Zero Retries 0162: Packet RF Forwarding Network Adds New Station
We have added a new station in Florida, and we are very happy to have KD4WLE as the latest station to join the network. Although, at the current time, there are no RF partners in Sean's NVIS range, we would like to change that as soon as possible. KD4WLE and N3MEL have linked over AXIP temporally to bridge the gap. This will allow any local station to KD4WLE access to the forwarding network. If there are any stations from Southern Virginia to Northern Florida that would like to become a network forwarding partner, please let me know either by email or direct pack message.We are not only looking at the East Coast but across the US as well. I know there are others linked via HF around the country, and we would like to link these others in. We only need one of these linked stations to consider putting up a VARA HF Port on our 40 & 80M frequency. There is no need to [interrupt] your other connections but only consider being a part of our growing network with the sole purpose of having a network that is not reliant on the internet and our aging infrastructure. Those of you on the West Coast might consider contacting Chris KQ6UP. He may be interested in doing RF forwarding there.Thank you to all the stations listed below for being part of the Packet RF Forwarding Network.Current Network Stations & StatusMaine:
W1DTX 40M Connecticut:
K1AJD 40MCentral New York
KP3FT 40 & 80M w/ARDOP
K1YMI 40 & 80MEastern Pennsylvania:
N3MEL 40 & 80M w/ARDOP
KC3SMW 40M Currently OfflineNorthern Delaware:
KA3VSP 40 & 80MSouthern New Jersey:
KD2HZG 40MNorthern Virginia:
KN4LQN 40 & 80M w/ARDOPNEW East Central Florida:
KD4WLE 40M40M 7.103.2 dial UBS VARA HF & ARDOP BW500 offset 1500 Daytime80M 3.596 dial UBS VARA HF & ARDOP BW500 offset 1500 Nighttime
It is so cool to watch Amateur Radio automatic message forwarding on HF re-emerge as more viable in the 2020s than in the early days of Packet Radio (when 300 bps AFSK AX.25 was used, poorly adapted for HF and no Forward Error Correction - FEC was used).The use of Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) provides reliable regionalcommunications via HF, which is a needed complement for networking on VHF / UHF where it’s sometimes hard to bridge “gaps” of VHF / UHF coverage. (The long stretches of “not much” in the Western US, and especially the interior of Texas come to mind as ideal for NVIS.)The use of the more advanced data modes specifically designed for HF of VARA HFand Amateur Radio Digital Open Protocol (ARDOP) has (in my opinion) changed the paradigm of automatic message forwarding on HF from a marginal technique to “just works”.It’s doubly cool that there is discussion about forming a US West Coast Amateur Radio NVIS network like the activity underway on the US East Coast.
Glenn Allison N3MEL on the EastNetPacket and Packet-Radio-RF-Forwarding email lists.
