Seasonal greetings and welcome to the sixth issue of WyrePak Newsletter.
This is yet another bumper edition, 8 pages no less, and I am sure that you will again find something to interest you!
Many thanks to those kind members who contributed to this edition - we've got contributions from Richard G0EWH, Eric G8BKL, and Paula of course - and to those who said they enjoyedthe last issue too.
Due to the uncertain future of the Sutton Arms, no-one is quite sure how long we'll be able to continue meeting there. Added to that is the fact that our "third Tuesday in the month" meeting dates will clash with KDARS meetings in February and March due to their change of venue.
So our next meeting will be on Tuesday January 21st 2003, at the Sutton Arms, all being well, and we'll agree the future meeting dates then. It is likely that we will revert to bi-monthly.
Plenty of activity since the last Newsletter and the meetings have been attended, on average, by six members.
September - the AGM. No change to the Committee of G0HTF, G0EWH and G4SPZ.
Chairman Jim G0HTF in his address told the meeting that, in his view, the group had truly come of age during a very successful year of operation. The members had come together with a common goal, that of maintaining and helping to improve the node and BBS and that much had been achieved.
Secretary Phil G4SPZ remarked that attendance at meetings had stabilised and that much of the effectiveness of the group had been because of the improved communications between the members and the sysop.
Although regular minutes of the monthly meetings had been produced up to now, due to pressure of work he proposed to discontinue this practice if re-elected and would concentrate on including the maximum amount of relevant information in the members' newsletter.
The WyrePak Newsletter was now being published three times a year instead of twice yearly as last year, and seemed to be well-received. Phil also suggested that the frequency of meetings could be reviewed and possibly reduced if members agreed.
Treasurer Richard G0EWH mentioned that the Constitution now reflected the group's financial year from September to August and that he had prepared accounts in line with this.
He tabled the audited accounts for the last two years, which showed the financial situation to be stable and reflected the expenditure on the recent antenna repairs. The end-of-year balance was 㿿.64. The group had lost one member but had gained two new members over the last year, membership now standing at 15.
John Scott G8UAE had stepped in to audit the accounts following the death of Don G0ESR. G8UAE was Treasurer of the Stourbridge ARS.
October - due to unavoidable circumstances, the October meeting had to be cancelled at the last minute.
November - a lively technical discussion took place as usual between G8PZT, G8BKL, G3KFD, G0MBG, G0EWH and G4SPZ and the outcome is summarised in the "News" section.
The intention of this section of the Newsletter is to summarise the relevent information which is made available at the WyrePak meetings. I have tried to avoid duplication and to omit items which are out-of-date, whilst providing readers with a good impression of what happens in a typical three or four month period - generally quite a lot! - Ed.
On Thursday 29th August the long-awaited overhaul of the antenna system was undertaken by WyrePak members. Please see the separate article later in this bulletin.
Difficulties with access to the 4 metre user port on 70.4875MHz is being put down to an antenna problem at G8PZT. The 4m antenna is on a separate single mast. G8BKL, G4EQR and G3PWJ are the only local users, and Eric and Dave plan to run some tests by arrangement with Paula. G3PWJ reported on 29th November that service was ok with him.
The 2 metre user port on 144.850MHz seems to be working OK now after brief trials of a Bosch radio, which proved unsuccessful. G4OBA has reported being continually unable to access KIDDER via this port, despite getting in to other local nodes and stations. The advice is to try increasing TXDelay to 750ms and reduce deviation.
The BBS has sometimes been slow to respond. The previous BPQ software with a NET-ROM connection to the node has recently been replaced with TCP/IP running via an Ethernet connection to the node, which releases more memory and enables faster operation.
The BBS has suffered some downtime due to hacking from the Internet. The hacker was believed to be a software "robot" which caused the BBS software to crash by using over- long filenames. Paula has now written an error trap to prevent this.
The 800-long nodes list, which you may have seen following the initial Internet connection going live, has been shortened by new software which sifts out unnecessary listings.
The 9600 baud high-speed links are both out of action at present, due to the 2m radio requiring alignment and the 70cms TNC needing repair. It is hoped that at least one of these ports will be up and running soon, and a demonstration of Internet access over 9600 baud Packet Radio is planned for KDARS on April 1st 2003.
The 23cms link from KIDDER to WV12 at Wolverhampton, which carries DX Cluster traffic as well as forwarded mail, is not working and traffic is being routed either via the Internet or via BLOX and thence to WV13. Users wishing to reach Wolverhampton can go via Port 26 or via BLOX as above.
