Holger,

  I tried it (Hamsphere), but with all the "extra stuff" to get for your
"rig" it made it seem so much like what RF users deal with. It does
simulate what ham radio is really like, with propagation, antennas, etc.

  While CQ100 is $39 (US Funds) a year (paid users get the QSO-TV add-on
for free, and free usage on Sunday), there's no additional cost, per se.
Plus, Echolink, D-Star, and D-Rats are free.

  However, my schedule is so hectic with doing stuff for my 92 year old
Mom (in a nursing home about an hour east of Little Rock), that I've had
little time for the BBS or ham radio lately. Plus, with having to pay
her bills (she had to be made "bankrupt" to get on the
"Medicaid" deal),
I can't afford the cost of HamSphere...and I don't have the time to use
it. Even after my Mom dies, I'll have a ton of work to do after her
passing.

  I check into ONE Packet Net (via telnet), one Echolink net, and one
CQ100 net per week. I don't use Hamsphere at all, but spend most of my
time on D-Star and D-Rats. In trying to save money, I'm going to drop
HamSphere...as I don't have the time or funds to use it. Plus, unlike
Echolink, CQ100, D-Star, and D-Rats, you can have both licensed hams and
unlicensed hams (including SWL'ers) on it.

Daryl, WX1DER

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