[FADCA] NTS/ARES/RACES - Layered Network Growing - Now Let's Use It

Sat, 7 Feb 2004 16:10:23 -0500

HI,

WE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE OLD BBS ACCEPTING 'CANNED' TRAFFIC WHEN WE
USED THE OLD SOFTWARE. (ON DISK AND SELF FED)  THE BBS WENT DOWN AND THE
SYSOP DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE A COPY OF THE SOFTWARE.  HE LEFT AND I WAS
REQUESTED TO TRY TO GET IT BACK ON THE AIR.

WHEN THE BBS WAS PUT UP WITH FBB, I HAD TO MAKE A LOT OF TRIPS TO THE EOC
TO RESET THE SYSTEM AS IT WOULD NOT HANDLE TRAFFIC.  I HAVE NOW
RESTRICTED NTS TO KEYBOARDED, NOT CANNED.  THIS HAS CAUSED A GREAT
REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF NTS UTILIZING THE BBS.

WHEN THERE IS A CHANGE, WHERE WE START TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS DUE TO A
PROGRAM, I CALL THAT PROGRAM UNFRIENDLY.  I AM NOT A POLITICALLY CORRECT
TYPE PERSON, HIDING THE TRUTH TO SOUND LIKE ONE OF THE APOLOGISTS.

I FIND THE FBB UNNECESSARILY CONVOLUTED AND THE DOCUMENTATION A JUMBLE. 
I PRESUME THIS IS PARTLY DUE TO TRANSLATION, THOUGH I BELIEVE THAT
SEPARATE SECTIONS BY OPERATING SYSTEM WOULD HAVE MADE UNDERSTANDING
EASIER.  ALSO MANY THINGS ARE WRITTEN FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE
SUBJECT, BUT ARE OF NO HELP TO THE BEGINNER.

WE HAVE STARTED A SEARCH FOR THE OLD PROGRAM, BUT ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN
THE NEW PROGRAM TALKED ABOUT ON THE REFLECTOR.

AS I STATED, THE NTS TRAFFIC NET CONTROLLER HAS REQUESTED OF ME THAT WE
RETURN TO THE PREVIOUS PROGRAM OR FIND SOMETHING WHERE WE WILL NOT HAVE
THE PROBLEMS.  ERGO, THE SEARCH.

THE 'REASON' FOR THE BBS/NODE HAS BEEN TO PROVIDE A LOCAL DIGITAL
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK FOR THE TRANSFER OF BULK INFORMATIONAL MATERIAL
BETWEEN THE SERVED SHELTERS AND THE EOC.  THIS IS TO ACCOMMODATE THE
LOGISTICS FOR STORM/DISASTER NEEDS LOCALLY.  

TRAFFIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN 'TOLERATED' AS AN OFF-SEASON ACTIVITY TO MAKE
CERTAIN THAT THE SYSTEM WAS FUNCTIONING.  I AM STILL LOOKING FOR THE
SOFTWARE TO USE IN THE SHELTERS.  MOST OF THE OPERATORS WILL NEVER HAVE
TOUCHED PACKET BEFORE AND WILL HAVE NO USE FOR IT OUTSIDE OF THE DISASTER
FUNCTION, THEREFORE THE NEED FOR A SIMPLE SYSTEM WHERE A FORM MAY JUST BE
FILLED OUT AND SENT TO THE EOC.

NO MATTER WHAT SOFTWARE OR TNC'S ARE USED, THE OBJECT IS TO KEEP THE
BBS/NODE IN OPERATION.  THIS IS MY PRIMARY GOAL.

