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.

Ham Radio

“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

An Untouched Resource

“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.

Why the Mod Would be Beneficial

Awareness

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!

Lowering the Barrier to Entry

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.

Teaching the Fundamentals

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!

Limitations of the Mod

Real-Life Modeling

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.

Bringing in Uninterested Parties

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

Answering Concerns

“Will people just play Minecraft instead of actually getting into ham radio?”

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!

“Is this type of mod even possible?”

Certainly. I’ve discussed it with numerous mod developers and hams and they’ve agreed that it is more than doable.

“Millions of players breed cows and grow crops in Minecraft but how many of them get into farming? Would a ham radio mod actually bring people into the hobby?”

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

Community Feedback

Posting to Reddit

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/

Some Reddit Feedback

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

New England Division ARRL

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 […].”

Features Description

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:

Curios API (placing items on chest or belt)
JEI 9.x

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.

Components & Base Recipes

NOTE: The recipes themselves are all part of the secondary development stack.

Wire (1): Wire is used to create many radio components as well as for making antennas. Wire can also be used as an RF wire source. Wire, when placed, will appear a dark silver. The recipe to create 9 wire will be as follows:

9 wire can make one spool of wire to save space (which can be crafted into 9 wire). Wire can also be made with copper ingots. Wire can be placed and will stay on-top of blocks like Redstone but with a different texture.
If plain placed wire interacts with water while powered, the water will be electrified, damaging any entity in the water within 6 blocks of it with 3 hearts of damage, and uses as much power as it can be given. If the wire is powered by batteries when it interacts with water, the batteries will have a low chance of being ignited and exploding.

Waterproof Wire: Waterproof wire can be placed and can carry power just as standard wire can, but it does not interact with water. It cannot be used in recipes. The recipe will use 3 wire and 3 kelp as follows:

This will produce 3x waterproof wire.

Radio Crystal: Radio crystals are the heart of every radio. The recipe will use a diamond, amethyst crystals, and a wire:

Radio Speaker: Radio speakers are required for all radios with receive functionality. The recipe will use note blocks, iron, and wire as follows:

Microphone: Microphones are used in every transmitting radio in some way or another. The recipe for a microphone uses an amethyst crystal, iron, and wire as follows:

Hand Mic: Hand Mics are used in many non-handheld radio recipes. The recipe uses a microphone, a polished Blackstone button, wire, and a plank of any wood.

HF Circuit Board: The HF Circuit Board is a component used to make HF radios. Its recipe uses 3 sand, 1 wire, 1 nether quartz, and 3 iron as follows:

Small Alkaline Battery: Handheld batteries are used by VHF handheld radios and QRP transceivers. Handheld batteries will use glass, thick potion, iron, and wire as follows:

Small Alkaline batteries can be used on handheld radios by dragging them on top of a radio with no battery. If the radio has a battery already, it will swap for a battery with whatever charge the radio had previously.
Alkaline Batteries cannot be recharged, and will be consumed once empty.

Ferrite Core: Ferrite cores are used in the recipes for transformers, which are used with antennas. The recipe for the ferrite core is as follows:

Solar Panel: Solar panels are a power source that can integrate with the Redstone Flux API. How much power they generate depends on the time of day. At peak, 6 panels should be able to power any radio. During the day, one panel should be able to power a QRP radio. It can also charge batteries. The recipe for a solar panel will use kelp, iron, and wire as follows:

Coaxial Core and Coax Wire: Coax wire is used to connect radios to antennas. The coax wire requires Coaxial core in its recipe. The recipe for coaxial core uses 6 kelp and 3 iron ingots as follows:

This will produce 3x coaxial core.
Then, the coaxial core is used to make coax wire in this recipe, utilizing 3 coaxial core (represented with barrier blocks), 3 wire, and 3 kelp as follows:
This will produce 3 Coax Wire.
Coaxial Wire can travel up one block at a time.

Large Battery: Large batteries are placeable blocks that are connected to radios to power them. They will use the RF API. The have a charge to them, which is used when a radio is powered on. Large batteries can be combined to combine their capacity and can be charged with a power source (such as solar panels attached via wire). The recipe for large batteries will use 6 stripped logs and 3 small rechargeable batteries (represented with barrier blocks) as follows:

When a radio is receiving, a battery should last about 2 in-game days. On transmit, a battery should last ¼ an in-game day on a full power radio, and 1 in-game day for QRP radios.
Batteries have TNT-like properties, where they will explode if set on fire. They are not ignited with a Redstone signal, however. Around ¼ of their explosions also produce fire.

