Subj : packet radio
To   : ANGUS MCLEOD
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Mon Jul 04 2005 06:46 pm

AM>In my experience, packet BBS's are bo-ring.  (Packet radio itself is
  >bo-ring.)  There are no people involved.  Packet radio is all about
  >machines passing unwanted, useless and out-of-date bulletins back and
  >forth between each other on automatci, causing massive QRN in the process.
  >The only packet systems I've ever used that actually had some merit were
  >the systems on the PacSats.

   I've been licensed since 1991, and ran various nets in central
Arkansas from 1993 to 2003...but health and other issues forced me to
cut back my ham radio involvement 2 years ago.

  I mainly work with packet radio now...and there are some freeware ham
radio doors that were done by Dave Perry, W4KGU, that I ran on my BBS,
which I started in 1992.

  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get any of them to work with
Synchronet, because they apparently ignore, or don't have fossil driver
operations. When I tried to run them, they would not "stop and wait for
input". The reason may be that comport data and locked baud rates are
basically "ignored" under telnet usage with Synchronet. But, when I was
running GT Power software with dial-up, they worked just fine.

   For the record, those doors included:

1) QRZDoor -- where using the current QRZ Callsign CD-ROM, you could
look up info on any ham, and create a textfile of desired data, then
download it.

2) BULLET -- a ham radio bulletins door that could list up to 26
categories of text bulletins (from W1AW, The ARRL Letter, Newsline,
etc.). You could also use the door for other bulletin categories.

3) WASPRT -- Worked All States Awards Competition Tracker, for 10 to 80
meters on HF and a "Special Band" that you select (such as VHF).

4) ARPD -- Packet Door (my favorite), where you could logon to the BBS,
and if you were a licensed ham radio operator, enter the door, and work
packet remotely through the BBS...as if the TNC was at their QTH. The
door changes the callsign of the TNC to the name of the user in the
control file (this way, the Sysop prevents unlicensed hams from using
it), and it opens a capture file to log all activity, for possible FCC
enforcement, if needed.

  If there was a way I could get these external doors to work with
Synchronet, I'd put them back online.

73,

Daryl, N5VLZ

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