73,
TOM, KF4UTH

On Sat, 7 Feb 2004 10:46:09 -0500 "David Calder" <[email protected]>
writes:
> 
> 	Instead of saying it's not NTS friendly. Tell us what you 
> didn't
> 	like about it? Maybe we can educate or change something.
> 
> 	Thanks
> 	Dave
> 	n4zkf
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] 
> [mailto:[email protected]]
> On Behalf Of [email protected]
> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 3:47 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [FADCA] NTS/ARES/RACES - Layered Network Growing - Now
> Let's Use It
> 
> 
> HI,
> OUR LOCAL TRAFFIC HANDLERS HAVE FOUND FBB TO NOT BE NTS FRIENDLY.  
> WE
> HAVE REPEATEDLY HAD TROUBLE WITH THE BBS SINCE GOING TO FBB.  THIS 
> WAS
> NEVER THE CASE PRIOR TO THAT PROGRAM.  THE NTS NET CONTROLLER HAS 
> ASKED
> FOR ME TO REPLACE FBB WITH AN NTS-FRIENDLY PROGRAM, IF A NEW ONE 
> EXISTS.
> 
> YOU MIGHT CONSIDER WHAT YOU WANT AND HOW NTS IS HANDLED BEFORE GOING 
> TO
> AN FBB STANDARD.
> 73,
> TOM, KF4UTH
> LEE COUNTY
> W4LX / BBS  -  W4LX-2 / NODE 
> 
> On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 11:40:55 -0500 "bud thompson" <[email protected]>
> writes:
> > NTS/ARES/RACES - Layered Network Growing - Now Let's Use It
> > 
> > Get out your map of Florida -
> > 
> > Before Hurricane season starts this year we should have a 
> > full-functioning
> > LAN/switch at Clermont with backbone links westward toward Tampa, 
> > eastward
> > toward Orlando and northward toward Ocala. The Orlando switch 
> should 
> > be
> > relocated with resulting 24/7 linking all along the East Coast of 
> > Florida.
> > Getting messages from Tampa to the East Coast and up the central 
> > ridge to
> > Gainesville should be straight forward.  There may be more growing 
> 
> > and
> > upgrading of the network as well.
> > 
> > We need to promote the use of the Florida Layered Network by 
> locals 
> > on their
> > respective LANs.  One way to do this is to establish a 
> > store-and-forward BBS
> > on as many LANs as possible - the locals feel an attachment to 
> their 
> > LAN
> > BBS.
> > 
> > Bring the network to the attention of local clubs, ARES/RACES 
> groups 
> > and
> > NTS/traffic operators.
> > 
> > While the NTS is generally not going to be with us a lot longer, 
> > (REF: ARRL
> > VRC Final Report) there are still voice and some CW nets that are 
> > handling
> > such 3rd party messages.  Ardent traffic handlers should be a good 
> 
> > source of
> > recruits for using the network for EMCOMMs.
> > 
> > I believe we can attract some attention to the network (and 
> digital
> > applications) if we simply get the LAN BBSs all configured to 
> > properly
> > process NTS traffic.  (See NTS MESSAGES ON THE DIGITAL NETWORKS 
> and 
> > STATUS
> > OF DIGITAL NTS IN FLORIDA at http://www.fadca.org/articles.html.
> > 
> > Of course, we need more LAN BBSs!
> > 
> > The hardest part is getting the existing traffic handlers to take 
> > advantage
> > of this.  They will have to get on packet and the network to 
> utilize 
> > what we
> > can provide.  Simply putting an NTS message on the packet network 
> > and having
> > it automatically forwarded to the Home BBS for that ZIPFIVE is not 
> 
> > going to
> > do any good - there MUST be someone at that Home BBS/LAN who will 
> > (1) look
> > for incoming NTS traffic and (2) deliver or otherwise process it.
> > 
> > I check in to the daily Florida Phone Net (3940 0700E).  This past 
> 
> > week I've
> > noted NTS messages for the following destinations go un serviced 
> on 
> > the
> > session where first listed:  Sarasota, Cocoa, Tampa, (and two or 
> > three
> > others I now forget).  Every week there are five to 15 messages 
> that 
> > cannot
> > be handled in reasonable time.
> > 
> > What would be neat would be for me to offer to take any messages 
> for 
> > which
> > there is no immediate relay and simply put them on my local BBS on 
> 
> > the
> > packet network.  Such messages would be autoforwarded to the 
> proper 
> > Home
> > BBS, and be picked up sometime during the day or early evening by 
> a
> > participating NTS operator for delivery or relay.
> > 
> > I believe if every message on the Florida Phone Net that could not 
> 
> > be
> > handled by voice on the session when first listed were handled 
> this 
> > way, it
> > would not be long before many of the traffic handlers on the 
> Florida 
> > Phone
> > Net would also get on packet.
> > 
> > First thing we need is an updated list of BBSs presently in 
> service. 
> >  We
> > need CALL, SYSOP, LAN ADDRESS, and Hierarchal packet address of 
> the 
> > sysop.
> > (Of course e-mail address will also be useful.)
> > 
> > Then we need a list of packet-ready NTS operators (or those 
> > interested) who
> > are able to use the network.  We need the list of ZIPFIVE zip 
> codes 
> > each NTS
> > operator can handle (deliver or relay), and what his/her home BBS 
> is
> > (Hierarchal packet address will do.)
> > 
> > After that - it's all just management, building a simple data 
> base, 
> > and
> > configuration for routing at each BBS.
> > 
> > Oh.. I made a mistake in the third paragraph above. FIRST thing we 
> 
> > need
> > is someone to take on this management job.
> > 
> > What say?
> > 73,
> > 
> > bud N0IA
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > FADCA mailing list
> > [email protected]
> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/fadca
> > 
> 
> 
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