Subj : Re: Packet
To   : Daryl Stout
From : Alan Beck
Date : Fri May 05 2023 08:20 am

//Hello Daryl,//

Thanks for your notes on packet.

Unfortuenatly I can only offer Telnet access via a terminal on my web page (cwnet.org).

It is just like the old daysworkiing from a terminal.

If you can configure outpost to do telnet.

I would be glad to include you on my bbs. Just send me a password via netmail and off you go.

Should be 1000 messages on the bbs, it was once at 3500.

73,

Alan



on *03.05.23* at *6:57:00* You wrote in area *AMATEUR_RADIO*
to *Alan Beck* about *"Re: Packet"*.

DS> Alan,

AB>> Packet radio BBSes are only for confirmed Ham radio operators. it is of
AB>> and about ham radio for hams.

AB>> Usually you need to come in from RF, all I have are 1000 packet messages
AB>> from the internet links from 3 other BBSes.

DS>   First, packet is not what you do to a TNC to put it into your vehicle
DS> to take it to a hamfest flea market (hi hi).

DS>   Second, there are some packet BBS's that offer telnet access in
DS> addition
DS> to conventional RF. Either way, one must be a licensed amateur radio
DS> operator to access them. The former N0KFQ BBS in Branson, Missouri (he
DS> and his XYL, KB0WSA, are both Silent Keys), and the current NS2B BBS in
DS> Penfield, New York, offer both RF and telnet access...RF for those who
DS> come in via HF or VHF, and telnet for those who don't have RF gear due to
DS> medical issues (I'm a heart patient), or they're too far away to access
DS> it.

DS>   The best way to get that is using the Outpost Packet Program suite, by
DS> Jim Obenhofer, KN6PE. It has a separate ipserial and iptelnet utility,
DS> depending on whether you're going through RF with a TNC, or via telnet
DS> without any RF gear. I use the iptelnet utility to access the NS2B BBS,
DS> for my packet stuff, as well as running The PCL Net (I'm Net Control and
DS> Scribe, with NS2B as alternate Net Control and Scribe, when I can't be
DS> there). You can get the Outpost program (Windows) at outpostpm.org

DS>   There are 2 files at http://www.wx4qz.net/elk.htm -- telling how to
DS> set up Outpost for accessing the NS2B BBS, and info on "The PCL Net".
DS> "PCL" was the original name of the net, as it was basically 3 greater
DS> than signs >>> used to indicate that one was done typing their comments;
DS> the equivalent to "over" on phone, or "K" on CW.

DS>   It stood for "Patience Chicken Lips"...because packet is slow (300 baud
DS> for HF and 1200 baud for VHF), and the 3 greater than signs look like
DS> "chicken lips". (hi hi).

DS>   The PCL Net meets every Monday at 8pm US Eastern Time, except on the
DS> weeks that have the following holidays...Easter, Memorial Day,
DS> Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

DS>   We usually have 2 rounds for comments, and I usually post out the
DS> scribe later that evening (after I run the HotSpot RPi SBC ZumSpot Net on
DS> the QuadNet Array (openquad.net)), or sometime the next morning.

DS>   As a side note, another PDF file on that page was a "review" of what
DS> I called "The E.D. Net"...it was one of the funniest experiences I ever
DS> had in ham radio. It proves "with friends like us, you don't need any
DS> enemies" (hi hi).

DS>   Years ago, Dave Perry, W4KGU (SK), released five 16-bit ham radio
DS> doors, which had the following things in common:

DS> 1) They were freeware.
DS> 2) They required a DORINFO1.DEF dropfile. 3) They did NOT have a fossil
DS> driver.
DS> 4) They required ANSI graphics to access. 5) If using the QRZDOOR (item C
DS> below), they needed the data CD, noted below.

DS>   Here's a quick description of each of them:

DS> A) BULLET -- a bulletins related door. 26 categories are available, and
DS> it can be covering any topic...ham radio, weather, health, BBS related,
DS> food/cooking, etc. As with the REGSCAN door (noted below), the text had
DS> to be in 80x24 format per page.

DS> B) REGSCAN -- a door that had an ASCII copy of Part 97 of the FCC Rules,
DS> where you could search for a certain part of the rules. It needed to be
DS> formatted to basically an 80x24 page format. That was a tedious process
DS> to go through to convert that...although I think most PDF viewers will
DS> allow you to save the PDF to a textfile. But, it still took awhile to go
DS> through the entire file to get the 80x24 format.

