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<p><font size="4" face="Arial">The world's first Tri-Mode APRS
igates are now "open for business" 24/7 on both 30 and 60
meters.... <br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The WA8LMF UI-Webservers now receive and igate
APRS over </font><font face="Arial">classic 300-baud </font><font
face="Arial">AX.25</font><font face="Arial"> HF packet</font><font
face="Arial">, APRS over MFSK16 & PSK31, and <b>now APRS
over VARA</b> on both 30 meters and 60 meters from my home
station located in central Michigan. <br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"><br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">VARA is one of the newest sound-card
"digi-modes". Written by Jose Ros EA5HVK, It can receive and
decode error-free data transmissions at signal levels and S/Ns
that literally can not be heard in the radio speaker. With
stronger signals, it can exceed the net data rate of VHF/FM
1200-baud packet in a 500 Hz CW bandwidth on HF ! VARA is
adaptive, adjusting it's transmit speed up and down based on
error rate and S/N., switching from simple to more complex
multi-tone QPSK wave forms, based on error rate and the
bandwidth of the radio. <br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">In a 2300 Hz SSB bandwidth, it can exceed the
throughput of 9600-baud VHF/UHF packet on HF. It is already
starting to replace the pricey (USD $600) SCS Pactor4 modems on
Winlink HF radio email systems, purely in software with a
standard soundcard interface. The basic version, usable on the
low data rates of APRS, is free. A USD $70 registration unlocks
the higher-speed modes. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Currently, the other widely-used activity,
layered on top of the VARA "softmodem" is "VarAC Chat", a live
keyboard-to-keyboard chat application that can also do file
transfers and "igate" received beacons to the PSK Reporter
network. Running on top of VARA, it can equal the weak-signal
performance of FT-8, but with free-form conversations instead of
the hello--sig report--goodbye canned exchanges of FT-8. <br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">VARA presents a KISS-over-IP interface to
external programs. In principle, any application that can run
over classic packet TNCs (messaging systems, BBS systems, APRS,
etc) can run over a VARA link instead, with an ENORMOUS
increase (15-20 dB advantage) in weak-signal capabilities. I
have been testing APRS-over-VARA for over a year now. Some of my
findings early this year are summarized on my web site at:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/APRS_VARA/index.htm"><http://WA8LMF.net/APRS_VARA/index.htm></a> This was a
competitive "shoot out" between classic 300-baud HF packet and
VARA on 60 meters, on a 500-mile road trip. <br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">At least three APRS client applications
(PinPoint, APRSis-32 and YAAC) can link directly to a
KISS-over-IP interface. For older APRS clients, like UIview,
that can only do KISS over a serial port, the third-party
"Swiss-Army-Knife" of com port utilities "VSPE" can quickly and
easily create an IP<-->Serial-Com-Port bridge. Full
details on setting up VARA for use with APRS applications is
here on my web site:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/VARAforAPRS"><http://WA8LMF.net/VARAforAPRS></a></font></p>
<hr width="100%" size="2"><font face="Arial">Stephen H. Smith
wa8lmf (at) aol.com <br>
Skype: WA8LMF<br>
EchoLink: Node # 14400 [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]<br>
Home Page: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net">http://wa8lmf.net</a><br>
<br>
"Studio B" Ham Shack on Wheels<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/Aliner"><http://WA8LMF.net/Aliner></a><br>
<br>
-- APRS over VARA --<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://wa8lmf.net/VARAforAPRS.htm"><http://wa8lmf.net/VARAforAPRS.htm></a><br>
<br>
60-Meter APRS! HF NVIS APRS Igate Now Operating<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/map/"><http://WA8LMF.net/map/></a><br>
<br>
Flying Digipeater!<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/FlyingDigi"><http://WA8LMF.net/FlyingDigi></a><br>
<br>
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