Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Don Fanning
keyesbob wrote:
> --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Rick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> If you want higher speeds, isn't it going to be much more practical
>> 
> from 
>   
>> a cost and throughput level to use WiFi or higher powered WiFi with a 
>> ham license than to move to slightly higher speed packet?
>> 
>
> The 2.4 Ghz ISM band that 802.11b/802.11g WiFi uses is very
> overcrowded. Not only with WiFi signals, but tons of other stuff as well.
>
> The 5 ghz band of 802.11a is just too high up for many applications,
> which is one of the reason why there's not much noise up there.
>
>
>   

I've been thinking of experimenting with one of the AMSAT birds (AO-51 i 
think) that has 1.2Ghz/2.4Ghz linear capabilities...
Since most WRT54G setups have one receive and one transmit side, why not 
run these into a transverter up or down the band which then runs into a 
linear amp?


Re: [digitalradio] Re: dot-ham Internet domain.

2007-11-30 Thread Don Fanning
keyesbob wrote:
> --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Don Fanning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>   
>> Personally, I think this is a terrible idea.
>> 
>
> Why?
>
>   
Because ham's already have ampr.org and a entire Class A subnet (44/8) 
which IANA would love to reclaim if they could since that means they can 
recycle it into even more IPv4 space.  Think about it, most devices use 
NAT.  If every computer/device that has internet access were to actually 
*be* on the *real* internet, our IPv4 allocation would be tapped 
completely long ago.  Never mind the money for the IP's they could 
charge for reallocation.  I'm surprised subnets like 5.x.x.x/8 and 
others haven't been usurped.  But we're talking about an organization 
that still has its roots in the 60's.   Your kids know that IPv6 is the 
future.
>>  There are alternate TLD 
>> lookup services out there but no one cares.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root
>> 
>
> It's true most people don't know or care. It's because they're not
> authoritative.
>   
And that should stop somebody why?  If it didn't work for .xxx or .porn 
people, then why would it work for us?  The IANA will never do this 
because they maintain the root servers.  And who would be our registar 
body?  ARRL?  No, thank you.
>> If anything, ampr.org need to be expanded to start including IPv6 and 
>> other technologies.
>> 
>
> Yes, IP6 is a good idea.
>   

For sure.  There are alot of technological advances that IPv6 provides 
that simply aren't available in IPv4 (like multicast from the ground up 
with *security*).



Re: [digitalradio] Hearing impaired hams

2007-11-30 Thread Rick
I have a relative who is totally deaf. While she is not a ham, her 
mother, who signs to her, was impressed seeing digital ham radio in action.

In the past I have read articles on hams who are either completely deaf 
or have severe hearing losses and who have used alternative ways to 
communicate. In one case, I read of a ham who became blind and deaf and 
had almost no way to communicate with anyone ... except he still had the 
ability to use morse code. He could touch the voice cone of a speaker 
and pick up a CW tone and use that for receiving.

I have often thought about the fact that if I should ever become 
severely impaired with multiple sensory loss but still able to use morse 
code, I might be able to communicate with a few people directly, and 
with others through technology.

73,

Rick, KV9U



Andrew O'Brien wrote:
> In reviewing the background of some new members, I note one new member
> who told me that he was switching to digital modes because he is
> losing his hearing .  I know that we have many visually impaired hams,
> speaking on the radio seems like a natural match.  However, I had not
> given much thought to digital modes being of extra interest to those
> with hearing impairments.  Seems like another   natural match.
>
> Andy K3UK
>
>
>   



Re: [digitalradio] Hearing impaired hams

2007-11-30 Thread David
Hi Andy..you are quite right ...i have had a problem with CW for 
many years due to hearing problems...tinitus in right ear and hearing 
loss in bothat times when a band is very noisy i also have trouble 
hearing ops on SSBthis is why i find digital modes are excellent for 
qso'sfor ragchew and dx i mainly use PSK and mainly on 20m...
recently found WSJT JT65A JT2 and JT4A and found that they are excellent 
modes when the band condx are poor..especially on 20m 14076..
i started on digital modes about 7 years ago when my xyl complained of 
the noise from SSB..earphones you say.yes but she didnt like hearing 
me using ham jargon either.
digital modes helped with this problem too.

