On Nov 2, 12:27?am, Steve Bonine wrote:
Jack VK2CJC wrote:

Today's ham equipment has plenty of computing
capacity to be able to
handle band edges, sub-bands, and band plans.
These rigs can be
connected to a PC and programmed using software specific to the
equipment.

It would be an easy programming effort to do the same
kind of thing for
HF.

I don't know how 'easy' it would be, but it could be done. The classic
'bell-the-cat' question is: who will do the actual work?

Let the owner pick a starting place, perhaps by ITU region, and
modify it based on license class and/or personal preference.
Essentially I'm asking for the capability to program the details of
band
plans into the rig and to easily change this information as desired.

Or, the rigmakers could offer downloadable firmware options. When
the rules change, download an update. Some rigmakers, like TenTec and
Elecraft, do this already.

Another approach is that as SDRs become more popular, the feature
would be part of the user interface.

Besides. I wouldn't buy a radio that was restrictively
programmed in a
manner I wasn't able to undo. Just for the principle of it.

No, neither would I (except that I've bought rigs that won't transmit
outside of amateur allocations, presumably something that I could
undo
given proper motivation). But that's not at all what I am suggesting.

Ultimately you'd want the ability to defeat the feature, in case the
rig were sold or loaned to someone with a higher license class, or the
rules changed, or you traveled somewhere with different rules.

For those of you who are upset with me as an "appliance
operator", I
don't see anything wrong with using available technology to keep me from doing something stupid.

I think it depends on the intent.

It's one thing to build in features that prevent problems. For
example, the power supplies of my non-QRP homebrew rigs built since
1980 have built-in time delay protection so that the high voltage
cannot be applied until the final amplifier and rectifier tubes have
had 60 seconds to warm up, and the bias supply is operating.
That protection is not essential to the operation of the rig, but it
has probably saved me from a few problems along the way.

It's quite a different thing, IMHO, to build in features with the
intent that the features remove the need for the licensed operator to
know things, like the subband edges.

IOW, the feature is a backup, not primary protection.

73 de Jim, N2EY