Hello. Thank you very much for your work, as soon as the video started I realized where the approach you gave to the topic was going. I was only able to make Packet work once, in the late nineties, and only as a test with the little information there was to do it via an audio card. By a miracle I found this channel on RUclips... I am honestly happy to find this channel. I live in Barilcohe, Patagonia Argentina, as an active member of Radioclub Bariloche, when I share your channel, I assure you that among those of us who like computing and love to apply it to the radio... You are going to be very popular. Kind regards. 73!
Thanks for all the foot work. I'm taking my technician license next week, And your channel inspired me to take the leap. Look forward to diving deeper into the this hobby.
I'm very happy that you found my blog useful! But I should also add that this is pretty much exactly the video I would have wanted to see when I got started. Great job! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
You're one of the few people posting modern packet radio related content with followable documentation. I've found your tncattach related content useful, and will possibly make use of your AWG rust code in the near future.
And totally unrelated to the video series: Come over to Mastodon! A lot of us don't do the twitter thing anymore. There are ham radio instances you'd probably like. One here in North America is run by N6MTS. OK... done nagging you now.
As an active duty Army signal officer, getting into HAM radio on the side, hats off to you for your detailed instruction and the way you present material!
Good job on the video. I used to run a BBS back in the day before the internet and before that in 1982 I was using a commodore 64 to dial up BBS in other cities. Back then I would pick up devices like TNC's that interfaced with Commodore that connected to radio to decode CW and RTTY. DE KD5INM
Been a ham operator for nearly 40 years and just recently got back on the air after a nearly 20 year hiatus. I have some new stuff (signal link usb) but I also have an AEA PK-232 just itching to get back on the air. Thank you.
Great job. I am studying for my ham exam and packet radio so far has just been a theory, this really cleared it up for me. Will be following this series.
I am trying to get back into packet because I see its high value once the internet and conventional comms go down. I have a Mobilinkd but I think I'll also look for an old Kantronics. Great video!
Thanks. I really recommend a software TNC. That's just less hardware than can fail, and any microcomputer/computer is much easier to replace than a hardware TNC.
Excellent content. IT Grey beard here and even I found the information hunt tedious. Love the 1st video and the concept. I discovered that I used one of your video's to set up an igate on Direwolf which I successfully got running. Now a sub and thanks for posting. Hope a few more VK's watch so we can get some more activity going down here. 73's
Your timing could not have been better. I'm a gen-x, not a millennial, but I'm also a brand new ham (Dec 23,) interested in packet. Same reaction to the scattered state of information about the topic. Packet is more closely related to how we "got online" in the eighties than the modern Internet information age. I just subscribed. Looking forward to your series. 73 de AI7UQ
I've been looking for just what you are describing for quite a while now. Really looking forward to your new series. I would like to start packet BBS/IP net in my local area, and there isn't much around here to experiment with. 73-NB8M
What about ARDEN? Have you ever looked into that? There is very little of a foot print in Kentucky not sure if you are still here or not. I think Arden and packet radio could go hand in hand especially for emergency situations. Love your work. Thanks for your service
Great introduction to packet radio. I noted some inaccuracies (DAPPA vs. DARPA, PRNET vs. ARPANET, and a few others), but none of them took away from the great information you put together. I agree totally that, while there is a ton of information out there on packet, most of it is irrelevant or outdated, or mandates that you use hardware from 30 years ago (which, while you can sometimes find, isn't well enough documented to actually use). Also, yeah, I'm not sure what's up with amateur radio web sites being designed in the mid-90s... were they converted "gopher" pages that somehow made it onto the www? Sheesh. I'm looking forward to wading through the rest of the series and checking out your resources. One suggestion, when you post a bunch of links in your presentation, drop them in the (text) description of the video, too, so they are easier to follow.
So many ham websites are stuck in the 90s... Often it seems they haven't been updated since then. I've had the exact same issue, and also where to find others on VHF packet.
I have a tiny 2 tnc and a Kam KPC-4 dual radio TNC be ace to fire them up and get them talking to each other or something.. I will be tuned in! - Thanks for the reply!@@ModernHam
Can you run a BBS with a PACTOR 4 modem? I know it’s a dumb question but I’ve only ever used code or phone as a HAM…as an emergency nurse practitioner…I’m looking for something that if I have to go into a very remote location…I can set up an autonomous (no software updates needed if I can’t access the internet) system that I can send information or receive written or photographic information in emergency situations…I teach and provide emergency and supportive care in remote / austere situations…essentially an ED to go with my team … so I’m looking for a setup that would allow me to communicate with my team and outside providers and physicians should I not have access to satellite or even the internet…we were in a valley in the sierras once and just couldn’t get a southern view of the sky to hit that damn satellite…so it was lots of running…it’s why I got my HAM license in the first place…HAM radio doesn’t fail…🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ only people fail to plan
I think this is possible, BPQ32 supports several Pactor modems. II would look into VARAC for this though in your case. It's less expenses, one less hardware component to fail, and is supported by many BBS softwares these days/.