Antenna Isolator/Connector: Antenna Isolator/Connectors are used to attach antenna wire to a block. These can be placed on the sides or bottoms of blocks and will allow the player to place antenna wire on that connector. The player can then run coaxial wire to their rig.
Antenna Wire (1): Antenna wire is wire that can be placed and used as an antenna. Instead of placing on a block (like normal wire), it is suspended in the center of the block. If possible, for aesthetic purposes, the more pieces there are in a single, unsupported run, the more the wire will sag, giving it a suspended weighted appearance.

Antenna wire will be slightly thicker than normal wire and will be a dark brown/black. To attach to blocks, one will need to use an Isolator/Connector. The recipe for antenna wire will use wire and kelp as follows:

Solar Weather Station (2): The solar weather station is a placeable block that tells the player what the solar weather is. It will also allow the player to enter in two sets of coordinates, and it will tell the player what band is best to use during average conditions. The solar weather station’s recipe uses 2 antenna poles, 2 tinted glass, 1 radio crystal, 2 wire, 1 lightning rod, and 1 iron ingot as follows:

The station consumes 1 paper each time a player generates a “report.”
The station can be fed paper with a hopper, and can be activated with a redstone signal.
The solar weather station will also output a different redstone signal into a comparator depending on the current band condition (1-6).

Digital Interface (TNC) (2): The Digital Interface allows a ham radio to perform advanced tasks such as sending maps, paper, and books, sending APRS messages, and more (see Events & Functionality Digital Interface section for more details and a description of APRS). The recipe for the Digital Interface uses 3 wire, a microphone, a speaker, and a diamond as follows:

Radios

VHF Handheld (1): The VHF Handheld will represent handheld radios that function on the “2-meter band.” These radios have limited line-of-sight range and are not subject to propagation. Read more about these in the “Events & Functionality” section. The recipe for the handheld VHF radio will take one lightning rod, 2 iron, one stone button, one radio crystal, one speaker, two wire, and one microphone as follows:

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders.
The VHF handheld will take handheld batteries, which will be required to use the radio. The batteries will drain differently depending on use. Here is a reference list for a developer:

While idle (radio is on), a battery should last 12 in-game days.
While receiving (transmission is being heard), a battery should last 6 in-game days.
While transmitting, a battery should last 2 in-game days.

VHF handhelds, when receiving a signal within its range, will receive muffled static (opposed to the contents of the transmission):

In a player’s hand
In a player’s offhand
In a Curios API belt slot
In a curios API chest slot

When a VHF handheld is up to 50 blocks past its range, interference will play as well as the voice signal (static sounds). This is different from HF radios where the volume will decrease independently of static.

VHF Base Station (1): The VHF Base station is a placeable radio. These radios will have a limited range of 500 blocks from the antenna connected to it. This is reduced to 400 blocks under Y=80, and 80 blocks under y=0 (measurement is taken from the base of the antenna). The recipe for the VHF base station will require 3 iron, 1 hand-mic, 1 radio crystal, 1 speaker, 1 wire, and 2 wood planks of any type.

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders.
When right clicked, an interface will open. Reference the “Base Station Interface and power” section for specifics.
VHF Base station radios use half the power of HF stations (and 5x the power of QRP stations).
VHF Base Stations and VHF Handhelds are compatible with each other. When they are communicating with each other, their range is averaged at 450 blocks (or 70 blocks under y=0).

VHF Repeater: VHF repeaters are placeable radios designed to repeat what they receive on a different frequency. This can be used to effectively double the range of handhelds and base stations. VHF Repeaters have the same range as VHF base stations, and require 1.5x the power of a base station. The recipe for the repeater is 4 iron, an iron trapdoor, 1 Netherite Ingot, 1 VHF Base Station, 1 radio crystal, and 1 wire.

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders
Repeaters prompt the players for a callsign when they are created. The callsign will have a pattern of X#XX, where X is a player-given letter, and # is a number that represents how far away the repeater is from spawn, where 0 is near spawn and 9 is near the world boarder.
By default, repeaters are in a “sleep” state. They are woken from their sleep state by a player transmitting on the repater’s input frequency within an averaged range. It repeats this transmission on its output frequency (to be heard by radios within range) as it is received. Once the transmission is done, it adds the repeater’s callsign in Morse. After 10 minutes, it will transmit the repeater’s callsign again, unless it is actively repeating a transmission, at which point it will wait until that transmission is done. This cycle repeats until the repeater has had no activity for 10 minutes after it’s last time sending its callsign, at which point it will send the callsign once more and go into sleep mode, no longer transmitting anything until it is woken again.

