John Bradley wrote: > "ARES has responded with a command unit which has HF data capability. This > could include a WIFI router so that laptops could be included from the local > EOC. This command unit would work back into an EOC with data and internet > connections. ARES would be tasked with passing text messages, destined both > for the EOC and to other outside agencies and base hospitals. WL2K is an > option , other SMTP sound card modes..... at higher speeds would also work, > such as RFSM8000. > > What would be our non VHF options? " > Several answers:
1) It's going to sound like Heresy, but paclink, airmail, and WL2K is specifically designed for your scenario, works now, and with an SCS P3 modem (expensive & proprietary as it is) is very hard to beat. Essentially an off the shelf solution. Laptops, wireless, auto gateway to HF, and to the target recipient over the HF Horizon. But there are many who cannot or don't want to play SCS P3 modem. Which leads to: 2) Your command unit HF control operator (you have one, don't you) takes the traffic aggregated by the jnos or linux box, and initiates into the HFLink system using ALE. Can send direct to an SMTP address, or into the WL2K system. Yep, it's a manual cut & paste right now into pc-ale on the sending end, but it works. And there are some who say all traffic should be hand entered. (I'm not one of them). PC-ALE has hooks for drop box type operation, and we have had plans for similar in marsale. I'm sure this won't satisfy you, but having an HF drop box (in any) program does not address the local (command unit) end of the handoff. HFLink.net already delivers message traffic via HF from multiple HW radios + the ALE variants. Not perfect, I have a nasty bug to chase down which impacts some multi-line DBM messages, but we are headed there. 3) So you want to bridge two sites not using the internet? Same deal. There is no restriction that bbslink has to run on the Internet. You can run it on the local lan in your two command vans. SMTP is SMTP. Your JNOS instance coresident with bbslink does the handoff/gateway to your laptops. 4) You dis single line messages quite frequently, but there is lot's of traffic flying around on APRS. Same concept with ALE AMD's, and we look to allow interoperation between the two. AMD's get through when other stuff does not. Nope, it won't be the proverbial "my served agency wants to send a 600k powerpoint, nothing else is acceptable" solution, but about a zillion 170 character SMS messages are sent in the cellular system each month. Yep, 90% are kids, but it's a useful medium even with restrictions. Nothing in your scenario justifies creating (yet another) ham focused messaging layer. Between existing JNOS/FBB/WL2K systems plus native SMTP handoff, ALE/BBSLink can pass traffic in pretty much any scenario. Again, PC-ALE has rudimentary message box buried in it, but we've focused our efforts in other directions. Taking ownership of a message for future delivery is a serious commitment. Tools like JNOS, and linux postfix type systems are far better at implementing the rules, retries, etc. HF should just be transport. What I have spent some design time on is how you could have marsale be an outbound transport to a sendmail/postfix system. (And possibly JNOS) But it would still be transport only, a plugin used instead of SMTP based on rules in the mail system config. It succeeds, or fails. No in-between. No store & forward on the ALE/bbslink side. JNOS is an old friend. I was compiling, tweaking, and using Phil Karn's KA9Q, and then later, NOS back in the early 80's, and used it as a 56k packet gateway from my pc & workstation lan starting in '85. There might even be some of my code/comments buried in there, I'd have to look. It's the swiss army knife of amateur messaging. If I were to try to implement an auto forward outbound gateway into the ALE BBSLink system I'd probably leverage JNOS to aggregate & hand off. But I have been down the path of trying to make transparent TNC replacement plug-in using KISS. Lot's of session/link decisions would have to be made, each with tradeoffs. It's not just connect the dots. Not impossible, just analysis & design. If winmor goes into production that may be another alternative. But you still have to do the session stuff. KISS just sends bytes, initiates connects, and detects connections. So whether f6fbb, winlink, or whatever, that has to be addressed. Have fun, Alan km4ba
