Hi everyone, I'd like to welcome the new nodes, which are:

432:1/102 - Error 404 BBS, run by Todd Zieman
432:1/103 - Alcoholiday / The West Gate, run by Andrew Harworth
432:1/104 - Happyland BBS, run by Andrew Pamment
and
432:1/105 - Richard Menedetter

Welcome aboard, feel free to introduce yourselves. :) This echo will be the main part of the net. Any topic (within reason) is fine, doesn't even have to be about radio. :) And like amateur radio, experimentation is welcome here.

If you have any ideas you think might enhance the net, please pop over to VK_PROPOSAL and raise them there, so we can all discuss them. For those who haven't got their amateur ticket and are thinking of studying for the test, the VK_STUDY echo is the place to ask those tricky technical questions that tend to find their way onto the exams, or to share resources that may help others pass their test.



... The only things done by Friday are with Robinson Crusoe.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

On 07/11/16, Tony Langdon said the following...

432:1/103 - Alcoholiday / The West Gate, run by Andrew Harworth

Welcome aboard, feel free to introduce yourselves. :) This echo will be the main part of the net. Any topic (within reason) is fine, doesn't

Hey folks, glad to be here. I've been a ham since 2011. Currently hold the Extra class license here in the states. I'm president of the Columbia Amateur Radio Club (w4cae.com) this year. In regards to radio, I'm mostly into HF, particularly CW and RTTY (I'm a huge fan of RTTY contesting). I've been
getting into DMR a bit.

I achieved WAS (Worked All States) a few years ago and followed it by
becoming the first KK4-prefixed station to complete the Triple Play (The
ARRL's award for contacting every state three ways, CW, voice and digital).

I completed DXCC some time ago, but I'm still waiting on confirmation from 6-7 stations before I can get the certificate. I'm trying to do it with Logbook
of the World confirmations only.

Anyway, that's me... Oh, and I've done a really neat python script that pulls the solar data for radio propagation. I run it over at my board, alco.bbs.io. I've also done a call-sign lookup tool for the BBS and a SOTA spots tool, although since moving to Mystic from the previous setup I was running, these interactive scripts don't work and I just haven't taken the time to fix them.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A27 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (432:1/103)

Zero Reader wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

Hey folks, glad to be here. I've been a ham since 2011. Currently hold
the Extra class license here in the states. I'm president of the
Columbia Amateur Radio Club (w4cae.com) this year. In regards to radio, I'm mostly into HF, particularly CW and RTTY (I'm a huge fan of RTTY contesting). I've been getting into DMR a bit.

Welcome to the net ZR. I have DMR gear here, but haven't done anything other than simplex, because there is no DMR infrustructure here until I get around to building it! :)

I achieved WAS (Worked All States) a few years ago and followed it by becoming the first KK4-prefixed station to complete the Triple Play
(The ARRL's award for contacting every state three ways, CW, voice and digital).

Well done. :)

Anyway, that's me... Oh, and I've done a really neat python script that pulls the solar data for radio propagation. I run it over at my board, alco.bbs.io. I've also done a call-sign lookup tool for the BBS and a
SOTA spots tool, although since moving to Mystic from the previous
setup I was running, these interactive scripts don't work and I just haven't taken the time to fix them.

That's neat. I can see that being very useful. :-)


... This tagline is freeware; future support is unavailable.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

Welcome to the net ZR. I have DMR gear here, but haven't done anything other than simplex, because there is no DMR infrustructure here until I get around to building it! :)

That must be exciting being on the edge like that. I take it you have some relationships with some tower owners?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A27 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (432:1/103)

Zero Reader wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

That must be exciting being on the edge like that. I take it you have
some relationships with some tower owners?

No, I just stick something up in the backyard. Might not have the best coverage, but better than nothing and much easier to work on. :-)


... A man who buys a mobile home doesn't get a lot.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

Hi Tony!

12 Jul 2016 11:04, from Tony Langdon -> Zero Reader:

Welcome to the net ZR. I have DMR gear here, but haven't done
anything other than simplex, because there is no DMR infrustructure
here until I get around to building it! :)

You could try to make a private hotspot and conenct it to DMR MARC with the DV4Mini for example.

I have a TYT MD-380 (chinese DMR HT) and it is a pretty good price/performance deal.
But I have not really used it extensively ...

When I have some more time I will write a longer introduction.

BTW: RTL-SDR is great ... I even have a stick with the Elonics E4000 tuner that
has the wider receive band ...
And some RT820 sticks ;)
Really, really great things!!!

CU, Ricsi

--- GoldED+/LNX
* Origin: Almost anything is easier to get into than out of (432:1/105)

Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

You could try to make a private hotspot and conenct it to DMR MARC with the DV4Mini for example.