CUL 73 David VK4BDJ




Andrew O'Brien wrote:
>
> In reviewing the background of some new members, I note one new member
> who told me that he was switching to digital modes because he is
> losing his hearing . I know that we have many visually impaired hams,
> speaking on the radio seems like a natural match. However, I had not
> given much thought to digital modes being of extra interest to those
> with hearing impairments. Seems like another natural match.
>
> Andy K3UK
>
>  



Re: [digitalradio] Hearing impaired hams

2007-11-30 Thread John Becker, WØJAB
Sure is. A long time ago I knew a ham who operated
2 modes, CW by a flashing light and RTTY.
In fact I think I have a QSL card from him for RTTY 
going back to the late 70's

At 09:08 PM 11/30/2007, you wrote:
>In reviewing the background of some new members, I note one new member
>who told me that he was switching to digital modes because he is
>losing his hearing .  I know that we have many visually impaired hams,
>speaking on the radio seems like a natural match.  However, I had not
>given much thought to digital modes being of extra interest to those
>with hearing impairments.  Seems like another   natural match.
>
>Andy K3UK
>
>
>
>
>Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked Page at
>http://www.obriensweb.com/drsked/drsked.php
> 
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>



[digitalradio] Hearing impaired hams

2007-11-30 Thread Andrew O'Brien
In reviewing the background of some new members, I note one new member
who told me that he was switching to digital modes because he is
losing his hearing .  I know that we have many visually impaired hams,
speaking on the radio seems like a natural match.  However, I had not
given much thought to digital modes being of extra interest to those
with hearing impairments.  Seems like another   natural match.

Andy K3UK




[digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Rui Manuel
> > And in this entire thread, I'm surprised that I haven't seen any 
> > comments about D-STAR! 960 bps is built into every radio and the ID-1 
> > can do 128 kbps. It's not AX.25, but it is packet digital data. It's 
> > pretty cool to put two ID-1s back to back and watch the amount of
data 
> > that can be transfered. And since the ID-1 have Ethernet jacks, that 
> > means that you can do any Internet protocol that you want.
> >

I have been following this discussion, and till now I didn't see any
reference about the new digital modes that are now starting to spread
in Europe.
You talk about the D-Star as the last discover in digital voice,
forgetting the others protocols namely the commercial ones, like TETRA
that have made ours scanners obsolete.
They can do much more than APCO25 in the UHF region and put D-Star
miles away in development.
You can do DV, Packet (19.2k) in a 12,5  Kc channel, messaging,
picture and so on.
All the commercial analog systems are now migrating for this System
here in Europe, I don't like it as it is very similar to cell phones
but it is an example of what we should expect in the years to came.
Good by to the good all days of scanning, for those not familiar with
this system here is a good site to start.

 http://www.tetra-association.com/   

By the away two of this radios make a good link for packet and
gateways over VHF or UHF as they can work point to point.

Imagine what you could do in the next future with two 3D generation
cellphones that could talk point to point same miles away, who knows ?
maybe HiPower BlueThoot.




Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Rick
Ed,

Even when All USA and other messages were blocked from going through the 
network, it was still too slow for practical use like we have on the 
internet. Other than for emergency use, packet could not compete with 
the rich content of the internet, especially after the advent of the web.

D-Star digital data on VHF/UHF is unfortunately no faster than 1200 baud 
and perhaps a bit slower. When we use the term 1200 baud, that is the 
baud rate during the time of the transmission. The actual data 
throughput can often be half of the maximum with good signals and no 
collisions or even less with other conditions.

The microwave D-Star would have had a lot more impact if it had been 
available a decade or two earlier, since it is more than double the 
speed of Dale Heatherington's, WA4DSY 56 kbs modem of the late 1980's. 
It is quite impressive to have such a convenient package compared to the 
relatively expensive modem driving a transverter and then perhaps an 
amplifier. At one time I wanted to try 56 kbs, but there was no other 
interest.

