Ham Radio
Minecraft Mod
─
Lucas - W1BTR
WB1GOF PART of Westford | YARC
Major Revision 2
08/09/2022
Table of Contents
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Why the Mod Would be Beneficial
Bringing in Uninterested Parties
“Will people just play Minecraft instead of actually getting into ham radio?”
“Is this type of mod even possible?”
Wikipedia’s dynamic list of the best-selling video games in all of history places Minecraft at the top of the list. The total sales have reached over 238 million, almost double the runner up: GTAV.
Minecraft is a sandbox game, which means you decide what you do instead of following a story. In this game, players start in a randomly generated and virtually infinite world with nothing but their bare hands. Over time, they use the world around them to craft tools, armor, and other blocks to build everything from simple houses to complicated machines one block at a time.
Because of the flexibility in what you can do with the game, it is insanely popular. Almost everyone can find something fun to do. Young kids can build simple buildings and hunt down rare resources and have a blast! Full adults like myself (depending on the day) can take the time to build complicated sorting systems and world automation. It's totally scalable. Some talented builders have even built fully functioning computers in Minecraft.
Ben Craddock, 21, uses Minecraft to build functional computers and computer components, testing them before making them in real life.
Minecraft also has support for “mods”. These are special modifiers written in Java that are added to the game to change how it works. Mods can change the looks of blocks or creatures, add animals, tools, or blocks, and even add or change advanced features. There are mods that add nuclear power and teach players about the basics of nuclear physics. There are post-apocalyptic mods. There's a mod called "Create" which adds machinery and rotational power. There are over 100,000 mods made by the community!
Advanced machinery assembly line created thanks to special blocks and features added from the Create mod.
People can run their own Minecraft server with relative ease. These servers each have their own “world” that players can join and build on, and they can be set up with custom rules and mods. There are more than 480,000 active servers.
Because of the open nature of the game and the moddability, it's a great source of education. There's even a Minecraft Education Edition that is sold to schools across America and beyond.
“Amateur Radio (ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings people, electronics, and communication together. People use ham radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or cell phones. It's fun, social, educational, and can be a lifeline during times of need.
You can set up a ham radio station anywhere! In a field...
...at a club station....
...or at home.
Although Amateur Radio operators get involved for many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles and pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands." These bands are radio frequencies allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by ham radio operators.”
- ARRL: http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio
“I was updating a server that I run for a couple of friends that we use now and then, and I was appalled to find that there were no mods for ham radio out there! Not even one result! Heck, there are mods that add twerking and nuclear power, but no ham radio?”
Minecraft is an untapped resource of education. Millions of players are interested in tinkering, building, and exploring. Why not make a mod to add interest to ham radio?
Imagine a mod with fully featured ham radio support. Local handhelds and repeaters for local talk, HF rigs, and long-wire antennas extend your range. Learn about different antenna types, baluns, and coax runs. Learn about power output and propagation!
There are already mods out there that add proximity-based voice chat, so it's 100% possible. Mod development is relatively affordable. A mod like this could be done with grants from the ARRL or another interested party. Development is expensive, but we can scale our approach based on what we can raise, and possibly tap into the FOSS community for some of it.
The Ham Radio Hobby is considered a niche hobby. While the userbase of licensed hams grows, the count of active, on-the-air operators continues to slowly shrink. I believe one major issue is that of awareness.
I knew about ham radio through Hollywood’s portrayal of it, but I had no actual experience with the hobby. CB radio seemed interesting but weak and full of impolite and unregulated users. To put it simply, I didn’t know that it even was a hobby. I was unaware of how accessible, flexible, diverse, and… well, fun ham radio was! Nobody around me knew what it was either.
Even once I got my license, not even one of my friends knew what ham radio was until I told them. I think this mod could be a great way to bring the hobby exposure to the younger generations!
I know a few people who are interested in the hobby but are overwhelmed by what’s required to get started. To those of us who have done it, it might seem trivial, but for the folks that are coming in knowing nothing about radio it all seems very alien and challenging. It’s not until you take that leap of faith and dive in that you realize how easy it is.
A Minecraft mod would allow potential hams to learn about the hobby and how it works in a safe and fun environment. Players can learn about resonance and antenna types. They can learn about propagation and how different radios work.
Players can mess around without worrying about breaking real-life equipment, or worse, laws. By giving players a general idea of what to expect, it can make the studying and exam seem far less intimidating.