great videos do these NPR modems configured with direwolf software also support CB radio? these 2m/40cm wifi could also be interesting on the 11m band or 10m band....best regards from austria
I don't recall hearing or reading some of the things you mentioned about the origin of AX.25 and some of the info about packet radio. I knew about that kind of thing back in the 1970's because I read about it in ham and electronics magazines as well as computer magazines. I had subscriptions to them in the late 1970's. My understanding is that TAPR had alot to do with the beginnings of packet and that AX.25 was used by colleges and universities to connect their mainframe computers together via hard wire connections, basically this was the beginning of what would become the internet of sorts. I read about microsoft and Bill Gates before anyone in general knew who they were. Mostek created the Kim-1 which was the predescessor to the Commodore PET and later on the Apple computer. Mostek made the 6502 processor which was in the Commodore and Apple machines. Commodore owned Mostek, without Commodore there would be no Apple. Microsoft wrote Commodore DOS. Microsoft started out writing the OS for the PET and other computers. Commodore was how Microsoft really got its jumpstart capital. AOL started out as Quantum Link which was a Commodore based web service. After IBM machines and compatibles came out, Quantum Link became AOL. Without Commodore many of these companies we know now would not have existed as we know them. I also remember the Altair computer which was a kit that you built. Someone could build that stuff but couldn't do anything with it until they had software to make it run. Bill Gates understood that.
What an exiting time that would have been to be a ham. I'd love to get my hands on one of those old commodores, pair it with a CRT monitor and a hardware tnc and make an old fashioned packet radio bbs.
BTW, amateur radio operators are HORRENDOUS web masters. They have SH!T pages that are not much better than ascii text files. And many have blinking HTML and white wall garbage pages.
I'd like to thin they were just pages around from a time when webpage development just wasn't up to speed yet. But for webpages developed that look like that in the past 10 years, I wonder why on earth the webmaster didn't just use a template of some type.
It's rough to sort through when it comes to older technology. But I don't want the sprit of it all to die with those websites in time. It's also about preservation for me. If nobody recreates those guides for modern times, that information can get lost to time, which sucks.
Well done. Hmmm. 1984 -2024 APRS is now 40 years old and still in use by hams all over the world. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Thank you for putting it together.
Many of those pages you see are ascii captures or text files from BBS that circulated or were meant to circulate via packet and therefore they don't have any fancy backgrounds or fluff because all that does is slow the real reason, to communicate useful data out there. Pretty pictures and decorations slow down 1200 or 9600 baud transmissions. Unless you want to sit 18 hours waiting on a webpage to build then thats why there is just text with plain white background. That's the reason for the plain text webpages.
Thank you for this playlist. I'm definitely not a millennial, but I have also found it hard to find good, easy to understand guides to packet. I've been a ham since I was 18 (1983) but only got seriously interested in packet recently. I'm an IT geek too, so it's surprising I never mixed that with ham radio previously. Anyway, most of what I find seems to start with the assumption that you already know everything, so it's good to find an intro for beginners. I've found a few good resources including yours and I really appreciate them. Thanks for doing this!
@@KenPryor I'm glad it could be helpful. There's been a bit of a break because I've had a big move. But the videos will start again soon and pick up on the advanced stuff too.
I like how you say, I just don't care. Meaning it in a good way because how you explain this makes it much more interesting. I myself do remember the c64 with 5 .25 drive at the age of 15. So yeah please continue with your ways to enlighten us and the young hams/.
I agree with you, there aren't enough approachable resources on packet radio. The thing is, packet radio is just an implementation detail of networking protocols. The information is all there when you look at it from that perspective. Packet radio isn't particularly different from setting up a 56k modem, and that's largely because _they're the same thing_. Setting up Direwolf as the modem for your linux system's AX25 stack is literally the same as configuring an old-school modem. This is a thing for which there are innumerable resources online, but _none of the packet radio content seems to want to point you to it_. I don't think this tightly-knit dependency (networking as a prerequisite to packet radio) is mentioned often enough. I onme from a computing background, with a focus on programming, but I've also been a network engineer. It's pretty obvious that a lot of the folks who make packet radio "content" haven't been. So, yes, I'm coming at this from a place of pre-existing knowledge, and as such know what to look for. But I think if more folks could "discover" that they're the same discipline, we'd be in a better place and be able to make more effective content. NOTE: I hope you don't take this as a criticism of your video or you in any way. I have barely even started your video! I'm just agreeing with you and commiserating about the state of the art of amateur radio communication. Looking forward to watching your series!