The D-Star 1.2 GHz, frequency is better at penetrating tree leaves which 
are problematical at 2.4 GHz, even with a few watts of power. I used to 
have a WiMax internet link at about 7 miles point to point and it could 
not tolerate a line of sight interruption. But the cost is still quite 
substantial and may find use in linking point to point. I don't see this 
as practical for normal voice communications since most hams are on 2 
meters. In other words, it is difficult to find other than a niche market.

One thing that might make VHF/UHF D-Star more useful would be to move to 
a newer design that can use the full 4800 bps for voice when you want 
voice, and also use this same speed for data, when you want data.

73,

Rick, KV9U


Ed Woodrick wrote:
> So I'll add a few more cents.
>
> Packet died in the US because it was too popular for what it could do. 
> The number of For Sale messages and announcements that were sent 
> worldwide just overwhelmed users and BBSs. It came to the point that 
> there was too much content and nothing that you wanted to read.
>
> And while there were faster networks, 1200 bps was the standard and it 
> was slow. And it gets real slow when you add other 1200 baud nodes or 
> digipeaters to the path. And BTW, you will never even get 1200 bps 
> sustained throughput, as the turn-around for most radios is abysmal.
>
> And in this entire thread, I'm surprised that I haven't seen any 
> comments about D-STAR! 960 bps is built into every radio and the ID-1 
> can do 128 kbps. It's not AX.25, but it is packet digital data. It's 
> pretty cool to put two ID-1s back to back and watch the amount of data 
> that can be transfered. And since the ID-1 have Ethernet jacks, that 
> means that you can do any Internet protocol that you want.
>
>
>
> Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked Page at
> http://www.obriensweb.com/drsked/drsked.php
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>   



[digitalradio] Re: Unknown signal ID ?

2007-11-30 Thread Bill McLaughlin
I suspect you are hearing JT2 which is very narrow and uses 2FSK and
DBPSK modulation for sync and data or JT4A at 17.5 BW and 4.375 spacing.

73,

Bill N9DSJ

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "jhaynesatalumni" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> Around 2045Z Friday the 30th
> 
> Freq. 14076+1750
> 
> Mostly a steady tone, with several "clicks" per second, the
> clicks being probably PSK transitions.
>




Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread W2XJ

For us Amateurs there is 2390 to 2400 which is outside the ISM band. At 
5.8 we have frequencies above and below as well as in the ISM band.


keyesbob wrote:
> --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Rick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 
>>If you want higher speeds, isn't it going to be much more practical
> 
> from 
> 
>>a cost and throughput level to use WiFi or higher powered WiFi with a 
>>ham license than to move to slightly higher speed packet?
> 
> 
> The 2.4 Ghz ISM band that 802.11b/802.11g WiFi uses is very
> overcrowded. Not only with WiFi signals, but tons of other stuff as well.
> 
> The 5 ghz band of 802.11a is just too high up for many applications,
> which is one of the reason why there's not much noise up there.
> 
> 



[digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Ed Woodrick

So I'll add a few more cents.

Packet died in the US because it was too popular for what it could do. 
The number of For Sale messages and announcements that were sent 
worldwide just overwhelmed users and BBSs. It came to the point that 
there was too much content and nothing that you wanted to read.

And while there were faster networks, 1200 bps was the standard and it 
was slow. And it gets real slow when you add other 1200 baud nodes or 
digipeaters to the path. And BTW, you will never even get 1200 bps 
sustained throughput, as the turn-around for most radios is abysmal.

And in this entire thread, I'm surprised that I haven't seen any 
comments about D-STAR! 960 bps is built into every radio and the ID-1 
can do 128 kbps. It's not AX.25, but it is packet digital data. It's 
pretty cool to put two ID-1s back to back and watch the amount of data 
that can be transfered. And since the ID-1 have Ethernet jacks, that 
means that you can do any Internet protocol that you want.



Re: [digitalradio] PSK63F

2007-11-30 Thread Rick
Hi Simon,

I have tested these modes on HF NVIS with a nearby station, but the the 
trade off in speed to support the Viterbi coding is at least half or 
perhaps slightly over half. They seem to be rarely used and only if you 
ask the other station to try it for testing purposes. Like many of the 
newer digital modes, they have not gained much traction because for many 
hams,  PSK31 is "good enough." If conditions do not permit PSK31 
operation, they may consider propagation to be too poor to continue 
digital modes, even though they may not realize that some digital modes 
will still get through.

