Zero Retries 0256
2026-06-26 - QuadRF is LIVE on Crowd Supply!, JNOS 2.0 - Working on AX25 V2.2, Case Study - SafecomLink Cluster, MorseNexus DitStorm Cypher Version 3.0 - Cypher Mail (via Morse Code)
Zero Retries is an independent newsletter promoting technological innovation in and adjacent to Amateur Radio, and Amateur Radio as (literally) a license to experiment with and learn about radio technology. Radios are computers - with antennas! Now in its fifth year of publication, with 3500+ subscribers.
Steve Stroh N8GNJ, Editor
Tina Stroh KD7WSF, Business / Conference Manager
Substack says this issue is likely to be truncated by some email clients. Thus, it might be easier to read in a web browser:
www.zeroretries.org/p/zero-retries-0256.
It’s easy and free to subscribe for your own copy of Zero Retries every week:
In This Issue:
QuadRF is LIVE on Crowd Supply!
I-Frame
By Steve Stroh N8GNJ
Brief notes about this issue of Zero Retries.
Paid Subscribers / Founding Members Update
My thanks to Kurt Geisel N3JTW for renewing as an Annual Paid Subscriber to Zero Retries this past week!
My thanks to Prefers to Remain Anonymous 75 for one year of being a Paid Subscriber to Zero Retries as of this past week!
Financial support from Zero Retries readers is a significant vote of support for the continued publication of Zero Retries.
Please direct comments / feedback about I-Frame to the Zero Retries email list with the hashtag #ZR0256. Paid subscribers can comment directly on the web version of this issue.
QuadRF is LIVE on Crowd Supply!
By Steve Stroh N8GNJ
QuadRF is the first “hackable” Phased Array Antenna technology for radio experimenters, including Amateur Radio.
Martin McCormick K1MCC via email to the distribution list for the MoonRF project:
An update since May... the wait is officially over: the QuadRF is available on Crowd Supply!
To everyone who recently joined our community specifically for QuadRF--welcome. This kit functions right out of the box as a real-time 4x4 MIMO RF camera, rendering a live, augmented-reality heatmap of the wireless signals around you at 30 frames per second.
Designed for developers, educators, hardware hackers, and amateur radio enthusiasts, QuadRF replaces tens of thousands of dollars of bulky lab equipment with a single, portable device. It completely lowers the barrier to entry for spatial RF, beamforming, and phased-array development.
With the QuadRF Kit, you get the complete RF tile, four dual-polarization antennas, an active-cooling enclosure, and an integrated Raspberry Pi 5. It’s pre-assembled and also ready to go mobile with the extended battery pack.
And for our long-time followers, you know that QuadRF is also the foundational building block for the massive 240-antenna MoonRF architecture. Our ultimate goal is to make scalable phased arrays affordable for Earth-Moon-Earth communication, radio astronomy, and custom spatial RF projects.
Since our last email, we’ve started working on certifications and export for global shipping, prepping our 100% open-source software stack (GPLv2), and cleaning up the antenna hardware files for release (CC BY-SA 4.0). The final QuadRF design is really slick, reliable and production ready! It’s wild to see how far it has come after three dozen iterations.
How you can help!
By picking up a kit (or two) today, you are directly helping us fund the mass manufacturing of these RF tiles. Once we hit volume production, building large MoonRF arrays becomes significantly cheaper for everyone. Plus, when you are ready to scale up, you can pull the RF tile right out of your kit enclosure to use in larger array builds.
Check out the live campaign, watch the AR demo videos, and secure your kit on Crowd Supply to grab a spot in our initial 1,000 unit batch, shipping early Fall:
https://www.crowdsupply.com/scale-rf/quadrf#
Thanks for all the incredible support, ideas, and feedback so far. Let’s go phased-arrays!
In the meantime, keep the questions coming in the Discord: https://discord.gg/QPGVFTsNS4
Two caveats about this project:
This version of QuadRF operates only on the 5 GHz band - 4.9 - 6.0 GHz. That’s likely to be the case for the foreseeable future so that it can be scaled to an eventual full array.