A ham radio mod would also be a great way to teach the fundamentals of ham radio to new hams or curious unlicensed players. With the mod, players could learn about the different types of antennas, the best time and distance for different bands, how baluns and chokes work, and more!
Due to the limitations of realistic funding and what is possible in Minecraft, the mod could not act as an area to test antenna ideas or setups. The emulation the mod will provide will be incomplete and heavily simplified.
While the mod might be fun to play around with for many Minecraft players, a significant portion of the player base will likely be uninterested in ever become a real ham operator. This mod’s objective is to raise interest in those who already enjoy tinkering and learning about electronics and communication. Luckily, there is a significant portion of the Minecraft player base that is interested in such things, like the many people who enjoy making advanced Redstone contraptions to sort items or open secret doors
I don’t believe so. First, the mod can’t connect you with random people. The mod will connect existing friends on their own servers, probably with small groups of people. Second, there are many aspects of ham radio that the mod can never really touch, like digital communication, SSTV, emergency communications, special event stations, and contests. These huge aspects of the hobby will certainly keep people interested in the real thing!
Certainly. I’ve discussed it with numerous mod developers and hams and they’ve agreed that it is more than doable.
While some players might enjoy the mod but not get into the real thing, I think ham radio is more interesting than agriculture and farming, at least to many Minecraft players. To answer this in more detail, I want to highlight some community answers to this question:
“I'm a teenager who loves to play Minecraft, and Minecraft mods have absolutely influenced my education. For example, there was a great Minecraft mod called "Forestry" which has absolutely gotten people interested in beekeeping and agriculture, because they can do it in-game.
I think it is in a special position of giving people a chance to play around with an interesting concept, especially if they wouldn't encounter it in real life. Minecraft mods combine a relevance to young player's interests with ease of access which make them a good opportunity to show off what is cool about a niche hobby. This is exactly why Minecraft has taken to adding animals like Turtles, Pandas, and Bees to raise awareness of their critical position.
TL;DR: I think that exposure to ham radio in Minecraft could be very effective in getting kids interested in, or at least aware of, a hobby that is quite frankly failing to stay relevant in the eyes of much of Gen Z.”
-u/BumphyRedixler
“I interview, hire, and work with many young software and electrical engineers. I make a point to ask them if Minecraft has played a role in their interests and the development of their education and occupation choices. So far, there has been almost a 100% affirmative response from males younger than 25 years old. Meaning, before they were engineers, before they did software or electronics for school or a living, they were tinkering with related concepts in Minecraft. Many graduate to Arduino tinkering (especially the electrical engineers). But all had an initial connection and exposure via Minecraft. Typically, their Minecraft connection transcended basic gameplay, and ventured into mod usage, and mod creation (or at least mod manipulation).”
-u/lowMicGain
A draft of this project was proposed to Reddit and there was some significant feedback from the r/AmateurRadio subreddit. Here are some of the stats:
· The idea received over 16,000 views on the r/AmateurRadio subreddit and was the top post for the day it was posted.
· The post received a 93% upvote rate
· The post received 62 comments, a wide majority of which were positive
· The post received a Gold and Silver Reddit Award given by the community
The post can be found at this URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/w8owu8/minecraft_an_untapped_education_resource_for_ham/
Taken from comments of the Reddit post
· “This is fantastic. I’ve seen a couple of work friends with kids who are already involved and sit around when dad fires up his ham to talk. A Minecraft mod would be a great starting point and a somewhat “primitive” feature for the game to have. I mean, hell, red stone is some kind of alien technology with the way it works. Haha. RF would be great mod.” -u/movewithwind
· “Really cool idea, and I love the energy and thought put into it. I play video games some, but haven’t tried Minecraft, but have been interested for a while. I look forward to this getting some traction.” -KD5EDY/AG
· “We have a Minecraft server on our AREDN mesh network. We would certainly look at adding a mod that involved ham radio if it was ever created. Our server runs forge.” -u/1980techguy
· “This would have totally gotten me into the hobby sooner. Might get me back into Minecraft too...” -u/AnythingButDasani
· “Yeah! This sounds great! I'd really want to look into 3D modelling, because I think that making massive dish antennas and suchlike could be really cool! Especially if they start as multiblock structures. Seeing what Create has accomplished with 3D models that fit into the Minecraft aesthetic, I think that any mods that could give radio a similarly appealing aesthetic would be received very well, and likely to gain interest from other communities. Also, the ability to make some type of radio out of pigs would be funny, as a literal ham radio.” -u/BimphyRedixler
· Anecdotally, out of my 2 children, one is obsessed with fighting games in Minecraft, and the other (like myself) is a builder/explorer/modder. But both are obsessed with Minecraft and have been for some time (it doesn't get boring for them).
