Plus a General class or higher amateur license
krj

Doug Dotson wrote:

The entire setup consists of a radio, TNC, GPS, and a computer.

Doug, k3qt

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 22:30:57 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:

Tune your HF receiver to 10.151 LSB and listen to the APRS network on HF.
It's at the very top of the 30 meter band. The two tone modulation on LSB
puts it a hairs width inside the ham band.

=====================================

Larry, what else do you need to transmit or receive the position
reports on 10.151?

Wayne.B wrote in
:

Larry, what else do you need to transmit or receive the position
reports on 10.151?


A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF, we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98 is
such a modem:
http://www.kantronics.com/kam98.htm
It is made to directly connect to your NMEA 0183 GPS and will beacon APRS
over your HF ham SSB radio. It operates many modes:

GTOR™
PACTOR
AMTOR ARQ, FEC, SELFEC, CCIR 476 & 625
PACKET 300, 1200 or 9600 bps
RTTY
NAVTEX / AMTEX
ASCII
WEFAX
EMWIN
HF e-mail
CW
GPS NMEA-0183 compatible
TELEMETRY
REMOTE CONTROL
REMOTE SYSOP ACCESS
HOST Mode
KISS

many useful for boaters, like NAVTEX, WEFAX, PACTOR, and AMTOR which is
called SITOR on the marine bands. HF email is also included. When plugged
into the computer, the computer runs a terminal program made to command the
KAM which automates its use.

If you plan on leaving it to automate HF email delivery to its built-in
email box, get the 512K Memory expansion for it.

It'll run fine just connected directly to your 12V house batteries. It
draws little power, around 150 ma.

Of course....you'll need a GENERAL CLASS HAM LICENSE to use it. This isn't
an emergency comm.

I have a KAM+ I'm willing to part with. The only thing I've ever used it
for is APRS.

Doug

"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
Wayne.B wrote in
:

Larry, what else do you need to transmit or receive the position
reports on 10.151?


A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF, we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98 is
such a modem:
http://www.kantronics.com/kam98.htm
It is made to directly connect to your NMEA 0183 GPS and will beacon APRS
over your HF ham SSB radio. It operates many modes:

GTORT
PACTOR
AMTOR ARQ, FEC, SELFEC, CCIR 476 & 625
PACKET 300, 1200 or 9600 bps
RTTY
NAVTEX / AMTEX
ASCII
WEFAX
EMWIN
HF e-mail
CW
GPS NMEA-0183 compatible
TELEMETRY
REMOTE CONTROL
REMOTE SYSOP ACCESS
HOST Mode
KISS

many useful for boaters, like NAVTEX, WEFAX, PACTOR, and AMTOR which is
called SITOR on the marine bands. HF email is also included. When
plugged
into the computer, the computer runs a terminal program made to command
the
KAM which automates its use.

If you plan on leaving it to automate HF email delivery to its built-in
email box, get the 512K Memory expansion for it.

It'll run fine just connected directly to your 12V house batteries. It
draws little power, around 150 ma.

Of course....you'll need a GENERAL CLASS HAM LICENSE to use it. This
isn't
an emergency comm.

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:
A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF, we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98 is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?

How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?

Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?

Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:
A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF, we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98 is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?

They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.

How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?

The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.

Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?

I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by Winlink
is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.

Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?

Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

Doug, you might have given the impression SailMail requires
Pactor II. According to their primer

http://www.sailmail.com/smprimer.htm...of%20Equipment
SailMail Primer

SailMail will work with Pactor I (a la Kam+) albeit at
slower speed.

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:

A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF, we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98 is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?


They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.


How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?


The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.


Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?


I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by Winlink
is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.


Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

I was under the impression that it does require PACTOR II. Winlink does
for sure and SailMail seems to track Winlink in many ways. Pactor I is
pretty
slow at 100 baud. Sorry for the confusion. Another factor is the connect
time
restriction. At 100 baud you can't get much done with the alotted time and
it
also ties up the shore station keeping others from using it. Winlink is so
crouded
now that they have mandated Pactor II as a minimum. But at close to 1 BU
for the SCS TNCs it becomes a hefty item.

Doug, k3qt

"chuck" wrote in message
...
Doug, you might have given the impression SailMail requires Pactor II.
According to their primer

http://www.sailmail.com/smprimer.htm...of%20Equipment
SailMail Primer

SailMail will work with Pactor I (a la Kam+) albeit at slower speed.

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:

A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF,
we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98
is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?


