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Hello Tony, and this topic was making the rounds on packet
a few years ago.

 -=> Quoting Tony Langdon to Holger Granholm <=-
 
 TL>As for Echolink, maybe you should hook it up to your radio...  It'll
 TL>give you experience that was once only available to repeater owners.
 TL>And you can then make sure you're using radio at your end. :)

  Echolink and it's earlier program ILink were not only open to
Repeater groups, but also individuals that wanted the program
and some made their equipment available to many at the time
such as 10meters,  6meters ... and there was also standalone
simplex channels used.

With the repeaters, it only cutout dealing with clubs and owners
that had their links going off and on and Out-of-Service.  With
echolink  it takes you everywhere...worldwide, even driving
along if you can drive and dial at the same time.
 
 HG> I refuse to accept radio communication where you use internet as a
 HG> medium. The only real amateur radio QSO:s use radio waves all the way.

What is happening Holger, is HF links, or HF forwarding of packet
is going..going...gone.  VHF and UHF linking is also dropping,
due to clubs and individuals seemingly not wanting to co-operate.
SO...in the end....with all this radio waves stuff, going...those
wanting to keep BBS for packet, are going to Internet to forward
it ... As well to reduce the hassles, with clubs and groups and
people...repeaters are going also to Internet.

 TL> I disagree, otherwise we'd still be using spark if we denounced every
 TL> change.  However, I do draw the line at omitting the RF altogether, so
 TL> I don't see the point of trying to work PC - PC on Echolink, unless
 TL> it's for a specific purpose (I do use it to support emergency nets that
 TL> way). 

  We had to use "spark" as it was the first !   Why we don't is well
known, but then even as "spark" was used, and morse code was king in
"spark" ... many hams were striving to have the voice transmission
capablities...and Fesserton in 1909, did transmit voice, and music
to ships at sea to kick off the am voice days...which led to SSB
FM and while there is a change to Internet, it is only due to
the circimstances, that have driven people to use it, or let their
systems die.   I can not afford to keep a HF forwarding and HF BBS
going.  I can not afford on my pension to do a lot of things I
used to do, and if I move into an apartment or seniors place the
radio activities are dead...and I will drop the licence and head
into Internet 100%.

 TL> One of my Echolink systems is probably one of the more unusual.  It
 TL> actually runs SSB on 2m and is a development prototype for a reliable
 TL> simplex link (with the intent to be able to support emergency traffic,
 TL> without having to upgrade the install base of ham gear in the field).
 TL>
 TL> 73 de VK3JED
 TL> http://www.vkradio.com
 TL> Sysop Reflector Central BBS
 TL> ... So easy, a child could do it. Child sold separately.
 TL> -!- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47
 TL> -!- SBBSecho 2.11-Win32
 TL>  ! Origin: Vertrauen - vert.synchro.net (1:103/705)

  One of the laughs I had recently innvolved the Emergency Exercise
here, with 6 hams.   Only one was "live" on the scene.  The others
were checking out repeaters via the Internet.

  If the need arose, it would be quite different from "Field Day"
and these "Emergency Tests" and telephone lines or Internet.  The
big blackout, and god forgive me..a war would end Intenet and 
the telephone use, as people would be told to stay off the phone
to allow them to be used by local, area and the national services.
Our test showed me 1/6 would be there from the ham community.

  All this looks great in planning, and all...but when these things
happen, it always shows that after all the planning, a lot of
the time thing do not go exactly as planned.  And our Big Blackout
here was a prime example.   I powered up my radios with the car and
had fuel on hand in case the batterys went down.   The repeaters
mostly switched to their batterys and CW'ed me as being on low power.
Not too many were on the air.   I did hear one guy say he was on
his way to his ARES post, somewhere to the south....but in emergencys
they do ask highways be cleared of traffic, and everyone stay put.
Oh well...

  The biggest example of what could happen, showed me, that if
something did happen again, neighbours would have to for whatever
time factor look after themselves and wait.  With the radio
we were able to figure out what was going on, and to what extent
and from that we took care of the neighbourhood.  We pooled things
and we organized and did what we had to do.   I had not seen this
since the war.

  RADIO first .... I think we are making a mistake mating the two
as if it fails, only the radio will remain.   As a ham, my hobby
is only radio.  Thats it.  Packet is ok, but it is getting to

 >>> Continued to next message...
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