[amsat-bb] Re: Email via Satellite Simulated Emergency Test

[Bob Stewart]

Bruce,

I tried to get this stuff working about 2 years ago, and I
simply couldn't figure it all out; probably because I've never
seen it done.  Jim Jerzycke (KQ6EA) sent me this link:
http://www.qbjnet.com/packet.html.  I'm going to start
there, and see if I can get it figured out this time.  I had let
my license lapse during the "Packet Years", so I really have
no experience to fall back on.  IOW, I don't have even the
vaguest of clues.  :)  I have the soundcard hooked up
to the FT-726R for recording, so at least I've got a place to
start.  

Bob - AE6RV

--- Bruce Robertson <broberts at mta.ca> wrote:

> Quoting Bob Stewart <bob at evoria.net>:
> 
> > --- Robert Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > > You don't need anything but a 2m radio and a TNC.  No special
> > > software.  No special hardware, no satellite predictions, and no
> > > time consuming operating.
> > 
> > Bob can you or anyone tell me if there are software TNCs  for
> > soundcards out there?  I know almost nothing about APRS or
> > even where to turn to get useful information.  Unfortunately,
> > buying a TNC is simply not going to happen at this time.  I am
> > a Linux user. 
> > 
> > Bob - AE6RV
> 
> Hey, Bob:
> 
> I'm a Linux user, too. You're in luck: the xastir program is one of the
> best for APRS, and it runs under X11. Any post Pentium III machine with a
> sound card can do the demodulating of 1200 AFSK pretty easily. There is
> ax.25 packet built into many kernels as an option, and there are a good
> number of possibilities for decoding the audio. So with a bit of Linux
> hacking and the cheapest of all 2m ht's, you can have a great APRS station. 
> 
> When I last set up a Linux machine to do this, most of the demodulators
> were not user-space; in the Windows world, they are. I'm not sure if that's
> changing in Linux these days. 
> 
> As it happens, I just installed Ubuntu 7.10 on a new machine at work and
> noticed the raft of ham radio applications that are available with this
> distro. I look forward to the day that phaseIV_beacon_demodulator is among
> them!
> 
> 73, Bruce
> VE9QRP 
>