jak@mtunh.UUCP (Jim Kutsch) (09/21/85)
Gateway: The ARRL Packet-Radio Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 1
August 20, 1985
Published by:
ARRL
225 Main Street
Newington, CT 06111
203-666-1541
Editor:
Jeffrey W. Ward, K8KA
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS LINKED
The Maui County ARES Bulletin reports that Maui (the largest of
the Hawaiian-islands) and the island of Kauai are now linked by
two-meter packet radio. Bill Baisley, KH6S, and Army Curtis,
AH6P, made the first inter-island connection, using a digipeater
on Mauna Loa. The Mauna Loa digipeater is on 145.05 MHz,
operating as AH6P-1.
From WESTLINK.
OHIO LINKING
Thomas Kryza, KB8CI, reports another packet-radio first:
"Perhaps it wasn't an earth-shaking event, but nevertheless, July
14 marked a milestone for Ohio packeteers. Tom Kryza, KB8CI, in
Cleveland, and Reggie Brown, KI4UN, in Florence Kentucky (just
across the Ohio River from Cincinnati) made the first Cleveland-
to-Cincinnati packet-radio QSO. The contact over the 292-mile
path lasted about a half an hour. Two digipeaters were used:
W8AC in Chardon, Ohio and AD8I in Circleville, Ohio.
"The more than 30 packeteers around Cleveland and Akron are now
connecting on a regular basis with Detroit, Youngstown,
Pittsburgh and London (Ontario). We are looking for stations in
Sandusky and Mansfield to increase the reliability of paths to
Toledo and Columbus."
From KB8CI.
IOWA FREQUENCY COORDINATION
From the minutes of the May meeting of the Iowa Repeater Council:
"A motion was made, seconded, and passed that 145.01, 145.03,
145.05, 145.07 and 145.09 MHz be set aside for packet radio. A
motion was also made, seconded and passed to change the 220
bandplan to accommodate high-speed data links.
"It was suggested that since we have decided to stay with the
15/30-kHz plan, that we also change the packet-radio subband from
the 20-kHz plan to the 15/30-kHz plan so that the entire 2-meter
bandplan is consistent. It was decided to study the idea and
delay decision until a later date."
From the IRC.
MID-ATLANTIC MEETING
On September 7, the Mid-Atlantic Packet Radio Club (MAPRC) will
hold a meeting in conjunction with the Gaithersburg Hamfest.
MAPRC is primarily intended to act as a unified voice for packet
radio in northern Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, eastern
Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, but anyone who is
interested in packet radio is invited to attend.
Saturday was selected to allow a full afternoon of packet-radio
discussions without interruption from activities at the Hamfest.
The meeting will start around 14:00 EDT, with dinner planned for
18:00. Meeting facilities will be available starting about 13:00
for informal discussions, disk swapping, etc.
The meeting will be at the Baldwin Community Hall in Savage,
Maryland. This is within a mile of the intersection of US 1 and
MD 32, and it is convenient for travellers coming in on on I 95,
US 29 or the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. Detailed directions
will be posted on major EASTNET packet bulletin board systems
(PBBSs), addressed to the dummy address "MAPRC". Talk-in stations
will be on the Maryland FM Association 146.76/.16-MHz repeater
and the Columbia ARA 147.135/.735-Mhz machine.
Some of the local packeteers have offered to put up those
travelling from afar on modest budgets. These "luxury"
accommodations range from tents and RVs to floor space suitable
for sleeping bags. To make arrangements, please send your
lodging requirements through EASTNET PBBSs to the address BEDS @
W3IWI.
The meeting will address the following topics:
o MAPRC organization. It is time for MAPRC to become a "real"
entity.
o The expansion of EASTNET in the MAPRC area. This will
include a discussion of 9600-bit/s linking, dual-port digipeaters
and the need for funds to get an enhanced network on the air.
What about the proposed TAPR network controller? What is
happening with level-3 linking protocols? Will TCP/IP or VC get
on the air first? Just what are level 3, TCP/IP and VC, anyway?
o Expansion of EASTNET north, south and west. From
Harrisburg north through Williamsport, State College, Allentown,
Scranton, Wilkes Barre and into western New York, the links are
sparse. Stations in that area are now best reached through
southeastern New York. South from Washington there is sparse
activity through southern Virginia and a big gap between EASTNET
and SOUTHNET. To the west, there is significant activity from
Pittsburgh west to Finley, Columbus, Indianapolis and into
Chicago. We would like to investigate routes through West
Virginia and central Pennsylvania. Anybody with knowledge and
ideas about these routes should be prepared to make a
presentation. How far away is the Golden Packet award?
