| 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 Now largely superseded by VDL2.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 |
| AIS |
Automatic Identification System |
A maritime tracking system using transponders on vessels. |
| 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 |
| DMR |
Digital Mobile Radio |
A digital standard for voice and data in non-public radio networks |
| DRM |
Digital Radio Mondiale |
A digital broadcast mode used on the HF bands |
| D-STAR |
Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio |
A digital standard developed by Icom specifically for amateur radio |
| 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 |
| HFDL |
High Frequency Data Link |
An HF aeronautical message and data sharing service. |
| 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 |
| WIRES-X |
Wide-coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System |
A Yaesu Internet-linking technology. |
| WSPR |
Weak Signal Propagation Reporter |
A project for testing propagation paths between amateur stations |
