[FADCA] No-ip Service

[Rick Muething]

Let me inject something here....The entire WL2K system (including all the
interfaces like Paclink, Telpac, Telnet Server or HF) are DESIGNED to work
with a user Client (like AirMail or Paclink) not a terminal program . The
reasons are basically:

1) The user client is much better suited. (message editor, address book,
PMBO lists, freq list, attachments, Sent/received directories, connection
scripts, ...etc.  Just what everyone familiar with email clients use.
Paclink even uses the users same E-mail client (once the radio part is set
up) for the primary user interface....can't get much more user friendly and
transparent than that. That is why it is being embraced by the served
agencies...it works like their existing system only via RF.

2) Tying up RF channels (particularly precious HF channels) for keyboard
operation is a waste of bandwidth and system resources. It is much more
efficient to enter/edit a message then connect and have it auto forward.
WL2K will not even support sending and receiving by keyboard on HF by
design.
Can you imagine if the 5000+ daily Winlink messages were all sent/received
using a terminal program? We would need 10 x the RF spectrum and an army of
educators to teach users what to do. I know I see the bounce messages from
users trying (testing) using the keyboard entry:
	Incorrect addresses, Incorrect address syntax, Sending the "/EX" in the
subject field, etc etc.  Most of all this goes away with a proper client.

3)There are a few keyboard commands supported (mainly for legacy reasons).
	H, (help)
 	I  (Info)
	B Bye, Logoff, Quit
	LM  (List Messages pending for my call)
	K <MID>  Kill (mark read) the <MID>
and for Packet and Telnet only also:
	R <MID>
	SP send a message (no attachments)

These all should work...The H command will detail out the syntax if your
want to try it. I have tested all of them but not recently.  HOWEVER we
highly discourage using them because of the reasons above. I personally
think we should just abandon them in the future.

I think trying to promote the system through the use of Terminal programs
for anything but basic testing will be met with frustration and rejection.
It says to the user...see here we have this neat modern system that uses
1980 DOS/dumb terminal user interfaces...not what users want.  After all
there are currently two freely available and well supported Windows Clients
already and there is some talk of someone developing a Linux version. (not
by me!!!)

73,

Rick Muething KN6KB


-----Original Message-----
From: fadca-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:fadca-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Charles S Schuman
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 07:48 AM
To: FADCA - News Reflecter
Subject: [FADCA] No-ip Service


The No-IP service is a DNS. It looks up the IP address for the URL that
is given. What points to the FBB or the PMBO is the port number you use
with the Telnet request (23 for FBB or 12001 for W2LK).

On the other subject... Telpac, it appears you can't just fire up a
Packet terminal pgm and expect it to work.

I do remember getting thru a Telpac node with the Sysop's terminal of
FBB. Someone must have fixed that cause it don't work now.  It's tough
to sell a service that requires so much setup espically at the user end.

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