‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  

FUTURE ACCESS.  IF YOURE NOT TOO FAMILIAR WITH NETWORKING, DONT WORRY.
THIS ONLY NEEDS TO BE DONE ONCE, AND MAYBE A GOOD FRIEND CAN HELP YOU SET
IT UP FOR THE FIRST TIME.  THATS IT FOR THE NETWORKING PART.  WITH THE IP
ADDRESS, YOU CAN CONNECT THE UNIT WITHOUT HAVING THE OPENSPOT CONNECTED TO
THE COMPUTER.  JUST ENTER THE IP INTO THE ADDRESS FIELD OF YOUR WEB BROWSER
AND PRESS ENTER.  FROM THAT POINT, YOU CAN USE THE INCLUDED POWER SUPPLY
AND LEAVE IT STANDALONE NOW YOU CAN ACCE

SHARKRF OPENSPOT HOTSPOT REVIEWED BY PASCAL VILLENEUVE, VA2PV VA2PV ARRL.
NET RECENTLY, I WAS IN MY SHACK LOOKING FOR DX ON 20 METERS WITHOUT ANY
SUCCESS, AS THE BAND WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED.  I EVEN HAD TO VERIFY THAT MY
ANTENNA SWITCH WAS NOT ON THE GROUND POSITION.  THEN IT CAME TO ME IS THIS
WHY VHF/UHF DIGITAL MODES ARE SO POPULAR THESE DAYS?  IS THAT THE MOST
EFFICIENT WAY FOR HAMS TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH DISTANT FRIENDS?  OR MAYBE ITS
BECAUSE SOME AMATEURS FACE ANTENNA RESTRICTIONS AND VIEW TODAYS VHF/ UHF
DIGITAL AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR WORLD WIDE COMMUNICATIONS.  I GUESS THIS MUST
BE TRUE FOR SOME OF US, BUT FOR AN HF FAN LIKE ME, VHF/UHF DIGITAL MODES
ARE AN ADDITION TO MY HOBBY AND CERTAINLY NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR HF.  ONE
ATTRACTION IS THE NEW LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IT OFFERS.  I FREQUENTLY
RECEIVE E MAILS FROM HAMS RETURNING TO THE HOBBY BECAUSE OF THE ENTHUSIASM
GENERATED BY THE NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, AND THIS IS VERY POSITIVE.
WHATEVER THE REASON, WE ARE NOT LACKING OPTIONS, WITH MORE AND MORE DIGITAL
HOTSPOTS AVAILABLE IN THE HAM RADIO MARKET.  WHEN SEEKING A STANDALONE
HOTSPOT, HAMS USUALLY CONSIDER TWO IMPORTANT FACTORS COMPACTNESS AND LOW
POWER CONSUMPTION.  THE RASPBERRY PI A MINIATURE LINUX COMPUTER IS VERY
POPULAR AMONG THOSE WHO WANT TO BUILD THEIR OWN DIGITAL HOTSPOTS, BUT FOR
SOME HAMS LEARNING LINUX RASPBIAN IS THE VERSION USED WITH THE RASPBERRY PI

CAN BE OVERWHELMING.  SOME ARE USING SMALL WINDOWS PCS, BUT THEY HAVE TO
DEAL WITH FREQUENT UPDATES, AND THE COMPUTERS ARE NOT COMPACT.  THERES NO
PERFECT SOLUTION THE BEST YOU CAN GET IS THE ONE THAT SUITS MOST OF YOUR
NEEDS.  BUT FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR SIMPLICITY, THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE THE
SHARKRF OPENSPOT, A DIGITAL RADIO IP GATEWAY WITH A BUILT IN LOW POWER 70
CENTIMETER TRANSCEIVER.  THE OPENSPOT OFFERS A VERY COMPACT, LOW POWER
CONSUMPTION STANDALONE SOLUTION WITH A MAXIMUM REQUIREMENT OF 210 MA AT 5
V.  ITS USER FRIENDLY IF YOU CAN BROWSE THE WEB, YOU CAN USE AN OPENSPOT.
THIS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF ITS INTEGRATED WEB BASED SOFTWARE INTERFACES
WEB SERVER.  YOU CAN ACCESS THE UNIT VIA ANY DEVICE THAT HAS A WEB BROWSER,
SUCH AS A PC, TABLET, OR EVEN A MOBILE PHONE.  IT SUPPORTS VARIOUS DIGITAL
MODES INCLUDING D STAR, DMR, AND C4FM YAESU SYSTEM FUSION.  IT ALSO
SUPPORTS CROSS MODE CONTACTS BETWEEN DMR AND C4FM DN DIGITAL NARROW MODE,
SO YOU CAN TALK TO C4FM RADIOS WITH YOUR FAVORITE DMR RADIO, OR THE OTHER
WAY AROUND.  OVERVIEW THE OPENSPOT HARDWARE IS VERY WELL BUILT, AND I CAN
FEEL THE QUALITY BY ITS SURPRISING WEIGHT, CONSIDERING ITS SIZE.  IT COMES
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