It is my belief that software-defined radio (SDR) will fundamentally reshape the amateur radio hobby. In fact, it may even save it.
I’ve been in the tech industry now for over 30 years. In each major technology shift I’ve lived through – from desktop computing to the Internet to smartphones and now on to spatial computing (AR/VR/MR) and AI, there is a fundamental shift from hardware-focused innovation and discourse to software-focused innovation and discourse. We stop focusing on the motherboard and start focusing on the operating system. We stop focusing on routers and start focusing on web pages. We stop focusing on signal strength and battery life and start focusing on apps. Hardware and electronics and chip design all remain a vital part of these technologies, but it fades into the background and the software layer becomes the key element in the end for differentiation and innovation. This is where mass adoption and long-term benefit is derived from.
From what I’ve learned about amateur radio, this shift is coming, but it’s coming slower than I would have expected. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the community is smaller, so economic forces react more slowly to change. Smaller markets are less prone to rapid change. Considering that one of the more popular transceivers, the Yaesu FT-817, is a 20+ year old radio still being sold at the same price point as its release date, something is off here. And, that’s not good.
Having studied for and passed the Technician License Exam, the General License Exam, and the Amateur Extra License Exam, I am surprised by the amount of content that is dedicated to the hardware and electronics side of the hobby relative to general radio operation and concepts, let alone to software. There is a single question on the General License Exam that covers SDR and just a few on the Amateur Extra. As someone who joined the hobby in 2017, it’s quite likely that I will never solder a component or use Ohm’s Law in any practical way. Yet, I have tremendous respect for those who do and who understand the hardware and electronics of radio at a very fundamental level. It’s just not what I signed up for, and it’s not what I believe the next generation of people who will become interested in amateur radio will be interested in, either. Based on the new content I see being created out there for amateur radio, the bulk of the enthusiasm seems to fall into two camps – survivalists (“preppers”) and software developers.
I started with an RTL-SDR RTL2382U, and that was a low-cost way ($25.95 USD!) to get excited about SDR. The software was free. I’ve since purchased an SDRplay RSP2 and have pre-order the Airspy HF+. The hardest part for me has been that I am primarily a Mac user, which limits my software options. CubicSDR is pretty much the only option I have that works with the SDRplay RSP2. It’s a good piece of software, but updates are few and far between and several Windows apps seem to have much more momentum. I have access to many PCs at the office, but I don’t often have one with me at home and on the weekends.
SDR seems to be going through such a rapid innovation cycle right now, that the moment you buy an SDR, a better/cheaper/faster unit is already on the way. Think of how much evolution SDR will go through in the the next few years. Watch as we spend more time learning and interacting with the radio applications and less time with the radio hardware itself. Sadly, the same thing cannot be said about the antenna. I think software will have very little to do with advancing that mystical art.
I’ve been in software all of my life, so it makes sense that I would view amateur radio through that lens. I’m excited about all of the activity I am seeing in the SDR community, and I look forward to the day when we are actively downloading DSP mods for our favorite SDR applications and regularly upgrading the operating systems and features on our handheld radio computers, instead of fighting with archaic firmware and some of the worst interface design I’ve ever seen in any corner of technology.
Any future transceiver I purchase will need to be an SDR at its core to even be considered. While I own Kenwood TH-D74a & TH-D72A handheld transceivers, they will end up getting replaced by a handheld SDR at some point in the future.