On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:47:27 -0700, Joey wrote:

I wish I could find a use for it, but all good things come to an
almost-end, I guess


I don't know where you live, but here in the Midland Michigan area
packet and ham radio in general are alive and well.

I can't say the internet has been bad for amatuer radio... look at
IRLP, echolink, etc. success. It seems everything comes back to voice
traffic.... look at VoIP on the internet, we have a big fast data
network, and guess what? we want to TALK on it (or download p0rn.
lol)

There is a lot of digital traffic locally and via a gateway to through
the Internet. We use both voice and digital modes on VHF and UHF.

There is a lot of experimenting and building as well.


I guess my voice capable HT will never be obsolete! And that's why i
keep it up and running...

J


On 12 Apr 2007 07:22:20 GMT, blue box thief "blue box
wrote:

On 2007-04-12, Joey joey29034atyawwhodotcom wrote:
Just curious how many out there still have active 2m packet radio in
their area? Aside from APRS, I don't think anyone is listening... and
even that seems to be fading here.

APRS is also very active in this area.


I am not sure about that (aprs I mean). In Ireland there seems to be alot
of activity. Maybe its only by a small number, but it looks busy.

I've been rather inactive for the past 7-10 years and it seems packet
has dissapeared in that time! Anyone have any creative ideas?

It depends on the area. Some are very active and other's are like a
desert.

I use a TM-D700 in the car, an all band all mode 897D in the shop and
an old Alinco DR610T in here for VHF and UHF. I also use a pair of
VX-7RBs and often run locked cross band.

Well the only thing that hasn't been sent is pr0n..that seems a money-spinner
on cell networks.

I honestly can't come up with any use for it that I can't already do
over the internet... My laptop even has built in EVDO on two cell
networks (redundancy!). What more can I ask for?

Emergencies. If there is a major disaster and the power hasn't failed
yet, the cell towers become overloaded, often by the press and
therefore useless for any thing else. Nor can they remain on
emergency power indefinitely. The same is true for the Internet. No
power, no Internet. Strong storms can also render satellite
communications unusable as can solar storms. Of course those storms
take out GPS as well.

Storm chasing around here makes good use of packet/APRS and voice over
much wider areas then WiFi or WiMax


I remember going to a radio meeting(probably the only meeting i went to!)
, dunno, about 7-8 years ago.
I argued that Internet was good for ham radio, while alot of people (waay more
experienced than I) argued the opposite. It'll kill DX, Packet etc.

I argued the opposite. It'll give people opportunity to find information, access
to other sides of the world, as if they were in their backgarden.

Maybe the group here is just a bit more forward thinking as they
embrace many faces of ham radio as well as the Internet.

A little bit of both seems to have happened. Is that a bad thing?

I see the Internet and Ham Radio as compatible and that, to me, is a
good thing.


PS. 3 month old TH-D7A for sale



How about you and me have a chat http://www.runningwithbulls.com/blog/contact-us/

thanks,
bernard