VHF Receiver: A VHF receiver is a placeable radio with no transmit capabilities. It requires much less power than transceivers (radios that transmit and receive). The recipe uses 3 iron ingots, 2 planks of any type, 1 gold ingot, 2 wire, and a speaker as follows:

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders
VHF receivers can be tuned to specific frequencies or can be set to scan up to 4 frequencies at once. When receiving on one of the frequencies it is set to scan, the matching number “light” on it will illuminate. See Design & Style for more information.

10m HF Radio (1): The 10m HF Radio is the highest frequency HF radio, and as such has the lowest range (other than VHF radios) by default. It is a placeable block that can be interacted with by the player. The 10m HF radio has a full-strength range of 900 blocks. Past 900 blocks, the volume of the received signal is reduced by 10% every 100 blocks. If the antenna attached to the radio is under y=0, the range is 100 blocks. 10m radios have a recipe that uses 3 gold, 1 hand-mic, 1 radio crystal, 1 speaker, 1 wire, and 2 wood planks of any type.

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders
10m radios can also be affected by random propagation events, which are discussed later on in this presentation.

20m HF Radio (1): The 20m HF Radio is a transmitting and receiving radio that provides decent long range communication during the day via propagation, but little local communication and poor communication at night. The recipe for a 20m HF Radio uses 3 nettherite scraps, 1 wire, 1 radio crystal, 1 tinted glass, 1 HF Circuit Board and 2 iron as follows:

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders

40m HF Radio (1): The 40m HF Radio is a transmitting and receiving radio that provides good long-range communication during the night via propagation, good local communication, and poor propagation during the day. The recipe for the 40m HF Radio will utilize 2 netherite scraps, 1 netherite ingot, 1 wire, one radio crystal, 1 tinted glass, 2 iron, and one HF Circuit Board as follows:

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders

80m HF Radio (1): The 80m HF Radio that provides decent long-range communication. At night, its range is about 25% greater than during the day. The 80m radio has no skip zone, meaning there is no area of no coverage between its local and long range communication range. The recipe for the 80m HF Radio uses 3 netherite ingots, 1 wire, 1 radio crystal, 1 tinted glass, 2 iron, and 1 HF circuit board as follows:

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders

HF Receiver (2): An HF receiver is a placeable radio with no transmit capabilities. It requires much less power than transceivers (radios that transmit and receive). It can receive on all the HF bands. The recipe uses 4 iron ingots, 1 netherrite scrap, 2 wire, a lightning rod, and a speaker as follows:

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders
HF receivers can be tuned to specific frequencies or can be set to scan up to 4 frequencies at once. When receiving one of the frequencies it is set to receive, it does not scan the other frequencies until there is nothing on the current one.

All Band Radio (2): The all-band radio is exactly what it sounds like. It is a radio that can work on all of the HF bands and the VHF band. It takes up two blocks in width instead of one. It has two antenna outputs instead of one. The first is dedicated to VHF, the second is for all the HF bands (ideally a player will use a coax switch to use it with multiple antennas).

The all-band radio is crafted by putting all the HF radios and a VHF radio in the crafting table.

QRP 40m Radio (2): QRP radios are low-power radios. In this mod, QRP radios can run off very little power, but are limited to 10w of power.
QRP 20m Radio (2): QRP radios are low-power radios. In this mod, QRP radios can run off very little power, but are limited to 10w of power.
Radio Range Quick Table

Radio range varies based on the band (and therefore the radio). The radio’s range is also altered depending on the antenna, and most importantly, the antenna’s height:

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

Antennas & Antenna Components

For Antenna resonance / functionality, see the “Events & Functionality” section.

Antenna Pole (1): Antenna poles are used to make vertical antennas. Each antenna pole is 1 “meter” in length. Antenna poles must be placed on antenna pole mounts and cannot be stacked more than 10 blocks tall. The recipe uses 2 iron ingots and 1 wire as follows:

Duplexer (1): Duplexers are required for use with repeaters. Duplexers require 6 iron ingots, 2 lightning rods, and 1 Netherite ingot.

Note: All non-vanilla textures are placeholders.