Also anecdotally, I interview, hire, and work with many young software and electrical engineers. I make a point to ask them if Minecraft has played a role in their interests and the development of their education and occupation choices. So far, there has been almost a 100% affirmative response from males younger than 25 years old. Meaning, before they were engineers, before they did software or electronics for school or a living, they were tinkering with related concepts in Minecraft. Many graduate to Arduino tinkering (especially the electrical engineers). But all had an initial connection and exposure via Minecraft. Typically, their Minecraft connection transcended basic gameplay, and ventured into mod usage, and mod creation (or at least mod manipulation).
I think the idea has merit.
I am a person that spent 10,000s of hours developing and flying helicopter simulation add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator using at-home realistic flight controls, and then went and flew a real helicopter (in all phases of flight, including hovering in someone's driveway, and radio work) on my very first flight. So I have personal experience in how effective simulation/gaming can lead to transition of skills to non simulated tasks. Occasionally, well known helicopter companies would pay me for my work because they recognized the potential of it as well.” -u/lowMicGain
· “Until I read this post I had no idea I needed this in my life. Guess I should start getting proficient in my JavaScript...” -u/Saberhawk09
· “There are almost certainly limitless integrations you could make with other mods as well. Just off the top of my head I'm thinking Galactic Craft for satellites (And realistic crafting material costs!), Buildcraft / Ender IO for telemetry integration (I.E getting a status read out of your machines without connecting them with wires).
It's been a while since I seriously sat down and played Minecraft but man you got me thinking now... I sent this to our new local club of which I am a trustee.
Well damn now you got me thinking. The amount of integrations that could bejust the amount of integrations that could be done with mods that generate electrical power alone would be insane. I said it in a different post, but again I don't think you would want to start from the ground up with a lot of this stuff. Stuff like ores and electrical energy mechanics could be cloned from other mods as most of them are open source. (With the author's permission of course)…
…Geez, much like ham radio in real life the integrations would potentially just be endless with all the different mods you could also add to your game. I am friends with ModernHam (KN4MKB) on YouTube and I am a mod in his Discord server. Once he gets back from his deployment I could pass this idea to him if you want to get a bit more publicity. Assuming he also likes the idea (and comes back to YT) that might help spread the word.” -u/Saberhawk09
· “I think that exposure to ham radio in Minecraft could be very effective in getting kids interested in, or at least aware of, a hobby that is quite frankly failing to stay relevant in the eyes of much of Gen Z.” -u/BimphyRedixler
· “This is a brilliant idea! They recently added copper to the game, but the only practical use for it is as a lightning rod, everything else is cosmetic. I could see refining silicon from sand, and copper, and the odd gem, to make circuit modules, maybe different types of modules then get combined into different devices. With some kind of redstone battery of course haha.” -u/Thalass
· “Maybe create a numbers station that players can decode for achievements, or let players create their own numbers station to send secret messages to only their team, etc. And obviously cw messages. I'd find that fun with or without radios. :) Great idea...” -u/Intelligent-Foot-808
https://nediv.arrl.org/2022/10/20/ham-radio-minecraft-mod-project-gaining-momentum/
ARRL New England Vice Director Phil Temples, K9HI, shared information about the project to other ARRL Board members. Pacific Division Director Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, remarked, “This is great! I’ve been advocating gamification for several years now. I’m convinced this will be part of ham radio’s future. We ignore it at our peril […].”
The mod will be written in Forge for Minecraft 1.18.2. It will rely on and require the following mods:
It will have compatibility with the API for the following mods:
The features of this mod will be described in 6 sections. These are Components & Recipes, Radios, Antennas, Bands, Propagation, Events & Functionality, and Structures.
If a feature or recipe has a (1) next to it, it is part of the primary development stack. If it has a (2) next to it, it is part of the secondary development stack.
NOTE: The recipes themselves are all part of the secondary development stack.
Band / Radio Name | Base Line of Sight Range | Base Skip Range Day (Blocks) | Base Skip Range Night (Blocks) |
VHF HT | 300 | None | None |
VHF Base Station (& Repeater) | 500 | None | None |
10m Radio | 800 | Special | Special |
20m Radio | 300 | 2,000-6,000 | 800-1,000 |
40m Radio | 900 | 1,000-1,100 | 1,000-3,000 |
80m Radio | 600 | 700-800 | 600-2,000 |
For Antenna resonance / functionality, see the “Events & Functionality” section.