What we needed the most, were sound card ARQ modes such as FAE 400 in 
Multipsk, which is the first Windows sound card ARQ mode that works 
asynchronously, (as needed), to send full ASCII characters, error free, 
at a speed about twice as fast as PSK31 but can work deeper into the 
noise, especially with memory ARQ, and eliminates the timing issues that 
were such a problem with hardware ARQ modes.

Although the footprint is much wider than PSK 31, it is not that much 
different from PSK modes running at 125 baud and with similar speed to 
PSK125F even though it uses an 8FSK 50 baud waveform.

Another surprising mode is Nino Porcino, IZ8BLY's CHIP modes that did 
not seem to have any advantages and yet turned out to work better than 
most modes under high QRN conditions and has been selected by at least 
one digital traffic net as one of their main modes. I wonder if this 
type of mode has potential for ARQ?

73,

Rick, KV9U



Simon Brown wrote:
> Has PSK63F / PSK125F shown advantages in real life? I am very tempted 
> to code it up in my PSK engine (which is based on fldigi / gMFSK).
>  
> Any comments really appreciated before I start pounding the keyboards.
>  
> Simon Brown, HB9DRV
> 
> 
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
> Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.11/1161 - Release Date: 11/30/2007 
> 12:12 PM
>   



[digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread keyesbob
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Rick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> If you want higher speeds, isn't it going to be much more practical
from 
> a cost and throughput level to use WiFi or higher powered WiFi with a 
> ham license than to move to slightly higher speed packet?

The 2.4 Ghz ISM band that 802.11b/802.11g WiFi uses is very
overcrowded. Not only with WiFi signals, but tons of other stuff as well.

The 5 ghz band of 802.11a is just too high up for many applications,
which is one of the reason why there's not much noise up there.



Re: [digitalradio] PSK63F

2007-11-30 Thread Patrick Lindecker
Hello Simon,

PSK63F is a bit more quicker that PSK31, a bit more sensitive, is less 
sensitive to Doppler modulation and is more reliable due to the convolutional 
coding. It is a good choice.

I don't see any interest in PSK125F.

73
Patrick

  - Original Message - 
  From: Simon Brown 
  To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 8:57 PM
  Subject: [digitalradio] PSK63F



  Has PSK63F / PSK125F shown advantages in real life? I am very tempted to code 
it up in my PSK engine (which is based on fldigi / gMFSK).

  Any comments really appreciated before I start pounding the keyboards.

  Simon Brown, HB9DRV

   

[digitalradio] Unknown signal ID ?

2007-11-30 Thread jhaynesatalumni
Around 2045Z Friday the 30th

Freq. 14076+1750

Mostly a steady tone, with several "clicks" per second, the
clicks being probably PSK transitions.



[digitalradio] PSK63F

2007-11-30 Thread Simon Brown
Has PSK63F / PSK125F shown advantages in real life? I am very tempted to code 
it up in my PSK engine (which is based on fldigi / gMFSK).

Any comments really appreciated before I start pounding the keyboards.

Simon Brown, HB9DRV

Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Rick
If you want higher speeds, isn't it going to be much more practical from 
a cost and throughput level to use WiFi or higher powered WiFi with a 
ham license than to move to slightly higher speed packet?

With every increase in speed, you reduce the distance you can transmit. 
We could not begin to use 9k6 in much of our area due to terrain, but 
some areas have more flat open areas and might be able to get a 
reasonable distance, but not anywhere near as far as 1200 baud packet.

If you did decide to go with the sound card modes, they can go quite 
fast with the OFDM modems used for SSTV, but which can send digital data 
of any kind. From looking at the S/N ratios that you need, you might 
find them to be better than some of the packet modes. There are no 
current synchronous ARQ high speed modes.

