Holger,   
      
     I tried it (Hamsphere), but with all the "extra stuff" to get for your   
   "rig" it made it seem so much like what RF users deal with. It does   
   simulate what ham radio is really like, with propagation, antennas, etc.   
      
     While CQ100 is $39 (US Funds) a year (paid users get the QSO-TV add-on   
   for free, and free usage on Sunday), there's no additional cost, per se.   
   Plus, Echolink, D-Star, and D-Rats are free.   
      
     However, my schedule is so hectic with doing stuff for my 92 year old   
   Mom (in a nursing home about an hour east of Little Rock), that I've had   
   little time for the BBS or ham radio lately. Plus, with having to pay   
   her bills (she had to be made "bankrupt" to get on the "Medicaid" deal),   
   I can't afford the cost of HamSphere...and I don't have the time to use   
   it. Even after my Mom dies, I'll have a ton of work to do after her   
   passing.   
      
     I check into ONE Packet Net (via telnet), one Echolink net, and one   
   CQ100 net per week. I don't use Hamsphere at all, but spend most of my   
   time on D-Star and D-Rats. In trying to save money, I'm going to drop   
   HamSphere...as I don't have the time or funds to use it. Plus, unlike   
   Echolink, CQ100, D-Star, and D-Rats, you can have both licensed hams and   
   unlicensed hams (including SWL'ers) on it.   
      
   Daryl, WX1DER   
      
   ===   
    þ OLX 1.53 þ What if someone's real name is a psuedonym??   
   --- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32   
    * Origin: FIDONet: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (1:19/33)