Antenna | Construction / Design | Performance |
Dipole Antenna (1) | Antenna has two legs with a 1:1 balun at the center. Coax connects on the bottom (think of a T) - Each leg is ¼ wavelength, total length is ½ wavelength. | Good propagation and local performance. The standard antenna. |
End Fed Half Wave (1) | Basically a dipole but fed on the end instead of in the center. Total length is ½ wavelength (requires 49:1 balun -> 1:1 balun -> Radio) | About 25% worse than a dipole |
Inverted V Dipole (1) | Dipole but the two ends are lower than the center. Easier to put up. Overall length should be 5% shorter. For 20m and 10m, no difference in length is required. 40m always will require a tuner since it will be a bit too short or too long, 80m will require one less meter on each leg. | 20m and 10m are 10% worse than a dipole 40m is 25% worse than a dipole 80m is 10% worse than a dipole |
Random Wire (1) | Requires a tuner, efficiency is reduced the further away it is from a multiple of whatever band the player is trying to use. This is handled as if the power is being reduced. Works on all bands as long as the wire is at least ½ wavelength of the frequency in question. (Requires 9:1 balun -> 1:1 balun -> radio) | Varies greatly, typically at least 50% the propagation range of a dipole |
Yagi Antenna (2) | Crafted for resonance on a band. No manual player building. | Directional. 100% more range but only in one direction. 10% of the range to the rear and left and right. |
Delta Loop Antenna (1) | Triangle built at ground level. Each side of the triangle is ⅓ a wavelength. Coax is connected at a corner. Must be at least 4 meters above ground. Must go to 4:1 balun | 10% of the local communication, but 50% better long range communication |
Quarter Wave Vertical (1) | Vertical antenna made of antenna pole. Pole height should be ¼ of the wavelength (i.e. 20m quarter wave antenna would be 5 blocks tall). 3 block tall antenna pole counts as a ¼ wave antenna for 10m. | 20% better local communication, but 30% worse long-range communication. Attracts lightning like a lightning rod. |
VHF Moxon Antenna (1) | Craftable Rectangular antenna. Stands vertically and is one meter tall. | Directional in the direction it is facing. 50% more range but only in one direction. 15% of the range in the other directions. |
10m Moxon Antenna (1) | Antenna is a rectangle made with antenna wire. Dimensions are 3x1. Stands horizontal. | 50% more range but only in one direction. 15% of the range in the other directions. |
20m Moxon Antenna (1) | Antenna is a rectangle made with antenna wire. Dimensions are 7x3. Stands horizontal. | 50% more range but only in one direction. 15% of the range in the other directions. |
J-Pole Antenna (1) | Craftable Antenna for VHF only. 1 block tall. | Provides 30% increase in VHF range |
Slim jim antenna (1) | Craftable antenna for VHF only. 1 block tall. Can be attached to the bottom of a block (including glass and leaves). Does not require an isolator/ connector or pole antenna mount. | Provides 20% increase in VHF range. Does not work in thunderstorms (to replicate how wind would make it hard to use in real life). |
Wide Band Receive | An oversimplification of coil-inducted and wide-band receive antennas. This antenna can be used to receive on all the bands, albeit somewhat poorly. Cannot be used to transmit on any band. Constructed with two antenna poles, then 3 iron bars going one way and 3 going the other (this is the cover photo). | 70% efficient on VHF 50% efficient on 10m 30% efficient on 20m 20% efficient on 40m 20% efficient on 80m |
const VHFRange = baseRange ^ ( heightExponent )
where the exponent could maybe be calculated like
if (height < 62) { //still assuming 64 is sea level and they haven't changed that
heightExponent = height / 100
}
else if (height > 62 && height < 200) { //these values are very pre-height-changes
heightExponent = height / 100 + 0.36 //base range at sea level
}
else if (height > 200) {
heightExponnent = 2.36 //stop giving a boost above 200 blocks
}.
These values will have to be fine tuned to be reasonable. This formula should work out so that VHF Base Stations and Repeaters should both have a range of 100 blocks at Y=62, and 600 blocks at Y=200. Past 200 blocks there is no difference.
Handhelds should have a range of 40 blocks y=62 and 200 blocks at y=200. These values should be configurable in the server config.