The problem on 23cms is thought to be due to the antenna position, which was changed slightly in the antenna upgrade resulting in some additional screening by nearby objects. An experimental antenna has been tried and works OK, and authorisation has just been given for the purchase of a replacement 23cms antenna which is optimised for the frequencies in use, which should restore the link.
Much inter-node traffic now flows over the Internet, relieving some of the RF paths of congestion.
Try connecting to MB7UYL, Paula's additional callsign, which is connected to a mirror of the BBS being created on a Pentium 100 PC with a 1GB hard disk. At some future stage, the entire BBS will be transferred to the new computer, but in the meantime MB7UYL contains just the bulletins and no file areas.
The APRS digipeater on 144.800MHz is very active and relays signals received both off-air and from the Internet. UI-VIEW users will see international locations being broadcast. It is possible to identify whether a signal originated from the Internet link by the presence of the "TCPIP" indicator at the beginning of the list of callsigns in the path. The first callsign after the "TCPIP" is the station which picked up the broadcast from the Internet, subsequent ones are digipeaters in the path to KIDDER.
The CHAT server at KIDDER can provide international connections. Enter by connecting to KIDDER and typing "CHAT". You will be prompted to register - type "/N" followed by your name (don't forget the initial capital letter!) and you will initially be logged on to Channel 1.
Try joining Channel 1234 which is an international channel - type "/J 1234" and to find out who is logged into the channel at any time, type "/W". A huge number of channels are available, and by using the "/T" command you can set the topic of the channel you are logged in to. For example, a channel can be designated "WyrePak" and could form a virtual meeting, thus avoiding the need to go out to meetings at the pub on cold, wet and dark nights...
This is a fascinating system similar to an Internet chat room, just as fast but without the smutty comments! In a ten minute session G4SPZ worked four New Zealand stations as well as G8PZT.
You can join another channel by using the "/J" (join) command and leave by sending "/L". "/S" simplifies the headers, and "/ANSI" provides a colour display.
KDRCHT is more-or-less compatable with "ping-pong" converse servers and comprehensive help is available by sending "?" Give the CHAT server a try!
Bits and pieces, and some requests for help this time.
The soft-disconnect command for BayCom is //Q, but does anyone know the command which causes Paket 6 to soft- disconnect? Answer to G4SPZ @ GB7PZT, please.
Graphic Packet requires to run in DOS on a PC which does not have Windows (any version) installed on its hard drive, otherwise it makes the PC clock run fast by about 20 minutes in every 2 hours! In heaven's name, why? If anyone knows the answer, G8BKL @ GB7PZT would appreciate it.
G4SPZ has been trying to get an old AST Premium Exec 386SX/20 laptop running Packet. BayCom 1.50 or 1.60 won't have it at all (the terminal program runs on the screen, but L2 reports a COM-interrupt error, and keys the modem with a continuous mark or space tone) and Graphic Packet crashes, with COM error messages again coming up. However, G7JJF's "WinTNC" runs OK (well, sort of) with the same BayCom modem! Any ideas would be welcome, as G4SPZ has two of these otherwise useless machines, in perfect working order, just crying out to be used as portable Packet stations.
Some of you may have read Andy Talbot's "Data" column in the December 2002 issue of RadCom, and seen the article entitled "Keep your Older Computers". If you look back to last winter's WyrePak Newsletter, you will see something along the same lines by G4SPZ! Anyway, the RadCom article also refers to PC/FlexNet packet software, which turns out to be a word- for-word crib straight from the FlexNet website. G4SPZ has subsequently downloaded some of the FlexNet software for trial, only to find that the files are zipped in "LZH format" which free copies of WinZip will not extract. A bulletin via the BBS requesting assistance has produced a number of helpful replies, mainly from German amateurs, including a response which included a full unzipped set of PC/FlexNet files. Vielen dank, meine Freunden... but the main BayCom modem driver was missing. Can anyone else help? Answers to G4SPZ please.
After over a year's worth of planning, talking, measuring, drawing, preparing, collecting and generally getting ready for the big day, a keen group of WyrePak members assembled at G8PZT on 29th August to overhaul the rear mast and antenna system.
The original scope of the work was to replace the damaged 2m collinear with Tri-Bander for 144, 432 and 1.2GHz (23cms); replace screws with Rawlbolts on new T & K brackets, check for condition, replace mast and use new U bolts; paint mast; replace coax on 70cms vertical test antenna; provide disconnection point on feeds as required using "N" type connectors; provide lightning conductor.
