Sorin Marghitoiu — KO6ETZ
Software Engineer · Ham Radio · Indie Developer
I’m a software engineer with over 20 years in the industry, currently managing the software lab at USC’s Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies (CiSoft), part of the Viterbi School of Engineering. By day I work in C#, .NET, and Python. By night I build ham radio software, audio visualization tools, and whatever else catches my attention. This site is where all of that ends up.
Career Path
From Timișoara to Simi Valley — two decades of building software across printing systems, oilfield tech, and everything in between.
Universitatea Politehnica din Timișoara
Bachelor of Science. Where it all started — Romania’s premier engineering university.
Ricoh — Software Development Manager
Built and managed the Host Software Group. Production printer drivers, Windows applications, and a team of engineers. Co-inventor on a U.S. patent for print workflow systems.
Hitachi — Project Lead / Staff Engineer
Led cross-functional project teams delivering complex software integrations.
USC CiSoft — Software Lab Manager
Managing the software lab for USC’s Chevron-partnered Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies. Viterbi School of Engineering.
The Software
Most of what I build scratches my own itch first. If I can’t find a tool that does what I need, I build it — then publish it for anyone else who wants it.
OmniRig Remote Suite
Started because I wanted to control my radios from another room and nothing available did what I needed. Grew into a full ecosystem: a TCP/WebSocket/HTTP server with Morse, RTTY, PSK31, and SSTV decoders, plus desktop, mobile, web, and Home Assistant clients — all talking the same protocol. The Morse decoder uses a CNN+BiLSTM neural network I trained myself.
Stereo Spectrum Analyzer & Spectra Media Player
40+ audio-reactive visualizations for Windows, Android, and iOS. Built-in music player, 30,000+ internet radio stations, SMB/UPnP browsing, and a shader sandbox where you can write your own SKSL effects with real-time compilation. Came from wanting better music visuals than what existed.
RetireWise
Couldn’t find a retirement calculator that did Monte Carlo simulation and historical stress-testing without being behind a paywall or harvesting my data. So I built one. 500 randomized scenarios, 11 historical stress tests, tax optimization, Social Security analysis, and healthcare projections — all running in the browser.
Intimate Connection
Private mood-sharing app for couples. Local-WiFi-only, AES-256-GCM encrypted, no servers or accounts. ECDH key exchange, mDNS device discovery, peer-to-peer TCP. Supports polyamorous relationships.
The Ham Radio
Licensed since 2024 · General Class · I’m more of a builder than a contester — I’d rather write a decoder than work a pileup.
The Workbench
When I’m not writing software, I’m taking apart test equipment I bought for too little money on eBay.
- Fixing a Rohde & Schwarz CMU200/300 — Repairing a universal radio communication tester.
- Repurposing an Anritsu MD8475A — A cellular signaling tester repurposed for radio experimentation.
- Hermes Lite 2 — Experimenting with an open-source HF SDR transceiver.
- ESP32-S3 Remote Control Knob — Custom hardware controller with LVGL touchscreen, WiFi, and TCP connection to OmniRig Server.
Why Dit Dots?
The name comes from Morse code — dits and dahs. There’s also a vague memory of a robot character called “Dit Dots” in something I read years ago. Either way, it stuck.
Get in Touch
Find me on the bands, reach out via QRZ, or use the contact form. Always happy to talk about projects, exchange ideas, or just say 73.