[aprssig] re-purposing MFG 1278B?

[Ron VE8RT]

   Its been on the shelf for a while, it was given to me.  So, we have
nothing up here except an Igate and digipeater.  Way beyond normal VHF
range of any other populated area.  As i don't like to see a useful
piece of gear not being put to use, what does it do well enough to be
put back into service, and given my isolation (there are only a handful
of other active amateurs here in Yellowknife) what would be the best
type of service for our community?

   Ron VE8RT

On Tue, 10 Dec 2019 09:41:38 -0800
Greg D <ko6th.greg at gmail.com> wrote:

> No need to fuss about new ROMs.  I have an MFJ-1278T (I believe it's the
> same as the 1278B but with a 2400 baud modem added), and it's working
> just fine in KISS mode.  Been doing so for quite a number of years, in
> fact. 
> 
> I never did much else with it in terms of PACTOR, WEFAX, or the other
> modes.  I had a homebrew BAYCOM system before acquiring the 1278 at a
> club "White Elephant" sale, which I used for contacting various BBS
> systems on VHF packet, and used JVFAX for SSTV.  The 1278 came in just
> before the turn of the century (love that term), right about the time I
> moved to Linux, and with it a whole new set of tools.  I re-purposed an
> old HT and brought XASTIR up to get on APRS.  That system transitioned
> to APRSIS32 under Wine a few years later, and it's been working ever
> since.  The TNC has out-lived the HT and several mobile rigs, in fact. 
> It's currently driving it's second Kenwood TR-7730.  Besides APRS, the
> system moves into service for Winlink for a few months every summer in
> support of the Western States 100 and Tevis races.  A lot of fine packet
> traffic has moved through that box over the years.
> 
> TL;DR:  Just use it!
> 
> Greg  KO6TH
> 
> 
> Steve Dimse wrote:
> > TAPR never offered ROMs for the 1278. It does sell ROMs for TNC-2 clones, of which the MFJ-1270 was the most prevalent example. 
> >
> > https://www.tapr.org/kits_119.html
> >
> > The 1278 was the HF/VHF TNC that included grey scale WEFAX and is not a TNC-2 clone. I remember that well because a few decades ago I bought a Kenwood 440 and the MFJ to receive weather back in the dark days before the Internet. Once I had those, it seemed like a waste not to use the transmit side, so I got my ham license. Who knows what wonderful things I might have accomplished with my free time had I not done that ;-)
> >
> > Steve K4HG
> >
> >
> >> On Dec 10, 2019, at 12:47 AM, Ron VE8RT <ve8rt at yknwt.ca> wrote:
> >>
> >>   there is a MFJ 1278B sitting on a shelf here.  From reading the
> >> thread on YAAC I've learned that TAPR offer (or offered at one time)
> >> replacement EPROMS.  My questions are: is the MFJ 1278B worth an EPROM
> >> upgrade (what would it be good at)?  And if so, where could I buy
> >> replacement EPROMS and documentation?  I've glanced at the TAPR website
> >> and don't know exactly what I'd be looking for.
> >>
> >>   Thanks,  Ron VE8RT
> >>
> >> -- 
> >> Ron VE8RT <ve8rt at yknwt.ca>
> >>
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> >
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> 
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-- 
Ron VE8RT <ve8rt at yknwt.ca>