Is it RADIO?

Well, being a person who does not have much cash on hand due to family and food and payments and such, I use I-link to be invovled in the community. Its either that or my ticket just sits in its frame and collects dust.

For those who despise I-link and dont think people should use it. I will gladly accept any rigs you don't want or use. Give me a radio and I will gladly not use I-link.

KG4OWE

 

I know this is off the topic, so I will make it quick. To the young man that want's the code dropped...One thing to keep in mind, if you really want to work DX, CW is your best shot.  The best rare DX stations I have worked are on CW, and I never hear them on SSB. I am sure they are there on SSB, but you would probably need a few thousand dollars for a 200 foot tower and the best beam you can afford.  Morse Code is a part of the History of our hobby. Just tossing it away is like schools not teaching about the american Indian's in History class.  Each license class you earn helps you advance farther in knowledge about our hobby.  Never stop learning no matter how much you dislike it.

 

No, it's not radio.. It's a system for linking repeaters via the Internet.

Right now, it's being used to link distant repeaters, giving amateurs who wish to QSO with distant hams an alternative to using Amateur Radio to bridge that distance.

In the bad old days, this situation ( wanting to QSO with distant Hams ) might have motivated some of these Hams to learn more about Amateur Radio so that they could upgrade thier liscense, and then get to know the local hams and cobble together some equipment and an antenna... Now these hams have a ready alternative to that time consuming, tiresome process of self advancement, education and fellowship.

Later though, I expect to see the system used for linking repeaters located across town, and even for repeaters located at the same tower site. This advancement will give Amateurs an alternative to the Ham Radio linking systems currently used for that purpose, thereby advancing the art of amateur radio communications.

I have heard that software already exists to take this exciting advance in the field of Amater Radio communications to it's final and most benificial step. Microsoft's Netmeeting will allow Hams who are irked by the effort necessary to learn the morse code to QSO around the world, without having to bear an unreasonable burden in having to advance thier knowlege of radio in order to pass an exam, or the get to know the local Hams, or build or buy anything.

Any hobbyist with a computer with a soundcard can participate, and this will bring thousands of new Hams into the hobby who were previously put off by the irksome requirement to learn something about radio before they could experience the thrill of worldwide DX contacts.

By the way:

Ten years ago, packet radio / internet gateways were severely restricted, but in the U.S., they were allowed to set up at will.

Today, the European packet radio net has nodes that pass 10MB of packet data a day, with high-speed "backbone" RF links that allow all-Ham Radio QSO's with Hams located 600 miles away and more. 9600 baud access is most common.

The U.S. packet net never advanced beyond the point it was at when packet / internet gateways were introduced into the network, and now U.S. packet radio is  almost nonexistant.

We started off with the most advanced, most extensive packet radio net in the world, and ten years later we were a distant second weenie to the Europeans. We allowed packet / internet gateways that provided a ready alternative to Ham Radio links, and the Europeans didn't. Thier infrastructure continued to develop and grow, and ours briefly stagnated, before falling apart.

Any hobby has persons who put thier own personal desires above what would be best for the hobby. There are also always persons who want the benefits a hobby has to offer without putting out the effort required in order to participate. They are always whining about the requirements, and wanting expanded priveleges without putting out any additional effort on thier part. I have heard about how an influx of such persons would be a great boon to the hobby for years now, but personally, I have my doubts.

Charles, N5PVL

 

Well I have to agree with the operator dow the list a ways, Ilink is a good thing for new guys, now i know some of you more hardcore(for lack of better terms) hams don't agree with the voice over the internet but i see some of you like IRLP well irlp is internet as well. Ilink can be connected to a radio link in fact i am in the process of setting one up in my area. I have and use Ilink, eqso and IRLP and all are fine programs, it gives you a chance to make dx contacts without having to buy expensive equipment.
Dave
KC9AHS

 

I-Link means Internet Link, an interface between ham Radio and the Internet. I-Link is similar to an Auto Patch - both rely on commercial communications which may be wire, fibre optic and well maybe even radio (satellite), but its not Ham Radio.

My concern is that new hams will be tempted to bypass upgrade and concentrate on someone else's HF and miss the experience of true ham radio. On the other hand it may be an I-Link HF experience which becomes the incentive for a new ham to upgrade and go HF. There are Pros and Cons. With each new mode that comes along I like to look at it and ask what advantages does it have for emergency communications? I-Link can provide some advantages perhaps but its dependence on telephone systems is a definite limitation.

I doubt that I will ever use I-Link extensively, with the possible exception of talking (computer - computer telephone like) with family hams on the west coast.

HOME BREW I-Link caution: The QST article or web sites it references say that LED DS2 (Power) must be disconnected when programming the PIC. The QST schematic was redrawn and it is LED DS1 (Activity) which must be disconnected. Check out www.g4cdy.co.uk web page. It uses different component symbols but specifys that it is the ACTIVITY LED which must be disconnected.

