Message system ... new paradigm?

[Rick Williams]

Responding to Bill Sinbine,

I did not plan to have a PMBO but the system could connect into a PMBO work
peer to peer via the AirMail program. That is why I used the term "system,"
since it works together. I won't be able to implement this until we can get
the SCAMP mode operational. Using NVIS HF is what would geographically fill
things in for us.

I am going to ask the packet folks if they have any thoughts on FPAC for our
area. If we did have such a system, I don't think that fixed nodes would
work well. In the past, what we have done is digipeat out of an area to a
nearby portable digi to go further. But I don't think we even have the
backbone anymore.

If we try to use VHF/UHF packet networking, it can be spotty due to our
terrain here in the "Driftless Area" of Wisconsin which has not been
glaciated and contains many coulees.

I could not find any information about FPAC being used on HF so if you have
that information I would like to take a look. It seems to be a freeware
version of the ROSE switch. By the way, I could not access the homepage of
ROSE, nor the orginating group. Are these all gone now too?

73,

Rick, KV9U





-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Sinbine [mailto:n4xeo at bellsouth.net]
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 11:19 AM
To: Rick Williams; linlink at wetnet.net
Subject: RE: Message system ... new paradigm?


At 11:11 PM 1/13/2005, Rick Williams wrote:

Hi Rick and all

>Hi Bill,
>
>I do consider the WinLink 2000 system to be a network. It can operate as a
>peer to peer but it is not clear to me how well that might work.

Well yes and no...A Winlink2000 PMBO can not work peer to peer. Airmail can
do that. The PMBO is what you would connect to and airmail is the program
that a user would use. If you had a local PMBO and the internet was lost
they say it would work as a server for any and all LOCAL mail that didn't
need to leave the area.

>  I know that
>they would rather have you use it with the internet access as they stress
>this. Because I have zero intentions to ever buy an SCS modem, that means
>either packet or SCAMP. I have not had packet for over a decade now but
>maybe if it had some applications for emergency applications, I might have
>to review it again:)
>
>Having been interested for many years in the overall networking of amateur
>radio, I had not heard about FPAC. I looked it up as you suggested and it
>certainly looks interesting. Can you use this with HF in some way? Or
>strictly a packet system? From what I can tell, the ARES/RACES packet folks
>in this state are pretty limited on trying anything new. But my new
>information role lets me at least suggest new things:) Maybe we can garner
>some interest.

If you were to look at FPAC for your local network you would be able to
"play" packet again. I've been running a bbs for I can't remember how long
now and packet never died here in Florida because we wouldn't let it. We
just lost most of our users...
Now with the EMCOMM thing coming around we are happy to still have the
network in place. Florida is totally different than most of the country
since we don't have any mountains or big hills to put switches on. Our hops
can only stretch about 40 miles max so we need a lot of switch sites to get
from one end of the state to the other.

Yes you "could" use fpac for a HF packet port if you wanted to. I don't
know about any other modes in the linux version. I'm just starting to learn
about it.


Think about it .....
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

Bill Sinbine
n4xeo at bellsouth.net