Packet in Michigan especially Midland

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Packet in Michigan (especially Midland)

• MARC meeting 2007-02-01

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What is Packet

• Packet is a way to connect one computer to
  another over radio
• The computer may be very simple, i.e. a TNC, or
  it may be more complex
• The TNC turns computer data into a series of
  tones that can go across the radio
• The TNC decodes the tones from the radio and
  turns them into data
• A high-quality sound card might be used instead
  of a TNC

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Why is it called packet?

• Data is grouped into fixed-sized packets before
  transmission
• Each packet is acknowledged by the remote end,
  and if a packet fails, it is retransmitted
• Packets do not need to be acknowledged in order

• For this reason, some APRS TNCs, notably those
  embedded in radios, are not useable for
  traditional packet
• (APRS is basically one-way packet
  packets are not acknowledged by the receiver)

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Packet
Convert to RF
Packetize and convert to tones
Data
Already tones from Sound card
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Digipeating
Digipeater
Unlike FM, both stations are on the same
frequency, and the repeating is offset in time
rather than frequency
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AX.25

• Basic packet protocol
• Based on X.25
• Synchronous rather than asynchronous
• Route is embedded in packet
• This means that the transmitting station must
  know how to get from A to B

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Example

• Suppose I want to contact the section manager,
  WA8EFK in Dundee
• I know that I need to get on 145.76 to head
  south, even though WA8EFK is on 144.91
• I connect to baybbs because they have a 145.76
  gateway
• Looking at their JHeard list, there are perhaps
  a dozen stations, and with the help of QRZ,
  perhaps half of them are roughly in the right
  direction
• I connect to each of that half-dozen, and repeat,
  until I get down towards Dundee, where I need to
  look for a hop to 144.91
• With a dozen or two stations at each hop, and
  perhaps five or six hops, it will take many hours
  to find a path

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Internet Protocol (IP)

• Transmitting station only needs to know the next
  station
• Routers (HamGates) responsible for understanding
  a subnet
• Example
• My station knows that I can reach eastern Midland
  county without help
• If the station isnt within my reach, I ask
  hamgate.midland for help
• hamgate.midland knows how to get elsewhere
• AX.25 still responsible for delivering IP packet
• Stations have names, which are associated with
  addresses, which in turn indicate what router

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IP Example

• With IP, each station knows what to do next
• My station knows to connect to hamgate.midland
  for things I cant reach directly
• hamgate.midland knows that hamgate.monroe is
  responsible for Monroe county
• hamgate.monroe knows it needs the help of
  bbs.n8kuf to reach WA8EFK
• All I needed to know is that I wanted to connect
  to WA8EFK

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IP Advantages

• Because IP is the language of the Internet, the
  Internet can be used for some paths
• Even more significant, if Internet infrastructure
  is damaged, RF can be used to overcome Internet
  outages (in a limited way)
• Each county is developing non-wired alternatives
• For example, in Midland our normal path to the
  state EOC is through the Internet
• However, we also have a path through W8LSS to
  hamgate.eaton through Durand and thence to EOC
• We can also enter the Internet in Harrisville
  through Iosco
• In the future, we expect to be able to get to the
  state EOC directly through K8RI
• But by and large, the default path is through the
  Internet for longer paths

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IP Advantages

• This all means that today, by connecting through
  hamgate.midland, you can reach TNCs throughout
  the world
• Since IP is the language of the Internet, you can
  use normal, Internet-savvy applications
• eMail through any client is seamlessly integrated
  with packet messages
• hamgate.midland serves weather, propagation
  and reference information to your
  browser or FTP client

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eMail

• Setup just like normal email

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eMail

• BBS messages integrated with eMail

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Web

• Hamgate.midland includes useful information
  accessible from a browser

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FTP

• Same information through FTP and BBS

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How do I use this?

• The simplest way if you already have a packet
  station is to connect to hamgate.midland and use
  the BBS
• Although the interface is like the old W8KEA, the
  number of features is greatly expanded
• However, you miss out on most of the advantages
  of IP
• But you can still use Telnet from the hamgate
• And you can use the enhanced Send

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How do I use this?

• For most people, AGW/IP gives you all the
  features
• AGW/IP is a paid-for program (but it is cheap)
• For free, you can use it 45 minutes at a time,
  which is plenty to check it out
• If you have a good sound card, you dont need a
  TNC
• AGW will work with a TNC, however
• AGW is a little tricky to set up
• Documentation is incorrect
• AGW Terminal confusing

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How do I use this?

• If you want to run a full-time BBS, you can put
  JNOS on your home LAN
• This is fairly complex, but not impossible
• If you choose DOS, you can (actually must) use an
  old, cheap, computer
• This gives all computers on your home LAN access
  to packet
• This also makes checking mail faster
• The RF part happens in the background
• To get all features you must reconfigure your
  home LAN

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More about AGW

• AGW is a free, sound card packet program, but it
  also works with TNCs
• Basic AGW is fairly simple to set up
• Basic AGW allows your favorite telnet program, or
  other computers on your LAN to connect to packet
  over IP
• However, it does not send IP over the radio

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AGW
AGWPE provides virtual TNC using sound card
AGW Term provides simple terminal for AX.25
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AGW IP

• AGW IP adds IP over the radio to AGW
• AGW IP is included in AGW Pro
• AGW Pro costs 49, AGW IP 28
• AGW IP can be used for 45 minutes without cost
• After 45 minutes can restart
• AGW IP is a little tricky to get working
• Help is available, just ask

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AGW IP
Adds a new interface to the Network Connections
Use normal Windows network properties
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AGW IP
Browser
eMail
Telnet
etc.
Decision made based on address, cost
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JNOS
Internet
AMPRnet
Router
JNOS
Home Computers
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Computer Needs

• AGW
• Reasonably recent computer (600 MHz)
• Windows 9x, XP
• Good sound card or TNC and Serial Port
• For sound card, circuit to key transmitter
• JNOS
• TNC
• For DOS, old computer (ISA bus, 100MHz)
• For DOS, Ethernet card with packet driver
• For Linux, 256Mb memory (depending on distro)

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IP Nodes in District 3
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Michigan HamGates
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D3 Plans

• Very near term
• Move hamgate.midland to hospital
• Move redcross.bay to Red Cross
• A little further out
• Bay county routing through redcross.bay
• hamgate2.midland
• ioseoc
• Still further out
• High speed midland to midland2, bay
• k8ri.ampr.org for direct to SEOC
• High speed access freqs

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Statewide plans

• 220 MHz hamgate.livingston to seoc
• HamGate in central UP, probably Munising
• Link Freedom Net to Alcona, Leelanau
• Link QMN net to Kent
• High-profile node in downtown Detroit

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Resources

• Digital Radio Group
• http//www.mi-drg.org/
• AGW
• http//www.elcom.gr/sv2agw/
• JNOS
• http//www.physics.umanitoba.ca/ maiko/jnos2/
• More Documentation
• http//packet.mi-nts.org

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Questions?