[aprssig] Echolink to APRS

[Jim Morgan]

I know a person in Argentina who actualy had an interface between APRS and Echolink working in beta. I used the system with him a little during his apha testing. It did work.

I cannot think of his callsign right at the moment and I am not at his home computer but this concept is at least possible. We were both on radios not connected to the Echolink. We could read the messages on both Echolink and APRS. Pretty neat concept.
 Jim Morgan KE5MKT
Midland, TX 79703-6318
USA
432.425.5606 


Message: 5
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:15:50 -0500 (EST)
From: "Bob Bruninga " <bruninga at usna.edu>
Subject: [aprssig] Text Messaging #15 Echolink
To: aprssig at tapr.org
Message-ID: <20090221211550.AJA01973 at mp3.nettest.usna.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Just discovered another Amateur Radio text messaging system that needs to be integrated into the Universal Amateur Radio Text Messaging Initiative...  Echolink?
Last night I was listening to the statewide Echolink conference net for our state ARRL section.  Apparently, Net Control was getting "checkins" on echolink via text messages, to know what linked repeater to give it to next.
Now, my thought is, that if I am on Echolink (on line) and I send a text message to W3XYZ and he is not at his station, that that message should still be delivered to W3XYZ via APRS instead.  In otherwords, every text message on Echolink could be easily also sent in parallel into the APRS-IS.  If any station has his APRS radio turned on (anywhere in the world) the APRS-IS will deliver that message right there to the front panel of  his radio.
Done!  Another Amateur Radio Text Messaging system brought into the universal system. 
Unfortunately, beacuse of firewalls, I have not yet played enough with Echolink to fully appreciate all of the ramifications of this idea...  So if I am missing something, someone please correct me.
THanks
Bob, Wb4APR