KV9U wrote: > E-mail is tremendously more useful than the hierarchical packet > system because it works not just for hams, but for anyone with > e-mail, which is ubiquitous in countries such as the U.S. > > What I wish for is a system that could do both.
Most xNOS can do it. Say, GRINOS, TNOS, JNOS, etc. Configuring the rewrite rules is not trivial. I had access for some time to do both things using JNOS in the 90's . > We had a crude > version of it for a short time with the Netlink system, but that was > discontinued. That way, you can send e-mail via amateur radio in > areas that would be completely impossible to use cell phones, > blackberries, etc. and if there is an emergency situation, you can > still (hopefully) get it to work and you still maintain the > hierarchical system for within amateur radio circles. It is a pity that there was such a clash and stayed unsolved. The ham radio hierarchical system predated the internet domains (as I remember). The bang (!) addressing system was a mess, it was not routing, but tying a rope to your mail to pull it....really, evolution brought better things. I still remember the stupid clash between .NA (North America) and .na (Namibia).... It seems that the Internet Domain System won...The amateur system was more geographically oriented, but I think it could have been made compatible somehow. Not a simple task, but not insoluble. It remained as undone homework.... > Even when packet was in its heyday, a very large amount of data went > via "wormholes." And they were really the early stages of the > internet. Some of the packet gurus hated to admit they used these > mostly landline connections though:) I still see it as a good thing...it was a practical solution to the amateur satgates.... and even better. You could connect to far places without even seeing the Internet, like if it was an extension to the ionosphere or the NETROM nodes. > CW has been in decline over many years now, but it still has hobby > value and maybe a pinch of emergency value too. Not a lot, but a > little bit. It is nice to read of stories of guys who are back > packing in remote areas and can use their miniature CW rig to contact > the outside world and send messages to keep others posted on their > location and to summon help if it was ever needed. CW has the charm of allowing the simplest and most efficient possible transmitters. I could get into the satellites using Morse. It was the simplest, most affordable and most effective mode at hand. With some ingenuity, there is always a solution at hand, even "keying" with two bare cable tips.... I keyed my FT-230 via the SWR protection line and fed it to a Microwave Modules varactor tripler, and then to an 11 elements Quagi. Worked North America, South America, Asia and Europe on Oscar 10 and 13. It jumped every 15 kHz on 435 MHz. I was happy until one day when someone got angry with me and called me a liar. He wanted a SSB QSO because all satellite radios had SSB..... 73 de Jose, CO2JA AMPRNET Cordinator, Cuba. AMSAT NA LM 1209 Linux User 91155