They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.


How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?


The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.


Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?


I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by
Winlink is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.


Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

Actually, Winlink still supports Pactor I. As quoted from
their website:

You will need a radio modem (TNC) and a computer. On VHF
AX.25 Packet is used, but if you are going to connect over
an HF channel, the TNC must support either Pactor I or
(preferably) Pactor II. A number of inexpensive Pactor
I capable TNCs such as the Kantronics KAM+ and KAM-98, KAM
XL, AEA/Timewave PK-232, and the MFJ 1276 or 1278B are
supported by Airmail. However, substantially higher
speeds can be obtained by using the more expensive,
computerized SCS PTC-II Pro or PTC-IIe Pactor II modems.
In the opinion of the Winlink Development Team, it is well
worth the additional expenditure.


http://winlink.org/instructions.htm

Somehow, I also thought there had been a switch. Just shows
how good SCS's marketing is!

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:
I was under the impression that it does require PACTOR II. Winlink does
for sure and SailMail seems to track Winlink in many ways. Pactor I is
pretty
slow at 100 baud. Sorry for the confusion. Another factor is the connect
time
restriction. At 100 baud you can't get much done with the alotted time and
it
also ties up the shore station keeping others from using it. Winlink is so
crouded
now that they have mandated Pactor II as a minimum. But at close to 1 BU
for the SCS TNCs it becomes a hefty item.

Doug, k3qt

"chuck" wrote in message
...

Doug, you might have given the impression SailMail requires Pactor II.
According to their primer

http://www.sailmail.com/smprimer.htm...of%20Equipment
SailMail Primer

SailMail will work with Pactor I (a la Kam+) albeit at slower speed.

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...


On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:


A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF,
we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98
is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?


They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.



How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?


The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.



Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?


I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by
Winlink is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.



Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista
















Doug Dotson wrote:
I was under the impression that it does require PACTOR II. Winlink does
for sure and SailMail seems to track Winlink in many ways. Pactor I is
pretty
slow at 100 baud. Sorry for the confusion. Another factor is the connect
time
restriction. At 100 baud you can't get much done with the alotted time and
it
also ties up the shore station keeping others from using it. Winlink is so
crouded
now that they have mandated Pactor II as a minimum. But at close to 1 BU
for the SCS TNCs it becomes a hefty item.

Doug, k3qt

"chuck" wrote in message
...

Doug, you might have given the impression SailMail requires Pactor II.
According to their primer

http://www.sailmail.com/smprimer.htm...of%20Equipment
SailMail Primer

SailMail will work with Pactor I (a la Kam+) albeit at slower speed.

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...


On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:


A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF,
we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98
is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?


They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.



How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?


The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.



Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?


I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by
Winlink is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.



Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"chuck" wrote in message
...
Actually, Winlink still supports Pactor I. As quoted from their website:

Interesting. Winlink and Sailmail initially negotiated on I then switched to
II or III
according to capability. As of 2 years ago they (Winlink) announced that
initial connection
would be done on II, then hand off to III if the station was capable. Got
lots of email
to that affect warning everybody. I guess they changed their mind.

You will need a radio modem (TNC) and a computer. On VHF AX.25 Packet is
used, but if you are going to connect over an HF channel, the TNC must
support either Pactor I or (preferably) Pactor II. A number of
inexpensive Pactor I capable TNCs such as the Kantronics KAM+ and KAM-98,
KAM XL, AEA/Timewave PK-232, and the MFJ 1276 or 1278B are supported by
Airmail. However, substantially higher speeds can be obtained by using
the more expensive, computerized SCS PTC-II Pro or PTC-IIe Pactor II
modems. In the opinion of the Winlink Development Team, it is well worth
the additional expenditure.

All the above mentioned TNCs are computerized.

Doug,k3qt
s/v Callista



http://winlink.org/instructions.htm

Somehow, I also thought there had been a switch. Just shows how good SCS's
marketing is!

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:
I was under the impression that it does require PACTOR II. Winlink does
for sure and SailMail seems to track Winlink in many ways. Pactor I is
pretty
slow at 100 baud. Sorry for the confusion. Another factor is the connect
time
restriction. At 100 baud you can't get much done with the alotted time
and it
also ties up the shore station keeping others from using it. Winlink is
so crouded
now that they have mandated Pactor II as a minimum. But at close to 1 BU
for the SCS TNCs it becomes a hefty item.

Doug, k3qt

"chuck" wrote in message
...

