"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