<html><head></head><body><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Hi, Steve.</div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Re-reading your email on this as I got restarted on my own effort in this area reminded me of some other ancient technology that we might want to resuscitate for this problem.</div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Does anybody remember Usenet (otherwise known as the InterNetNews)? It was a powerful means of implementing a distributed world-wide collection of thousands of bulletin boards of discussion threads, back before the World Wide Web, hosting service providers, and (nearly) ubiquitous broadband replaced Usenet with world-accessible single-server web forums and blogs. Like email in those days, Usenet only carried plain-text; like email, it could carry anything that could be bundled into a plain-text email message, such as binary files encoded by the useful uuencode and uudecode programs. It would automatically synchronize all the distributed copies of any given discussion group. And it could work over (by today's standards) ridiculously low-bandwidth links. In 1991, I was running a corporate Usenet news gateway over a leased-line Internet connection at a screaming 19.2 kilobaud. Yes, _that_ slow. Yes, we had dialup modems that went faster than that before broadband.<br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">These days, the Usenet news server software is still available in most Linux distros (I just checked, and both Fedora Core and Raspian Buster still have it as an optional distro package). Many email clients still support NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) as well as SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol). And NNTP can transfer over any TCP/IP link (including TCPIP-over-AX.25 and HSMM, as well as the global Internet), and over batched low-level links (it used to use an old package called UUCP [Unix-to-Unix CoPy] to transfer updates over dialup links) at barely more infrastructure than the KISS protocol.</div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">So, we could set up NNTP servers on Raspberry Pi computers (or anything else) and use any sorts of links to connect them together: Internet, HamWAN, AREDN, TARPN, heck maybe even fldigi file transfers (not much different than what UUCP did). Because NNTP uses a flood-fill algorithm to distribute messages over multiple paths, if one link goes down, the target at the other end of the failed link will eventually get it via several relays on other links as long as every news server has links to more than one other news server, and the topology doesn't have any Single Points Of Failure. No particular network topology is required; just like amateur radio, Usenet doesn't need a central control office (unlike cellphones). We can certainly get sufficient TCP/IP speeds over AX.25 packet with the 9600-baud TNCs (hardware and software) that are readily available now for a TARPN-style VHF network for areas where we can't do HamWAN/AREDN, but NNTP will still work over those networks as well. And, if we keep our Usenet separate from what's left of the old Internet Usenet, we don't have to worry (as much) about illegal content putting transmitting stations at risk or excessive traffic volume. After all, most public service events that use APRS put their event traffic on a different frequency than the national APRS frequency to avoid congestion.<br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">So, if what is needed to solve the problem is a distributed bulletin board, Usenet solved it for us decades ago.<br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Just my $.03 (inflation, ya know).</div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Andrew, KA2DDO</div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">author of YAAC ("Yet Another APRS Client")</div><div class="ydp5fceb1f9yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br>
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On Wednesday, December 4, 2019, 12:11:44 AM EST, Stephen H. Smith via aprssig <aprssig@lists.tapr.org> wrote:
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<div class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqt0626487475" id="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqtfd56917"><div class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611moz-cite-prefix">On 12/3/2019 6:26 PM,
<a shape="rect" class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:chiefsfan2@cox.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">chiefsfan2@cox.net</a> wrote:<br clear="none">
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</blockquote></div></div><div class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqt0626487475" id="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqtfd79354"></div><div><div class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqt0626487475" id="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqtfd00049"><div>Since you had a analog landline
phone still working that would be a reason to bring back some
phone patches like we used to have. And now you can run a BBS on
a rasp pi computer which makes for great portability and low
power consumption</div></div>
<p>Funny you should bring this up at this particular time. Just
last week, I was experimenting connecting an old Heathkit HD-1515
phone patch I found in my junk box to the 6-pin mini-DIN data port
of a Yaesu FT-857D. It worked perfectly both on FM for 2 meters
and on SSB for HF. I'm now going to add a 6-pin mini-DIN jack to
the back panel of the patch, in parallel with the existing RCA RX
and TX audio jacks. I can then use a standard off-the-shelf
6-pin DIN to 6-pin DIN cable to connect the patch to any radio
with a standard 6-pin data port. Finally, I will add a
double-throw center-off locking-one-way /
momentary-the-other-way toggle switch to the front panel to key
the radio transmitter. <br clear="none">
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<p>I'm now thinking about getting one of those Bluetooth gizmos that
links to a cellphone and and produces a couple of classic RJ-11
analog phone jacks. I could plug the patch into one and a classic
desk phone set into the other. This would allow phone patches
either via a "real" phone line, or via a cellphone connection if
needed.</p>
<p>Another variation on this theme: With a sound card interface
setup normally as you would use for digimodes on a PC, start up
Skype instead of a soundcard digi-mode app. You can then run
"phone patches" from radio users to users on Skype instead of a
POTS line. <br clear="none">
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<p>Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com <br clear="none">
Skype: WA8LMF<br clear="none">
EchoLink: Node # 14400 [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]<br clear="none">
Home Page: <a shape="rect" class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://wa8lmf.net</a><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
----- NEW! 60-Meter APRS! HF NVIS APRS Igate Now Operating
------<br clear="none">
<a shape="rect" class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://wa8lmf.ddns.net:14447/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><http://wa8lmf.ddns.net:14447/></a><br clear="none">
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Live Off-The-Air APRS Activity Maps<br clear="none">
<a shape="rect" class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://wa8lmf.net/map" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><http://wa8lmf.net/map></a><br clear="none">
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Long-Range APRS on 30 Meters HF <br clear="none">
<a shape="rect" class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm></a></p><div class="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqt0626487475" id="ydpb9f94d4byiv6627603611yqtfd18518">
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</div></div></div><div class="ydpb9f94d4byqt0626487475" id="ydpb9f94d4byqtfd79887">_______________________________________________<br clear="none">aprssig mailing list<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="mailto:aprssig@lists.tapr.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">aprssig@lists.tapr.org</a><br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig_lists.tapr.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig_lists.tapr.org</a><br clear="none"></div></div>
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