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📡 Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms

Glossary
ACARS Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System An older airband communications protocol. Now largely superseded by VDL2.
ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast An FAA-mandated automated surveillance system with periodic aircraft position and data broadcasts intended to enhance aviation safety
AGC Automatic Gain Control A means of automatically controlling the output signal level at a desirable level
ALE 2G Automatic Link Establishment, 2G ALE ALE is a worldwide digital standard for initiating and then sustaining HF radio communications between stations
APRS Automatic Position Reporting System A wide area digital position and data broadcasting system
ARRL Amateur Radio Relay League A national association of radio amateurs in the U.S.
BPSK Binary Phase Shift Keying A modulation technique for sending digital data
CPU Central Processing Unit A digital circuit or microchip that is the principal "brains" of a computer board or system
FAX Facsimile A digital protocol for sending image data
FREEDV FREE Digital Voice An open-source digital protocol for sending voice over HF
GLONAS GLObal NAvigation Satellite System A Russian satellite-based global positioning system similar to GPS.
GPS Global Positioning System A satellite-based worldwide positioning system operated as a service by the U.S. Government
HF "High Frequency" radio band (ITU Designation) A radio band ranging from 3 to 30 MHz
ITU International Telecommunication Union One of the most important international standards bodies
kbps kilo (1024) bits per second An abbreviation used to express a digital data rate of a signal or channel
LoRa An abbreviation for Long Range digital radio communication protocol A proprietary physical radio communication protocol invented by Cycleo with chips and modules designed and produced by Semtech
MF "Medium Frequency" radio band (ITU Designation) A radio band ranging from 300 Khz to 3 MHz
MHz An abbreviation for Mega Hertz Used to express a frequency in millions of cycles per second
PARC Palomar Amateur Radio Club PARC Website  🔗 Palomar Amateur Radio Club Home
POCSAG Radio Paging Code #1 POCSAG is an acronym of the (British) of the Post Office Code Standardization Advisory Group for a digital protocol for pager data. It is commonly used on 150-165MHz.
RTTY Radio TeleTYpe RTTY Information  🔗 Radioteletype (Wikipedia)
SDR Software Defined Radio Radios in which a large portion of the signal processing is done digitally either by software or by digital processing devices controlled by software
SHF "Super High Frequency" radio band (ITU Designation) A radio band ranging from 3 to 30 GHz
SITOR SImplex Teletype Over Radio A set of 2 digital teletype protocols. SITOR-A is for point-to-point and SITOR-B for broadcasts. SITOR-B is used in maritime broadcasts
SK An abbreviation for "Silent Key" Denotes an amateur radio operator that is deceased
SMA An abbreviation for "SubMiniature type A" connector A common type of RF coaxial cable connector
Squitter An ADS-B transponder burst transmission or broadcast A common term for an ADS-B burst transmission
SSTV Slow Scan TeleVision SSTV Information  🔗 Slow-scan television (Wikipedia)
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics An acronym for science and technology-oriented curricula, particularly in education
UAT Universal Access Transceiver A part of the ADS-B System operating on 978MHz that supports broadcast and receive. Only used in the US.
UHF "Ultra High Frequency" radio band (ITU Designation) A radio frequency band ranging from 300 MHz to 3 GHz
VDL2 VHF Data Link Mode 2 An aircraft digital messaging system clustered around the high end of the airband (136MHz to 137MHz). It superseded ACARS.
VLF "Very Low Frequency" radio band A radio band ranging from 3 to 30 KHz
VHF "Very High Frequency" radio band (ITU Designation) A radio frequency band ranging from 30 to 300 MHz
WSPR Weak Signal Propagation Reporter A project for testing propagation paths between amateur stations