> > > I am not sure what you mean by AMTOR and Pactor being curtailed by > > > being > cheap modes.
I re-read my post and see that I did not make myself clear with that sentence you refer to! What I meant was that the soundcard modes were either free or cheap.. sorry about that. I have owned several TNCs and still have a HAL DXP38. I still enjoy using Clover but Pactor and Amtor ARQ chats are quite rare now. But I totally agree that MFSK and other soundcard modes can really get through the noise. 73 Buddy WB4M > > Many years ago, when I worked Ray (inventor of Clover I and II) when I > had the HAL P-38 card, I found that Clover II was not very good with > weak signals. As much as I liked the concept of Clover II, (especially > the pseudo duplex feel), it really could not deliver the weak signal > performance of Olivia or MFSK16 of today, and although you would get a > connection, and you would have some data being transferred for the > overhead bytes, very little chat mode data would get through. Very > frustrating considering the cost of the stuff then. The HAL P-38 board > was defective in terms of handling Pactor I and HAL would not stand > behind their product. Very disappointing. > > It was not until sound card modes came along that I had a renewed > interest in digital operation. We still do not have a good MS Windows > ARQ mode for sound cards, although the Linux PSKmail may have some > utility. I expect this to change in the next few years, but I know it is > a challenge for the few who can actually do this kind of programming. > Clearly, pipelined ARQ is the way to go at this time for computer based > sound card modes if you want an ARQ mode. The main issue being enough > speed when you have good conditions, but yet the ability to throttle > back and forth to meet the ionospheric conditions of the moment. > > Linked modes are wonderful for BBS type connections and for connections > where you need to have totally accurate data transmission. They are > perhaps not quite as useful for casual contacts and obviously not for > net type operations. > > 73, > > Rick, KV9U > > > > > F.R. Ashley wrote: > >> >> >> > John, >> > >> > Is the reason for wanting to operate AMTOR just for the novelty of an >> > old mode? I could understand using it if it was possible to do it as a >> > sound card mode at a level comparable to hardware modems. >> >> Is the reason for operating Olivia, Contesta, Domino, MT-63, etc, for >> the >> novelty of operating yet another new mode? >> > >> > When Pactor came into use in the late 1980's, AMTOR use was drastically >> > curtailed since Pactor was a much better mode in terms of weak signal >> > and not falsing characters. Then when the sound card modes came into >> > use >> > in the late 1990's, it seemed like Pactor use was curtailed for casual >> > contacts since the sound card modes were able to work well into the >> > noise, similar to (and sometimes even better than) CW which made it >> > possible to have keyboard chats even under some difficult condx. >> >> No, Pactor and Amtor were "curtailed" because they were either totally >> free >> or very cheap at the most. I always thought the "linked modes" were >> a lot >> of fun, especially Clover. >> >> 73 have fun, >> Buddy WB4M >> >> >> >> >> >> Need a Digital mode QSO? Connect to Telnet://cluster.dynalias.org >> >> Other areas of interest: >> >> The MixW Reflector : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup/ >> DigiPol: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipol (band plan policy >> discussion) >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS >> >> * Visit your group "digitalradio >> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio>" on the web. >> >> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of >> Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>. >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >>------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >>No virus found in this incoming message. >>Checked by AVG Free Edition. >>Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.22/238 - Release Date: 1/23/2006 >> >> > > > > Need a Digital mode QSO? Connect to Telnet://cluster.dynalias.org > > Other areas of interest: > > The MixW Reflector : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup/ > DigiPol: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipol (band plan policy > discussion) > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > Need a Digital mode QSO? Connect to Telnet://cluster.dynalias.org Other areas of interest: The MixW Reflector : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup/ DigiPol: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipol (band plan policy discussion) Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/