Hey Ron, Thanks for the reply, although your second paragraph seemed to come from from out of left field. I didn’t “gripe” about paying for software, and I certainly didn’t (and wouldn’t) “deride” any individual for asking to be compensated for his/her work. I was simply trying to make an informed decision. Perhaps you were just opining rhetorically . . . .
The remainder of your response was actually helpful, so thanks for that. Just learning that VARA FM/HF is a one-time $70 - as opposed to a recurring annual fee as I thought - increases its value to me, tenfold. And from your tests, it sounds like Ardop isn’t quite the competitor I’ve read it to be. I was hoping to hear from KJ as well, regarding my question about the prevalence of deployment of VARA on our local RMSs. I suppose I should just install the latest Winlink and spend some time poking around under the hood. When I get it up and running, I trust that I can spam you guys with test messages, without reproach. :) Thanks again, 73 de N5OL > On Dec 14, 2020, at 5:47 PM, Ron Bosch <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Ravi, > Sorry I missed the net today as well, I would have loved to put my $0.02 in. > From my perspective, I run most of my digital ARES check ins, and all of my > digital traffic handling, via Vara FM and HF. ARDOP in PERFECT band > conditions is as fast as Vara HF, but when band conditions are crap, Vara HF > is consistently more reliable, and about twice as fast. The ONLY reason I > use ARDOP or Packet for anything to do with Winlink is to fill out the > capability. I have repeatedly run tests on multiple bands by hitting the > farthest gateway I can using Vara HF and then working backwards to see where > I can make an ARDOP message go, and on average ARDOP is reliable on gateways > at about 1/2 the distance of Vara HF. On VHF/UHF, the only value of Packet > was digipeating, and the latest Vara FM upgrade gave us a digipeater > capability. The only two advantages I can see that are left for Packet and > ARDOP are: > 1. They are open source, so support is distributed > 2. They are free > > That being said, it constantly amazes me the folks who will spend $3K on a > radio gripe about $70 for software, and that no one seems to have much > problem with a company that will sell you an admittedly far superior > proprietary modem for $1500, but deride a pretty amazing programmer for > asking $70. Like someone once said; "The workman is worth the value of his > work". > > To answer your question, you only ever have to pay the $70 one time for both > FM and HF. > > Ron > KE4DRF > >> On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 5:23 PM Ravi Patrick Ratnala via BVARC >> <[email protected]> wrote: >> Well, sounds like I missed a good one today. I'm an old Winlink (well, RMS >> Express) user; been out of the game for a while, and I've missed a bunch of >> ARES drills / nets this year because they keep coinciding with family stuff. >> >> So yeah, I do have a question - I've been seeing a lot lately about the >> "new" VARA integration (particularly VARA HF), and it seems like a great way >> to streamline / normalize things between different rigs, aside from the >> purported performance increases. >> >> My question is, does the local ham community see VARA as the future? >> Meaning, is it well-supported by the RMSs in our area, and likely to remain >> so? FWIW, I intend to use this solution on both FM (VHF) and HF. >> >> I guess a second / corollary question is, how does VARA compare to Ardop? >> My understanding is that VARA requires a $69/year license to unlock the >> severely choked bandwidth in the demo version, while Ardop performs just as >> well as full-version VARA, but is free. >> >> And - does the $69 license cover both the VARA FM and the VARA HF licenses, >> or do I need to pay twice? >> >> In case you haven't guessed, I'm trying to decide if I really need to drop >> $69 (or $138) to play this particular game. >> >> Thanks, and 73, >> Ravi, N5OL >> >> >> On 12/14/2020 1:00 PM, KJ Anderson via BVARC wrote: >>> Today’s topic is on Winlink. The following is all provided by KJ5EMP, I >>> had to leave the net early for a meeting. Please feel free to reach out to >>> me, I’m happy to help. 😊 >>> >>> https://winlink.org/ >>> Download Winlink Express Here: >>> https://downloads.winlink.org/User%20Programs/Winlink_Express_install_1-5-33-0.zip >>> If using Winlink Express, with an internet connection fill out the form >>> presented on first startup after installation. See the help article "Basic >>> Configuration" for guidance. Be sure to include a password and password >>> recovery address. Click 'Update'. Winlink Express makes the process easy. >>> Your account is created! >>> Make sure you update your grid square info >>> KJ5EMP Strongly recommends paying the fee for the license key, it’s good >>> for all your installs on all computers >>> Top center of the software, select “Telnet Winlink” and you can immediately >>> send/receive emails without a radio connection (obviously won’t work >>> without active internet) >>> To see the relay stations near you: >>> Top center of the software, select “Packet Winlink” and open a session >>> A new window will open, in the top center of this connection window select >>> “Channel Selection” >>> Top center of the Channel Selection window, click on “Update Table Via >>> Internet” and you’ll see all the repeaters with RMS drains to the servers >>> around you. There will be many. >>> Tune your radio to the top station near you and listen, it will sound a lot >>> like APRS traffic (simplex, no tones) >>> Email servers around the world that are all connected >>> Can be used for many things other than email, including local weather >>> reports and position reports >>> Also used for emergency communication and the transmission of ICS >>> forms/radiograms >>> Relay (RMS) stations located in volunteers’ homes or at repeater sites can >>> upload/download to the servers or to each other >>> Individuals can send messages to the relays or directly to each other >>> Works with or without internet >>> Works via UHF, VHF, HF, all ham radio frequencies >>> Many different digital communication standards supported >>> (packet/vara/ardop/pactor/etc.) >>> Some radios have native TNC’s (Kenwood TM-D700, TM-D710) that don’t require >>> external modems, but limit you to a specific digital mode (TM-D700 will do >>> standard packet, but not pactor which requires its own external modem) >>> https://harriscountyares.org/index.php maintains many of the Winlink drains >>> and runs a net every Sunday evening at 8pm local, including digital >>> check-ins >>> To learn more about formal traffic nets, and how to use the forms in >>> Winlink, take IS-100 and IS-200 from FEMA, EC-01 from ARRL (all free of >>> charge, but will take ~5 solid days to complete) >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> KJ Anderson >>> >>> 253-380-2636 >>> >>> www.linkedin.com/in/scrumnerd >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ________________________________________________ >>> Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club >>> >>> BVARC mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >> >> >> Virus-free. www.avast.com >> ________________________________________________ >> Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club >> >> BVARC mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org
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