At 01:11 AM 11/3/2009, kc9mnl wrote:
...I thought I heard somewhere that you can use the radio to browse the
internet or send email *AT LOW SPEEDS*. Is this possible? How would I have
to configure my radio?...
Steve
KC9MNL
Hi, Steve,
Until you asked, I hadn't gone looking. "Browse the Internet" and "at low
speeds" is kind of a contradiction, and I don't see any products for that.
Anything besides small, text-only web pages would be painfully slow using
DV Data.
Limited e-mail is more realistic at the speeds available to the DV Data
mode. A quick search brought up two applications that offer some kind of
e-mail: D-RATS and DSTARCOMMS.
Here's a lot of information on using D-RATS for e-mail:
http://www.d-rats.com/documentation/4-howtos/5-internet-email/
Dan takes a cautious approach to e-mail in D-RATS, and it looks like "human
intervention" is required so that messages can be screened to eliminate
inappropriate content (business stuff, naughty language).
Here's a link to DSTARCOMMS, which is an inexpensive commercial product:
http://www.dstarcomms.com/
DSTARCOMMS sounds more like what you're looking for - a client application
that (among many features) would let you send and receive e-mail via your
D-STAR radio in DV data mode. But I couldn't quickly figure out what's
needed to make the connection to the Internet. I suppose that could be
software at the repeater/gateway. Or it could be any user radio on a
repeater or simplex with a PC/Internet connection. In any case, you'd need
more than just your own radio connection - you need something on "the other
end" to make that Internet connection.
The web site doesn't address the issue of "appropriate content." There is a
Forum section, but it requires registration to even just read forum
messages, so I didn't go there. It appears to be a British product (call
signs and location references on the sample screen-shots are all from Great
Britain). The creators are quite shy, and are identified on the web site
only as "sales (at) dstarcomms.com.
Maybe someone on the list can say more about it.
I'll add only that DV Data use on repeaters requires some care. It's true
that your station can send data while you're talking - a very cool feature.
But your station can't send data while SOMEONE ELSE is talking on that
channel. This may not be well understood. To voice uses, DV Data appears as
a "dead carrier, but your signal uses up the voice channel even if you're
not talking. Users who have their beep turned on may get a lot of annoying
beeps during your data session. Your local repeater group may have a policy
about data use.
73,
Gary KN4AQ
ARVN: Amateur Radio//Video News
Gary Pearce KN4AQ
508 Spencer Crest Ct.
Cary, NC 27513
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
919-380-9944
www.ARVideoNews.com