o Hardware and new-user discussions. The newest packet radio
hardware, the TNC 2 (complete with ALJ-1000), the Kantronics
Packet Communicator and the AEA PK-64, will be discussed. Bring
your new applications software, especially terminal programs for
common personal computers. Time will be allocated for discussing
the problems that new users face when coming on the air.
o Frequency-coordination matters, both those within the packet
community and external matters like local repeater councils and
FCC actions.
o Integration of packet radio into other aspects of Amateur
Radio, particularly the National Traffic System, emergency
communications and disaster relief. The recent use of packet
systems in the California fires has raised questions about
emergency communication and emergency preparedness.
o Packet bulletin board system (PBBS) discussion. What's
happening on the PBBS front? How do I get a PBBS on the air in
my area? How will PBBSs evolve in the next few years? How do
RCP/M systems, UNIX hosts and HF Gateways fit into the grand
scheme? This will also be a discussion of PBBS coordination.
o DX packet radio, including HF gateways, Oscar 10, PACSAT,
JAS 1 and the possible WA4SIR Space Shuttle packet-radio
experiment.
As at past MAPRC meetings, these discussions will be in "town-
meeting" format; everyone will be encouraged to speak his or her
piece. Please let us know if you are going to be able to come to
the meeting. Also, contact us if there are items that have been
omitted from the discussion topics listed above.
From W3IWI.
VADCG DEVELOPMENTS
Although we don't hear about them often, there are quite a few
VADCG TNCs in operation. The latest VADCG news comes from Alan
Mar, VE7DPM:
The Sydney (Australia) Amateur Digital Communications Group
(SADCG) has taken the VADCG V-2 protocol and the AMRAD
implementation of AX.25 for the VADCG TNC and merged them. This
allows one VADCG TNC to run both protocols. It is now possible
to choose either V-2 or AX.25 from the TNC menu. Since more
memory is required when you have both protocols in one TNC, you
must modify the TNC to accept larger EPROMs. Alan does not know
if the Australians have a version of this software that runs on a
VADCG TNC with the AMRAD daughter board.
An interesting feature of this software is the inclusion of a
standard TNC-to-user interface. This interface, based on
international standards X.3 and X.28, defines TNC operating
parameters and provides a protocol for displaying and altering
them. The ARRL Ad Hoc Committee on Digital Communications is
investigating the adoption of this protocol as an amateur
standard. (See the proceedings of the 4th ARRL Amateur Radio
Computer Networking Conference for further details.) VADCG
devotees have developed a CP/M program that uses the X.3/X.28
interface to transfer binary files. The file-transfer protocol
is TNC-independent, and details should be available soon.
Via HAMNET, VE7DPM.
WISCONSIN NEWS
John Corstvet, WA9SOU, from Madison, Wisconsin provides this
activity report:
"At the July meeting of the Wisconsin Amateur Packet Radio
Association (WAPRA) the club decided to move Wisconsin packet
activity from 144.950 MHz to the national packet frequency,
145.010 MHz. Most stations will have already switched
frequencies. We are working on a digipeater at North Freedom,
Wisconsin, which will link with stations in Madison, Baraboo and
Portage. The North Freedom system should be on the air by early
September. We are also making plans for a path from North Freedom
to La Crosse, from La Crosse to Rochester, Minnesota and then
north to the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area. If you are
interested in more information on WAPRA, their address is:
WAPRA
P.O. Box 1215
Fon du Lac, WI 54935.
Membership dues include a 1-year subscription to Badger State
Smoke Signals, which carries the WAPRA newsletter."
From HAMNET, WA9SOU.
BARE PC BOARDS AVAILABLE
Applied Digital Technology (ADT), of Oxnard, California, is
selling bare pc boards for the TAPR TNC 1. The boards, produced
from the TAPR artwork, are faithful copies of TNC 1. ADT is also
selling the latest TAPR firmware, reproductions of the TAPR
manual and some of the hard-to-get TNC parts. According to ADT,
the boards are high-quality glass epoxy, solder masked and
silkscreened with component locations. The company may produce
pc boards for TNC accessories. For further information, contact:
Applied Digital Technologies
2056 E. Sutter Place
Oxnard, CA 63033
805-488-5575.
Via DRNET.
SOUTHNET CONFERENCE II
The Second SOUTHNET Packet-Radio Conference will be held on
November 23 and 24. The conference, hosted by the Georgia Tech
Amateur Radio Club, will be held on the campus of Georgia
Technical University, in Atlanta. Technical sessions will run
Saturday from 8:30 to 5:00 and on Sunday from 8:30 to 12:00.
There will be an informal get-together on Friday night and an
organized dinner on Saturday.
Interested packeteers are invited to make formal or informal
presentations on any topic concerning packet radio. If you want
to participate, send your name, address, phone number, amount of
time needed, a list of audio/visual equipment needed and a brief
abstract of your topic to:
Bill Crews, WB2CPV
1421 Hampton Ridge Road
Norcross, GA 30093
From N4CI.
NEW PACKET GROUP IN SOUTH CAROLINA
On Saturday August 10, a group of 10 amateurs met in Columbia,
South Carolina to organize a statewide group for hams interested
in digital communications. The name for the group is South
Carolina Amateur Digital Society or SCARDS. The main purpose of
SCARDS is to provide a forum in which amateur radio digital
communicators can get acquainted with each other and exchange
information. It will also promote the orderly growth of packet
radio and other forms of digital communications in South
Carolina. SCARDS will encompass all forms of digital
communication, not limiting itself to packet radio. The club will
publish a newsletter every 2 months, beginning in September.
Items for the newsletter should be sent to editor Al Nelson,
KA4YEA.
This item came by way of the GRAPEVINE, newsletter of the Georgia
Radio Amateur Packet Enthusiasts. The GRAPEVINE also reports
that on the weekend of August 17, a team of hams installed the
W4FX-1 digipeater on Sassafras Mountain, the highest point in
South Carolina. This digipeater should help fill the gap between
EASTNET and SOUTHNET, as it sits midway between packet-radio
activity centers in North Carolina and Georgia.
Via W4FX, DRNET.
MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS
If you are interested in experimenting with multiple simultaneous
connections from the same TNC, you will be interested in these
developments. Multiconnect firmware written by WA8DED is already
in use at several sites in California. Version 0.9 of this
software (for the TAPR TNC 1 and compatibles) is now available.
This software offers the following features: up to four
simultaneous connections possible, easy-to-read monitor mode, on-
screen calibration, digipeats AX.25 Version 2 frames, separate
status display for each connection and a special "host mode" for
computer interfaces.
Harold Price, NK6K, also has multiconnect software in the beta-
test stage. This is part of the upcoming TAPR TNC 1 Version 4.0
software. Owners of the TAPR TNC 2 will not be left out; Howard
Goldstein, N2WX, author of the TNC-2 software is testing
multiconnect routines for that TNC. The availability of this
software should spur development of multiuser bulletin boards and
gateways. It will also provide a basis for experimentation with
networking protocols. We are interested in hearing from anyone
developing applications that will take advantage of multiple
level-2 connections.
Via HAMNET, DRNET.
NEW PACKET CENSUS
The following is both a report and a request from Harold Price,
NK6K:
"While southern California isn't always a good place from which
to judge how things are going in the rest of the world, it is
interesting to note how quickly packet is growing around here.
On our Monday-night nets (both voice and digital), we have been
getting several new users each week. Most of them are running
the Heath HD-4040 TNC.
"TNCs seem to be selling very well. A call to a LA radio store
revealed a backlog of orders for AEA TNCs. Heath is sold out of
their latest production run, and they are again back ordered.
Based on the production schedules the Heath people were talking
about at Dayton, this means that they've sold around 1500 TNCs.
"What is the new-user activity in the rest of North America? I
would like to do another packet census, so send me any
information that you have. Send reports to NK6K @ KD6SQ, via any
W0RLI MailBox that can reach an HF GateWay."
From NK6K.
WESTNET PROJECTS
Looking for something to do this winter? This item, which
originated at the WA6OSA Packet Mailbox, details the projects
underway in WESTNET:
o Tom King, KA6SOX, is developing a 9600-bit/s FSK modem using
K9NG technology adapted for use with Midland 220-MHz radios. Tom
is also developing modifications for the Midland radios to make
them more suitable for WESTNET backbone use.
o Greg Pierro, WA6RWN, and Jerry Brayton, WB6AIE, are
developing a CMOS Z80-based processor board for use in remote
mountaintop environments.
o Orv Beach, WB6WEY, is enhancing the KE3Z multiport digipeater
software and the FAD HDLC daughter board for WESTNET backbone
use.
o Andy Cromarty, N6JLJ, is drafting a proposed functional
specification for WESTNET networking software.
o Mike Busch, W6IXU, is developing new mailbox software which
uses the WA8DED multiconnect firmware. It will support multiple
simultaneous connections and will soon include automatic store
and forward with other mailboxes. The WA6OSA mailbox will be
converting to the new software as soon as it is available.
Via HAMNET.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CLUB ORGANIZES
Packet-radio users in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are
organizing the Southern California Amateur Packet Radio
Assiciation (SCAPRA). The first Meeting of SCAPRA will be held
on August 27, at 7:00 PM, in the lobby-level amphitheater at Loma
Linda University Medical Center. A talk-in station will be on
the 147.735-MHz LLUARC repeater.
SCAPRA hopes to distribute packet information, coordinate packet
activities and promote friendly expansion of packet radio.
For more information, call:
Rod Wertz, WC6T
714-796-2883
From NI6A, HAMNET.
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