But we know from the beta testing of the SCAMP mode that close to 1000 
wpm was attainable on HF circuits! A faster VHF mode was also developed 
but I never got to test that before the software self destructed and the 
author discontinued further development. Even though not as fast as 
dedicated 9k6 and 19k2, it would have been freely available if it had 
been open source.

This is one of the reasons that I believe that open source software is a 
better fit for amateur radio since others could have gone on and 
developed it further since it was such an awesum program that worked so 
well with good signals and had other superior attributes for HF or VHF.

73,

Rick, KV9U



keyesbob wrote:
> First I'd like to thank all respondents to my initial post as towards
> making this a thought-provoking discussion - if at times it is kind of
> depressing.
>
> Walt, and others - you went to 19200 -- how? What TNC did you use? How
> much did it cost? One of the problems is that soundcard modes are so
> cheap to run, but there is a limit to how fast you can go with them.
> It's my understanding that 19.2k just isn't possible with a soundcard.
> What if we were to find out the fastest speed that's possible from the
> best 50% of sound cards and establish a standard based upon that? Even
> if it's at some odd baud rate 13768 bps or whatever, it's going to be
> making the most of cheap hardware. I recall that the Tekk radios were
> easy to modify for 19.2k, I imagine many other xtal data radios are as
> well.
>
> And what about using other inexpensive DSPs? Maybe there is some way
> to use TV tuner cards and interface them with radios? These things
> have much higher performance DSPs and could get us some really decent
> throughput - even if we have to take it up to 900 or 1200 mhz in order
> to find some room to run such a net.
>
> What about a protocol which is able to figure out the highest rate
> that to distinct radios can communicate at, and do so fairly quickly.
> Then remember these settings when they want to communicate again in
> the future. Maybe our old HTs could only do 1500 bps but a really good
> DSP on the right xcvr do 25000. Sure, it would be harder to do
> 'convenient' multicast in such conditions, but we could fall back to
> one of several standards (9600, 1200, 4800) for multicast.
>
> The point is, we squeeze the most possible out of COTS hardware. This
> is not to say we do this forever - once we reinvigorate the packet
> scene, we would see some modifications to boost performance of radios
> and DSPs, and then perhaps some good custom equipment (and not the
> vapourware left over from the 90s, but real radios really available)
>
> - - - - -
>
> Bill this is a good point. There's so much neglected open-source
> software. But what's nice about OSS is that someone else can pick up
> the abandonware and work with it, figuring out what should have been
> documented long ago. With proprietary software, this is most often not
> possible.
>
> So what we need in this case is a web site to review software for
> hams, both proprietary and free, closed source and open source. There
> may be some open source software that just needs a few tweaks to be
> really good, but the original author(s) aren't interested any more. If
> there's community support behind overhauling a particularly promising
> old ware, it's got a better chance of happening.
>
>
>   



RE: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Rud Merriam
Rick,

Having groups on RF becomes practical if the network is designed to handle
the messaging. The design probably needs (1) higher speed "last mile"
transfer (but the speed may not need to increase a lot), (2) group /
bulleting messages streaming / broadcast with fills vs. point to point
transfers, (3) intermediate distance VHF/UFH relays with high speed
transfer, and (4) HF national / intercontinental transfer via streaming with
fills.

This will all need to be studied and designed, not just grown ad-hoc.
Intermediate stages will need to use the Internet, and probably retain
Internet usage as a backup / alternate path. RF would be used only for
"real-time" messages; group archives available via Internet. 

Latency in a group is fairly big. Consider the time-shifting that occurs
between Europe and the States. We still manage to have cogent discussions. 

---
If an agency is using email via Outlook and Exchange they are putting
messages on a server to be picked up at the convenience of the IC. 

The Outpost software package for EmComm is sort of a server based system. It
polls, retrieve, and posts from a distributed set of nodes. NNTP is built to
do that and integrate all the message bases. 

There are scenarios where the group message approach makes sense. How about
locating and communicating with people in shelters? Send all individual's
messages using NNTP to all shelters. 
 
Rud Merriam K5RUD 
ARES AEC Montgomery County, TX
http://TheHamNetwork.net


-Original Message-
From: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Rick
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 9:12 AM
To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet


Rub,

Although I agree it would be nice to run this group, and perhaps a few 
other ham discussions over some kind of RF network, how can this 
possibly be practical?

