[FADCA] Points of Clarification

[fadca@mailman.qth.net]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: bud Thompson [mailto:budt@cfl.rr.com]
> Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 05:39 AM
> To: fadca@mailman.qth.net
> Cc: Rick Muething KN6KB
> Subject: Re: [FADCA] Points of Clarification
> 
> 
> Deltona
> Friday April 12 0533EST
> 
> Chuck:
> 
> Rick KN6KB is developing that and we are doing some alpha 
> tests through the
> layered network and X1J flat network.
> 
> He can tell you all about it..
I am looking forward to seeing it. It probably goes hand in hand with some
of the stuff that we are looking at here in the area for using palm type
devices to handle traffic in and out of a disaster area. Also the other side
of that is the use of 802.11 devices both in the hand held and at the switch
site (that is one of the additional neat things about moving to LINUX FPAC,
the 802.11 cards are supported there) at this point (using hand held devices
and 802.11 devices) we are beginning to do really high speed data over the
air. Of course the 802.11 devices do not have great range, but the best
data network concept is that based on small cells, at first these cells
appear in the high population areas, the traditional high power lower speed
systems continue to handle the wide area operations, but 802.11 starts
starts appearing wherever there is a LINUX device, also with some
direcionality
we cans start LINKING the switch sites with 802.11, now we are starting to
get into some real data pipes. By way there are several groups around the
country that are already using 802.11 devices for both linking and user
access.
Wisconson is one that comes to mind right off the bat.

Ohhh, so much to play with and so little time to play!!!

> 
> By the way- the sound card interfacing sounds very 
> intriguing.  If that
> leads to replacing TNCs/Data controllers, even if it takes a 
> more expensive
> computer at the LINUX/FPAC site, after the third TNC that is 
> cheap compared
> to all the hardware/TNCs required. A related issue is that 
> TNC development /
> support by manufacturers is at a standstill at best... not 
> much going on
> there.

In truth the sound card is where most of the work is going on
at the time. I see new drivers (I wish you all would get on these
list I am on, I think Russ is on one of them, but line LINUX HAMS
and the TAPR list (LINUX and Spread Spectrum) have interesting stuff
coming down the line all the time.

Indeed you are correct, the commercial TNC work except for the Germans
is I guess dead. But the sound card work is going on very well, and
as you pointed out, the cost of a sound card as compared to a TNC is
now getting to where you are really getting a lot of bang for your
buck. If you want to change modulation, just change the driver, LINUX
and Win2k allow this to happen on the fly so you no longer need to
reboot the machine to do so. A switch does not need bells and whistles,
it is a dead head box (no monitor,kbd,mouse, or all of the usual stuff
found on your desktop) And there is now a administration tool for LINUX
called Webmin that allows you to administer the machine remotely so even
that is taken care of. 
> 
> Keep the investigation going.
> 
> Oh.. thanks for the Power Point pix.. may I have your 
> permission to use it
> in my presentation at TLH if I get that far?

Yes you have my full permission to use the drawing, I did it for the use
of FADCA. I will turn the thing into a GIF file and we can use it on the
web site. I will do you a new one that adds the SEDAN piece into it. It
is actually already in there as SEDAN uses NR as the network layer. If I
forget holler at me. 

Again the thing I like about moving to LINUX is it allows us to run all
of the available protocols, that opens the door for experimentation and
also lets us see which protocols behave best under given conditions. And
at the same time no one can feel slighted because his/her protocol is not
available state wide.

My complaint with the SEDAN thing is that they had made it exclusive, i.e.
that is the ONLY way into the SEOC, and in this day and age that is going
back to 1986, which ain't fun.



> 


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