MSGID: 1:229/426.36 6cfc6c83   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   TZUTC: -0300   
   REPLY: 112.fidonet-amateurr@1:2320/33 28b73c8f   
   //Hello Daryl,//   
      
   Thanks for your notes on packet.   
      
   Unfortuenatly I can only offer Telnet access via a terminal on my web page   
   (cwnet.org).   
      
   It is just like the old daysworkiing from a terminal.   
      
   If you can configure outpost to do telnet.   
      
   I would be glad to include you on my bbs. Just send me a password via netmail   
   and off you go.   
      
   Should be 1000 messages on the bbs, it was once at 3500.   
      
   73,   
      
   Alan   
      
      
      
   on *03.05.23* at *6:57:00* You wrote in area *AMATEUR_RADIO*   
   to *Alan Beck* about *"Re: Packet"*.   
      
    DS> Alan,   
      
    AB>> Packet radio BBSes are only for confirmed Ham radio operators. it is of   
    AB>> and about ham radio for hams.   
      
    AB>> Usually you need to come in from RF, all I have are 1000 packet messages   
    AB>> from the internet links from 3 other BBSes.   
      
    DS>   First, packet is not what you do to a TNC to put it into your vehicle   
    DS> to take it to a hamfest flea market (hi hi).   
      
    DS>   Second, there are some packet BBS's that offer telnet access in   
    DS> addition   
    DS> to conventional RF. Either way, one must be a licensed amateur radio   
    DS> operator to access them. The former N0KFQ BBS in Branson, Missouri (he   
    DS> and his XYL, KB0WSA, are both Silent Keys), and the current NS2B BBS in   
    DS> Penfield, New York, offer both RF and telnet access...RF for those who   
    DS> come in via HF or VHF, and telnet for those who don't have RF gear due to   
    DS> medical issues (I'm a heart patient), or they're too far away to access   
    DS> it.   
      
    DS>   The best way to get that is using the Outpost Packet Program suite, by   
    DS> Jim Obenhofer, KN6PE. It has a separate ipserial and iptelnet utility,   
    DS> depending on whether you're going through RF with a TNC, or via telnet   
    DS> without any RF gear. I use the iptelnet utility to access the NS2B BBS,   
    DS> for my packet stuff, as well as running The PCL Net (I'm Net Control and   
    DS> Scribe, with NS2B as alternate Net Control and Scribe, when I can't be   
    DS> there). You can get the Outpost program (Windows) at outpostpm.org   
      
    DS>   There are 2 files at http://www.wx4qz.net/elk.htm -- telling how to   
    DS> set up Outpost for accessing the NS2B BBS, and info on "The PCL Net".   
    DS> "PCL" was the original name of the net, as it was basically 3 greater   
    DS> than signs >>> used to indicate that one was done typing their comments;   
    DS> the equivalent to "over" on phone, or "K" on CW.   
      
    DS>   It stood for "Patience Chicken Lips"...because packet is slow (300 baud   
    DS> for HF and 1200 baud for VHF), and the 3 greater than signs look like   
    DS> "chicken lips". (hi hi).   
      
    DS>   The PCL Net meets every Monday at 8pm US Eastern Time, except on the   
    DS> weeks that have the following holidays...Easter, Memorial Day,   
    DS> Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.   
      
    DS>   We usually have 2 rounds for comments, and I usually post out the   
    DS> scribe later that evening (after I run the HotSpot RPi SBC ZumSpot Net on   
    DS> the QuadNet Array (openquad.net)), or sometime the next morning.   
      
    DS>   As a side note, another PDF file on that page was a "review" of what   
    DS> I called "The E.D. Net"...it was one of the funniest experiences I ever   
    DS> had in ham radio. It proves "with friends like us, you don't need any   
    DS> enemies" (hi hi).   
      
    DS>   Years ago, Dave Perry, W4KGU (SK), released five 16-bit ham radio   
    DS> doors, which had the following things in common:   
      
    DS> 1) They were freeware.   
    DS> 2) They required a DORINFO1.DEF dropfile. 3) They did NOT have a fossil   
    DS> driver.   
    DS> 4) They required ANSI graphics to access. 5) If using the QRZDOOR (item C   
    DS> below), they needed the data CD, noted below.   
      
    DS>   Here's a quick description of each of them:   
      
    DS> A) BULLET -- a bulletins related door. 26 categories are available, and   
    DS> it can be covering any topic...ham radio, weather, health, BBS related,   
    DS> food/cooking, etc. As with the REGSCAN door (noted below), the text had   
    DS> to be in 80x24 format per page.   
      
    DS> B) REGSCAN -- a door that had an ASCII copy of Part 97 of the FCC Rules,   
    DS> where you could search for a certain part of the rules. It needed to be   
    DS> formatted to basically an 80x24 page format. That was a tedious process   
    DS> to go through to convert that...although I think most PDF viewers will   
    DS> allow you to save the PDF to a textfile. But, it still took awhile to go   
    DS> through the entire file to get the 80x24 format.   
      