It could take days to deliver such messages, assuming you had some kind 
of server system to coordinate it. It seems to me that the reason that 
we went to internet discussion groups, and that was long before these 
kinds of groups, such as with usenet and listservs, was because the ham 
based approach (even with wormholes/internet like wireline) could not 
begin to work well enough.

Consider that some of those who rail against wireline discussions for 
ham radio, were the earliest adopters of using wireline for those very 
discussions!

The one place that discussions could happen, in close to real time, 
would be more local and possibly regional ones with less latency, but 
you would often not have the critical mass of enough participants to 
make that as useful.

For emergency use, almost all the communications is tactical and that 
means voice. There can be some cases where messaging would be helpful 
but I would mostly be using it for e-mail to reach out of an affected 
area to the internet, for timely delivery. You would need to be very 
careful that such messages were confirmed received if they were 
emergency/priority time value traffic.

Do you know of emergency plans in place now that would actually 
recommend putting messages on a server to be picked up that the 
convenience of an IC?

73,

Rick, KV9U




Rud Merriam wrote:
> Personally, I would like to do email over the radio to other hams. It 
> just appeals to me.
>
> I would also like to see the NNTP protocol used for newsgroups 
> implemented on radio. The DigitalRadio group should be handled on 
> radio. Newsgroups would be useful in a number of ways. They can handle 
> bulletins while setting them as a lower priority than mail and other 
> newsgroups.
>
> Emergency communications could be supported although some explanation 
> and training for end users might be needed. For example, instead of 
> emailing to an incident commander a message would be posted on an 
> incident management newsgroup. The incident commander could pick up 
> the message from any served location. Others could see the message and 
> respond also.
>
> Hams could be encouraged to use a system by bonus points for sending 
> contest and field day entries via the system.
>  
> Rud Merriam K5RUD
> ARES AEC Montgomery County, TX
> http://TheHamNetwork.net
>   



Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked Page at
http://www.obriensweb.com/drsked/drsked.php
 
Yahoo! Groups Links






Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Tom Azlin, N4ZPT
Well, we have been using the D700s for a couple years now on 9k2 in a 
straight packet mode.  I just made sure the message sizes fit the TNC in 
the D700.

73, Tom n4zpt

Bill Vodall WA7NWP wrote:
> On Nov 29, 2007 11:37 AM, Rud Merriam > Which radio?
> 
> The Kenwood D710.They've supposedly fixed the issues with the D700
> and, if true, we have a dual band frequency agile 9k6 and 1200 baud
> data radio.   Unfortunately the current premier packet data
> application, Airmail 2000, doesn't support KISS and the D710 supports
> only KISS for binary data.  There may be some other data mode I don't
> know of -- but we can be fairly certain the 710 doesn't do Kantronics
> host mode which is what Airmail uses for normal TNC communications.
> 
> Bill - WA7NWP
> 


Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Tom Azlin, N4ZPT
Hi Rick et al

Rick wrote:
[snip]
> 9k6 was the minimum usable speed for TCP/IP via ham radio in my view. It 
> was moderately expensive, but as you know, many rigs came along that 
> could do it. Most synthesized rigs can now, I have one here in the 
> shack, but it will never be connected because there is no interest 
> locally, and the signals have to be very good in order to get 9k6 speeds 
> through. Actually, I was interested in 56K stuff too, but that was just 
> not going to happen. We had the roadmap with ARRL publications such as 
> "Packet: Speed, More Speed, and Applications." But there just was not 
> enough interest in this by the packet radio hams.
> 

Back in the early 90s three of us here in Vienna VA USA were running 
tcp/ip over 19k2 AX25 packet and it was OK for email and text browsing. 
  9k6 would have been too slow it seems to me. Was expensive at the time 
as we were using the Ottawa cards and kantronics D4-10 radios.

We have been using 9k2 packet for the Marine Corps Marathon now for 2 
years.  Given we controlled the server we are able to use D700s on 9k6 
just fine to check runners in and out of the aid stations. The server 
used a 9612+, AGWPE, and TelMGR to handle the connects.