Propagation Event | Description | Performance Effect | Rarity | Extra |
Blackout | Extreme interference | No HF Propagation. Noise floor is very high. | Very Rare - Lasts up to 3 minecraft days - 5% | Signal strength lights up randomly once and a while |
Poor | Only strong contacts. | Noise Floor 70% | Rare - 10% Lasts for at least 2 minecraft days | |
Fair | Useable especially for morse | Noise Floor 50% | Common - 20% | |
Average | Standard conditions | Noise Floor 30% | Very Common - 35% | |
Good | Above average clarity | Noise floor 20% | Common - 20% | 10m band has some limited propagation. |
Great | Very good clarity. All HF bands have | Noise floor 10% | Rare - %10 | 10m band has some limited propagation. |
/callsign reset player playername
Resets the player’s callsign as if they had never set one.
/callsign assign player PlayerName callsign Callsign
Allows admins to set a new callsign for a player. Can override the server config for allowed callsigns. Can also be longer than the normal callsign after the number, for example N1HEROBRINE.
/bandcalculate x,z x,z
Allows an admin to calculate the best band to use to talk between two points instead of using a solar weather station. Instant.
/APRS beacon Frequency Callsign Message
Beacons the admin or command block’s current position using the callsign set. Received by all TNCs on the same frequency regardless of range.
“All” can be used instead of a specific frequency for all TNCs to receive.
/APRS broadcast Frequency TargetCallsign Message
Allows admins (or command blocks) to send an APRS message to a player. Ignores range and is received by all TNCs. Does not digipeat.
“All” can be used instead of a specific frequency for all TNCs to receive it, assuming the callsign matches, regardless of frequency.
“All” can be used instead of a callsign for all players to get the message.
/callsign get player PlayerName
Get the callsign of a player
/callsign get callsign Callsign
Get the player name of a callsign
/callsign
Tells the player their callsign
/callsign list
Lists all callsigns and their matching player names.
The config file is also discussed throughout the document, but this area acts as a spot to have these notes in one area.
The config file will have the following variables / settings configurable:
S
There are 7 total radios, each with a unique design. However, there will be 14 textures total, as each radio will have a “modern” and “vintage” variant. The vintage variant is the default.
Both the vintage and modern variants perform identically, and only differ in appearance. In the server config, the modern variant can be disabled entirely. The modern variants are part of the secondary development stack.
The design of this mod is to take a vanilla+ approach. Textures will be simplified and should not look too out-of-place for the game. Take a look at these example textures from the “Create” mod:
Notice the size and depth of the blocks. They still take up an entire block of space for the most part, but add complexity by shrinking aspects of the texture. All of the radios should be modeled in 3D. Each radio will have a single light to indicate the radio is on, and then 5 lights to indicate receive strength as well as transmit power when transmitting.
We are specifically trying to avoid the out-of-place feel for many technology mods, where the textures don’t seem to fit the existing texture base.
Nothing against these mods, as those designs are exactly what many players are looking for with what features the mods add, however it is not the look we are aiming for in this project.
The following radios show the era and style of radios we want to focus on for the vintage radios for HF radios:
Swan 350
Heathkit SB-101
Icom IC-751A
Heathkit SB-104A
Collins R-390A/URR RECEIVER
The following radios show the erra and style of radios we want to focus on for the vintage radios for VHF radios:
Azden PCS-2000
ICOM IC-22U
ICOM IC-25A
Gonset Communications VHF radio
Yaesu Memorizer
ICOM 02-AT HT
Yaesu FT-470 HT
HALLICRAFTERS SX-100 VHF Receiver
Spectrum Communications VHF Repeater
This radio is cool enough, just straight up copy it.
The rear texture of each radio should have 3 wires going down to the base of the radio. One thick wire, one in between, and one thin. This is supposed to represent the antenna coax cable, the power cable, and a cable for a TNC interface. Other design elements can be added too.
Vintage HF Radios should have a single light to indicate the radio is on, and then 5 lights to indicate receive strength as well as transmit power when transmitting. They should all have a couple of buttons, one big tuning wheel, and some other small potentiometers. None of these will be functional, of course.
Note that most of these radios pictured are multi-band radios. For this mod, each radio (other than the all-band radio) will only work on a single band. Each band will have its own single radio with a unique design, inspired from the photos above.
Some may have illuminated dials Heathkit and Swan radios, and some might have digital number displays. If it is simple to do so, having a working display to show the frequency, and a dial that shows some of the number would be great and add some depth to the mod, but if this is difficult to implement it should be pushed further down the roadmap.
For radios with dials, they should appear to glow and be illuminated when powered on.
Maybe a bit smaller than that?
