Simple script for monitoring and recording radio channels with a scanner. Also an example for using Alsa for recording audio to a file while also playing the recorded audio back through the speakers at an adjustable latency.

via hnesland/Radiologger – GitHub.

This is a hobby I’ve had for a couple of years, listening in on radio transmissions on VHF/UHF with a radio scanner. The Uniden UBC3300XLT has got an RS-232 for programming and remote control. I wrote a set of python scripts to read the display and detect open channels, and then record audio with Alsa when transmissions are detected.

The first script scans the channel bank and the other scans frequency ranges to detect unknown channels. Both needs some programming on the scanner itself, namely a set of channels to scan and a range of frequencies, needs to be present before the scripts are useful.

I’ve also written some scripts to backup and restore the channel banks. They need some cleaning up, so I’ll post them later.

The new beta features some long overdue performance updates all across the board, and would be just what the doctor ordered if it werent for the fact that it also brings forth the worst fears of many Skype for Mac users, a user interface reminiscent of the latest horrible in my opinion Windows versions.

via A Prettier More Usable Skype 5 Mac Beta.

There’s still hundreds of problems with the new GUI, which is big and clunky.

OpenBTS is an open-source Unix application that uses the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) to present a GSM air interface (“Um”) to standard GSM handset and uses the Asterisk® software PBX to connect calls.

via The OpenBTS Project.

Brilliant! If only I had the economy to play with this :-)