    DS> Offhand, I don't recall the last time there was a major update, but I'll   
    DS> take care of that again eventually. As a side note, with "suspect   
    DS> glaucoma" and dry corneas, which caused blurred vision without warning   
    DS> (that caused me to give up driving, and sell my car a year ago), it makes   
    DS> it hard to spend long amounts of time at the computer, with the BBS, or   
    DS> with running ham radio traffic nets.   
      
    DS> C) QRZDOOR -- a door that used the original CD-ROM that was produced by   
    DS> the QRZ.COM website, and was available for purchase. That data is no   
    DS> longer available, so unless you have an older data file (the last one I   
    DS> have for that was from 2008), that door is worthless. You could search by   
    DS> callsign, name, or location, and save the info to a file for download.   
      
    DS> D) WASPORT -- a door to track ones progress in the ARRL WAS (Worked All   
    DS> States) award. Categories were for various bands and modes, plus a   
    DS> separate Sysop defined category.   
      
    DS> I have "internet" for VoIP related modes...mainly for hams living in   
    DS> HOA's, CC&R's, or with antenna restrictions/prohibitions, such as medical   
    DS> or assisted living facilities. As an FCC official noted years ago, "we   
    DS> are communicators first, and ham radio operators second". With having   
    DS> congestive heart failure, I operate "internet only", but my license isn't   
    DS> just a piece of paper. I've known many hams who studied to the exam, got   
    DS> their ham radio license, but never got on the air. I have to wonder why   
    DS> they spent all that time and money.   
      
    DS> Just over a month ago, on March 31, 2023, when a nearly EF-4 tornado   
    DS> blasted a 35 mile path of destruction across central Arkansas (54   
    DS> injuries and 1 fatality), the hams were using "whatever communications   
    DS> method worked" to get the info to the National Weather Service in Little   
    DS> Rock. If you go on YouTube, and look for "Ryan Hall, Ya'll" (it's a   
    DS> weather geeks paradise), search for "March 31, 2023 outbreak".   
      
    DS> Just after 2pm Central Time, a Tornado Warning was issued for the Little   
    DS> Rock Metro area...then it was upgraded to a Tornado Emergency, just over   
    DS> 25 minutes later. You will see video of the monster tornado (which was   
    DS> about 5 miles west of me in southwest Little Rock), from both storm   
    DS> chaser Brett Adair, and from the camera from one of the hospitals in west   
    DS> Little Rock. The WCM (Warnings Coordination Meteorologist) at the   
    DS> National Weather Service in North Little Rock (they're at the North   
    DS> Little Rock Airport) is Dennis Cavanaugh, KF5VHZ...and he does the   
    DS> Skywarn Spotter Training courses done by the National Weather Service in   
    DS> North Little Rock.   
      
    DS> E) ARPD -- a door to work with a TNC (preferably the long gone MFJ 1270   
    DS> series) and a rig, to allow users to access packet from the Sysop's TNC.   
    DS> The callsign was changed from the Sysop to the user (a separate   
    DS> validation file was created by the Sysop to be sure that only licensed   
    DS> hams accessed the door), which then created a logfile, to record all   
    DS> commands typed. It made the user accountable for their transmissions. It   
    DS> also allowed users to use the mailbox that the TNC had, to leave a packet   
    DS> style message to the Sysop. When the user exited the door, the data for   
    DS> the TNC was reset back to the default values (i.e. the Sysop's callsign,   
    DS> etc.).   
      
    DS>   For Doors A and B above, having an amateur radio license, for the user   
    DS> or Sysop, was not required. However, for Doors C through E, the Sysop and   
    DS> the user had to have the appropriate class of amateur radio license...and   
    DS> I felt that the ham radio info should be accessed only by hams...although   
    DS> most callsign servers are accessible by anyone on the internet. There are   
    DS> some countries, where the ham radio operator has requested that "their   
    DS> info not be made public".   
      
    DS>   Except for the ARPD door (I still have the TNC, but no rig, cable, or   
    DS> antenna for it), the others are on my BBS, and available for download, in   
    DS> ZIP file format.   
      
    DS>   For the doors, you can run them under Synchronet with its DOSXTRN   
    DS> utility, and set it up as if it was a regular door (again, using the   
    DS> DORINFO1.DEF dropfile), to get the correct user name...just set it for   
    DS> UART access.   
      
    DS>   For Doors A through C noted above, you could use the DOORWAY utility   
    DS> (originally created by Marshall Dudley, now supported by Mike Ehlert),   
    DS> and then create a generic DORINFO1.DEF dropfile with the comport at 0   
    DS> (zero), and John Doe as the user. However, doors D and E require the   
    DS> dropfile with the user name to work properly.   
      
    DS> Daryl, WX4QZ, Sysop   
    DS> The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas   
      
    DS> ... Ham Radio QRP: When you care the most to send the very least.   
    DS> === MultiMail/Win v0.52   
    DS> --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32   
    DS>  * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)   
      
   Regards,   
   Alan Beck   
   --- WinPoint 415.0   
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