Using A Hammond B3 To Send Coded Messages By Ham Radio

Here’s something Jimmy Smith never tried – using a Hammond B3 organ to send coded message via HAM radio.

Forrest Cook developed Tonewriter – an experimental system that uses an Arduino and a Hammond B3 organ to encode text as a series of audio tones. The messages can then be displayed on a spectrogram – used by ham radio operators to visualize the audio that is received by a radio receiver. 

Normally, the digitized audio data is fed into a decoder program. The tones generated with Tonewriter, though, can be directly read as characters in the waterfall display.

We’re still partial to more traditional uses of the B3 – but you can find out more about Tonewriter at Cook’s site.

4 thoughts on “Using A Hammond B3 To Send Coded Messages By Ham Radio

  1. This might be illegal to do. It is illegal to broadcast music under a ham radio license. It might be legal as an experimental mode as long as there is an interest and programs to decode the tones.

    1. Sending Coded Messages Using Ham Radio might make a few moan about about the rules and reg.
      But it is a interesting concept.
      Just hope we are not all tone deaf
      :O

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *