rfc@briar.philips.com (Robert Casey;6282;3.57;$0201) (01/11/90)
copied from packet: Msg# TSF Size #Rd Date/Time MsgID From To 14046 BF 2493 2 0103/0437 29730_W3IWI W3IWI ALL@NYNET Sb: SAREX2 - Packet on the Space Shuttle Note: Packet Radio is a computer communications mode of Amateur Radio. PACKET BID: 29730_W3IWI 1990 is going to be a vintage year for amateur packet radio in space. This month will see the launch of the four AMSAT Microsats plus two UoSATS (look for @AMSAT bulletins on you local BBS). Then in late April one of our MDC area astronauts, Ron Parise, WA4SIR will fly on the Shuttle Columbia in mission STS-35. Ron will be carrying 2M packet radio hardware with him -- a modified HK-21 TNC, a Motorola HT, a window-mounted antenna and a Grid lap-top computer. The TNC will be carrying special software -- an updated version of the SAREX "Robot" that would have flown in 1986 had not the Challenger disaster happened. The "Robot" software is an automatic QSO machine. You connect to the robot, you are given a serial number, and as soon as you ack the number, the Robot disconnects and enters the QSO into the log. As many as nine simultaneous QSOs can be going on. If the robot hears you, whether or not you make a full two-way QSO, that information is entered into a second log. You and the world know immediately if you had a QSO or were heard, because periodically the robot sends out beacons. A beacon addressed to QSL> lists the two-way QSO's and the serial number, and a beacon adddressed to QRZ> lists the stations heard. In addition, the robot has an additional beacon (called the Metabeacon) addressed to QST> which has up to 7 frames of up to 255 characters/frame (i.e. about 1.7 kbytes). This is intended to serve as a longer general information beacon into which Ron can put mission status information. N2WX and I have worked hard this past weekend to get a "beta" version of the flight TNC software working, and we are ready to test it. The SAREX goodies are now operating from here under the call W3IWI-5 (alias SAREX) on 145.05 using the same radio as the 145.05 W3IWI BBS port. The QST, QSL and QRZ beacons fire every 5 minutes. Please give the software a shot. Try to crash it! It is a lot better to it die now than in flight! 73, Tom 0450z, 1726 msgs, #14100 last @KD6TH-4 MailBox>