Universal Software Radio Peripheral  or Software defined radio.


Computer processing power is at a stage were an entire slice of the radio spectrum can be captured, anaylysed and  oh if you want to be really boring listened to by a human.  In practical terms here's a black box, you can  tell it what kind of radio it is, what it can receive, what it can transmit it's not just a radio  for all practical purposes this -is- radio.    One box that could work anywhere in the world , in any mode as a transceiver. ( pre op for the Thai market)  I think I am excited about the future again:)

I had been out of touch seemingly. Once  upon a time in the UK I was  a licenced member of the Ham fraternity ( GM7 BWU )   GM ( scotland ) (7 vhf only , I know morse just never sat the test)  and the rest is just letters.  Ham radio had become, sadly , like most hobbies an increasingly commercial activity which in the end became , at least in the level I was involved , a little  predictable.  Still I played with packet radio  and bbs' over the air long before I had an internet connection in the UK. When I arrived in the US I never sat the licence here due to an annoying lack of reciprocation  ( Yeah I'm sure EM waves behave differently in the UK than they do here)