First, Some Thank-Yous None of this would exist without the Reverse Beacon Network and the people who keep it running. The RBN is operated by a dedicated group of volunteers, and the network itself depends on dozens of skimmer owners around the world who leave their radios and computers on around the clock, quietly listening […]
The Reverse Beacon Network is a global array of software-defined radio receivers called “skimmers” that continuously scan the HF bands and report every CW, RTTY, and FT8 signal they hear. Unlike a traditional spotting network driven by human operators, the RBN runs 24/7 and produces thousands of automated spots per hour. That firehose of data […]
See if you can relate to any of these scenarios: What Is Going On? Your internet provider has implemented their network differently than you expect. For many large ISPs, they have switched to, or have always used, a technology called CGNAT: Carrier Grade NAT. This lets them expand services dramatically. It allows you as a […]
To understand latency in the context of remote operation, it helps to start with what latency already exists in a normal HF QSO. Radio waves travel at the speed of light, roughly 186,000 miles per second, but that speed still introduces measurable delay over long paths. A signal traveling from Boston to Sydney, Australia covers […]