Thanks for the perspective. Considering packet began as a pre Internet (as we know it today) communication solution, it definitely has the same purpose and the same overall ideas. A lot of those ideas are lost now because the majority of packet is done via aprs and the majority of new people are introduced through locked off TNCs built into radios with only aprs functionality. Right off the bat, packet gets more overhead and high level use than it's original low level protocols and technology can support. As more protocols and applications are built on, the idea of the modem and basic data links are lost. I hope that as I get I to the BBS stuff, and TCP/IP I can convey that more.
I'll check it out and try and get it added once we get to the BBS part of the series. Thanks for the info. You got some cool looking videos on the subject.
This sounds promising. I've been wanting to setup packet for a long time. Back in it's heyday I missed the boat due to life getting in the way and good easy to follow step by step clean info.
Good information and well presented...well done. One small request, please put the links highlighted in the video into your show notes so they can be copy/pasted. It's an easy copy and paste from your presentation but would save people a lot of effort (and frustration for non-typists). Thanks...
I love your video and your enthusiasm! I look forward to a future video on TCP/IP over VARA. Please keep them coming. You’re doing a great job! 73 de K9EYZ
Im last stage communication engineering student from iraq , and i can honestly say that you really inspired me to get into this carrier so you are doing perfect hope you’ll continue doing these type of video We all support you❤❤
I was involved with AX25 many years ago, both on VHF and HF. As I progressed I inevitably got sucked into wormholes and that was to be the end on AX25 . Apart from a standalone network in the event of 'disasters', I fail to see much of any future in it. I don't really give a shit for pretentious youngsters that label themselves 'millennials' and seek to reinvent the wheel.
Not sure if this is a troll comment, or if you are genuinely upset/offended over something so trivial. Either way, I told myself I would confront this type of toxicity in the hobby head on when I see it, so that others who are new or younger see that comments like this don't represent the hobby. I've pinned your comment to the top as people like you give good opportunity to show some of the underlining ageism and toxicity that affect the hobby in a blatant way that can be deciphered for others to understand. That way when they hear the not so blatant remarks, they can see the commonalities. You got your low-blows in, I've got mine. Lets see if you have anything valuable to add, or you're just here to Ad hominem with name calling and general toxicity in a space where everyone else seems to be having a great time. Allow me to address your criticism. " Apart from a standalone network in the event of 'disasters', I fail to see much of any future in it." Well, sure if you discount a major role it may have, then it wouldn't seem like it's very useful wouldn't it? The same could be said "Apart from the fact an antenna radiates electromagnetic waves, I don't see any use in it" My point being, it's word salad and doesn't mean anything useful for anyone when things like that are said. On top of that, the FCC outlines another purpose of amateur radio as experimentation. That fact alone is why some amateurs participate in the hobby. If they enjoy the hobby that way or not, is unfortunately not up to you alone to decide. On both grounds, the comment you made was an attempt to null meaning from a video like this where everyone else found it useful. Perhaps that begs some self reflection on your part. Here's the fun bit, here you attack me in three different ways. Each attack is so disconnected from normal healthy social communication that most people wouldn't interpret them that way. But in your mind, your disdain for young people is so strong, there mere fact of someone labeling themselves as such without shame is enough to send you over the edge. "I don't really give a shit for pretentious youngsters" Not much needs to be said here. The underlining issues you have with me, and the video really comes down to a strange, hatred for young people. The hatred you feel is enough to make a grown man (such as yourself) be reduced down to name calling on the internet. Now I know this isn't my problem to deal with. But this certainly begs some therapy or introspection to find out why "youngsters" and "pretentious" fit together so well for you. This isn't healthy or natural social behavior, and you need to seek guidance. I will call it out here, but in other places, you probably just make people unconformable in silence. "that label themselves 'millennials'" Despite how much you hate the generation, this isn't really any sort of critique in the eyes of most people. It's another indirect attack based on the fact I am a young person. Which in itself is only a problem for you, and maybe some others that have yet to truly understand why they feel this way. I am a millennial. If me saying that makes you angry, than you must realize you have an internal issue. "and seek to reinvent the wheel." This honestly seems like more word salad. But then gain, it's hard to tell if there is anything meaningful in what you said behind the anger and blatant ageism. What wheel am I seeking to reinvent here, and why has it made you upset? I don't think anymore needs to be said here. You can reply, but I'm sure whatever you could possibly say will be just as meaningless as the first thing. If anything at least you served as a good example.