All this was accomplished, and more besides. WyrePak Treasurer Richard Newton G0EWH and members Brian Drew G0MBG and Derek Billingham G3KFD worked all day and managed to install a completely new aluminium heavy-duty mast, courtesy of Eric G3IVQ, on new T&K brackets. Amazingly, the original fixings which were ordinary steel screws and Rawlplugs were still sound, although the old brackets were showing their age. Certain coaxial cables were found to be damaged, and were replaced. Brian acted as Chief Steeplejack and undertook most of the ladder work. The new mast is approximately one metre higher than the original. All the materials, with the exception of the new antenna which was purchased from Group funds, were donated by members of WyrePak.
This work concludes the antenna overhaul which started with G6AWT and the Simon hoist repairing the side mast, reported in a previous Newsletter. The third and final mast at G8PZT holds the single 4m antenna which may also need attention soon.
Many thanks to all WyrePak members who contributed in any way to the antenna project. The antennas should now be good for another twenty years' service!
Paula, G8PZT writes:
2002 has seen a very rapid change in the Packet Radio node and BBS network, due to ever-increasing Internet connectivity. The two main factors responsible for this change are Xrouter, which makes Internet connection easy, and the growth of "always-on" Internet access.
Internet gateways have been around for a long time, but they were mainly situated at large institutions or business premises, where a permanent Internet connection was available. They generally used unfriendly TCP/IP software, and many were available only via a TCP/IP connection. To gain access, you often had to write a begging note to the sysop, (if you could find out who he or she was) and if you were lucky enough to get a reply you would be issued with a password which you had to use for every logon. This quickly becomes very tiresome.
With systems like Xrouter, it is now possible for sysops to link nodes together via the Internet in the same way as by radio. No more obscure IP addresses or 'ampr.org' names to remember, no need to log in to each system with user name and password simply pick any node from the nodes table and "connect" to it as you've always done. If that node is on the other side of the world it makes no difference. For example, connect to KIDDER and try "C VE2PKT-4". Within 1/2 sec you should be connected, and from there you can explore the Canadian network. Or try "C G6HJP-3" to connect to the node in Petersfield, Hampshire.
As more nodes get connected to the Internet, more interlinks are possible and the traditional geographically determined network topology no longer applies. It is for example quicker to connect to Birmingham via Essex on Internet than direct by radio. The network becomes potentially huge and careful management is required to prevent nodes tables becoming too large and too full of foreign nodes. Until recently, only a tiny proportion of BBSs was Internet connected, and in those cases it was often on a part-time basis for mail forwarding only. During the latter half of 2002 an ever-increasing number of BBSs have become connected to the Internet, some part-time, but many, like GB7PZT offering full-time Internet forwarding and user access. It is now possible to send a bulletin worldwide in seconds, and whilst we have seen a decline in @GBR bulletins, we are seeing a large increase in traffic from other countries. The ham community is becoming more global.
As the proportion of mail traffic being forwarded via the Internet increases, there is a corresponding reduction in the quantity of mail moved by radio, freeing up the inter-node links for real-time uses.
Internet access to BBSs allows those without Packet Radio equipment to stay in touch. For example, you could read your Packet mail during your lunch break at work, or in the depths of Wales using a mobile phone. It allows interested non-licensed guests to eavesdrop on the activity and possibly be motivated to become licensed. I personally know that several people have had their interest in Packet Radio re-kindled due to the ability to access via the Internet.
With more and faster interconnections, users will have more choice. Instead of depending on their local BBS, they may choose to use one in a different part of the country because they prefer the software or facilities of that system. There will be less need for a BBS in each area, and many will close, to be replaced by a smaller number of "super- BBSs".
It could be argued that the ultimate result could be one multi-lingual BBS for the whole world, but that won't happen. Such a BBS would need a huge processing power and network capacity, and would be a single point of failure. There will always be those who prefer to use different software, and those sysops who will run a BBS for the fun of it. It is pretty certain however that we will end up with no more than a dozen BBSs in each country.
Another spin-off from increasingly fast global inter- connections is the chat server. As more chat servers become interlinked, more amateurs will be available to chat, and I predict this to overtake BBS usage as the main Packet activity. After all, real-time chat is what most radio hams are used to doing, albeit with microphone not keyboard.
So, is the Internet killing Packet Radio? Personally I don't think so, quite the reverse, and I think it will be Packet's saviour. It was patently obvious that amateurs could never build the nation-wide high-speed data infrastructure that was desperately needed to facilitate modern applications and entice people to stay on Packet. Amateurs just don't have the money to rent the sites and buy the equipment, there isn't enough expertise and co- operation, and the licensing procedure is far too complex and long-winded. The Internet provides us with the high-speed infrastructure, allowing sysops to concentrate their efforts on providing better user access and worthwhile services. There will undoubtedly be areas where "always-on" Internet connections are not available, are uneconomic, or the sysop simply does not wish to use them. Those areas will continue to be linked by radio.
