Re: Old TNC's
|
Greg D
Hi James,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
So, only partly. The modes I was referring to were "traditional" packet radio, not APRS. APRS was certainly crafted without regards to the OSI model's 7 layer Cake, but in spite of that it's held up remarkably well and still serves a useful purpose. On the other hand, the evolution of the Packet BBS network largely stalled. There are still a few mailboxes on the air within reach of my home station, but they are hardly swamped. The 2400 bps modem that I have was never widely adopted (I may have the only one left), and the jump to 9600 bps seems to have been the victim of a combination of regulatory bandwidth limitations and the widespread adoption of the Internet's NNTP servers. There are a few 9600 networks around, but not many, at least not around here. I would argue that both developments - the success of APRS and the relegation of other packet modes to a niche - are as they should be. It's about meeting a need, and being flexible to evolve as that need evolves, not about architecture for architecture's sake. I think that having "old TNCs" still in productive service in parallel with Raspberry Pi's and Direwolf is a testament that the Ham community got something right. I have both running here in the shack. The subject MFJ TNC is hooked to my "home server" (a Linux PC that's always on) as an APRSIS32 APRS iGate, and a Raspberry Pi with Direwolf that is cabled to the main shack radios for the other packet stuff (Winlink, mostly), along with the Joe Taylor HF modes. The Pi and shack radios are things I can run from battery backup power, when all else has failed or been turned off (I'm in "Public Safety Power Shutoff territory here), for remote email and such. When not doing so, I use it to check into a UI Packet net every Sunday. Why not? People still use Morse Code for much the same reasons. Greg KO6TH Such is progress. James Ewen wrote:
|
|
|