Happy Hamming! (and Internet Interfacing)

73, Jess

 

I signed up the other day, still waiting for my callsign to be validated with them. Seems like an interesting concept, however I can already tell that the client software is not all that stable. It crashed on me several times, and I'm running WinXP (2000). I'm sure there will be more releases. Anyways, seems interesting. Looking forward to trying it out (if they ever validate my callsign)...

 

Not to forget, so long as someone else is responsible for providing the medium, we're not in control.

While most of us do rely on commercial mains for electric, alternatives are available. But if you're chatting on the web, you're using someone else's lines and not relying on fickle mother nature. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad.

And it does not require expensive equipment to get on HF - just the will to do so. I remember a group of older hams going through hamfests and seeing who could put together the most inexpensive yet functional HF stations - then they'd give the stations to new hams.

Scott N7JI

 

Wonderful posts, really covers both sides of the debate!

Is eqso and illink radio? Its still up in the air, and a yes or no answer is probably not sufficient, (maybe comes to mind).

However, its excellent fun for newcomers, those without equipment, and those operators who cant use "real" radio... I think of it like a baseball farm system, learn how to communicate without using some of the precious HF space. With luck we'll be able to do CW on eqso and ilink as well...

Im not sure if its real or not, but its great fun, and Im hooked!

73
Paul G-
KC8SQC

 

Ilink and Phone Patches:

In the course of this discussion, several folks have said, "Well, it's just like phone patches..."

Well, it's not.

When a MARS operator, for example, uses a phone patch so that a U.S. serviceman can talk to his family, the telephone network is only accessed and used to provide access to non-hams. The actual job of linking across the world is done by a pair of Amateur Radio operators, using Amateur Radio equipment. The phone system, from a practical point of view, is not involved in this. Instead, Amateur Radio is used. Because of this, the link is referred to as an "Amateur Radio communication".

In this situation, it is true that the last few miles of several thousand ends up traveling via the telephone lines. This is a miniscule percentage of the total distance covered, and then is only necessary because non-Hams are involved.

With phone patches, you are primarily communicating via Amateur Radio, but non-Hams can pretend that it is the telephone.

With I-link, you are primarily conmmunicating via the Internet, but Hams can pretend that it is Amateur Radio.

In light of the recent upsurge of interest in emergency communications, Hams should be developing independent, all Ham Radio communications systems, not figuring out new ways to develop a dependency upon non-Ham systems (Internet) that are likely to go down or become unavailable in the course of an emergency.

In the light of increased interest in our bit of spectrum by commercial interests, Hams should be developing systems that put the airwaves to use, not developing an unseemly dependency upon non-Ham communications systems.

We should remember that the hobby is not "Amateur Communications", or "Amateur Telephone"... It's called "Amateur Radio", instead. The focus is on Radio.

If Hams are dumb enough to say, "We don't need Radio to communicate as Ham Radio operators." then congressmen, senators, and FCC people might very easily end up saying and thinking the same thing.

Good way to shoot our own foot off. - Fostering an impression that Radio is not strictly necessary to the hobby... Dirt stupid, too.

Imagine what might have been accomplished if all the energy and expertise that went into Ilink had gone into Amateur Radio comminucations instead...

That would have been a lot better for the hobby.

Charles, N5PVL

 

If you don't like Ilink, try the new software from M0ZPD. it supports conference rooms, so there can be an unlimited number of people qso'ing each other on repeaters, or off, all at the same time. This is just like talking on your local repeater, with multiple hams at one time. Plus,  there are also multiple rooms for many different interests. Info below......


There are now a couple of new software programs (FREE!&#33 for connecting ham radio to the Internet.
One of them is the "M0ZPD Internet Gateway" software.  You can download this program at http://www.qsl.net/m0zpd  Look for the "Download" link. If you are not planning to link a repeater or simplex frequency to your computer then you will need the "PC User's" Version.

The other program is called "ILink" and you can download this one at http://www.aacnet.net/radio.html   Both programs are still being developed and will feature lots of nice capabilities when finished.

 

I guess I just don't get it.  If it isn't direct communication between your radio and the other guys radio, it simply isn't much of an accomplishment.  If you were able to communicate from the east coast to the west coast via 20 repeaters, it might be cool, might be fun, but it would not be the same as bouncing your signal off of the ionosphere.  All of these technologies are of interest and I don't blame new Hams for finding them stimulating, but to accord a contact via the information highway infrastructure the same value as a direct contact is absurd.  To the extent that such activities stimulate the interest of new Hams, I think they are great.  The problem develops when new people equate such assisted contacts with traditional direct communication.....they are not the same.

Rick
W8RDH