Thank you Steve, KI5ENW who has retired from SDRplay
A Tribute to Steve Brightman, KI5ENW who has retired from SDRplay
Steve Brightman, my friend since we were at school together aged 14, has been a cornerstone of the SDRplay community for many years, bringing his technical expertise and infectious enthusiasm to the world of SDRs. From our days working on TV and smoke detector chips together at Texas Instruments to his contributions to SDRplay, Steve’s passion for technology and knack for making complex ideas accessible have left an indelible mark.
Steve, has been SDRplay’s go-to guy for demystifying SDR technology. Whether he was demonstrating the latest products at Ham Radio Outlet or guiding users through the intricacies of SDRconnect at Dayton Hamvention, Steve had a unique ability to turn technical jargon into something even a newbie could grasp. His “How to” videos proved very popular with SDRplay users, offering practical tips and a dash of humour to keep things lively.
From helping users troubleshoot technical problems to showcasing the nRSP-ST at Hamcation, Steve’s been the face of SDRplay at countless events. His talks, weren’t just informative—they were a masterclass in making radio technology fun and always resulted in a queue (line up) at the HRO booths afterwards with folks wanting to buy an RSP! And when Steve went to the hamfests, he really went to town. Rather than try and cope with airline travel with all the delicate kit involved with setting up a booth display and demos, Steve instead would hit the road with his trusty RV loaded with all he needed. Often the latest demo software was still being tweaked and Steve would end up searching for an internet connection so as to get it downloaded and checked out, while camping en route!
Many people have commented on how much they appreciated Steve’s “down to earth” posts in the various forums – these formed a treasure trove of insights, tips, and the occasional dodgy joke!
Thank You, Steve!
Steve, from our teenage days playing soldiers in the army cadet “signals” section to your time at SDRplay, you’ve been a good friend and a true asset to the SDR community. Your work has helped thousands of radio enthusiasts discover the magic of SDRplay’s hardware and software. Here’s to you, KI5ENW, for making radio fun, accessible, and compelling. Enjoy your next chapter, and don’t be surprised if we’re still bugging you for help and suggestions from time to time!
73, Jon G4ABQ
Steve at HamVention, Dayton, Ohio 2025 (photo courtesy Chris Danby, G0DWV, RSGB)
Steve in action at Hamcation
Steve giving out a prize at Hamvention
Steve has made his networked radio, the nRSP-ST available for people to try before they buy:
You can have limited access to it on a first come first served basis.
If you download and run the SDRconnect client, you can add a remote device with hostname “amigasteve.dyndns.org” and port 50000
The more limited access from the built-in web server (e.g. for an Android or iOS device) can be found by going to amigasteve.dyndns.org:9001 on your web browser – the web interface takes up to 30 seconds to set-up the graphical user interface so be patient. Also some older tablets and phones may not work.
For both forms of access, the username is Demo and the password is test