> Sholto KE7HPV wrote: > Hello Bonnie, > I was wondering if you could bring me (& others in the group) > up-to-date with your MIL 188-141A ALE experiments?
Hi Sholto, Most of the experimental aspect of ALE ended in 2002 when the first basic ham radio ALE standards were developed. Those standards became known as "Ham Friendly ALE" and have provided good service without interference since then. > specifically I would be be interested in knowing > how most messages are passed? are they AMD/DBM or DTM? The main method is AMD. The HFN pilot stations http://hflink.com/hfn also have an AMD-compatible format known as AMD-ARQ, and it is used mainly for HF-HF relay, SMS-fone texting, and internet connectivity purposes. DBM is mainly used for longer messages or multiline email. DTM is not used very much. > Is the system now integrated into Winlink 2000? Yes, by linking with an HFN Pilot Station, you can send and receive messages via Winlink.org servers or send SMTP or send to cellphone SMS system. One of the main objectives for the High Frequency Network is to be interoperative and message-compatible with as many systems as possible. Winlink is one of many systems we are using, but we especially appreciate the Emcomm backbone that the winlink servers system provides. > if so, what would be a simple procedure to send a > message addressed to an internet email destination? Perhaps it would be better for you to get the latest information on that, directly on the HFLINK forum. > Also, is there any use of the ARQ FAE semi-duplex mode? Yes, there is some activity with ARQ FAE, but we don't see very much. Since it isn't a standard, it only happens between Multipsk users. > it seems to me this is one of the most powerful > yet underused methods of exchanging messages on HF > - especially in the 400Hz version of the mode. Yes, I agree, FAE is a very effective protocol. It works great. As for the ALE400, we have found that it is an excellent system that has received very little use. At some point we hope to focus more efforts toward promoting it for those who like slow narrowband weak signal comms. Unfortunately the ALE400 protocol is somewhat incompatible with the fast signals of ALE... ALE400 tends to have very very long transmissions, as opposed to the fast back-and-forth of ALE. So, it seems better not to try to mix them on a busy freq, such as 14109kHz, but sharing relatively less-busy freqs seems to work OK. 73 Bonnie VR2/KQ6XA
