![]() The initial release of the BB6 generates FST4W-120 signals, but WSPR and other FST4W rates will be supported very soon. and channel timing when provided with an external 10 MHz reference clock. So what is a BeaconBlaster-6? It’s a six-channel transmitter, putting out one Watt FSK on up to six channels - simultaneously! The BB6 supports all ham channels from 160 meters to six meters, with extremely precise frequency, FSK shift. I found it interesting that on his QRZ page, W0XI had made the transition from “fixed function” Packet Radio units such as Kantronics TNCs to a “Sound Card” interface - a SignaLink USB, which is the only item related to data communications in his description of his Amateur Radio station.ħ3 W0XI - you made a dent in the Amateur Radio universe!īeacons in the Amateur Radio High Frequency (HF) bands are nothing new, but the BeaconBlaster-6 (BB6) currently in development by Turn Island Systems takes Amateur Radio beacon capability to a new level of precision. Kantronics continues to manufacture narrowband data communications products for Amateur Radio and commercial use. ![]() Kantronics KPC-3s for a time were the most popular product for operating Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) due to specific enhancements Kantronics implemented to support more efficient APRS operation. Kantronics based their products on Motorola microprocessors, creating their own firmware, and thus was not beholden to TAPR to provide royalty payments for “cloning” the TAPR TNC-2. Notably, in the era when a number of manufacturers licensed TAPR’s TNC-2 designs and firmware for expedience in quickly entering the Amateur Radio (and commercial) market(s), Kantronics made a different choice. Kantronics also created the Data Engine that used a V40 processor that was capable of routing data between two 56 kbps modems (far beyond the capability of the TNCs of the era), and accompanying plug-in modem cards including a 19200 bps unit. For a time, Kantronics manufactured the DVR 2-2 radio and the D4-10 radio, the latter widely used for higher speed (9600 bps and faster). Kantronics was a prolific creator of Amateur Radio products, mostly data communications (Packet Radio). The company morphed over time to become one of the premier manufacturers of terminal node controllers or TNCs for amateur packet radio. Phil Anderson, WOXI, founded Kantronics in 1971 to build wiring harnesses for automobiles. There is also “confirmation” on W0XI’s QRZ page - SILENT KEY in the upper left corner.Ī 2015 interview with W0XI by Eric Guth 4Z1UG for the QSO Today podcast states: KE9V states that the news was distributed on the Southeast Kansas Amateur Radio Club (SEKARC) mailing list, which is only accessible to members of the group. My thanks to Pseudostaffer Jeff Davis KE9V for alerting me to this sad news. Phil Anderson W0XI was a cofounder of Kantronics, one of the most prominent manufacturers of Packet Radio equipment during the “Packet Radio revolution”.
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