If I do that, I might as well go the whole hog and build a DMR repeater, using thr MMDVM. :)

I have a TYT MD-380 (chinese DMR HT) and it is a pretty good price/performance deal.
But I have not really used it extensively ...

I have 2 Hytera PD362s. Nice radios and an even better price/performance radio. I won them in an online competition on Hytera's FB page. :)

When I have some more time I will write a longer introduction.

Cool. :)

BTW: RTL-SDR is great ... I even have a stick with the Elonics E4000
tuner that
has the wider receive band ...
And some RT820 sticks ;)
Really, really great things!!!

Yeah I have 1 E4000 and 3 RT820s. :)


... What do you mean off topic??!!! There's a topic?
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

On 07/13/16, Richard Menedetter said the following...

I have a TYT MD-380 (chinese DMR HT) and it is a pretty good price/performance deal.

These Tyteras are everywhere around here. I did a quick poll in our meeting Monday. I asked who was using DMR, about 15 hands flew up. Then I asked how many were using the 380 and all 15 hands remained up.

It's a neat little radio. Unlike the Baofengs, Wouxon, etc., it's actually well-made. I wish the display were a little better. My main complaint is that
I can't read all the channel text. I need to edit my codeplugs a bit maybe,
but the danged channel icon takes up way too much real estate on the display.

Otherwise I like it quite a bit, and the mode is quite good too.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A27 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (432:1/103)

Hi Tony!

13 Jul 2016 21:29, from Tony Langdon -> Richard Menedetter:

You could try to make a private hotspot and conenct it to DMR
MARC with the DV4Mini for example.

If I do that, I might as well go the whole hog and build a DMR
repeater, using thr MMDVM. :)

What is the MMDVM?

BTW: RTL-SDR is great ... I even have a stick with the Elonics
E4000 tuner that - And some RT820 sticks ;)

Yeah I have 1 E4000 and 3 RT820s. :)

Exactly the same here ... (1+3)

CU, Ricsi

--- GoldED+/LNX
* Origin: For stress: Use you Mastercard to pay your Visa (432:1/105)

Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

What is the MMDVM?

It's a multimode digital voice modem. Does D-STAR, DMR, P25, Yaesu Fusion, possibly NXDN as well. Works with a 9600 bps capable radio.

BTW: RTL-SDR is great ... I even have a stick with the Elonics
E4000 tuner that - And some RT820 sticks ;)

Yeah I have 1 E4000 and 3 RT820s. :)

Exactly the same here ... (1+3)

We have something in commmon! LOL


... Weeds! No, that is my vineyard! Ever heard of dandelion wine?
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

Hi Tony!

11 Jul 2016 23:36, from Tony Langdon -> All:

432:1/105 - Richard Menedetter
Welcome aboard, feel free to introduce yourselves. :)
And like amateur radio, experimentation is welcome here.

I like that experimentation part.

Sorry ... had little time recently ... but here my short introduction:

I live in Vienna, capital of Austria.
I was quit late at the HAM hobby, made my HAM test slightly over a year ago.
My callsign is OE1RIC, and I also applied in Hungary and I am HG3RM there (I speak hungarian)

I am part of 2 HAM clubs here in Vienna.

I have analog, DRM and short wave radios.
But main point is a nearly weekly meeting at the club.
Only a small number of members (~6 regular) but highly active.
We have a Tetra repeater, APRS, at the moment we have received a Motorola Tetra
BTS to play around.

I have some RTLSDRs and backed the LimeSDR.
I am eagerly awaiting early next year when it arrives.
(I guess usecases will be mostly non HAM related)

That's the short story.
If you have questions, just ask ;)

CU, Ricsi

--- GoldED+/LNX
* Origin: Teamwork is wonderful. You get to blame someone else! (432:1/105)

Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

Hi Tony!

11 Jul 2016 23:36, from Tony Langdon -> All:

432:1/105 - Richard Menedetter
Welcome aboard, feel free to introduce yourselves. :)
And like amateur radio, experimentation is welcome here.

I like that experimentation part.

Yep, that's the idea. :)

Sorry ... had little time recently ... but here my short introduction:

I live in Vienna, capital of Austria.
I was quit late at the HAM hobby, made my HAM test slightly over a year ago. My callsign is OE1RIC, and I also applied in Hungary and I am
HG3RM there (I speak hungarian)

Welcome aboard. :-)

I am part of 2 HAM clubs here in Vienna.

I have analog, DRM and short wave radios.
But main point is a nearly weekly meeting at the club.
Only a small number of members (~6 regular) but highly active.
We have a Tetra repeater, APRS, at the moment we have received a
Motorola Tetra
BTS to play around.