The VHF Repeater will take up 4 blocks of space as opposed to one:
Again, the design should follow a similar mood to the create mod. It should look very vintage.
When a player right clicks a radio, the UI will open where they can select the following:
It will also display the signal strength of any received transmission, which will instead show output power when transmitting.
When a player right clicks a VHF repeater, the UI should allow the player to enter the following:
The solar weather station is a placeable block that, when right clicked, allows the player to “Print Weather Report” and see:
When the player presses “print a report” the station’s UI will have a flashing “Loading” light, then a dot-matrix style paper will slide up and show the report. When the player closes the UI, they will be given the report in their inventory which they can right click to view.
There will also be an option to calculate the best band to use between two locations.
The player will have an area to enter two sets of X and Z coordinates, then they can press the “Print Communication Report” button. This will take a moment to load before displaying the following info on a dot-matrix style paper:
When the player closes the UI, they will be given the report in their inventory which they can right click to view.
The digital interface (TNC) block can be placed next to any radio. On the main page of the UI it will show if it is receiving anything and if so, what mode. Clicking on it will bring them to the proper section. On the main page, a player can see the callsign the TNC is set to. They can “Claim” it to set it to their callsign. They can also override the callsign to set it to a unique callsign for just that station, but there will be a note showing what player set it. The UI will have three sections:
This section aims to document the work already completed on this project. It will be updated live in the google doc and can be seen at mcmod.w1btr.com
Work Completed | Date Completed |
Prospective Developers Found | 10/20/2022 |
VOIP Protocol Completed (existing API)
| 10/22/2022 |
ARRL Grant Request Submitted | 10/26/2022 |
ARDC Grant Request Submitted | 10/27/2022 |
The functional development of this mod will be separated into three chunks.
* means it has not been written about here yet.
- VHF Radios
- HF Radios
- Coax
- Antenna Wires
- Tuners
- VHF LoS
- HF LoS
- HF Skip Zone and Propagation
- Static / Noise Floor
- Solar Storms Affect HF Noise Floor
- Sending Items over radio
- VHF Poll antenna
- VHF J-Pole
- VHF Yagi
- VHF Slim-Jim
- HF End-Fed
- HF Dipole
- HF Inverted V Dipole
- HF Loop
- ¼ wave
- HF Mangnetic Loop
- HF YAGI
- All Band Radio
- Antenna Analyzer (says what band an antenna is resonant on, and if it isn't resonant, says what band its close too and if its too short or too long) *
- Poor Antenna match (SWR) damages the radio.
- Digital Interface TNC (Digital Modes)
- Recipes
- Solar Panels *
- VHF Moxon
- HF Moxon
- Coax Switch *
- Redstone Flux Usage and integration *
- Batteries *
- Mic block *
- More HF Antennas?
- More VHF Antenna?
- Baluns & Chokes *
- Grounding *
- VOX hands free *
- Callsign System
- VHF Repeaters
- Curios API Integration
- Weather Station & Coordinates Calculator*
- APRS Position Reporting
- Direction Tracking Device*
- Multiple Variants of each radio with their recipes*
- Random Structures*
- Radio Frequency interference with redstone :D
- Auto beacon block (can send morse code, aprs, or “encrypted” (encrypted is just noise interference on a specific frequency and is not useful to the player).
- Randomly generated structures with automatically beaconing radios and radio-related loot
- chance that outposts will have auto beaconing radios on them
- APRS "DIS" Discord Bot Integration
- API for interfacing with real radios
- Option for community to add their own design variants
- Sag physics for antenna wire and cable (appearance only)
The projected cost of the project is separated by the different waves of funding.
The primary development is expected to consist of 150-250 hours of development time. The secondary development is expected to consist of 100-200 hours. The future development will depend on the first two waves of development and requires some outside experts. That is why it is labeled as “future development” as opposed to third development or something along those lines.
The quotes and estimates we’ve gotten fall within the average for java developers, ranging from $40-$50 / hour. As such, the total expected cost ranges from $20,000-$30,000
We plan to gain funding from grants from ham radio based non-profits, as well as through a go-fund-me depending on the initial grant process.
All funds will be used to pay for developers, designers, and any other fees necessary to complete and upload the mod to the proper websites.
The club that this project is tied to, that is, the PART of Westford WB1GOF club, is not a registered non-profit organization. It is not incorporated in any way.
The payment to the developers will still need to be figured out. Whether it will be paid directly to the developers, or whether the developers can handle that cost in their setup, will need to be determined down the road.