The entire project / product is not entirely open source1 - see the Support & Documentation section:
QuadRF uses a hybrid open model. We have open-sourced the elements where users are most likely to modify, extend, and build, while protecting the RF-core implementation that makes a low-cost 4x4 MIMO SDR possible.
Our open source software is available right now in our GitHub repository, and our Antenna design files and simulations will be opened before the campaign completes. We have guides and schematics for easy DIY and will be working with the community to make them even more accessible, and compatible with a wider range of SDR tools.
Specifically:
Protected RF Core: The production RF-core and official factory DSP bitstreams are proprietary. However, we provide source-available RF schematics for debugging, education, and academic research.
I don’t view this as a disqualification for experimentation, because QuadRF is the most advanced phased array technology that radio experimenters have ever had access to, at anything approaching an “experimenter” price point. QuadRF is especially useful for engineering students because its initial application, when it ships, is a visualization of radio technology. It could easily be ported to display to a virtual reality display to visually display sources of radio energy (within the 4.9 - 6.0 GHz band).
As with all such decisions about open source and proprietary technology in Amateur Radio, I respect the creator’s choice, and I’m grateful for innovative new technology to be made available to radio experimenters and Amateur Radio even with some proprietary restrictions. It might be that with the example of QuadRF someone will decide to create additional capabilities, such as a QuadRF workalike for the 2.x GHz band.
Another potential extension might be other radio receivers using more conventional approaches such as highly directional antennas such as dishes or yagis that could be overlaid on the “viewing application” for QuadRF. It won’t be as elegant as QuadRF, but might be workable.
As I’ve explained in previous issues of Zero Retries, I expect that a significant application of this technology will be for low-cost outdoor point to multipoint broadband communications systems, both Amateur Radio (especially AREDN) and unlicensed experimentation… or quite possibly, commercial systems / applications. Imagine a mesh network that not only could separate its communications by frequency and time domains, but also the spatial domain. That’s done now with large (and micro / pico?) cellular systems, but very, very expensively.
LEO Satellite Plans?
There’s no mention of the potential synergy of QuadRF (or the largest array) for satellite operations… other than “the biggest one” - Luna, the Moon, or as some long time EME experimenters refer to it - OSCAR-0.
Thus I’m mildly puzzled why there is an apparent disconnect between the potential for Amateur Radio satellites such as AMSAT’s that are in the planning stages to use a 5 GHz uplink to LEO satellites (that move rapidly across the sky, thus requiring a azimuth / elevation focused antenna) and the QuadRF / MoonRF project. The ground station requirements for such a satellite are a bit daunting for an average Amateur Radio Operator, thus QuadRF seems like an ideal technology that would make such satellite uplinks very practical, perhaps requiring only basic azimuth / elevation capabilities in conjunction with a QuadRF handles the finer tracking requirements.
Back QuadRF
The complete Quad RF Kit for advanced SDR applications. Includes the main QuadRF board, a custom antenna assembly, a custom enclosure, a Raspberry Pi 5, an international power supply, a tripod, a 32 GB microSD card preloaded with SDR software, a fan, and all necessary cables so you can get started immediately
$499 Free US Shipping / $12 Worldwide
Orders placed now ship Sep 30, 2026.
Please direct comments / feedback about this article to the Zero Retries email list with the hashtag #ZR0256. Paid subscribers can comment directly on the web version of this issue.
ZR > BEACON
By Steve Stroh N8GNJ
Short mentions of Zero Retries Interesting items.
JNOS 2.0 - Working on AX25 V2.2
Maiko Langelaar VE4KLM on the nos-bbs email list:
Working on it, living updates in development repo ...
Need to find myself an ax25 v2.2 client and set that up I guess
This will take a bit of time I’m sure :|
This is great news about implementing AX.25 version 2.2 in JNOS! For background on the significance of AX.25 version 2.2, see Zero Retries 0244 - AX.25 Version 2.2 by John Langner WB2OSZ.