Doug, you might have given the impression SailMail requires Pactor II.
According to their primer

http://www.sailmail.com/smprimer.htm...of%20Equipment
SailMail Primer

SailMail will work with Pactor I (a la Kam+) albeit at slower speed.

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
m...


On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:


A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF,
we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98
is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?


They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.



How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?


The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.



Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?


I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by
Winlink is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but
I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.



Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista
















Doug Dotson wrote:
I was under the impression that it does require PACTOR II. Winlink does
for sure and SailMail seems to track Winlink in many ways. Pactor I is
pretty
slow at 100 baud. Sorry for the confusion. Another factor is the connect
time
restriction. At 100 baud you can't get much done with the alotted time
and it
also ties up the shore station keeping others from using it. Winlink is
so crouded
now that they have mandated Pactor II as a minimum. But at close to 1 BU
for the SCS TNCs it becomes a hefty item.

Doug, k3qt

"chuck" wrote in message
...

Doug, you might have given the impression SailMail requires Pactor II.
According to their primer

http://www.sailmail.com/smprimer.htm...of%20Equipment
SailMail Primer

SailMail will work with Pactor I (a la Kam+) albeit at slower speed.

Regards,

Chuck


Doug Dotson wrote:

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
m...


On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 12:22:38 -0400, Larry W4CSC
wrote:


A computer and packet TNC (terminal node controller), which is like a
special modem for packet HF radio. To operate on HF, you'd need a TNC
made
for HF, not VHF. On VHF we operate 1200 baud with wide shift. On HF,
we
are limited to 300 baud and very narrow shift. The Kantronics KAM '98
is
such a modem:

======================

Thanks.

Several more questions:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?


They have alot of the same features except for the one you really need
for SailMail. That being Pactor II and Pactor III modes. The SCS TNCs
are the only ones to offer it because it is proprietary.



How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?


The TNC does that for you. At least my KAM Plus does.



Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?


I'm not sure, but I don;t think so. The position reporting used by
Winlink is
though. I don;t beleive SailMail has any position reporting feature but
I
haven't used SailMail for a couple of years.



Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not as far as I know, but check their website for lots of details.
www.aprs.org


Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

Wayne.B wrote in
:

Is the Kantronics TNC comparable to something like the SCS PTC-IIpro
which is the recommended unit for SailMail?

No, SCS holds the proprietary patent on Pactor II and II used by Sailmail
so you have to give them piles of money if you want to use it.


How would you automate sending a new position packet every hour or so?

You don't do that. Send the APRS packet out every 2-5 minutes or more.
APRS is a "beacon" mode. It broadcasts its data to whatever stations can
hear it. It doesn't "connect" like regular 1on1 packet stations. So, the
more often you send you broadcast packet, the more stations that will hear
it on HF in the fading and noise HF is normally full of.


Is there any acknowledgement that your position report was correctly
received?

No, it's the broadcast mode above. There are no ACKs from stations because
it is not connected to anyone in particular.


Can a position report be sent to APRS via EMAIL?


Not that I'm aware of. Bob Bruninga invented APRS at the Naval Academy
because midshipmen, being the great sailors they are, kept getting lost in
the Academy's boats...(c; So, he designed it to keep broadcasting their
positions at very regular intervals so the Academy would know....A) where
they are....B)they were still afloat enough to have a transmitter and
power. When Bob, WB4APR, an avid ham, gave away his system to the ham
community, that's when it all got out of hand. Maps were drawn of land
masses, lots of new features like automatic weather reporting (the Wx
stations you see on findu.com), emergency beacon messages, public broadcast
messages, hell the hams are even using it with slow scan TV, now.

Bob's website at the NA is:
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html
Right from the inventor, you can read all about APRS and its capabilities.
It was originally written as an MS-DOS program to run on simple computers,
but has emerged over the years. There are lots of links to Bob's servers
at the Naval Academy's server and other places so you can watch it function
across the planet in realtime. In the summertime, you can even find out
where the Academy's sailboats are with a link on this page. You'll need
java and javascript installed to look at most websites. The websites are
part of the ongoing improvements in APRS coverage.

When the Academy flotilla was in Charleston, Bob called me to ask me to go
down to the boats and see if I could figure out why their master station
quit working. I met the luckiest officer in the Navy. Here he was being
paid to sail some really fine sailboats, full of slave midshipmen, to ports
all over the place. They actually PAY him!.... One wonders whos ass you
have to kiss to get THAT job!