[bsder]

> It may be stuck in the 60's but HF radios work

Really? When you have to worry about things like "Squelch" in order to deal with voltage supply ground noise? You are on thin ground.

The real problem with modern technology is that the pilot can't rely on it. Sure, a digital radio is $1,000 (or less). However, the digital radio that is FAA certified will be expensive and nobody is going to develop it because the FAA won't require it because all the pilots will bitch that it is too expensive.

[KaiserPro]

Squelch adjusts the noise floor, and in modern radios can be automagical. Also there is nought wrong with digital over HF, as other posts will attest.

[bsder]

There are lots of solutions.

But nobody is going to front the money to get it FAA certified so that it can be a required solution given that the most you will sell is 1,000 a year.

This is the real reason why air technology is so far behind. There is no profit in it.