As much as I don't like the fact VARA is closed source, this has been tested many times on HF and FM. VARA completely crushes traditional packet in both speed, distance and robustness. Not only does it beat AX25, but its predecessor FX25 as well. Winlink has papers documenting the results at various distances. That said, traditional packet is still a useful form of data communication.
@@ModernHam I've had different experiences. There are a few VARA servers in my area and I am not able to reach any but 1. Packet 1200 on the other hand I've reached 45 miles with. I live in FL where it's flat.
It's kind of ironic. I guess either way you go, there's going to be some wall of text. It's a lot easier to digest when it's organized, still relevant, and presented in a nice segmented package.
I applaud your efforts Billy! I started in packet radio in the early 80s, (44.10.0.40) lost contact with ham radio for the most part and digital specifically during my cybersecurity career. Now being retired, I am excited about your enthusiasm in packet radio and the burning of the ""white walls" which have grown a bit covered with ivy since their writing. I just subscribed, and look forward to an education of how to do it all again! Thanks again Billy! 73 - KF6IF
It will show them, but won't log them into a file unless you tell it to. Video will probably be out tomorrow all about creating a direwolf igate/repeater
@@ModernHam thanks for answering I appreciate it and I appreciate you. I happen to think about something. You can redirect the output of those old command files and I might give that a try after a bit busy right now. If I just put a the command to start direwolf and place a greater than symbol I might be able to redirect it into a text file
Hello. Thank you very much for your work, as soon as the video started I realized where the approach you gave to the topic was going. I was only able to make Packet work once, in the late nineties, and only as a test with the little information there was to do it via an audio card. By a miracle I found this channel on RUclips... I am honestly happy to find this channel. I live in Barilcohe, Patagonia Argentina, as an active member of Radioclub Bariloche, when I share your channel, I assure you that among those of us who like computing and love to apply it to the radio... You are going to be very popular.
Kind regards. 73!
I am glad my content could be helpful for you. Please do let me know if there is anything specific you all would like to see.
Thanks for all the foot work. I'm taking my technician license next week, And your channel inspired me to take the leap. Look forward to diving deeper into the this hobby.
Good luck on your exam! I'm glad to hear that. The rabbit hole is definitely going to get deep. There's lots of things you can do in amateur radio.
Just got my ticket last November. Having lots of fun with ham radio. Good luck!!!!
Best of irish luck to ya pal with your exam.
You are doing the community a great service with this.
Glad you think so. Hopefully the rest of the series will be clear and concise.
I'm very happy that you found my blog useful!
But I should also add that this is pretty much exactly the video I would have wanted to see when I got started. Great job! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
You're one of the few people posting modern packet radio related content with followable documentation.
I've found your tncattach related content useful, and will possibly make use of your AWG rust code in the near future.
Thank you for doing an updated series on Packet Radio.
Thank you for watching it!
Nice Job!! Great first video!! Looking forward to seeing the next videos in your series. 73, KC2DU
Glad you liked it! 73, KN4MKB
Ooh I so need to finally get my lisence. I ran a telephone BBS from 1985 to 1995. I miss it.
@@armisis very cool. BBSes are still alive today on HF radio!
Yes! Learning about the possibility of BBS over radio was one of the driving forces behind me getting my license. You can do it too!
Thanks for doing this series. I am one of a small number of HAM's who think packet is still important and useful.
I honestly think that number is growing. I think we may see a resurgence of packet radio use.
I require this entire series to be beamed into my face. Thanks for putting this together!
I didn't realize so many people wanted this. I'll make it a good one.
I'm an elder Gen-X and hear to thank you for creating this resource! Looking forward to the series.
And totally unrelated to the video series: Come over to Mastodon! A lot of us don't do the twitter thing anymore. There are ham radio instances you'd probably like. One here in North America is run by N6MTS. OK... done nagging you now.
I may check it out in the future. Thanks for the tip!
I might give it a try. I've been off a lot of traditional social media lately besides for RUclips.
This is sooo clear and free of nonsense. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
As an active duty Army signal officer, getting into HAM radio on the side, hats off to you for your detailed instruction and the way you present material!
Glad I could provide something helpful. Thank you, Sir!
Good job on the video. I used to run a BBS back in the day before the internet and before that in 1982 I was using a commodore 64 to dial up BBS in other cities. Back then I would pick up devices like TNC's that interfaced with Commodore that connected to radio to decode CW and RTTY. DE KD5INM
Makes me wish I were around during those times to see it all when it was the most popular.
Been a ham operator for nearly 40 years and just recently got back on the air after a nearly 20 year hiatus. I have some new stuff (signal link usb) but I also have an AEA PK-232 just itching to get back on the air. Thank you.