We are also looking at 9k6 packet for our local county emergency shelter 
communications on VHF and UHF.  Talking to servers running various, and 
yet to be created, applications. In addition to WinLink 2k.

The statewide digital traffic net does use sound card modes.

73, Tom n4zpt
Vienna VA USA






[digitalradio] Newsline Poll: Do You Plan To Buy A D-Star Radio For Christmas?

2007-11-30 Thread Mark Thompson
Do you plan to treat yourself to a D-Star radio for Christmas? Amateur Radio 
Newsline is conducting a very unscientific survey to see how many are and how 
many are not. 

Its easy to participate: Just take your web browser to 
http://www.arnewsline.org/ and scroll down the page until you see the word 
"POLLS" on the left side of the page. 

Then click "YES" or "NO." That it. 

You won't have to wait to see the results either. The current results will be 
displayed as soon as you vote. 

Thanks for taking part. 

de 
Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF 
Producer, etc. 
ARNewsline, Inc.


  

Be a better sports nut!  Let your teams follow you 
with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now.  
http://mobile.yahoo.com/sports;_ylt=At9_qDKvtAbMuh1G1SQtBI7ntAcJ


Re: [digitalradio] Re: dot-ham Internet domain.

2007-11-30 Thread John Becker, WØJAB


really it was not meant to be.




















Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Rick
Rub,

Although I agree it would be nice to run this group, and perhaps a few 
other ham discussions over some kind of RF network, how can this 
possibly be practical?

It could take days to deliver such messages, assuming you had some kind 
of server system to coordinate it. It seems to me that the reason that 
we went to internet discussion groups, and that was long before these 
kinds of groups, such as with usenet and listservs, was because the ham 
based approach (even with wormholes/internet like wireline) could not 
begin to work well enough.

Consider that some of those who rail against wireline discussions for 
ham radio, were the earliest adopters of using wireline for those very 
discussions!

The one place that discussions could happen, in close to real time, 
would be more local and possibly regional ones with less latency, but 
you would often not have the critical mass of enough participants to 
make that as useful.

For emergency use, almost all the communications is tactical and that 
means voice. There can be some cases where messaging would be helpful 
but I would mostly be using it for e-mail to reach out of an affected 
area to the internet, for timely delivery. You would need to be very 
careful that such messages were confirmed received if they were 
emergency/priority time value traffic.

Do you know of emergency plans in place now that would actually 
recommend putting messages on a server to be picked up that the 
convenience of an IC?

73,

Rick, KV9U




Rud Merriam wrote:
> Personally, I would like to do email over the radio to other hams. It just
> appeals to me. 
>
> I would also like to see the NNTP protocol used for newsgroups implemented
> on radio. The DigitalRadio group should be handled on radio. Newsgroups
> would be useful in a number of ways. They can handle bulletins while setting
> them as a lower priority than mail and other newsgroups. 
>
> Emergency communications could be supported although some explanation and
> training for end users might be needed. For example, instead of emailing to
> an incident commander a message would be posted on an incident management
> newsgroup. The incident commander could pick up the message from any served
> location. Others could see the message and respond also. 
>
> Hams could be encouraged to use a system by bonus points for sending contest
> and field day entries via the system.
>  
> Rud Merriam K5RUD 
> ARES AEC Montgomery County, TX
> http://TheHamNetwork.net
>   



Re: [digitalradio] Re: The sorry state of VHF/UHF Packet

2007-11-30 Thread Bill Vodall WA7NWP
On Nov 29, 2007 11:37 AM, Rud Merriam 
> Which radio?

The Kenwood D710.They've supposedly fixed the issues with the D700
and, if true, we have a dual band frequency agile 9k6 and 1200 baud
data radio.   Unfortunately the current premier packet data
application, Airmail 2000, doesn't support KISS and the D710 supports
only KISS for binary data.  There may be some other data mode I don't
know of -- but we can be fairly certain the 710 doesn't do Kantronics
host mode which is what Airmail uses for normal TNC communications.

Bill - WA7NWP


Re: [digitalradio] dot-ham Internet domain.