Further discussion about how to test new builds of JNOS with AX.25 version 2.2, it was suggested to use Direwolf which already supports AX.25 version 2.2 (implemented by the same WB2OSZ), and use QtTermTCP as a terminal program front end for Direwolf:
QtTermTCP is a multi-platform version of BPQTermTCP. There are versions for Windows, Linux and Android.
It supports TCP access to a bpq32 node either over a local LAN or the Internet. It connects to the BPQ32 TelnetServer in FBB mode, so you must define an FBBPORT in the BPQ32 Telnet Configuration.
It can also be used as a terminal for programs like UZ7HO's Soundmodem that support the AGW API, with KISS TNCs and with the VARA Modem. KISS TNCs can be connected via a serial port or a TCP connection. It can be used with the AGWPE emulator in BPQ32/LinBPQ though that has no significant advantages over the normal TCP interface.
It supports the YAPP protocol to allow you to send and receive files.
Mention of QtTermTCP is a handy bit of knowledge on working with Direwolf which is largely command-line driven, with configuration via config files.
Case Study - SafecomLink Cluster
Email from SafecomLink:
Shattering the ARQ Barrier with SafecomLink Pactor Clusters
Pioneering Real-Time, Cross-Band Multi-Station Chat/Data-Exchange on HF
For decades, HF data communication over ARQ modes like Pactor has been bound by two hard limits: it is point-to-point, and both stations must share propagation on a single frequency. The SafecomLink Cluster feature breaks both, enabling real-time, cross-band ARQ data exchange and the world’s first multi-party ARQ-based live chat.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Breaking two limits that have bound HF data for decades
In critical off-grid communication, ARQ protocols are the gold standard for error-free delivery, but their traditional use has always carried two structural constraints. SafecomLink disrupts both with the Cluster feature, deploying a unified, multi-node “connected brain” architecture that enables real-time, cross-band ARQ data exchange and introduces the first multi-party ARQ-based live data-exchange/chat on HF radio.
Other data communications systems term this capability a gateway, bridge, or router (or similar terminology) as the capability to move messages or data between networks.
I can understand how this is being marketed as a new capability of commercial / government / professional communications systems using HF communications.
At the risk of oversimplifying the comparison, SafecomLink the commercial / government / professional version of VarAC which is offered for Amateur Radio use. “Cluster” is also a feature of VarAC (called multi-node cluster). In VarAC, see Setup > Cluster.
MorseNexus DitStorm Cypher Version 3.0 - Cypher Mail
The MorseNexus DitStorm Cypher is (as I read it) essentially a Morse Code “modem” appliance (hardware), much like a TNC, but the data communications protocol it transmits and receives is Morse Code instead of AX.25.
Now it has a very interesting new, unique capability:
DitStorm™ Version 3.0 adds the following significant improvements:
• Cypher Mail. A store-and-forward messaging system for Cypher-to-Cypher communication. You compose a message to another station and the Cypher delivers it as a sequence of Morse frames, with the recipient’s Cypher confirming receipt automatically.
Messages are stored on the device, retried automatically until delivered, and require no live, real-time contact between stations. Cypher Mail is described in full in Section 8.
There are other improvements in the Version 3.0 software, but that’s the big new feature.
It’s fascinating to think of composing an “email” message in Cypher Mail (via a computer, communicating to the DitStorm Cypher via Wi-Fi) and then having it queued and sent automatically using Morse Code. I wouldn’t have imagined such a capability… but hey, why not? Morse Code is a data communications protocol, and it’s unique that its the only such protocol that’s interoperable2 between humans and computers.
The only issue I see is that since it’s only “Cypher-to-Cypher communication”, it can only communicate between two (or more) DitStorm Cypher units? But the communications bitstream is in Morse Code, so it shouldn’t be too terribly hard to reverse engineer any unit-to-unit handshake protocols.
