Packet Radio 2022
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Matthew
Mar 13, 2023, 5:45:48 PM3/13/23
to London Hackspace Radio
Ahoy!
A number of us are attempting to build a national packet network. Packet Radio was popular in the 1980s and can be used for routing messages in both email and "instant" (ish) formats, as well as downloading small files
The epicenter started off in Berkshire and Hamsphire in 2019 but there's now small clusters of packet nodes around Reading, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Bristol-ish and Southampton.
Try as I might, I've still not been able to reliably connect from my QTH in Watford to Reading. I can just about connect to GB7WOD but it's not really usable.
Is anyone in London interested in playing packet? All you need to get started is a half decent VHF radio and a sound interface of some variety. I'm still working on writing documentation but if you're interested drop a reply and I can hopefully give some advice on what you need to get setup if you're not already familiar with it.
Cheers
Matthew
2E0SIP
A number of us are attempting to build a national packet network. Packet Radio was popular in the 1980s and can be used for routing messages in both email and "instant" (ish) formats, as well as downloading small files
The epicenter started off in Berkshire and Hamsphire in 2019 but there's now small clusters of packet nodes around Reading, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Bristol-ish and Southampton.
Try as I might, I've still not been able to reliably connect from my QTH in Watford to Reading. I can just about connect to GB7WOD but it's not really usable.
Is anyone in London interested in playing packet? All you need to get started is a half decent VHF radio and a sound interface of some variety. I'm still working on writing documentation but if you're interested drop a reply and I can hopefully give some advice on what you need to get setup if you're not already familiar with it.
Cheers
Matthew
2E0SIP
Nigel Worsley
Mar 13, 2023, 6:37:56 PM3/13/23
to lhs-...@googlegroups.com
I have a few Tait TM8110s waiting for a good use, this seems like it
qualifies :)
What bit rate is normal for packet these days?
If I were to get REALLY enthusiastic I could make a TNC board to go
inside the radio, but I should keep things simple to begin with as
otherwise it will never get finished.
Nigle
M0ZFJ
qualifies :)
What bit rate is normal for packet these days?
If I were to get REALLY enthusiastic I could make a TNC board to go
inside the radio, but I should keep things simple to begin with as
otherwise it will never get finished.
Nigle
M0ZFJ
Matthew
Mar 13, 2023, 7:08:49 PM3/13/23
to London Hackspace Radio
1200 baud is still the norm for general access as its fairly forgiving. 9600 baud is a bit more fussy, but the
TM8110s are ideal.
G6VZM and I have been able to reliably exchange APRS packets already which is a good sign.
Cheers
G6VZM and I have been able to reliably exchange APRS packets already which is a good sign.
Cheers
Chris Wilkie
Mar 14, 2023, 5:29:10 AM3/14/23
to London Hackspace Radio
Much as I would be interested in hacking in this realistically I am never going to get around to it. Or more likely, something more important (eg my family) will suffer if I take on yet another project.
However, if someone with more time wanted to set up a node at Creslow Park (location link below) I am more than happy to provide resources eg indoor space, power, place for an aerial, connectivity, etc. We can BGP announce a 44/8 block too for bonus points. The site is already on top of a hill and away from RF interference although there is already a UHF DMR repeater on the site. I suspect you would get a link to Milton Keynes from here and potentially to Watford too. I can get to GB3AL on a handheld for example.
Chris
Matthew
Mar 14, 2023, 6:48:37 AM3/14/23
to London Hackspace Radio
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the offer, that does look potentially useful for getting Milton Keynes a bit closer to Oxford / Reading and the South West.
There's some surplus equipment floating around so I'm sure someone can put something together.
Could someone potentially come and do some "surveying" at some point?
Cheers
Matthew
2E0SIP
Thanks for the offer, that does look potentially useful for getting Milton Keynes a bit closer to Oxford / Reading and the South West.
There's some surplus equipment floating around so I'm sure someone can put something together.
Could someone potentially come and do some "surveying" at some point?
Cheers
Matthew
2E0SIP
Matthew
Mar 14, 2023, 7:00:04 AM3/14/23
to London Hackspace Radio
Just spotted we are in fact 3 months into 2023 so, excuse the subject line ...
Chris Wilkie
Mar 14, 2023, 7:06:48 AM3/14/23
to London Hackspace Radio
By all means come over/send someone over.
Actually I have a Kenwood mobile and TNC I could temporarily loan if that helps. Would need an aerial to be rigged and a 12v PSU. Presumably the only other element needed would be an SBC of some kind?
On Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 10:48:37 AM UTC Matthew wrote:
Matthew
Mar 19, 2023, 3:47:13 PM3/19/23
to London Hackspace Radio
Hi All,
To update, a few people have gotten in touch one way or another:
Szymon M0GZP near Wembley has expressed an interest and we've had a reasonable QSO on 2m.
Mike G8LKD who also isn't too far from Wembley is interested, we're going to test simplex FM at some point.
I've spoken with Chris off-list who has put me in touch with Vic who already has a VHF Colinear erected on the site. If they get time they'll do some experiments with APRS and I'll put together some packet hardware to put something up at Creslow Park. Looks like it could be useful for joining things up or at least reaching Milton Keynes.
MB7NGP at Gilwell Park (Not too far from GB3OY) should be switching on in the coming weeks and will link London into the other stuff that's going on nationally, albeit over IP at first.
Cheers
Matthew
2E0SIP
To update, a few people have gotten in touch one way or another:
Szymon M0GZP near Wembley has expressed an interest and we've had a reasonable QSO on 2m.
Mike G8LKD who also isn't too far from Wembley is interested, we're going to test simplex FM at some point.
I've spoken with Chris off-list who has put me in touch with Vic who already has a VHF Colinear erected on the site. If they get time they'll do some experiments with APRS and I'll put together some packet hardware to put something up at Creslow Park. Looks like it could be useful for joining things up or at least reaching Milton Keynes.
MB7NGP at Gilwell Park (Not too far from GB3OY) should be switching on in the coming weeks and will link London into the other stuff that's going on nationally, albeit over IP at first.
Cheers
Matthew
2E0SIP
Matthew
Mar 31, 2023, 4:29:58 PM3/31/23
to London Hackspace Radio
Hi All,
To centralise the national packet activity a new mailing list has been created on groups.io https://groups.io/g/ukpacketradio
For local experiments etc you're still welcome to use this list.
Cheers
Matthew
To centralise the national packet activity a new mailing list has been created on groups.io https://groups.io/g/ukpacketradio
For local experiments etc you're still welcome to use this list.
Cheers
Matthew
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