Ed,   
      
   EV>I've heard Daryl WX1DER talk about D-Star and Echo Link but I haven't been   
   EV>on the Air Waves for some time now though I still have my Call Sign, and   
   EV>except for reading some about those two things on Wikipedia I haven't had   
   EV>any interest in wanting to use them with my computer gear.   
      
     I knew my ears were burning for some reason (hi hi).   
      
   EV>I first heard of DMR and Fusion in Amateur Radio Newsline messages in 2013.   
      
     Some clubs are using both of those, such as the Memphis Digital Amateur   
   Radio Club, and the Philadelphia Amateur Radio Club.   
      
   EV>My jaw dropped a few years ago when I watched a Youtube video about the   
   EV>Main Prize the Dayton (Ohio) Hamvention was going to give to the Winner,   
   EV>when I heard about the price of that Transceiver (XCVR) being way above   
   EV>One Kilobuck USD, it really opened my eyes as my jaw dropped.  WHEW!!!!!!   
      
     There was a story on Amateur Radio Newsline a few years back, telling of a   
   "DC To Daylight Rig", being sold at Dayton Hamvention for $17,000!! Now, I   
   could outfit a nice shack for $17,000...but just for one rig?? To me, that's   
   overkill. I think the "cheapest" D-Star HT is still $300 to $450 in   
   cost...yet, I got the USB DV Dongle for $200 from Ham Radio Outlet. Both HRO   
   and Gigaparts seem to have the better prices, although I have bought items   
   from MTC (Main Trading) out of Paris, Texas. There is no "ham radio candy   
   store" in Arkansas anymore.   
      
   EV>Fusion doesn't interest Me one bit since it is a Yaesu product.   
      
     To me, fusion is when you bring two things together. :P   
      
   EV>But I'm a Cheap LID.    .... ..   
      
     Ham radio operators are some of the most cheapskate...er, frug   
   l...individuals you'll ever meet (hi hi).   
      
   EV>I am VERY GLAD I can keep up with what is going on with Amateur Radio by   
   EV>reading Messages in BBS Echos.   
      
     I need to get back into Packet, and get Winlink 2000 (WL2K) going. With WL2K   
   getting "secure logons" come April, 2016, the D-Rats program will no longer be   
   able to work with it, but otherwise it'll be fully functional. The original   
   author of D-Rats, Dan, KK7DS, is no longer developing it, but I understand the   
   program code is open source.   
      
     However, while I can write a batchfile for the BBS, my programming ENDS at   
   setting the clock on the microwave oven. So, I guess if I forget how to do   
   that, I'm going to starve to death. :P   
      
   Daryl, WX1DER   
      
   ---   
    * OLX 1.53 * Meteor shower tonight, bring your own soap!   
                         
    * PDQWK 2.53 #5   
      
      
   --- GTMail 1.26    
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org - GT Power 20 (1:19/33.0)