MorseNexus has taken the automated use of Morse Code paradigm to entirely new dimensions with their increasingly sophisticated and capable products, and now DitStorm Cypher and Cypher Mail. Kudos!
Please direct comments / feedback about ZR > BEACON to the Zero Retries email list with the hashtag #ZR0256. Paid subscribers can comment directly on the web version of this issue.
Request To Send
By Steve Stroh N8GNJ
Editorial, Commentary, and Occasional Digressions
Early Summer Writing Doldrums
This is the third sequential issue of Zero Retries where I started a substantive article, now three such articles, that I didn’t complete in reasonable time to be able to (barely, again) publish Zero Retries on Friday (Pacific time). And I nearly missed an important contribution deadline and a couple of other significant writing commitments. Sometimes, writing is bleh, and the only “cure” is self-imposed mandatory butt-in-chair time. But perhaps, with a laptop, the writing environment can be made a bit more pleasant, like outdoors in the open air.
The weeks have flown by, consumed by… stuff. Fortunately this week was a bit lighter for breaking news, but doubtless there will be some Zero Retries Interesting news or presentations from HAM RADIO this weekend.
Thanks to all the Zero Retries readers who have suggested topics for Zero Retries. That you didn’t see your suggestions mentioned to date speaks to the “Doldrums”. Apologies, and I’ll try to catch up, but from experience, I can’t promise.
Unless there is major breaking news to justify an “early” issue (or a single topic Zero Retries Bulletin issue), the biweekly Summer 2026 schedule will resume, and Zero Retries 0257 will publish in two weeks - 2026-07-10.
Happy US Independence Day to US Readers
Since I don’t plan to publish Zero Retries next Friday, I’ll take a parochial moment here in (US-based) Zero Retries to wish my fellow US readers of Zero Retries a Happy 250th Independence Day next Saturday - 2026-07-04. This US holiday is often (and incorrectly, in my opinion) referred to as the “4th of July” or “July 4th” holiday, but my Dad always bristled at those references, pointing out that we’re not celebrating the 4th day of the 7th month… we’re celebrating the anniversary of US Independence Day.
The US is a (horribly imperfect at times) experiment in progress in democracy. But one thing that we can (and I am) be proud of is that however imperfect we are at times, we keep striving to be a more perfect union. The vast majority of us do the best we can, with what we have, with what we know at the time, and try mightily to be good neighbors, apologize when we’re not, and strive to do better.
ZRDC 2026 Ho!
Zero Retries Digital Conference (ZRDC) 2026 will be here before we (I) know it.
16 weeks until Zero Retries Digital Conference 2026
on Friday, October 16, 2026,
in San Ramon, California, USA.
Weekends Are For Amateur Radio!
(ARRL) Amateur Radio Field Day is this weekend, and in our corner of the world and North America, it will be damp. For the next week we’ll be getting what is usually the last gasp of significant precipitation for the Summer, typically until mid-September. In this area, July and August are usually sunny, dry, and mild. This week’s “damp” is welcome as it gives us perhaps a month’s grace of minimal wildfire danger before the heat and dry conditions combine to increase the wildfire danger to “likely” at some points in the vast forests of the Pacific Northwest.
This week has been more hectic than I anticipated and thus Meadow Day 2 might not happen, but pretty much by design, a Meadow Day exercise, especially with the Starlink Mini, only requires perhaps an hour of “grabbing stuff”, so perhaps it will work out.
Have a great weekend, HAM RADIO, and Field Day all of you co-conspirators in Zero Retries Interesting Amateur Radio activities!
Please direct comments / feedback about Request To Send to the Zero Retries email list with the hashtag #ZR0256. Paid subscribers can comment directly on the web version of this issue.
73,
Steve N8GNJ
Closing Thanks
My ongoing Thanks to:
Tina Stroh KD7WSF for, well, everything!