Many hilltop node sites have been lost due to excessive rental demands following take-over by large commercial interests. As a result, many remote areas have lost their links to the rest of the network, and the local nodes have closed because they can't link anywhere. Without the nodes, the BBSs can't get their mail, and without a mail feed the users have dwindled. With no users, the BBSs have closed, and with no BBSs and no nodes, the users have lost interest and gone away. Vast areas of the country now have no Packet activity at all, due to the closure of one vital node far away. Internet connectivity can reverse this trend, by allowing nodes to be established in remote places where no inter- connection with other nodes is possible by radio. These nodes can be established more quickly because they don't need to go through the lengthy and ever more uncertain process of obtaining frequency clearance for 70cm link frequencies. It is a well-known effect that the presence of a node stimulates local Packet activity (in a similar manner to a voice repeater stimulating FM activity - Ed).
Faster, more reliable, and more interesting connections make the end user experience more worthwhile, and facilitate even more exciting developments. Packet Radio will always be the last hop to any mobile or portable station, or anyone without an Internet connection, and with more services to access, more use will be made of Packet Radio.
© G8PZT December 2002
(Many thanks, Paula. I expect that, for many stations, the challenges and frustrations of getting into a distant node or BBS by radio will still be exciting - see Eric G8BKL's article later in this issue - Ed)
Richard G0EWH writes:
This time I would like to mention the facility of "Script Files", these are not only for Winpack, but can be used with some of the other Packet programs. A script is a series of commands that the program can process. It makes it easy for the user to automate such functions as connecting to their local BBS, setting the TNC Date & Time, resetting any TNC parameter to those that are required for their set up or for making temporary changes to the TNC and then changing it back after a specific use.
If you use the Auto BBS function of WinPack, then you will be using the BBS.TXT script file that connects you to the BBS, this can be accessed at any other time by either selecting if from the Script Menu, or by pressing Function Key <F2>, which is the one assigned to that script. Users of PZTBBS will no doubt have edited the BBS.TXT file in accordance with the local document that we have on setting up Winpack for use with GB7PZT BBS software.
There are a number of Script files that are included in WinPack in the SCRIPT Folder and one of them allows you to set the Date & Time of your TNC. If you are like myself and do not leave the TNC on 24/7, then it is necessary to use this each time the TNC is switched on. Winpack can make this very easy, because any script file given the name STARTUP.TXT will run automatically every time WinPack is started, so by making STARTUP.TXT a copy of the SETTIME.TXT script, then my TNC is always set every time I start Winpack. Similarly, any script file given the name EXIT.TXT will be run when WinPack is closed and BBSBYE.TXT will be run whenever WinPack disconnects at the end of an AutoBBS Sessions.
Those who use a TNC would have had to set up many parameters from the default ones that the TNC is initialised with and these can easily be lost (like losing any data on a PC). By using the Display function of your TNC, the resultant file can be made into a script that you save, edit accordingly and, if required, can be allocated to a Function Key for easy use. The following is just part of the script file I use to reset my TNC2:-
;File name = SET-EWH.TXT
HOTKEY F9
; The title.
TITLE Set TINY2 TNC & Time
;wait until disconnected - just a precaution!
WAITDIS
;send just a <Return> and wait for the prompt.
;helps to get things going with some TNCs when
;they have been left connected to the radio and
;disconnected from the PC.
SEND
;wait for the prompt.
WAITFOR cmd:
;send the daytime string.
;this will have the tokens substituted.
SEND DAYTIME
$YY$MM$DD$HH$NN$SS
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND 3rdparty OFF
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND 8bitconv ON
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND CMSg ON
WAITFOR cmd:
;CMSGDisc OFF
SEND CText < Whatever you wish to say!!>
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND DAYUsa OFF
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND Echo OFF
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND HEaderli ON
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND MCOM ON
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND MYcall G0EWH
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND MYPcall G0EWH-2
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND PMs ON WAITFOR cmd:
SEND STReamsw $00
WAITFOR cmd:
SEND Xflow OFF
;XOff $13
;XON $11
WAITFOR cmd:If you use a saved Capture file from the TNC DISPlay command, then it will be necessary to either ";" out the commands not required (a ";" at the start of the line caused that line to be ignored), or delete the command. At the start of each command that is required, the Word SEND must be added to instruct the program to Send that command and then a new line created with "WAITFOR cmd:" (note the " " are not used in the script and only to show the command). This WAITFOR command is used to pause the script file until the TNC has acted on the command and returned its prompt "cmd:" before the next command is sent.
