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#10
August 16th 12, 01:08 PM
posted to rec.radio.amateur.digital.misc
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Packet Radio
In article ,
Fred McKenzie writes: In article , (Bill Gunshannon) wrote: This group seems as dead as the 2 Meter Packet Frequencies around here but I'll ask here anyway. Is packet radio dead? Has the proliferation of Internet and Cell Phones made it so meaningless that no one is doing anything anymore? I have been pretty much out of Ham Radio for a long time but now that retirement has reared it's ugly(?) head I find myself with time and a renewed interest. I am monitoring all the 2 Meter Packet Freqs here (in the home of K3RLI) and hearing nothing. Not even the dubious DX Cluster traffic that used to go on around here!! Is there any interest in old fashined packet radio any more or should I just put it all back in a box and relegate it to the cellar once more? Oh yeah, Is Howie Goldstein, N2WX around here by any chance? I would still like to get a copy of the source for the "Howie Code" that ran in my DR-200's back in my digi-peating days. And a copy for the TNC-2 as well if there ever was one. I have always wanted to experiment with it and if packet is pretty much dead then there is probably no problem with me doing some stuff on two meters around here. Especially if I could find some kindred spirits who shared some of my interests. Bill- I am over seven years into retirement, and my memory is getting a bit dim. I have an old PK-232 stashed somewhere. Many times I have thought about firing it up, but haven't found time yet. I would need to build some adapter cables first! At one time I had 2 PacComm TNCs with "The Net" firmware, connected back-to-back between the 144 and 220 MHz bands. Let's see, I have a TNC-1, a couple of TNC-2's, a KAM, a newer version KAM, a PACCOMM 220, a couple DR-200's and even one of those early VE-something or others that didn't do AX.25 because it hadn't been invented yet. :-) I recently reprogrammed an old FM rig that had 441.000 MHz in it from back in the 90s. My notes indicate that was a Packet Backbone frequency. Sure enough, I can hear a steady chatter of packet signals there. I'm listening through a magnet mount antenna stuck to the top of some metal shelves, here in central Florida. Like I said, I programmed all the 2 meter packet freqs into a scanner and let it run all day yesterday and heard nothing. I guess if everything has moved to vhf maybe the locals won't mind if I experiment on 2 meters again. Hmmmmmm.... What ever happend to ROSE. There was another system that showed promise but lost out to politics. According to the FCC, N2WX renewed in May, and is living in Sarasota, FL. You might take a look at http://www.tapr.org. If you search their archives for N2WX, you will find several related articles. Their software library is at http://www.tapr.org/software_library.php. I have tried a couple of email addresses but never got an answer. I really don't plan on calling his house. I have asked this question before in NetNews and other places. I would have thought he would have seen one of these requests or had someone mention that I was looking for him. Maybe he just dfoesn't want anyone to work with his old code any more. I don't know if PacComm is still in business, but their website is on line at http://www.paccomm.com. A note at the bottom of the home page says "Last updated 7/19/2004". Yeah, PACCOMM is still there. I have asked them three times now and my reply each time was, "let me look and see if we still have a copy of the code around anywhere." That is usually the last I hear. I fear this is yet another piece of computing histoy that may have been lost. bill KB3YV -- Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves | and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. University of Scranton | Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include std.disclaimer.h |
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