DS> Offhand, I don't recall the last time there was a major update, but I'll
DS> take care of that again eventually. As a side note, with "suspect
DS> glaucoma" and dry corneas, which caused blurred vision without warning
DS> (that caused me to give up driving, and sell my car a year ago), it makes
DS> it hard to spend long amounts of time at the computer, with the BBS, or
DS> with running ham radio traffic nets.

DS> C) QRZDOOR -- a door that used the original CD-ROM that was produced by
DS> the QRZ.COM website, and was available for purchase. That data is no
DS> longer available, so unless you have an older data file (the last one I
DS> have for that was from 2008), that door is worthless. You could search by
DS> callsign, name, or location, and save the info to a file for download.

DS> D) WASPORT -- a door to track ones progress in the ARRL WAS (Worked All
DS> States) award. Categories were for various bands and modes, plus a
DS> separate Sysop defined category.

DS> I have "internet" for VoIP related modes...mainly for hams living in
DS> HOA's, CC&R's, or with antenna restrictions/prohibitions, such as medical
DS> or assisted living facilities. As an FCC official noted years ago, "we
DS> are communicators first, and ham radio operators second". With having
DS> congestive heart failure, I operate "internet only", but my license isn't
DS> just a piece of paper. I've known many hams who studied to the exam, got
DS> their ham radio license, but never got on the air. I have to wonder why
DS> they spent all that time and money.

DS> Just over a month ago, on March 31, 2023, when a nearly EF-4 tornado
DS> blasted a 35 mile path of destruction across central Arkansas (54
DS> injuries and 1 fatality), the hams were using "whatever communications
DS> method worked" to get the info to the National Weather Service in Little
DS> Rock. If you go on YouTube, and look for "Ryan Hall, Ya'll" (it's a
DS> weather geeks paradise), search for "March 31, 2023 outbreak".

DS> Just after 2pm Central Time, a Tornado Warning was issued for the Little
DS> Rock Metro area...then it was upgraded to a Tornado Emergency, just over
DS> 25 minutes later. You will see video of the monster tornado (which was
DS> about 5 miles west of me in southwest Little Rock), from both storm
DS> chaser Brett Adair, and from the camera from one of the hospitals in west
DS> Little Rock. The WCM (Warnings Coordination Meteorologist) at the
DS> National Weather Service in North Little Rock (they're at the North
DS> Little Rock Airport) is Dennis Cavanaugh, KF5VHZ...and he does the
DS> Skywarn Spotter Training courses done by the National Weather Service in
DS> North Little Rock.

DS> E) ARPD -- a door to work with a TNC (preferably the long gone MFJ 1270
DS> series) and a rig, to allow users to access packet from the Sysop's TNC.
DS> The callsign was changed from the Sysop to the user (a separate
DS> validation file was created by the Sysop to be sure that only licensed
DS> hams accessed the door), which then created a logfile, to record all
DS> commands typed. It made the user accountable for their transmissions. It
DS> also allowed users to use the mailbox that the TNC had, to leave a packet
DS> style message to the Sysop. When the user exited the door, the data for
DS> the TNC was reset back to the default values (i.e. the Sysop's callsign,
DS> etc.).

DS>   For Doors A and B above, having an amateur radio license, for the user
DS> or Sysop, was not required. However, for Doors C through E, the Sysop and
DS> the user had to have the appropriate class of amateur radio license...and
DS> I felt that the ham radio info should be accessed only by hams...although
DS> most callsign servers are accessible by anyone on the internet. There are
DS> some countries, where the ham radio operator has requested that "their
DS> info not be made public".

DS>   Except for the ARPD door (I still have the TNC, but no rig, cable, or
DS> antenna for it), the others are on my BBS, and available for download, in
DS> ZIP file format.

DS>   For the doors, you can run them under Synchronet with its DOSXTRN
DS> utility, and set it up as if it was a regular door (again, using the
DS> DORINFO1.DEF dropfile), to get the correct user name...just set it for
DS> UART access.

DS>   For Doors A through C noted above, you could use the DOORWAY utility
DS> (originally created by Marshall Dudley, now supported by Mike Ehlert),
DS> and then create a generic DORINFO1.DEF dropfile with the comport at 0
DS> (zero), and John Doe as the user. However, doors D and E require the
DS> dropfile with the user name to work properly.

DS> Daryl, WX4QZ, Sysop
DS> The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas

DS> ... Ham Radio QRP: When you care the most to send the very least.
DS> === MultiMail/Win v0.52
DS> --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
DS>  * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)

Regards,
Alan Beck
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