Finally, it is very important for TNC users to ensure that at least some of the TNC parameters are set as recommended by Roger Barker as detailed in the Help, see Setting Up The TNC and How Scripts Work.
Richard, G0EWH
(Thank you for the information, Richard. More WinPack wisdom next time - Ed)
Eric G8BKL writes:
As most of you know, I have been operating Packet Radio from various portable locations for many years. Being a VHF-only operator makes keeping in touch with my regular contacts back home from such remote places as West Wales, and more lately West Somerset, a bit problematic. Packet radio has enabled me to do just that, keep in touch when FM or SSB modes have not been viable. I would like to share some of my experiences with you and perhaps enthuse those who have never tried it or more likely put them off completely! Packet radio from a distant location can be fun, tricky, frustrating or down right impossible at times. But in the main it works well, particularly more recently with the improvements in the node networks and the advent of internet linking.
My first attempts to use Packet Radio away from home were in the late 1980's from various sites in the Carmarthen to Pembroke areas of West Wales. Apart from difficult SSB contacts on 2m there was no viable means of speaking to anyone in the Stourport/ Kidderminster area. Hence packet radio was tried using an old Toshiba lap-top computer, a Baycom modem and a 2m rig. In those days it was very difficult to find a route back to the KIDDER node from those locations. A node near Carmarthen was found which had a link to Swansea, thence to a node at Wick (just west of Cardiff) which then linked to Newport, which had a link into the FOURPAK network. This gave me access to KIDDER via the GLOS node at Gloucester. It was possible to access the BBS at KIDDER and download messages or bulletins, but it was very slow and often the link broke. On average if I completed two or three successful connects to KIDDER in a week I was doing well.. I had one or two direct contacts with stations in Stourport or Kidderminster, but these were often difficult with frequent disconnects. But it was fun and the challenge was to research the route and look for alternatives. As my friends in West Wales knew only too well, the access to the world outside Wales was very difficult even for the few nodes that were established at that time...
More recently, for the last six years, I have operated from Watchet in West Somerset with far greater success. The nodes in Somerset are principally on the Severn Estuary side of the county and belong to the SWAX Packet Group. Just north of Bristol G6TJZ runs a node and BBS at Winterbourne, which has a link into the FOURPAK network via the FOD node or the new 7BRDG node on the old Severn Bridge. To the south of Bristol, near Weston Super Mare, G7OPJ runs a node and Dxcluster, which links to G6TJZ. Both of these facilities have links to nodes in South Wales.
When I first started operating from Watchet I was using an NEC laptop running Baycom, with the modem and the same rig as I had used in Wales. Later I changed to a more modern lap-top with a sound card and used the WinPack/ AGW combination into a Kenwood TM-G707 rig, which has a data port. Incidently, this rig will also work with the Baycom modem into the data port (how, Eric? -Ed) The links from Watchet to KIDDER via either WORLE or TJZ have improved somewhat over the years. But problems often occur on nodes further up the chain, particularly GLOS, which often gets overloaded and causes connections to be lost. I am assured that this will improve a lot in the future due to other means of mail forwarding. Overall this operation from Somerset has been much better than the earlier attempts from Wales, I have been able to maintain one-to-one contacts with stations in the Kidderminster catchment area for long periods both in a morning and an evening, and to access the KIDDER BBS at almost anytime.
As you all know these nodes are operated voluntarily by their sysops who often have very little support. My thanks go to Peter G6TJZ, John G7OPJ and of course Paula G8PZT and the FOURPAK network without which this facet of the hobby could not be used so effectively.
Eric G8BKL
(Many thanks Eric. Look out for the second part of Eric's "Keeping in Touch" article in the Spring 2003 edition of 'WyrePak News' - Ed)
Well, that seems to be your lot this time, chaps. Thank you for your continuing support for WyrePak, G8PZT/GB7PZT and your local Packet network. Thanks to all our contributors and don't forget, we're always looking for comments and contributions for the WyrePak Newsletter! Please contact the editor, Phil G4SPZ at g4spz@aol.com or G4SPZ @ GB7PZT, 01299 403025 or pnharris@iee.org.
WyrePak Newsletter is compiled, edited and published by Phil G4SPZ. This issue © 14.12 2002
Best Wishes for 2003 from the WyrePak Committee