At 07:33 PM 4/23/2011, you wrote: >The chips are "readily available" at a few hundred dollars apiece, and >if you attempt to implement your own AMBE codec then you're going to >have DVSI's lawyers jumping on you.
More like $20 apiece in small (possible 1 off) quantities. >Proprietary software has no place in Amateur Radio. It's hardware with firmware. So let's throw out all the other proprietary bits (processors with embedded code, etc) and go back to soldering valves? The simple fact of the matter was back around 2000 when the D-STAR spec was developed, there weren't a lot of choices for how to compress speech into 2.4kbps and have FEC. AND have it available in a suitable form for implementation into mobile and handheld radios. While the proprietary codec is a minor inconvenience in some situations, it's proved to be no impediment to home brew enhancements to D-STAR. The number of ham developed D-STAR projects is significant, so that one chip hasn't proved to be an impediment to ham experimentation in practice. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