Antenna Tuner (1): Antenna tuners are blocks that can be placed along the coax between the radio and the antenna (before any baluns, i.e., it should be Radio -> Tuner -> Anything else). This block allows players to use antennas that are off-resonance with their radio. However, the more off-resonance the antenna is, the more efficiency / power is lost. The recipe for the Antenna tuner uses 6 wire, a lighting rod, one netherrite scrap, and one emerald.

Antenna Analyzer (2): The antenna analyzer is a holdable item that, when right-clicked on a piece of coax cable (the cables that connect antennas to radios), will tell the player what band the antenna is resonant or close to resonant to.

For example, a 20m dipole antenna (see antenna resonance in Events & Functionality) has 5 meters of wire both left and right of the balun (a placeable block that connects the antenna wires to each other and a coax cable). If the player had 5 meters of wire on one side and 4 meters of wire on the other, the analyzer would say it is “Near Resonant to the 20m band” and that it is “too short.”
The recipe for this item is tbd

Events & Functionality

Callsigns: A player’s callsign is their unique identifier on the radio. When a player first interacts with a radio, if they do not have a callsign set to their player, the prompt to select a callsign will be given to them.

Players can choose any callsign following the following format:
!@#!@@ where:

! - a required capital letter
@ - an optional capital letter
# - a number 0-9 (The server config allows admins to choose which numbers 0-9 are available to choose from)

If the callsign is taken, they will not be able to apply it.
In the server config, mods can also set it so that players cannot choose their own callsigns, and instead must get them from server operators.

Averaged Mixed Range: When two devices that are compatible with each other have different effective ranges (such as with handheld vs base station vhf radios, or with two radios that have different performing antennas), the performance will be averaged out.
Coax Cable: Coax cable is a wire that can carry radio signals to baluns, tuners, and antennas.
Antenna Resonance: Antennas must be resonant on the frequency they match with, otherwise the radio will not work. A tuner can bring an antenna that is close to resonance, to resonance. This is a heavy oversimplification for the purpose of limiting the scope of this mod. In future development, multi-band antennas may be added. Resonance is calculated based on how many “meters” an antenna is compared to how many “meters” a radio is. This is based on real life, where frequencies have a “wavelength” measured in meters. The different bands are called 20m, 40m, 80m, etc because of the length of that wave.

As a reminder, while some of the antennas on the list are made with “antenna pole,” most of them are made with “antenna wire” which is wire that typically runs in the air across the x and z (flat) plane of the world. Here is a table representing the length of different antenna types:

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

SWR (2): SWR stands for “standing wave ratio,” and in real life is a way of measuring how well a signal is going into an antenna by measuring the power reflected back from the antenna down the coax cable. The closer to 1.0 the better. Anything above 3 is considered a bit unsafe for the radio.

In this mod, SWR will not be measurable, at least not for the initial release. Instead, if an antenna is not resonant by a significant amount, it will have a chance to set the radio on fire. The further off-resonance an antenna is, the higher the chance of it catching fire.
If a radio’s antenna is off-resonance by a very large amount, the block will be destroyed, replaced by fire.

Radio Static (1): Radio static is a pre-recorded audio file of static that is played on all radios other than VHF radios.

By default, when any HF radio is on, static can be heard. Static when no transmission is coming through can be disabled in the server config.
When a transmission is coming in, the static’s volume will be slightly increased. If the antenna attached to the radio doesn’t have a ground connection (with an exception for ground-exempt antennas), the static’s volume will be increased by 20% (see antenna grounding in the “Antennas” section).
Past a radio / band’s full-strength range, the volume of the signal from the radio (be it voice or morse), is reduced by 10% every certain number of blocks. The signal will then be drowned out by the static if it is weak enough.
When lightning strikes, static increases in volume to 40% for a second.
If no antenna is connected, there will be no static.

Repeater Setup (1): Repeaters need to have an input and output frequency set. Handheld and base VHF stations will then set their frequencies to the radio’s output frequency and use the “Duplex / Repeater” menu to set the radio’s input frequency.

Hardware wise, repeaters require a duplexer between the radio and the antenna. In the real world, this allows repeaters to transmit and receive using the same antenna.
If the player attempts to use a repeater with no duplexer, feedback will be transmitted for 2 seconds before the repeater turns off.
In total, repeaters require:

Power
A line going from the repeater to the duplexer
A line going from the duplexer to an antenna

VHF Radios (1): VHF (Very High Frequency) radios perform differently than HF radio. They are line-of-sight only, meaning they are not for long range.

