "check-out" the radio or equipment on your behalf. If the seller does not want to schedule a practical demonstration, do not go ahead with the purchase.
I have experienced the following in purchasing an over priced radio and by this I mean a new radio amateur is very keen to get on the air. No matter what he pays for the radio or equipment, he buys the radio only to find out a few months later that he paid far to much for the radio or equipment. This he discovers when he want to re-sell the radio or equipment again soon after purchasing it. He now finds that nobody is interested in the radio or equipment and that he has no other choice than to reduce his asking price dramatically and suffer a substantial loss.
Be very careful in buying older to old radio equipment unless you have an interest in restoring/collecting old radios and equipment. You may find that older equipment cannot perform certain functions that you would like to have in a radio. If I look at how the technology raced ahead of many of us, then be careful what radio/rig/equipment you buy.
Do not jump in and buy everything you think you need to setup a "full" shack in a short time-span. You will find later that you jumped head over heals into the hobby and that you could have purchased better and even cheaper equipment on the long run.
I received good advice from an Elmer years ago. He advised me to buy a brand new dual band handheld radio from a reputable dealer and use that for a year or two. After getting the hang of things and gaining more experience, I can start lookout for other equipment. Very good advice and I was able to decide which aspects of the hobby I would like to explore. I used the handheld on many repeaters before moving onto HF. In some cases radio amateurs might not be in reach of a repeater and this will unfortunately not work for them.
I learned through the years that you must never be in a hurry/over excited/to eager when buying amateur radio equipment. Take your time. Do not be fooled by the first come first serve slogan or any other sales gimmicks. I hear you say but I may loose the item if I do not jump in and buy it immediately. Remember, you will always find another item at a later stage, sometimes even better priced and in perfect condition. Remember this is a hobby and we are not competing against the Jones's.
Do not be shy to "hackle" about the price of amateur radio equipment or ask the seller to carry the postage and packing. In many instances you will find that the seller is willing to come down in price or carry the postage and packing.
Ham- and Public flea-markets or auctions can be a great source to buy equipment if you know what to look-out for. It can also be a source for gathering "rubbish" or filling up you junk-box or garage. No guarantee or return of equipment is clearly stipulated. If you not technically minded then flea markets and auctions might not be for you. I just love ham- and technology flea markets and auctions. You also find something nice to eat and drink at some flea-markets!
Scrap Metal Dealers is also a good source to salvage amateur radio equipment, electronic equipment and even components. Yes I have bought amateur radio equipment from a Scrap Metal Dealer on a few occasions. I know the dealer well and he is always looking out for radio equipment for me. He then phones me when he received electronic equipment. I once bought a No19 First World War Transmitter from him. As stated I know the dealer well and asked him what the reason was for people to "dump" radio equipment at his premises. He indicated that you will find in many cases that a person died and that the children has no contact to sell the equipment locally as they might be from elsewhere. I once also bought a fully galvanized amateur radio tower from this dealer. Apparently nobody was interested to buy the tower from a deceased estate and the children just dumped it at the dealer. Another regular pickup at the dealer is C42 C11's etc. People sell these old radios as scrap metal. And so I can go on and on.
I talked about public auctions earlier. Twice a year I visit a large auction locally. Here I picked up VHF/UHF HT's, Mobile Radios etc. Although commercial equipment it also operates on the amateur radio bands. Other equipment bought on these auctions include old computer servers, PC's, Laptops, WiFi Equipment, Transformers etc. to many to mention them all here. Now what must I do with all this "junk", I call it "white gold". Hint: I buy the equipment and then resell it again. This dealing is not for everybody especially if you a new radio amateur with limited electronic knowledge and experience. I then use that money to buy decent amateur radio equipment. Sadly Covid19 has put an end to it, but who knows one of these days things might change for the better.
Finally: Look for good rugged and tried and tested equipment. I buy many Chinese products that I use in amateur radio but be careful. Look for good quality products from Japan, USA, UK, Germany etc. It will last you a lifetime.

I have many more pointers but this will make this post very large and I find that some people do not like to read long essays nowadays.