2007-11-30 Thread Rick
John,

What kind of a response is this? It sounds like you are a very bitter 
person toward others, or am I reading this wrong.

To put this in perspective:

- after my wife and daughter got their Technician licenses, they were 
stunned by the comments of a (somewhat) OT packet BBS operator on a 
local 2 meter repeater putting down no code Technicians. As you can 
imagine, that ham became persona non grata with much of the ham 
community. My wife recently upgraded to General class now that code is 
no longer a requirement for ham radio. Her current objective is 
emergency tactical voice communications, particularly HF mobile. Do you 
actually oppose such hams?

- In terms of TNC's, I have not recommended hams purchase TNC's anymore 
due to the rapid changes in technology. I have been only using soundcard 
modes since PSK31 was developed and got rid of all my old hardware, and 
over the years that includes Kantronics UTU, AEA CP-1, HAL P-38, MFJ 
Packet TNC, etc. Except for special applications, this stuff is mostly 
obsolete since it can not run the new technologies. Also, don't you 
agree that the low (nearly free) entry level for digital modes, has 
helped increase the number of digital operators?

73,

Rick, KV9U



John Becker, WØJAB wrote:
> At 08:57 PM 11/29/2007, you wrote in part:
>   
>> Personally, I'd love to have this happen and I'd also be happy to
>> assist in the technical details. I do have the skills.
>> 
>
>
> Me to but you sound a lot like those that said " sure I would
> like to be a general or extra as long as I did not have to learn
> CW"  or have to buy a TNC to get on the digital modes...
>
> John, W0JAB
>
>
>
>
>
>   



[digitalradio] SceneWare packet radio database (alpha release)

2007-11-30 Thread Joe Veldhuis
I've been working on this for the last month and a half or so. The local emcomm 
group has been using Aresdata for our database and messaging needs, and we've 
come to the conclusion that it sucks and needs to be replaced.

This addresses some of aresdata's greatest shortcomings by keeping a local copy 
of the database, so queries don't have to be run over the air (an agonizing 
experience on a marginal 1200 baud circuit), and providing a much more 
user-friendly interface. In the current code an interactive method for entering 
and updating database entries is provided, and ultimately it will have a GUI. 
It also allows you to specify your location, which can be plotted on a map 
using an APRS client.

It is written in PHP, so you'll need to install the PHP interpreter to use it. 
There are instructions on how to do that in the readme.txt file.

http://www.electroblog.com/sceneware_20071130.zip

Comments, suggestions and (especially) code submissions are appreciated.
-Joe, N8FQ


[digitalradio] Re: dot-ham Internet domain.

2007-11-30 Thread keyesbob
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Don Fanning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Personally, I think this is a terrible idea.

Why?

>  There are alternate TLD 
> lookup services out there but no one cares.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root

It's true most people don't know or care. It's because they're not
authoritative.
 
> If anything, ampr.org need to be expanded to start including IPv6 and 
> other technologies.

Yes, IP6 is a good idea.





[digitalradio] Re: dot-ham Internet domain.

2007-11-30 Thread keyesbob
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Don Fanning <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Personally, I think this is a terrible idea.

Why?

>  There are alternate TLD 
> lookup services out there but no one cares.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root

It's true most people don't know or care. It's because they're not
authoritative.
 
> If anything, ampr.org need to be expanded to start including IPv6 and 
> other technologies.

Yes, IP6 is a good idea.





[digitalradio] Re: dot-ham Internet domain.

2007-11-30 Thread keyesbob
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "John Becker, WØJAB" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> At 08:57 PM 11/29/2007, you wrote in part:
> >Personally, I'd love to have this happen and I'd also be happy to
> >assist in the technical details. I do have the skills.
> 
> 
> Me to but you sound a lot like those that said " sure I would
> like to be a general or extra as long as I did not have to learn
> CW"  or have to buy a TNC to get on the digital modes...
> 
> John, W0JAB

I can only hope that you didn't mean to sound as offensive as you
sound on this end. I don't know what I've said to deserve such a snide
remark. 

I've actually owned three TNCs, but sold two and the third is out of
commission until I get around to fixing the voltage regulator on the KAM.