<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:Courier New, courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yiv5952296380"><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1444493316109_4219"><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1444493316109_4218" style="color:#000;background-color:#fff;font-family:Courier New, courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13237" dir="ltr"><div id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22187" dir="ltr">The PropNET Project was originally built upon foundational learnings from
the APRS community, the "HF packet forwarding/BBS" community, the OSCAR satellite pioneers and the
wisdom of 10 and 6 meter meteor-scatter operators from the last century.</div></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13239" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22125"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" dir="ltr" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13184">From
the APRS community, we learned about (and built upon) standardized protocols and
creating an Interet "backbone" to share information when the Aether
failed to support direct links.</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_14168" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22129"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13492" dir="ltr"><div id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22220">From the HF packet-forwarding community, we learned the importance of implementing an anti-QRM-to-human-operations strategy.</div><div id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22247"><br></div><div id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22249">From the OSCAR satellite community, we learned that experimentation is important, and humans liked to tinker and "talk" to robots (I'm really trying to avoid mentioning thw whole Ashley Madison thing...and obviously not so well).<br></div></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13507" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22133"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13550" dir="ltr">From
the wise 10 and 6-meter meteor-scatter operators of the 20th century,
we learned to use constant sources of RF to decide if a link is open,
even if a human being was not actually transmitting at the time. While
inexperienced operators (most of them were, after all) would mostly
"listen" during meteor showers, the wise ones would attempt to work
random "blue whizzers" by listening to distant USA TV stations and call a
quick "CQ Scatter" when hearing one pop out of the noise; often
resulting in completing a quick QSO with those "listeners".</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13633" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22137"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13676" dir="ltr">All of this culminates in what we know as "The PropNET Project".</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13678" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22141"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13680" dir="ltr">We
built software that is used by the Amateur Radio community to check
their radios for proper PSK31 operation (see previous post) 24-hours a
day and leverage that single altruistic service to track, analyze,
"uncover new modes of..." and explore RF propagation. As an aside,
folks who were once associated with The PropNET project have gone on to
develop other services as well!<br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22144"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13585" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22147"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13598" dir="ltr">As
an Automatically Controlled Digital Station, all of this happens (1)
automatically (like "packet" stations and "FM Repeaters") and (2) as if a
human operator was present and making decisions (whaaaaaat?!?).</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13800" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22151"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13813" dir="ltr">The
ACDS software has taken automatic control to an entirely new plane of
operation. Using a typical computer and PSK31 capable transceiver as
found in a ham shack, we have gone to great lengths to both assure (1)
long term operational stability by applying "fail safes" to assure no
"lock up in TX" modes are present, and (2) significant anti-QRM
strategies that will either QSY an automatic ID if the PSK31 stream
frequency is in use or outright abandon an automated ID if a unoccupied
nearby frequency can't be found!</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13950" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22155"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13915" dir="ltr">Yes,
the software used (ACDS) will "RX before TX" to be a good neighbor to
human operations (on HF, we try to co-locate in the same
sub-bands)...just like a human operator would! Is it perfect? NO! Are
human operators perfect? NO! ;-) But rest assured that we're always
looking for ways to improve, just as human PSK31 operators are.</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13914" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22159"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_13916" dir="ltr">So...what's
NEW in the upcoming PUBLIC BETA of ACDS? A "*LOCAL* dashboard", for
one! While we (and others in the Amateur Radio Community) rely heavily
on our web site (http://www.PropNET.org) to present "aggregated" data
from all participants ... ACDS now has a Local Dashboard with statistics
about YOUR stations' operations.</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_14104" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22163"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_14106" dir="ltr">That is the subject of the NEXT "tickler".</div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_14108" dir="ltr"><br class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_22167"></div><div class="yiv5952296380" id="yiv5952296380yui_3_16_0_1_1444485115982_14110" dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">STAND BY for the announcement of the release of the ACDS, PUBLIC BETA. It is coming soon!</div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>