MOSAIC Alpha

Amateur experimental · Alpha 0.1.0a1

MOSAIC

An asynchronous multi-user digital mode for shared HF and UHF passbands. Everyone sets the same dial frequency. Transmit when you have something to say. One receiver pulls the overlapping stations apart.

Why MOSAIC

Most digital modes assume one transmitter at a time, or a scheduler that coordinates the rest. MOSAIC is built for the opposite case: uncoordinated stations sharing one bandpass, the way a real pile-up or a busy calling frequency actually behaves.

  • Shared channelNo time slots. No master station. Access signatures separate users.
  • CRC-gated cancellationA receiver only subtracts a station after a CRC-valid decode. Mistakes do not poison the residual.
  • Two band familiesMOSAIC-UHF for wide SDR channels; MOSAIC-HF for ordinary 2.8 kHz SSB audio paths.

Alpha status at a glance

CapabilityStatusEvidence
UHF multi-user on air (two independent transmitters)Proven12/12 logical stations recovered on radiated capture
UHF keyboard / procedural QSOProvenBidirectional lab QSO (bladeRF/HackRF ↔ B210) at 431.200 MHz
UHF continuous live demod keep-upProvenOperator path keeps up with continuous stream (offline keep-up check <1× wall)
Operator web panel (TX inhibit, health)Shippedmosaic_modem.py --ui-port
HF audio path (DAC → analogue → ADC)ProvenByte-exact single-user loopback through real converters
HF continuous realtime decodeProven~0.10× realtime, zero backlog on audio profile
HF ITU-R F.1487 single-userProvenSimulated channels to measured Eb/N0 cliff
HF multi-user under fadingLimitedSaturates ~1–2 stations; SIC channel tracking in progress
On-air HF contactNot yetNo HF rig path closed on this programme

Simulation and UHF lab results do not establish ionospheric HF performance. Licensed operators remain responsible for emissions. Packet airtime (not UI latency) sets the QSO floor: ~2.6 s on UHF, ~40 s on HF.

Measured snapshots

On-air MOSAIC UHF spectrogram
On-air UHF spectrogram (lab path).
HF ITU sensitivity waterfall
MOSAIC-HF audio profile sensitivity on ITU-R F.1487-style channels (simulated).
Multi-user recovery chart
Multi-user recovery: on-air UHF proof vs HF fade ceiling.

Documentation

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