So my new fellow radio amateur be very careful out there. Do your homework and learn the ropes before just jumping in and spend you hard earned money only to find out later you payed far to much for amateur radio equipment. You might also find that you do not like a certain aspect of amateur radio and then you sit with all those expensive equipment only to sell it at a substantial loss.

ED. This article was published the first time on the 2 November 2021. It is necessary to inform new radio amateurs about the contents of this article.

What is happening in and around the Shack of ZS1I in Mossel Bay?

Image: Click on the image for larger view.

Now this topic is surely not there to brag or to boast about my "doings", projects or equipment in amateur radio, but I thought to create this post to tell some of the new radio amateurs what is happening in my Shack and also to hopefully create more amateur radio activity. In the past two weeks I was busy with the following projects:

Switching over to Linux Mint as my Windows7 computer decided it was time to go SK after 12 years of use.
Installing the OS and software needed to replace the Windows7 PC. Some of the software that I use is not available for Linux Mint so I had to find alternatives. Echolink, VoiceMeeter Banana, Irvanview etc.
The 2 x Linux Mint PC's are i5's that needed upgrading. Added 16GB memory to each and replace the CMOS Batteries.
The latest Linux Mint uses Pipewire. PipeWire is a modern, low-level multimedia framework that manages audio and video streams on Linux. I had to learn how to use Pipewire and it's associates.
I also played around with Qtel, Qpwgraph, HPLIP, Angry IP Scanner, XnView MP, DroidStar etc.
Test and setup Qtel and Audacity to relay nets and bulletins.
Test, setup and played around with software that enables linking (bridge) different commercial and amateur radio equipment together.
Try to kill the silent Amateur Radio Killer out there. This killer will kill various systems, networks etc. in the future in South Africa. More on this in a future posting.
Find alternatives for when the Internet goes down. Well I am winning ground here and this time around I played with several methods on how to setup nodes that are dependent on the Internet. 99% of the methods that I tried worked very well locally. I do however have several ideas that will replace the Internet connection if the Internet fails. This happens more and more frequently and outages will increase in my opinion. Therefor the need for an alternative.
I am currently busy to upgrade the firmware on the 49355 ZS1I HUB Node. The upgrade will also allow the node to work without having to connect it to the AREDN Network when the Internet fails.
Looking at ways to switch automatically from one Internet connection to the other when one Internet service provider goes down while the other is still operational.
The ZS1I WSPR Beacon experienced a firmware crash which resulted that it was off the air for a day or two. I had to enter all the necessary parameters into the unit to bring it back on the air. It appears that the switch mode power supply was the culprit. I will in future make it solar power operating compatible.
I started to build the 6 Meter CW Beacon into a cabinet but with all the crashes and outages experienced in the Shack, this was put on hold until all the glitches were sorted out.
Installed several amateur radio related servers. More on this in a future posting.
Setup the Mossel Bay DMR Bridge and DMR Repeater to automatically transmit the DMR-ZA Net on Tuesday evenings at 19h30. The DMR-ZA Net is now transmitted on the ZS1I AllStar HUB, DMR Bridge, DMR Repeater and Echolink simultaneously.
Currently upgrading the Mossel Bay DMR Repeater. More on this in a future article.

Okay enough for now. I now need a mental and physical break after all the above tasks in the past two weeks. One plus ...... I enjoyed working on every one of the above. More on this in a future posting.

Finally: I trust that other radio amateurs might find the inspiration to get cracking in solving issues and to experiment with what they have in the Shack. Just calling CQ CQ on the radio or having a Rag-chew does not cut if for me. Been there and done that. I need to learn, experiment, build, create, find solutions and enjoy what I am busy with in the Shack that relates to Amateur Radio. So why not get up at 04h00 in the morning work on projects till you go to work and then occupy the Shack again at 20h30 when you have spend some time with the family. It was nothing foreign to spend time in the Shack in the olden days till 01h00 in the morning. Thankfully I am retired and can now get up at 04h00 and spend the day in the shack until 20h00. Kids are out of the nest and the XYL join me in the Shack when ever she feels like it. Ya it is vice versa of cause!

Be and active radio amateur or find another hobby? We need active and dynamic radio amateurs. Amateur Radio is not a hobby, but rather an obsession if you have the KNACK!

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