Jack Stroh, Late Night Assistant Editor Emeritus
Fiona and Shreky Stroh, Late Night Assistant Editors In Training
Founding Members who generously support Zero Retries financially:
Founding Member 0000 - Steven Davidson K3FZT (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0001 - Randy Smith WU2S (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0002 - Chris Osburn KD7DVD (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0003 - Don Rotolo N2IRZ (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0004 - William Arcand W1WRA (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0005 - Ben Kuhn KU0HN (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0006 - Todd Willey KQ4FID (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0007 and 0010 - Merik Karman VK1DF / VK2MKZ (Renewed 2025 x2, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0008 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 08 (Renewed 2025, 3rd year!)
Founding Member 0009 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 19 (Renewed 2025, 2nd year!)
Founding Member 0011 - Rick Prelinger W6XBE (Renewed 2025, 2nd year!)
Founding Member 0012 - Ryan Tolboom N2BP (Renewed 2025, 2nd year!)
Founding Member 0013 - Newton White N4EWT (Renewed 2026, 2nd year!)
Founding Member 0014 - Joe Hamelin W7COM (Renewed 2026, 2nd year!)
Founding Member 0015 - Rich Stocking N7OP (Renewed 2026, 2nd year!)
Founding Member 0016 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 77 (New 2025)
Founding Member 0017 - Phil Karn KA9Q (New 2025)
Founding Member 0018 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 95 (New 2025)
Founding Member 0019 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 0108 (New 2025)
Founding Member 0020 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 110 (New 2025)
Founding Member 0021 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 111 (New 2025)
Founding Member 0022 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 112 (New 2025)
Founding Member 0023 - Prefers to Remain Anonymous 116 (New 2026)
Founding Member 0024 - Rob Bowser (SPOOLTENNA) (New 2026)
Founding Member 0025 - Dave Stewart K7XST (New 2026)
Numerous Annual and Monthly subscribers who also generously support Zero Retries financially!
You thousands of readers of Zero Retries without which there would be little point in publishing this newsletter.
The Usual Administrivia
Zero Retries About - www.zeroretries.org/about
Zero Retries Digital Conference - www.zeroretries.org/p/conference
Zero Retries (Substack Blanket) Privacy Policy - substack.com/privacy
Zero Retries Reprint / Reuse Policy - www.zeroretries.org/p/reprint-reuse
Fair Use - All excerpts from other authors or organizations, including images, are intended to be fair use and are fully attributed generally by author and link (URL).
Paid Promotional Content - Unless otherwise noted in the article or item, advertisement, or sponsorship notice, Zero Retries does not include paid promotional content. Exceptions:
Advertisements in Zero Retries,
Sponsorships in Zero Retries,
Zero Retries products,
Zero Retries events
Features and content exclusive to paid subscribers.
Zero Retries 2026 Index - www.zeroretries.org/p/index-2026
Zero Retries Archive - archive.org/details/zeroretries?sort=-date
Zero Retries 0256 was published on 2026-06-26. This issue was 3235 words.
Footnotes For This Issue
To see the relevant sentence for the footnote, just click the footnote number.
I have previously characterized open.space / MoonRF / QuadRF product and project as “entirely” open source. That characterization is not correct. I was corrected about that characterization by a Zero Retries reader with deep experience in open source.
Arguably, other than (very recently) automated speech recognition and generation.
You wrote: "This is the third sequential issue of Zero Retries where I started a substantive article, now three of them, that I didn’t complete in reasonable time to be able to (barely, again) publish Zero Retries on Friday (Pacific time)."
Well, I chuckled. I had such a great time this past week with the Arduino UNO Q platform that I skimped on my writing. I let myself get immersed in projects and I have to say it was a lot of fun. But I can "hear" it in the way Random Wire 188 is just a little clunky. The transitions aren't as smooth as I'd like. I start to make a few points but instead of tying a ribbon around them, they are left dangling. I'm disappointed in my writing craft in RW 188, even though the content is good.
Sometimes we need to shift gears and do something else. I think it's a way to let our "author mind" take a break and have a chance to refresh and renew.