Fwd: Tuesday Nite Tech Net

[Nan and Sandy Sanders]

> From WB3KDU
>
>Tech Net meets Tuesday Nights at 8:00 PM on the W4CIA echo-link 
>conference point and
>through the 81/21 repeater in Tyson's Corner Northern 
>Virginia.   Sandy, WB5MMB is
>conference point coordinator and network control.
>======================================================================== 
>
>
>Here are three questions open for discussion on this Tuesday Night Tech Net.
>
>1. (Current Experiments) Whats happening with our spread spectrum 
>experimenting?
>2. (Technology Speculation) Applying Machine Learning Ideas to Amateur Radio
>3. (FCC Rules Discussion) Should the FCC authorize encryption for ham radio?
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>1. What's happening with the spread spectrum experimenting?     Yes, 
>progress is
>being made.  Terry, Lawrence and Andre have pointed out the Part 97 
>rules for this
>mode have been greatly simplified.  There are only a few common 
>rules remaining.
>
>1. How has part 97 changed?  What do the new regs say we can or cannot do?
>
>2  Lets review what the experimenters are doing, what they care the 
>share with the
>rest of the net.
>
>3 How should a newcomer to this mode get involved?   Are there 
>simple tasks they
>can help with?   Is there yet straightforward *experimental* 
>hardware they can build?
>
>4 Discussion topic: a spread spectrum repeater.  This is a holy 
>grail of amateur spread
>spectrum and isn't going to be with us any time soon.  Its still 
>interesting to speculate on
>how such a thing would work or  the kind of signaling schemes we 
>might have to invent
>to make it work.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>2. Applying machine learning ideas to amateur radio
>Machine Learning (ML) is used in many common day places that we are 
>all familiar with.
>Netflix and Amazon use one called a "recommendation system" to 
>suggest movies you
>might like or books you might want to read.  Search Engines  use ML
>to anticipate your  search preferences and increase their click 
>rates.  Closer to home
>a very simple example of ML is the common receiver AGC which is 
>basically a simple
>control system loop.  ML is a group of computer algorithms for 
>putting things into classes
>and making predictions.
>
>1. As a warm-up, I will say a (very) few words about ML applications 
>in  communications.
>  I will introduce a very few central ideas in ML and point to how 
> these might the applied.
>
>2.  How would you use ML if you were designing the next generation 
>communications box?
>Suppose your box had the ability to learn, what would you do with that?
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>If time permits we will take a look at this issues which was 
>recently before the FCC.
>
>3. Should the FCC authorize encryption for ham radio?
>Encryption is an effective method of obscuring or hiding information 
>from unintended recipients.
>By treaty and regulation encryption is general prohibited in amateur 
>radio but exceptions exist
>including remoter receiver control (satellite operations) and 
>amateur wifi (with a common published
>key).  Amateur assistance to disaster recovery and search and rescue 
>often involves handling
>sensitive information over the radio.  Professional search and 
>rescue teams employ pre-arranged
>phrases to cover the transmission of sensitive facts knowing the 
>press and others are listening
>on scanners.
>
>1. If you were designing an encryption system for amateur radio what 
>would you want it to do
>and not do?
>
>2. The ARRL argues that current practices are fully sufficient to 
>handle this problem and that
>introducing encryption would create more problems than it would 
>solve.  Do you agree or disagree
>with this position?
>
>3. A borderland exists between complicated modulation and coding 
>schemes and encrypted
>data transmissions.  These complex schemes are difficult to 
>demodulate without proper
>equipment.  As a side effect, it effectively obscures and hides 
>information except from those with
>the proper equipment.   What is complex also changes with the 
>literary of the participants;
>at one time ASCII was described as a secret code by an relatively 
>unknowledgeable
>speaker.  Is there anything to be learned from this?
>
>==========================================================================
>Tech Net meets Tuesday Nights at 8:00 PM on the W4CIA echo-link 
>conference point and
>through the 81/21 repeater in Tyson's Corner Northern 
>Virginia.   Sandy, WB5MMB is
>conference point coordinator and network control.