Hope you get a packet node up and running!
Excellent introduction and overview. Thank you.
Great job. I am studying for my ham exam and packet radio so far has just been a theory, this really cleared it up for me. Will be following this series.
Good luck on your studies!
Thank you for doing this. The old school way is confusing for the later Gen X folks like myself who didn’t grow up on computers.
It's confusing to me and I grew up with them. Things have just changed so much, most of it really needed translated.
I am trying to get back into packet because I see its high value once the internet and conventional comms go down. I have a Mobilinkd but I think I'll also look for an old Kantronics. Great video!
Thanks. I really recommend a software TNC. That's just less hardware than can fail, and any microcomputer/computer is much easier to replace than a hardware TNC.
Excellent content. IT Grey beard here and even I found the information hunt tedious. Love the 1st video and the concept. I discovered that I used one of your video's to set up an igate on Direwolf which I successfully got running. Now a sub and thanks for posting. Hope a few more VK's watch so we can get some more activity going down here. 73's
Glad the video could be helpful! There's one more set of packet videos out over the next few weeks covering some more advanced stuff.
Your timing could not have been better. I'm a gen-x, not a millennial, but I'm also a brand new ham (Dec 23,) interested in packet. Same reaction to the scattered state of information about the topic. Packet is more closely related to how we "got online" in the eighties than the modern Internet information age. I just subscribed. Looking forward to your series. 73 de AI7UQ
Welcome to the hobby! Hopefully I can provide a clear path. 73 KN4MKB.
It was definitely time for a "reset" on this primer! Many thanks for your efforts! 73 N8JVC
73! KN4MKB
I loved this video!! Thank you for this man I appreciate the information. I'll get this working because you gave the knowledge.
I'm glad I could help!
I've been looking for just what you are describing for quite a while now. Really looking forward to your new series. I would like to start packet BBS/IP net in my local area, and there isn't much around here to experiment with. 73-NB8M
BBS/IP will be at the tail end, but I'll get there in a week or two.
What about ARDEN? Have you ever looked into that? There is very little of a foot print in Kentucky not sure if you are still here or not. I think Arden and packet radio could go hand in hand especially for emergency situations. Love your work. Thanks for your service
Great introduction, really enjoyed this video, I'm looking forward to go through the rest. Kudos and 73s! LU6ANE
@@piensaabierto thanks. Hope you enjoy the rest! Still more to come.
Great introduction to packet radio. I noted some inaccuracies (DAPPA vs. DARPA, PRNET vs. ARPANET, and a few others), but none of them took away from the great information you put together.
I agree totally that, while there is a ton of information out there on packet, most of it is irrelevant or outdated, or mandates that you use hardware from 30 years ago (which, while you can sometimes find, isn't well enough documented to actually use). Also, yeah, I'm not sure what's up with amateur radio web sites being designed in the mid-90s... were they converted "gopher" pages that somehow made it onto the www? Sheesh.
I'm looking forward to wading through the rest of the series and checking out your resources. One suggestion, when you post a bunch of links in your presentation, drop them in the (text) description of the video, too, so they are easier to follow.
So many ham websites are stuck in the 90s... Often it seems they haven't been updated since then.
I've had the exact same issue, and also where to find others on VHF packet.
Sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat. Maybe packet will make a comeback!
About time.. I have inherited 2 TNC's and some radios... I intend to figure this all out and see if the TNC still works!
wait what.. this is a new video? Perfect!
@@BeavistheLizard well be digging into TNCs this coming week.
I have a tiny 2 tnc and a Kam KPC-4 dual radio TNC be ace to fire them up and get them talking to each other or something.. I will be tuned in! - Thanks for the reply!@@ModernHam
Can you run a BBS with a PACTOR 4 modem? I know it’s a dumb question but I’ve only ever used code or phone as a HAM…as an emergency nurse practitioner…I’m looking for something that if I have to go into a very remote location…I can set up an autonomous (no software updates needed if I can’t access the internet) system that I can send information or receive written or photographic information in emergency situations…I teach and provide emergency and supportive care in remote / austere situations…essentially an ED to go with my team … so I’m looking for a setup that would allow me to communicate with my team and outside providers and physicians should I not have access to satellite or even the internet…we were in a valley in the sierras once and just couldn’t get a southern view of the sky to hit that damn satellite…so it was lots of running…it’s why I got my HAM license in the first place…HAM radio doesn’t fail…🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️ only people fail to plan
I think this is possible, BPQ32 supports several Pactor modems. II would look into VARAC for this though in your case. It's less expenses, one less hardware component to fail, and is supported by many BBS softwares these days/.
