Text 1830, 114 rader
Skriven 2007-08-01 10:33:23 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Thom LaCosta (1:261/1352.0)
Ärende: any geratol net folks lur
=================================
Hello Thom,

On Monday July 30 2007 21:55, you wrote to me:

 TL>> One discussion that comes up on a regular basis on several of the
 TL>> ham mailing lists is whether or not Echolink is ham radio.

 MvdV>> Echolink obviously involves ham radio. And from the POV of the
 MvdV>> licensee responsible for the TX that eventually puts the signal
 MvdV>> on the air, it is ham radio. But not from the POV of the person
 MvdV>> holding the actual mike. He is just a "user".

 TL> Yes, technically...but when I hear folks saying they operated DX on
 TL> echolink I have to chuckle....I would say that the person operating
 TL> the station that interfaces to the echolink system is using ham
 TL> radio....but the folks on the Internet side are exactly what you
 TL> said...."users".

That reminds me of discussions I had with HAMs about QSL cards for contacts
made via a repeater. I have always refused to qsl contacts made via a repeater.
I was the caretaker of the local 2m repeater PI3PYR from (I think) 1983 to
1995. I often had the following conversation;

PA0XYZ: thanks for the qso and pse qsl via buro.
PA0MMV: Sorry, I do not qsl for repeater contacts.
PA0XYZ: Why not?
PA0MMV: Because as I see it, you just made a contact with the station PI3PYR,
not with PA0MMV. So you do not qualify to get my qsl card. We could go to a
simplex frequency if you like..
PA0XYZ: Eh.. I am working with a 2 Watt handheld in a rubber duck, I can't make
a direct contact with you.
PA0MMV: That is why I do not qsl repeater contacts, you have not made a contact
with my station and you are unable to.
PA0XYZ: But.. but.. but....
Pa0MMV: Sorry, no card from PA0MMV....
However... It so happens that I am the caretaker of the repeater, and you *did*
make a contact with the repeater. I *can* send you a card form PI3PYR
confirming that you contacted repeater station PI3PYR. On the card you will
find info for making donations...

Some times that resulted in a donation. Some times not...

 TL> There's an interesting and NOT ham radio service on the Internet....it
 TL> is strickly for code...there are folks who use it for American Morse
 TL> and the more familiar code hams use.  I get on now an then, and have
 TL> met some of the professional code operators who did it for a
 TL> living....it's not ham radio, not presented as such, but it's a great
 TL> way to keep morse alive.

If people enjoy it and want to keep morse alive, why not?

But as you say, it is not ham radio.

 MvdV>> I have done many experiments with computers linked to amateur
 MvdV>> radio. At one point - way before the advent of packet radio - I
 MvdV>> had a network of half a dozen statons set up with friends and
 MvdV>> we could exchange messages and files. We could even turn each
 MvdV>> other's beams. That is, my friends could download/upload files
 MvdV>> from/to my system en turn my beam while I was attending other
 MvdV>> things and vice versa. And yes, they could request a qsl card
 MvdV>> which would then be sent to them as a file, which they could
 MvdV>> print and hang on the wall.

 TL> Sounds fascinating....were all the participants hams?

Of course. They had to be. Here in The Netherlands (and most other European
countries) third party traffic is a no-no. License conditions do not allow it,
with a very few exceptions. JOTA operations being one of them.

The "no third party traffic" is one of the reasons why "Fido over Ham radio"
was a closed alley here.

 MvdV>> But letting the computers talk to each other without a human to
 MvdV>> initiate the sequence? It could be done but what's that point?

 TL> None, other than an exercise in technology....and that's a radical
 TL> departure from what some hams describe as amateur radio.

I felt I already explored that to the limit. Did I mention that in 1987 when
everyone was still playing with 300 Bps surplus modems we already did 9600 Bps
over a narrow band FM voice channel? Not by using an advanced type of modem but
by *skipping* the modem. I just fed the bit stream directly into the modulator
of the TX end retrieved them directly from the discrimator of the RX. skipping
all the audio circuits. In fact the TX and RX themselves had become an FSK
modem. Mark 144.610, space 144.615. Worked like a charm. ;-)

I still do not understand why no one followed up on that principle and everyone
is still using "modems" that plug into the mike input of the TX and and phone
output of the RX...

 TL> Did I recall that you no longer get on HF?

That is right. I have not been active on HF for quit a while now. I still want
to get that antenna up again, but somehow I never get around to it. Something
else with higher priority always pops up.

I guess the truth is that the fires are not burning as fiercely as they once
were. I have been a ham for over forty years now and it is still a favorite
hobby. But it is not #1 priority as it once was. That's life...

In three weeks we will hook up the trailer and head for Bad Bentheim, Germany.
Big HAM fest. Only missed it once in all those years. The one I missed was
1996, the week my xyl, PD0OGW went silent key.

Looking forward to meet all the guys and galls - what's left of them - again..

http://www.dnat.de/englisch/index.htm


73, Michiel, PA0MMV


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