N5PVL
03-31-2005, 11:37 AM
Despite the fact that I am no big fan of EchoLink, still I end up being asked to help Amateurs get set up to do it every now and then... On one of those deals, I was told of how to get the performance edge with EchoLink.
The guy's soundcard driver was messed up, which prevented him from doing the EchoLink thing over his computer. After scratching my head about how to get him fixed up, I noticed his dual bander sitting on the shelf...
Knowing that a local UHF repeater had EchoLink going, ( the very group he wanted to join, in fact ) I innocently asked, "Why not just use your radio?"
That's when I was informed that the computer performed much better than the radio. - So much so, that the fellow was not interested in doing the EchoLink thing unless he could do it over the computer's Internet connection.
The audio quality was better, almost AM - like and this Amateur found that the onscreen status display he had while online was worlds better than clutching a microphone and having nothing but a frequency readout to look at. He also told me that it was easier to participate in the discussion online, something about it being easier to get a word in edge-wise.
Many Amateurs both old and new will be happy to know that for the very best performance with EchoLink, no radio is necessary, or even particularly desireable. Instead of buying Amateur Radio equipment, your best bang for the buck can be had by purchasing a faster computer. - For the real ultimate in performance though, be sure to invest in broadband Internet access!
BPL will be the backbone of our EchoLink future for Amateur Radio. If your city or town does not have BPL and you are an EchoLink devotee stuck with dialup, well you know what to ask for now, don't you?
Charles Brabham, #N5PVL
Director: USPacket (http://www.uspacket.org)
Admin: USPacket Digital Forum (http://www.uspacket.org/smf/index.php?board=1.0)
Admin: HamBlog.Com (http://www.hamblog.com)
Weblog: N5PVL's #Blog (http://www.hamblog.com/blog_n5pvl.php)
The guy's soundcard driver was messed up, which prevented him from doing the EchoLink thing over his computer. After scratching my head about how to get him fixed up, I noticed his dual bander sitting on the shelf...
Knowing that a local UHF repeater had EchoLink going, ( the very group he wanted to join, in fact ) I innocently asked, "Why not just use your radio?"
That's when I was informed that the computer performed much better than the radio. - So much so, that the fellow was not interested in doing the EchoLink thing unless he could do it over the computer's Internet connection.
The audio quality was better, almost AM - like and this Amateur found that the onscreen status display he had while online was worlds better than clutching a microphone and having nothing but a frequency readout to look at. He also told me that it was easier to participate in the discussion online, something about it being easier to get a word in edge-wise.
Many Amateurs both old and new will be happy to know that for the very best performance with EchoLink, no radio is necessary, or even particularly desireable. Instead of buying Amateur Radio equipment, your best bang for the buck can be had by purchasing a faster computer. - For the real ultimate in performance though, be sure to invest in broadband Internet access!
BPL will be the backbone of our EchoLink future for Amateur Radio. If your city or town does not have BPL and you are an EchoLink devotee stuck with dialup, well you know what to ask for now, don't you?
Charles Brabham, #N5PVL
Director: USPacket (http://www.uspacket.org)
Admin: USPacket Digital Forum (http://www.uspacket.org/smf/index.php?board=1.0)
Admin: HamBlog.Com (http://www.hamblog.com)
Weblog: N5PVL's #Blog (http://www.hamblog.com/blog_n5pvl.php)