[Ham-Mac] Winlink on A Mac?

[Bob Nielsen]

The latest version of JNOS <http://www.langelaar.net/projects/jnos2/>  
has client capability with Winlink 2000.  According to the website  
there is now an experimental version for OS X.

There has also been some development (on Linux) of alternatives,  
using PSK <http://pskmail.wikispaces.com> and other HF digital  
modes.  Since this is open-source it seems feasible to port it to OS X.

Bob, N7XY

On Jun 8, 2006, at 10:54 AM, Richard Rucker wrote:

> On Jun 8, 2006, at 12:03 PM, K4CJX wrote:
>
>> Winlink 2000 is not for the end user and is more of a server
>> application.
>>
>> Steve, k4cjx
>> Winlink development team
>>
>
> Thanks, Steve, for your prompt reply.  Putting your comment with  
> this from <http://homepage.mac.com/rrucker/chapter91.html>:
>
> ================
> "There are 3 full-time, redundant Common Message Servers (CMS)  
> located in secure facilities near Chicago, San Diego, and Perth,  
> Australia. Each CMS is connected to all Participating Message Box  
> Office (PMBO) stations worldwide and to each other via the  
> Internet. Any CMS can handle the message load for the entire  
> network, so if one or two CMSs go down temporarily, the network  
> remains in operation.
>
> "PMBOs are there 24/7 to provide wireless connectivity via PACTOR  
> for the various users of WL2K. To connect, you use your WL2K  
> station to log into a PMBO within radio range. Once logged in, that  
> PMBO knows who you are and checks to see if you have any mail  
> waiting on one of the servers. If so, it forwards that mail to you.
>
> "It also checks to see if there are any messages waiting to be sent  
> in your station's out-box. If so, each outgoing e-mail message is  
> forwarded to one of the servers and is redundantly stored on all  
> three. From there, your outgoing message is forwarded either via  
> the Internet to its intended destination, or if the addressee is  
> another WL2K user, to the PMBO that most recently had contact with  
> that user."
> ===============
> I interpret your reply this way:  Winlink 2000 (WL2K) software is  
> used to form the network consisting of the 3 servers and the PMBO  
> stations, but does not include end user software; in particular,  
> Airmail.  That seems to fit with what Jim Scott told us about  
> getting set up and configured as an end-user of Winlink:
>
> =====================
> "A Winlink user station consists of an HF radio, Pactor controller,  
> a computer running Windows, and the AirMail application. To put it  
> into operation,
>
>     * install Airmail on your computer
>     * connect computer and controller, either USB or serial
>     * connect controller to HF radio (ICOM 706 is a favorite)
>     * launch Airmail and configure (easily) via a dialog box"
> =====================
> So, what a Mac OS X user, or Linux user, might want is, say, a  
> version of Airmail that uses the APIs of the host OS and that is  
> compiled to run natively on the target machine.
>
>> Airmail will work with a MAC. See Jim Corenman, the author of  
>> Airmail about this.
>>
>
> Recall my quote that
>
> "Jim Corenman, KE6RK, developed a client application for Winlink/ 
> Netlink called Airmail. Rick Muething, KN6KB.. later took over the  
> programming effort that KE6RK has started."
>
> This leads me to believe that Jim Corenman is no longer an active  
> developer of Airmail.   I just googled on his name and found some  
> dated documents, such as
>
> "A Pactor Primer
> Getting Started with Ham Radio Email
> ©1997, 98 Jim Corenman KE6RK
> Revised 16 Jan '98 15z"
>
> but nothing recent.
>
>
> I also googled for "Airmail Macintosh" and found only a posting  
> from March 1999 entitled "USING AIRMAIL WITH APPLE COMPUTERS"  
> written by  "Tom MacNeil- KB7WIK of Yacht Robin" and he writes in  
> part:
>
> "Your Mac must be capable of running one of the windows 95  
> emulation programs. I am using Virtual PC by Connectix (Any  
> Powerbook after the 3400 and all G3 Macs..."
>
> This suggests that Airmail was never developed to run on any Mac  
> OS, and nothing has emerged to run on the most recent versions of  
> Mac OS X.
>
>
> IMHO, to be a viable solution for Mac and Linux users who don't  
> want to have to buy a Windows machine nor run Windows NT from  
> Microsoft on, say, BootCamp or Parallels , there is not yet a  
> satisfactory end-user solution.
>
>
>> You are also welcomed to develop a system with open architecture  
>> that will
>> run on the MAC. I know the Amateur community would appreciate it.
>>
>> Steve, k4cjx
>>
>
> I hope that Don Agro, VE3VRW, of Dog Park Sofware, and Chris  
> Smolinski, N3JLY, of Black Cat Systems --  to name just two  
> competent Mac developers -- have read your invitation and are  
> giving it serious thought, if they haven't already.
>
> While we're on the subject of Internet-compatible email for  
> wireless operators, what about end users who want to use computers  
> running either Mac OS X or Linux and who want to transmit Internet- 
> compatible email with attachments using  VHF, UHF, or D-link  
> transceivers, rather than HF transceivers?
>
> My interests lie in the latter domai since my current operating  
> focus is on local connectivity in support of emergency operations,  
> where the link distances can be kept short, but and higher data  
> rates are needed.  Ideally, the e-mail application used by one of  
> these wireless end-users should work essentially the same,  
> regardless of the frequency, bandwidth, and modulation details of  
> the physical links that each user might have available to him.
>
> Dick Rucker, KM4ML_______________________________________________
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