Ravi, Sorry about my griping :-), it wasn't directed at you particularly, but at the general sentiment I see on the boards, that seems to permeate the discussion. Not intending to dissuade anybody from trying any way to operate, but more to say that way you choose to operate is better than not using any particular way.
Ron KE4DRF On Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 10:05 AM Ravi Ratnala <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 >> [email protected]http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >> >> >> >> >> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient&utm_term=icon> >> Virus-free. >> www.avast.com >> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient&utm_term=link> >> <#m_-1165466047055051121_m_158945851415127370_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> >> ________________________________________________ >> Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club >> >> BVARC mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >> >
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