VHF radios use a “line of sight” (LoS) system to determine their range. Their range is exponentially increased as the antenna’s height is raised. An example formula for this:

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.

HF LoS (1): HF radios also use a Line-of-Sight calculation for their LoS range as suggested in the “Radio Range Quick Table” on page [PAGE]
10m Radios (1): 10m radios are in a unique space in this mod. They are basically low-bandwidth (reduced transfer speed) longer-range VHF radios (using the LoS formula) except for when the conditions are right and it will propagate. This means that they can be useful when VHF radios aren’t quite long-range enough, but they are also a great tool to increase speed when the band conditions are good.
Propagation Events (2): In real life, propagation is how radio waves propagate in the ionosphere and reflect around the world. Propagation changes based on solar weather and is random as to how well it will work with radio. Different bands perform differently based on these conditions. In this mod, propagation is heavily simplified and simulated with random events to make development easier.

By default, propagation is at a “standard” level, where the basic range of HF radios will be at their default state as set in the “Radios” section.
Geomagnetic storms increase the static / noise floor on HF radios. The following table represents propagation:

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.

Sporadic E: Sporadic E is a propagation event that allows limited VHF propagation. When the propagation conditions are “Fair” or better, there is a 5% chance that VHF propagation will open, allowing long-range communication over VHF. This will last up to one minecraft day.

Voice Mode (1)

All radios have a voice mode for voice communication. In the UI for 10m-80m radios, it is labeled as “SSB.” On VHF radios it is labeled as “FM.”
Voice mode uses the client’s microphone which can be selected and has basic volume control

CW (Morse Code) Mode (1)

Morse code has 25% more range (this simulates that in real life, morse code is much more efficient and travels further).
Morse code mode uses morse code and does not use the player’s microphone. Morse code is controlled in the radio UI. There are two modes, configurable in the server-config. These are “True Morse” and “Morse Chat.”

True Morse (1): In the radio’s UI, morse is controlled with a single button on the screen, as well as with the “Alt” key on the keyboard. It simply transmits a tone when the button or key is pressed.
Chat Morse (1): In the radio’s UI, morse can still be sent by hand with the “Alt” key, but the on-screen button opens a chat session. Text is sent in time with the real morse code counterpart being played over the radio.

TNC / Digital Interface (2)

The TNC / Digital interface is a block that can be placed next to any radio, must be on top of a printer block. When a radio next to it is on, it can be right clicked to open the TNC UI. The TNC is by default set to have the callsign of the player. The TNC allows players to do the following with another player over the radio:

Fast text-communication (called RTTY Chat)

Real-time communication. Most of the specifics are in the Digital Interface section of UI Design.
Consumes 1 paper from the printer block below it for every 20 messages

Send / receive maps over radio (Called SSTV)

Send a map over the radio.
Consumes 1 map from the printer inventory.

Send /receive Books and paper over radio (Book or named paper, retains any name / tooltips /lore) (Called File Transmit)

Consumes 1 book or paper
Does not work with enchanting books (to avoid duplication)

APRS Coordinates

Can include a brief message of up to 30 letters.
Allows the player to beacon the coordinates of their station.
Can also be triggered by a redstone signal.
Stations with TNCs and paper with their radio on the same frequency can view a list of the last 20 received beacons at any time. It will show as: Callsign: X, Y, Z | Message
Does not consume anything. Does not require a printer block.
When there is more than one radio adjacent to the TNC, upon receiving an APRS packet, it will wait 1 second, then repeat the APRS “packet” to other radios. For example, W1BTR sends out a packet from his VHF radio at 144.390 MHz. Another VHF radio with a TNC receives it. There is an HF radio adjacent to the TNC. It will re-transmit the APRS message on that HF frequency.
The TNC will not digipeat a message it has already received.

APRS Messages

A message that can be directed to another callsign.
Uses the same digipeater technology that the APRS coordinates system uses, so that it can repeat the message until all stations within range of each other have repeated it.
When there is a TNC that has the matching callsign of the set recipient, the TNC will buzz once and flash a red light until a player opens the APRS Messages section and sees the message.

When doing these things they will play digital communication sounds over the radio. For the specific sounds, see the Design, Style & Sound Section

Commands

Admin commands:

/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.

Player Commands:

/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.

