Packet vs vara. Mobilinkd vs digirig

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Robert Galambos

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Mar 9, 2023, 9:40:21 AM3/9/23
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Ok.

A question that I throw up.

There are two different devices that can be used for winlink/aprs.

One mobilinkd (packet both 9600 and 1900?)
Digirig which can use vara.


So the advantages of both, cons?

I can see is speed (vara)
However there are some areas that have only packet.

So 'talk among yourselves' (SNL)

TONIGHT?
⁣

DEC for YORK & DURHAM Region ARES.


ASEC GTA ARES section


​

Robert Galambos

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Mar 9, 2023, 9:44:45 AM3/9/23
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Ok.

A question that I throw up.

There are two different devices that can be used for winlink/aprs.

One mobilinkd (packet both 9600 and 1200?)
Digirig which can use vara.


So the advantages of both, cons?

I can see is speed (vara)
However there are some areas that have only packet.

So 'talk among yourselves' (SNL)

TONIGHT?

DEC for YORK & DURHAM Region ARES.


ASEC GTA ARES section


ry...@ryancollins.ca

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Mar 9, 2023, 9:58:48 AM3/9/23
to Roger Miller
You can use any sound card attached to a radio and a computer for packet or VARA so long as the computer is controlling the sound and it is compatible with your software (e.g. direwolf + driver). 

Mobilinkd adds bluetooth and serial circuits to a nice form factor. Depending on the cable/radio, that lets this device control PTT and other radio functions over an interface like a smartphone app, but you end up limited to the software capabilities of that device (nobody wrote vara for iOS or Android because you tend to need system level access that is not there). At the core it’s just a wireless sound card with a serial com port that someone wrote a mobile SDK for. 

My own personal preference is a raspberry pi because they take relatively low power, are super flexible in peripherals, and are easy to build into a portable system, however many older hams only write software for Windows which still makes things like VARA difficult (though possible if you are technical and don’t mind spending a few hours with some virtualization and have a beefy enough pi to pull it off). 

I’ve also seen many operators choose a windows tablet like the Surface, because you can run native Winlink, native drivers, etc… and have a smoother end result for most ham softwares. This is a balance of user experience and portability, but it is a lot more cumbersome than a Pi with a lot less battery life. If you aren’t portable at all, a Windows desktop with a serial cable and a sound card are probably the cheapest/easiest/fastest. 

Or someone will eventually take a library like Go that cross-compiles between operating systems and architectures super easily and come up with something that is very cross-platform, that just isn’t a reality yet. PAT is written in Go, but the underlying libraries it uses like VARA are not, so this is still very hack-y. 

73 VA3RYC | Ryan in Newmarket

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ve3...@gmail.com

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Mar 9, 2023, 10:01:43 AM3/9/23
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I hope you are near a toilet when you “throw up” the question!!

 

73 Don – VE3IXJ

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Robert Galambos

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Mar 9, 2023, 10:16:24 AM3/9/23
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Wondering if someone would catch that

;-)

DEC for YORK & DURHAM Region ARES.


ASEC GTA ARES section


Eric Brown

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Mar 9, 2023, 10:25:19 AM3/9/23
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I was thinking the same thing Don!





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Eric Brown
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and...@rogers.com

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Mar 9, 2023, 12:31:26 PM3/9/23
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I will jump in here and give my two cents worth.

 

I have a the Mobilinkd  TNC 3.  A TNC (Terminal Node Controller) accepts digital signalling, typically ASCI and turns that into modulated audio for the transmitter. It does the reverse on receive. Early TNC,s typically connected to the application packages  (such as winlink ) by RS 232 multi pin connected serial port. The nice thing about the Mobilinkd  TNC is that it connects to the computer by Bluetooth which makes it a very small package and no extra wiring to the computer  I can stand the handheld radio with the TNC in any good location and use the lap top anywhere within Bluetooth range.  It has its own built in rechargeable battery which will last days.

 

Winlink directly supports packet and therefore TNC,s. however this unit is not a sound card and therefore is not compatible with VARA.

 

Theoretically it should be possible to run VARA FM using the computer sound card connected directly to a radio. (just wires)  I am investigating this rather than buying  an external soundcard such as the Signalink device. My HF radio has everything I need to run VARA HF with nothing extra so do I real need one just for faster Winlink data on 2meters and 440?

 

Certainly a Signalink device simplifies everything with a pre-worked solution that nicely isolates the radio, allows the laptops sound card to be doing something else (music maybe ) and provides easy level adjustments with control knobs. Come to think about it, with the rate that Microsoft messes with my windows setup it might not be a bad purchase.

 

Finally from me, this link to a great YouTube video  “From Data Modems to Soundcards” 

 

https://youtu.be/NjUIMZ1-qP0

 

73 all

Andy VE3ORE

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