Thanks for this, I am in a potential conflict zone and am looking into options if phone towers get nuked.
Be safe out there. Hope you found it useful.
great videos do these NPR modems configured with direwolf software also support CB radio? these 2m/40cm wifi could also be interesting on the 11m band or 10m band....best regards from austria
the NPR modems do not need any additional software, just plug in an Ethernet cable. But the onboard chips are for the 70cm ham band.
I don't recall hearing or reading some of the things you mentioned about the origin of AX.25 and some of the info about packet radio. I knew about that kind of thing back in the 1970's because I read about it in ham and electronics magazines as well as computer magazines. I had subscriptions to them in the late 1970's. My understanding is that TAPR had alot to do with the beginnings of packet and that AX.25 was used by colleges and universities to connect their mainframe computers together via hard wire connections, basically this was the beginning of what would become the internet of sorts. I read about microsoft and Bill Gates before anyone in general knew who they were. Mostek created the Kim-1 which was the predescessor to the Commodore PET and later on the Apple computer. Mostek made the 6502 processor which was in the Commodore and Apple machines. Commodore owned Mostek, without Commodore there would be no Apple. Microsoft wrote Commodore DOS. Microsoft started out writing the OS for the PET and other computers. Commodore was how Microsoft really got its jumpstart capital. AOL started out as Quantum Link which was a Commodore based web service. After IBM machines and compatibles came out, Quantum Link became AOL. Without Commodore many of these companies we know now would not have existed as we know them. I also remember the Altair computer which was a kit that you built. Someone could build that stuff but couldn't do anything with it until they had software to make it run. Bill Gates understood that.
What an exiting time that would have been to be a ham. I'd love to get my hands on one of those old commodores, pair it with a CRT monitor and a hardware tnc and make an old fashioned packet radio bbs.
Great Job! Thank You. Can you share the "PacketRadio-ModernIntroduction" file?
Sure, you can download it at themodernham.com/downloads/
ERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND. @@ModernHam
Does this work with Apple computers?
It will, dire wolf, the software TNC should work fine on Mac.
small correction DARPA not DAPPA (RESEARCH) put a D infront of ARPA
Woops. Thanks for the correction!
BTW, amateur radio operators are HORRENDOUS web masters. They have SH!T pages that are not much better than ascii text files. And many have blinking HTML and white wall garbage pages.
I'd like to thin they were just pages around from a time when webpage development just wasn't up to speed yet. But for webpages developed that look like that in the past 10 years, I wonder why on earth the webmaster didn't just use a template of some type.
Don't need to include the 5 minutes of disclaimer
Great presentation, Billy. A lot of HAM sites are so way out of date and full of spam. Not QRZ, though 😂
I look forward to your packet series.
It's rough to sort through when it comes to older technology. But I don't want the sprit of it all to die with those websites in time. It's also about preservation for me. If nobody recreates those guides for modern times, that information can get lost to time, which sucks.
More packet vids please.
Oh they are coming.
Glad you are doing this! 30 year ham here and I have never stopped using Packet.
Hopefully I do it justice. Glad to have you here!
Cool. I was working with packet radio in the 90's. And then QRT for many years until now. I will for sure try this mode again.
We are looking to grow the packet again.
I think it's making a comeback. Especially after the HF data rate restrictions lift.
You've created a masterpiece, this is something to be proud of. Packet was always my fun place in amateur radio.
Thank you very much. I'm glad so many people still appreciate packet. I hope I can get more people on board.
Well done. Hmmm. 1984 -2024 APRS is now 40 years old and still in use by hams all over the world. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Thank you for putting it together.
Hopefully I can make the resource I wish I had when I started. APRS has definitely stood the test of time.
Many of those pages you see are ascii captures or text files from BBS that circulated or were meant to circulate via packet and therefore they don't have any fancy backgrounds or fluff because all that does is slow the real reason, to communicate useful data out there. Pretty pictures and decorations slow down 1200 or 9600 baud transmissions. Unless you want to sit 18 hours waiting on a webpage to build then thats why there is just text with plain white background. That's the reason for the plain text webpages.
I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the insight. Yeah it would take quite a while to transfer that type of stuff.
Thank you for this playlist. I'm definitely not a millennial, but I have also found it hard to find good, easy to understand guides to packet. I've been a ham since I was 18 (1983) but only got seriously interested in packet recently. I'm an IT geek too, so it's surprising I never mixed that with ham radio previously. Anyway, most of what I find seems to start with the assumption that you already know everything, so it's good to find an intro for beginners. I've found a few good resources including yours and I really appreciate them. Thanks for doing this!
@@KenPryor I'm glad it could be helpful. There's been a bit of a break because I've had a big move. But the videos will start again soon and pick up on the advanced stuff too.
