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Abstract:

This transcript captures the Open Research Institute (ORI) FPGA Projects Meetup held on April 22, 2025. The meeting follows a round-table format where participants share progress, future plans, roadblocks, and resource needs. Erin discusses progress on the Pico Tuner project for amateur television and GSE, noting differences between USB and Ethernet versions and planning integration tests with ORI's DVBS2 encoder. Paul reports on retrieving and reassembling the Remote Lab South equipment, including the "Chub" server, outlining plans for benchmarking, upgrading its Unraid system, and potentially improving performance for all ORI virtual machine hosting. Michelle provides updates on Remote Labs West operations, plans for outreach to local universities using the HEO satellite project as a basis, and details recent regulatory filings with the FCC (Docket 25-133) concerning the 219 MHz band and supporting the removal of certain digital mode limitations. A significant discussion revolves around the ambiguity of current FCC rules regarding multicarrier data modes like OFDM/LTE and ORI's efforts to draft potential rule changes or clarifications. The meeting concludes with a call for community involvement.

ORI FPGA Projects Meetup Updates (April 22, 2025)

• 0:00:11 Meeting Kick-off: Introduction to the ORI FPGA projects meetup format: discussing past work, future plans, roadblocks, and resource needs.
• 0:01:00 Erin's Pico Tuner Progress:
  • Successfully built and tested the Pico Tuner hardware.
  • Experimenting with Amateur Television (ATV) and Generic Stream Encapsulation (GSE). Achieved partial success with GSE pings.
  • Tested both USB (Raspberry Pi Pico) and Ethernet interface versions.
  • USB version limited by full-speed USB, cannot handle high-bandwidth DVBS2.
  • Ethernet version successfully tested up to 10 Msps with video.
  • Next Step: Integrate and test ORI's DVBS2 encoder against the Pico Tuner receiver.
• 0:03:46 Paul's Remote Lab South Update:
  • All Remote Lab South equipment retrieved from Little Rock and relocated to Remote Lab West (Paul's location).
  • Working on reassembling the "Chub" server (the ORI South counterpart to "Chonk").
  • Networking is functional; encountered a broken power connector tab on one hard drive, working on a replacement cable.
  • ORI South Raspberry Pi (WireGuard gateway) is operational on the local network.
• 0:05:38 Server Configuration & Upgrade Plans:
  • Chub confirmed to have its two SSDs.
  • Plan: Restore Chub to its last working state, benchmark VM performance, update Unraid OS (potentially to v7, ahead of Chonk), re-benchmark, and apply performance improvement lessons learned to the main Chonk server.
  • Discussed potentially adding more SSDs to Chub (similar to Chonk's upgrades) as prices are currently low. Agreed to scope out costs.
• 0:09:35 Remote Labs West Overview & Lab Status:
  • Michelle shows the Remote Labs West bench setup: includes network-accessible spectrum analyzer (up to 6.5 GHz), oscilloscopes, signal generators, power supplies, Pluto SDRs used for Opulent Voice development.
  • The lab computer ("Chonk") runs Unraid, hosting various virtual machines.
  • Showed pictures of the recently arrived Remote Lab South equipment, currently boxed up.
• 0:12:27 Next Steps for Remote Lab South & Outreach:
  • Get the Chub server fully operational, including replacing broken case glass (potentially with laser-cut acrylic).
  • Use Chub as a testbed for performance improvements applicable to Chonk.
  • Develop curriculum and project proposals based on ORI's HEO satellite project (Opulent Voice uplink, DVBS2 downlink) for outreach to local San Diego universities.
  • Goal: Encourage university involvement and produce a solid statement of work. Outreach itself is considered a win.
  • If outreach/re-use isn't successful, plan B is to sell surplus equipment.
• 0:14:23 FCC Regulatory Activities (Docket 25-133 "Delete Delete Delete"):
  • ORI filed comments regarding the 219 MHz band, asking to remove burdensome notification/permission requirements currently hindering its use for digital fixed messaging.
  • Filed reply comments supporting ARRL's request to eliminate baud rate, symbol rate, and bandwidth limitations, and rules restricting digital code use/learning.
  • Filed reply comments supporting Association of American Railroads (AAR), Wispa, and Steve Stroh regarding their comments on the 219 MHz band.
• 0:17:05 Discussion: Legality of Multicarrier Data Modes:
  • Question raised (by Mike McGenty) about whether modes like OFDM, LTE, and 5G are strictly legal under current amateur radio emission type definitions in Part 97.
  • Current definitions don't explicitly cover multicarrier data modes.
  • ORI has drafted an article discussing this and proposing specific rule updates (addition/change, not deletion).
  • Seeking feedback on the draft (shared via Slack/email).
  • Potential next steps: Publish in newsletter, submit to QST, file a petition for rulemaking, or share with ARRL's regulatory team.
• 0:18:53 Call to Action & Closing: Encouragement for interested individuals to get involved via the ORI website, Slack channel, and Git repositories.