Blog - All Comments

RE: Getting started to Bluetooth Mesh with Nordic Semiconductor SDK

DAB — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:20:28 GMT

Nice update.

RE: Flaky Home WiFi. Ditch ISP equipment? 2.5 vs 5 GHz?

ntewinkel — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:10:32 GMT

Update for February 2026...

About two years ago (late 2023) I picked up a TP-Link Archer AX10 and switched my smart-home devices to it.

That made everything work properly again. So I definitely blame the Telus equipment for the issues I was seeing. It's possible some older smart devices were doing something random, but even so: TP-link handles it, Telus doesn't.

But now recently our new Wifi printer kept acting up, and in researching how to fix that I noticed a lot of complaints with Telus equipment causing such issues. (in retrospect I kinda think the old printer was probably still fine when I thought the Wifi on it had died. We gave it away). The printer was on our main wifi network - the Telus one.

So I finally decided to "bite the bullet" and upgraded the entire system to using a TP-Link Deco X20 mesh setup (3-pack), replacing the other TP-link , and the Telus WiFi mesh system.

What a difference that made!

The printer now works perfectly, connecting fast and printing fast. And using my iPhone to connect to devices, including the cameras and the raspberry-pi server, is SO much quicker. All the smart home devices have been solidly on-line ever since the upgrade.

Wish I had done that sooner! That was $200 (Canadian) definitely well spent!

RE: Software Defined Radio: Experimenting with the MSI-SDR M1

AlanVK2ZIW — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 21:26:31 GMT

Actually, the nepeanshed.org.au webSDR is an original RSP1 because it has one

antenna socket. Connected to one antenna, a 9m pole, where I volunteer. Where, everything

is donated. And it has to be, on the net available to any browser.

RE: Software Defined Radio: Experimenting with the MSI-SDR M1

AlanVK2ZIW — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 08:03:01 GMT

So you can see a functional webSDR using the Mirics open source drivers, look at:

http://www.nepeanshed.org.au:8073

This is what those Mirics based SDRs can do.

Search "BG7YZF" to find my code....

BTW: I'm not a C guru but I persevere.

RE: MSi chips based hardware

shabaz — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 16:41:57 GMT

Do you mean boards based on Mirics MSI2500+MSI001 chipset?

You say you're not asking about software, but that's pretty fundamental when discussing hardware based on this chipset. Reason being, the only boards that perform "OK" are the ones that have software that was developed in conjunction with Mirics input.

That chipset was never designed for (non-broadcast) 14 MHz use, and 430 MHz use, so any hardware you purchase will always be sub-optimal or even poor, but, the hardware that was developed with the Mirics team input, is supposedly better. That means the SDRPlay hardware basically.

There's also a second reason; the (most usable) software is only licensed for SDRplay receivers, you'll just hear white noise if you try a different board. There is some open source software but involves a lot of work.

There's a teardown and discussion of another board here: [mention:34890dd05b2f42c2bea08158af117af7:f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07]

Notice how visually, the board at that link looks great; no cold solder joints/missing parts. But then look at the block diagram for the board, notice it was never designed for 430 MHz, and has very little filtering; for instance, the entire HF range has a single filter. Plus, looking at some of the inputs on a VNA (I only looked at one input) and it was badly matched to 50 ohm.

There are far better SDRs than the ones using the Mirics chipset, but will cost more. Plus, most will require additional work especially with filtering, but also with up-conversion since most are not designed for HF. If you want something that doesn't require all that work, then the solution is to buy a complete ready-made receiver with SDR architecture, or (compromise for the reasons mentioned) something like the SDRplay products would be the best of the bunch based on the Mirics chipset if you're dead set on that.

RE: Pre-GPS: Hyperbolic Radio Navigation Systems and the Decca Navigator

DAB — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 20:15:10 GMT

Great post.

I have done a fair amount of work on navigation systems over the years.

One interesting event, when I was on my first Alaska cruise it was on an older ship.

When we crossed the Gulf of Alaska I looked out behind the ship and noticed we were leaving an interesting sinewave in the water.

Evidently the ships navigation system was experiencing some errors causing the autosteering to weave back and forth as it tried to stay on course.

I was probably the only passenger on board who saw and appreciated what was happening.

RE: Pre-GPS: Hyperbolic Radio Navigation Systems and the Decca Navigator

genebren — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 18:39:58 GMT

I worked in aviation in the early 80's and the common navigation methods include VOR (VHF omnidirectional Range Station 108-117.95 MHz) and DME (Distance Measuring Equipment). Prior to GPS, these were the primary navigational aids. I worked on one of the first Flight Managment Systems (FMS) for 757 and 767 aircraft, which utilized these NAV aids. In addition to FMS software, I worked on simulators that were used to test these devices. As a part of my work on the simulators, I created a worldwide database to simulate all of the known VOR and DME stations, and created signals for all stations that were in range of an aircraft during simulated flights.

The VOR seems very similar to the methods you shared here.

RE: Pre-GPS: Hyperbolic Radio Navigation Systems and the Decca Navigator

dougw — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:18:55 GMT

Robert Dippy (lead developer for Gee) was shipped to the USA to help develop LORAN.

RE: Pre-GPS: Hyperbolic Radio Navigation Systems and the Decca Navigator

Jan Cumps — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:16:32 GMT

Great article.

> there was a time when thousands of lives would frequently be lost due to the difficulty of determining latitude.

As usual, the balance swings on that one. It saves lives, but nowadays also can maximise the efficiency when taking lives.
That's not the fault of the tech - that's great all the time [emoticon:c4563cd7d5574777a71c318021cbbcc8]

RE: Pre-GPS: Hyperbolic Radio Navigation Systems and the Decca Navigator

kmikemoo — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:53:09 GMT

[mention:b0bc65b9ecdc4307bd967592f00e340a:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] That was fascinating! Thank you for sharing it.

RE: Researchers Develop Innovative Signal Curving Technology for Future 6G Networks

DAB — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:11:53 GMT

The THz region is interesting.

In my book I speculated that it was the region where you transition from actual photons to actual waves moving through atoms.

RE: First-Ever 60 Ghz Mmwave Developed for Ultra=Fast Data Transfer

DAB — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:47:10 GMT

The MM wavelengths are interesting.

I have speculated that this is the area where physics transition from photon exchange to actual wave propagation.

RE: Software Defined Radio: Experimenting with the MSI-SDR M1

DAB — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 21:26:02 GMT

Looks like it wants separate antennae for each range of signals.

RE: Software Defined Radio: Experimenting with the MSI-SDR M1

dougw — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 20:50:54 GMT

How many SDR systems have you played with? If it is several, maybe you could rank them....pros and cons...

I've looked at several comparison reviews but it is always good to have more opinions on a topic like this.

RE: Flaky Home WiFi. Ditch ISP equipment? 2.5 vs 5 GHz?

dougw — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 06:17:31 GMT

It sounds like you could implement the solutions you are pondering, but sooner or later Telus is going to have to supply a solid solution.

Do you have some kind of watchdog system checking network integrity?