Never touched TETRA here, it's not a popular system, most agencies are moving to P25. 2 clubs, that'll keep you busy. I'm not a member of a club at this time, kind of overcommitted my time. :)

I have some RTLSDRs and backed the LimeSDR.
I am eagerly awaiting early next year when it arrives.
(I guess usecases will be mostly non HAM related)

That's the short story.
If you have questions, just ask ;)

Cool, welcome here. Now to get people talking. :D


... It's good to be children sometimes and never better than at Christmas.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

Hi Tony!

25 Jul 2016 11:20, from Tony Langdon -> Richard Menedetter:

We have a Tetra repeater, APRS, at the moment we have received a
Motorola Tetra BTS to play around.

Never touched TETRA here, it's not a popular system

Neither is it here.
That is the reason why we use it (we ... as I am the only one not having bought
a TETRA HT ;)
Experimentation, and there is much new knowledge to gain from tetra :)

Actually we are in the process to switch together 3 tetra repeaters ...

CU, Ricsi

--- GoldED+/LNX
* Origin: All taglines are busy..One will be with you shortly (432:1/105)

Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

Never touched TETRA here, it's not a popular system

Neither is it here.
That is the reason why we use it (we ... as I am the only one not
having bought
a TETRA HT ;)
Experimentation, and there is much new knowledge to gain from tetra :)

I know of no ham TETRA installations here. The systems in use are D-STAR, DMR, P25 and Fusion.

Actually we are in the process to switch together 3 tetra repeaters ...

Cool. :)


... Bit: The increment by which programmers slowly go mad
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

Hi Tony!

27 Jul 2016 21:11, from Tony Langdon -> Richard Menedetter:

Never touched TETRA here, it's not a popular system

Neither is it here.
That is the reason why we use it (we ... as I am the only one not
having bought
a TETRA HT ;)
Experimentation, and there is much new knowledge to gain from
tetra :)

I know of no ham TETRA installations here. The systems in use are
D-STAR, DMR, P25 and Fusion.

No P25 here at all.

But regarding tetra ... the reason that it gets not enough love is the reason why it was chosen ;)

CU, Ricsi

--- GoldED+/LNX
* Origin: A man forgives only when he is in the wrong (432:1/105)

Richard Menedetter wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

But regarding tetra ... the reason that it gets not enough love is the reason why it was chosen ;)

Share the love? :D


... TV Truth: All problems can be solved in 30-60 minutes.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
* Origin: Freeway BBS - freeway.apana.org.au (432:1/101)

Anyway, that's me... Oh, and I've done a really neat python script that pulls the solar data for radio propagation. I run it over at my board, alco.bbs.io. I've also done a call-sign lookup tool for the BBS and a
SOTA spots tool, although since moving to Mystic from the previous setup

Good day to all / Zero Reader,

It's a pleasure to share a chat with you - I would be really interested to
see those scripts, first of all that Python one about propagation and
solar... I'm sure I've already seen something like that in another BBS - together with a way to output air traffic dump log from my remote SDR ADBS sniffing station to my BBS.

¯¯ÅndçŒd Cíld®®

"What do you look like?"
"It depends on who is looking."

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Miskatonic BBS | telnet://rasppi.servebbs.org (432:1/111)

On 09/14/16, Indrid Cold said the following...

It's a pleasure to share a chat with you - I would be really interested
to see those scripts, first of all that Python one about propagation and solar... I'm sure I've already seen something like that in another BBS -

If you saw the solar data somewhere else, it was probably either my script or
a version of it. Ken just recently did a version in Javascript for
Synchronet. :-)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (432:1/103)

If you saw the solar data somewhere else, it was probably either my
script or a version of it. Ken just recently did a version in Javascript for Synchronet. :-)

YES! Is that nice one by you, I want to put it in my BBS too, great work > ALCO-SOLAR

¯¯ÅndçŒd Cíld®®

"What do you look like?"
"It depends on who is looking."

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Miskatonic BBS | telnet://rasppi.servebbs.org (432:1/111)

On 09/16/16, Indrid Cold said the following...

YES! Is that nice one by you, I want to put it in my BBS too, great work

ALCO-SOLAR

I'll try and tighten it up a bit so it can be released. I think it only requires one Python module to be installed using 'pip' and you can run it as
an event or cron job every hour or so to generate the display files.

Really, any BBS can use the python version, but the output is geared towards Mystic since it uses the Mystic MCI positional codes. It wouldn't be hard to modify.

More work went into building the ASCII frameworks for it than the actual code!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
* Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (432:1/103)