Config

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:

Enable and Disable the “Modern Variant” (default enabled)
What numbers 0-9 are available in callsigns (see Events & Functionality) (default all)
Set whether players can set their own callsign (default yes)
Whether some static is heard when an HF radio is on but not receiving (default yes). This config is called “HF Static Squelch”
Line-of-Sight and Propagation range settings for all radios (see defaults in X section)
Geomagnetic Storms enabled or disabled (default yes)
True Morse Vs Chat Morse (default Chat Morse) (see Events & Functionality).
All radios will have a toggleable “talk everywhere” option that gives them infinite range. By default, these are all set to be disabled.

Design, Style, & Sound

Vintage & Modern Radios

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.

Design Inspiration

Existing Mod Inspiration

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.

Vintage Radio Inspiration

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 Radio Design Elements

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.

Radio Sizing

Maybe a bit smaller than that?

The VHF Repeater will take up 4 blocks of space as opposed to one:

Misc Block Design:

UI Design

Again, the design should follow a similar mood to the create mod. It should look very vintage.

Radio Interface

When a player right clicks a radio, the UI will open where they can select the following:

Power On/ Off
Frequency (and band if multiband radio)
Mode
Power output
PTT (push to talk / transmit)
Morse code key / chat (HF only)
Config button to open the config and set microphone from PC
Volume Control

It will also display the signal strength of any received transmission, which will instead show output power when transmitting.

Repeater Interface

When a player right clicks a VHF repeater, the UI should allow the player to enter the following:

Repeater Power On/Off
Repeater Transmit On/Off
Input Frequency
Output Frequency
Repeater Callsign
Speaker Volume (for local listening)
PTT (for talking directly into the repeater)
Antenna Switch (for switching between an optional second antenna)

Solar Weather Station

The solar weather station is a placeable block that, when right clicked, allows the player to “Print Weather Report” and see:

Current solar weather (shown as Great / Good / Average / Poor / Blackout)
Whether the 10m band is open to propagation.

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:

The two coordinates
The distance between the two coordinates
Whether the communication is North to South, East to West, Northeast to Southwest, etc
What bands will allow communication between the two points with a standard dipole
If no band would work, what band is closest

When the player closes the UI, they will be given the report in their inventory which they can right click to view.

Digital Interface (TNC)

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:

RTTY - quick text chat

Like a chat room. The screen displays a dot-matrix paper. When the player types, it will transmit their message over the radio simultaneously typing “TheirCallsign: Message” in real time. Dot-matrix printer sounds will play as well as the sound of a RTTY transmission (audio file will be provided for developer by the client). Requires paper to be in the printer’s inventory.

File Transfer

Allows players to send paper and books to each other. Has a slot where a player can place one item from their inventory to send.

SSTV

Allows players to send maps to each other. Has a slot for a player to send the item.

APRS Coordinates

Allows a player to press the “Beacon” button, and it will transmit the radio’s location.
Below that, shows a scrollable list of the last 20 received beacons on dot-matrix style paper
If a radio is tuned to the frequency of the message and does not have a TNC connected, the sound of a single packet burst will play (see https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/PACKET for sound examples). If the TNC is connected, no sound will be heard.

APRS Messages

Allows players to send each other messages over the APRS network.
Has one entry box for the callsign to send it to, and another for a message of up to 100 characters.
When a TNC has received a message that matches its callsign, it will flash a blue light until a player views its messages.
Below that, shows a scrollable list of the last 20 received messages on dot-matrix style paper.
If a radio is tuned to the frequency of the message and does not have a TNC connected, the sound of a single packet burst will play (see https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/PACKET for sound examples). If the TNC is connected, no sound will be heard.

Completed Work

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) The mod “simple-voice-chat” provides proximity chat to the game. This mod has an open api and supports great features such as channelization and raw audio access! This mod will be used as the basis for our VOIP protocol and seriously reduced the expected workload. The developers of the mod have offered to add any features we need in the future.	10/22/2022
ARRL Grant Request Submitted	10/26/2022
ARDC Grant Request Submitted	10/27/2022

Development Timeline

The functional development of this mod will be separated into three chunks.

Primary Development: Primary development will be the initial process of development. This will be a conclusive proof-of-concept and, for all intents and purposes, a fully functioning (albeit incomplete) mod.
Secondary Development: Secondary development will be part two of the development process. It will consist of fleshing out the features and content within the mod.
Future Development: The Future stack holds features and ideas that are not expected to be implemented before the first release, but are advanced features that might be added as expansions in a future release.

* means it has not been written about here yet.

Primary Development:

- 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

Secondary Development:

- 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*

Future Development

- 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)

Funding and Payment

Cost Analysis

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

Funding

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.

Payment

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.