I like how you say, I just don't care. Meaning it in a good way because how you explain this makes it much more interesting. I myself do remember the c64 with 5 .25 drive at the age of 15. So yeah please continue with your ways to enlighten us and the young hams/.
Glad you liked the presentation!
Hi !! Greetings from Argentina !!!!!!! How can I use two Baofeng BF-999 and two arduinos to transmit and receive data over-the-air ?? Thanks !!!!!
You can swap those arduinos out with a few pi's and use existing software like dire wolf to do so.
I agree with you, there aren't enough approachable resources on packet radio.
The thing is, packet radio is just an implementation detail of networking protocols. The information is all there when you look at it from that perspective.
Packet radio isn't particularly different from setting up a 56k modem, and that's largely because _they're the same thing_. Setting up Direwolf as the modem for your linux system's AX25 stack is literally the same as configuring an old-school modem. This is a thing for which there are innumerable resources online, but _none of the packet radio content seems to want to point you to it_.
I don't think this tightly-knit dependency (networking as a prerequisite to packet radio) is mentioned often enough. I onme from a computing background, with a focus on programming, but I've also been a network engineer. It's pretty obvious that a lot of the folks who make packet radio "content" haven't been.
So, yes, I'm coming at this from a place of pre-existing knowledge, and as such know what to look for. But I think if more folks could "discover" that they're the same discipline, we'd be in a better place and be able to make more effective content.
NOTE: I hope you don't take this as a criticism of your video or you in any way. I have barely even started your video! I'm just agreeing with you and commiserating about the state of the art of amateur radio communication.
Looking forward to watching your series!
Thanks for the perspective. Considering packet began as a pre Internet (as we know it today) communication solution, it definitely has the same purpose and the same overall ideas. A lot of those ideas are lost now because the majority of packet is done via aprs and the majority of new people are introduced through locked off TNCs built into radios with only aprs functionality. Right off the bat, packet gets more overhead and high level use than it's original low level protocols and technology can support. As more protocols and applications are built on, the idea of the modem and basic data links are lost. I hope that as I get I to the BBS stuff, and TCP/IP I can convey that more.
I am really looking forward to this series!
Hope I don't disappoint!
@@ModernHam Not a chance!
but isn't packet radio just basic data and plain text ?
It can be. But it extends well beyond that, We'll dig in more soon.
There is also the G8BPQ network map which will give a list of bpq packet nodes. Also thanks for all your efforts in packet radio.
I'll check it out and try and get it added once we get to the BBS part of the series. Thanks for the info. You got some cool looking videos on the subject.
This sounds promising. I've been wanting to setup packet for a long time. Back in it's heyday I missed the boat due to life getting in the way and good easy to follow step by step clean info.
I missed the heyday just due to age. But I love the technology. Wish there was more of a community around it. But this might get some more nodes up.
This is a fantastic idea! Thank you!!
Glad you liked it!
We just started reviving packet in our club got my station up last week. Finding info was difficult
It's making a comeback around the globe I think. Hopefully I can make it a little easier for those looking to start back up after a few videos.
@@ModernHamWe have had non members of our club over hear our repeater conversations and ask about getting involved. This is a great video.
Good information and well presented...well done.
One small request, please put the links highlighted in the video into your show notes so they can be copy/pasted. It's an easy copy and paste from your presentation but would save people a lot of effort (and frustration for non-typists). Thanks...
I love your video and your enthusiasm! I look forward to a future video on TCP/IP over VARA. Please keep them coming. You’re doing a great job! 73 de K9EYZ
You leave "new" LoRa APRS packet out of the list :P
Yes kantronics is still out there being used and made. It's been upgraded to usb kantronics 3 + models, not to mitchen other brands like scs and such.
Great video as always Billy! Lots of great information here!
Hopefully more to come! Thanks!
Im last stage communication engineering student from iraq , and i can honestly say that you really inspired me to get into this carrier so you are doing perfect hope you’ll continue doing these type of video
We all support you❤❤
Thank you very much. That means a lot. I hope you will like the series.
Good video, articulate and informative. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
I was involved with AX25 many years ago, both on VHF and HF. As I progressed I inevitably got sucked into wormholes and that was to be the end on AX25 . Apart from a standalone network in the event of 'disasters', I fail to see much of any future in it. I don't really give a shit for pretentious youngsters that label themselves 'millennials' and seek to reinvent the wheel.
Not sure if this is a troll comment, or if you are genuinely upset/offended over something so trivial. Either way, I told myself I would confront this type of toxicity in the hobby head on when I see it, so that others who are new or younger see that comments like this don't represent the hobby. I've pinned your comment to the top as people like you give good opportunity to show some of the underlining ageism and toxicity that affect the hobby in a blatant way that can be deciphered for others to understand. That way when they hear the not so blatant remarks, they can see the commonalities.
You got your low-blows in, I've got mine. Lets see if you have anything valuable to add, or you're just here to Ad hominem with name calling and general toxicity in a space where everyone else seems to be having a great time. Allow me to address your criticism.
" Apart from a standalone network in the event of 'disasters', I fail to see much of any future in it."
Well, sure if you discount a major role it may have, then it wouldn't seem like it's very useful wouldn't it?
The same could be said "Apart from the fact an antenna radiates electromagnetic waves, I don't see any use in it"
My point being, it's word salad and doesn't mean anything useful for anyone when things like that are said. On top of that, the FCC outlines another purpose of amateur radio as experimentation. That fact alone is why some amateurs participate in the hobby. If they enjoy the hobby that way or not, is unfortunately not up to you alone to decide. On both grounds, the comment you made was an attempt to null meaning from a video like this where everyone else found it useful. Perhaps that begs some self reflection on your part.
Here's the fun bit, here you attack me in three different ways. Each attack is so disconnected from normal healthy social communication that most people wouldn't interpret them that way. But in your mind, your disdain for young people is so strong, there mere fact of someone labeling themselves as such without shame is enough to send you over the edge.
"I don't really give a shit for pretentious youngsters"
Not much needs to be said here. The underlining issues you have with me, and the video really comes down to a strange, hatred for young people. The hatred you feel is enough to make a grown man (such as yourself) be reduced down to name calling on the internet. Now I know this isn't my problem to deal with. But this certainly begs some therapy or introspection to find out why "youngsters" and "pretentious" fit together so well for you. This isn't healthy or natural social behavior, and you need to seek guidance. I will call it out here, but in other places, you probably just make people unconformable in silence.
"that label themselves 'millennials'"
Despite how much you hate the generation, this isn't really any sort of critique in the eyes of most people. It's another indirect attack based on the fact I am a young person. Which in itself is only a problem for you, and maybe some others that have yet to truly understand why they feel this way. I am a millennial. If me saying that makes you angry, than you must realize you have an internal issue.
"and seek to reinvent the wheel."
This honestly seems like more word salad. But then gain, it's hard to tell if there is anything meaningful in what you said behind the anger and blatant ageism. What wheel am I seeking to reinvent here, and why has it made you upset?
I don't think anymore needs to be said here. You can reply, but I'm sure whatever you could possibly say will be just as meaningless as the first thing. If anything at least you served as a good example.
I have an old MFJ 1270C packet modem. Is there still a use for this today?
It can still be used on VHF/UHF!
Nice job!! Packet still is still a very robust method of communications on 2m compared to VARA. VARA may be faster, but packet wins the distance race!
As much as I don't like the fact VARA is closed source, this has been tested many times on HF and FM. VARA completely crushes traditional packet in both speed, distance and robustness. Not only does it beat AX25, but its predecessor FX25 as well. Winlink has papers documenting the results at various distances. That said, traditional packet is still a useful form of data communication.
@@ModernHam I've had different experiences. There are a few VARA servers in my area and I am not able to reach any but 1. Packet 1200 on the other hand I've reached 45 miles with. I live in FL where it's flat.
"look at those wall of text... not very good information"
proceed to blab for 32mins while scribbling on a wall of text.
It's kind of ironic. I guess either way you go, there's going to be some wall of text. It's a lot easier to digest when it's organized, still relevant, and presented in a nice segmented package.
@@ModernHam do you know of an easy to use software for RTTY? i keep searching but all the programs i find have very bad UI.
I applaud your efforts Billy! I started in packet radio in the early 80s, (44.10.0.40) lost contact with ham radio for the most part and digital specifically during my cybersecurity career. Now being retired, I am excited about your enthusiasm in packet radio and the burning of the ""white walls" which have grown a bit covered with ivy since their writing. I just subscribed, and look forward to an education of how to do it all again! Thanks again Billy!
73 - KF6IF
does direwolf running as iGate/digipeater log beacons forwarded to the iGate?
It will show them, but won't log them into a file unless you tell it to. Video will probably be out tomorrow all about creating a direwolf igate/repeater
@@ModernHam thanks for answering I appreciate it and I appreciate you. I happen to think about something. You can redirect the output of those old command files and I might give that a try after a bit busy right now. If I just put a the command to start direwolf and place a greater than symbol I might be able to redirect it into a text file
Long awaited video. Can wait to see the rest!
Thanks for this!
Glad you liked it!
Do more of the Starbucks videos like trying things we say like you use to