| |
PA2AGA > TCPDIG 27.08.96 19:10l 196 Lines 7471 Bytes #-10906 (0) @ EU
BID : TCP_96_172B
Read: GUEST
Subj: TCP-Group Digest 96/172B
Path: DB0AAB<DB0SL<DB0RGB<DB0ABH<DB0SRS<DB0ZDF<DB0HOM<LX0PAC<DB0GE<DB0IZ<
DB0RWI<PI8JOP<PI8ZAA<PI8GCB<PI8WFL<PI8VNW
Sent: 960827/1218Z @:PI8VNW.#ZH2.NLD.EU #:56267 [Hoek v Holland] FBB5.15c
From: PA2AGA@PI8VNW.#ZH2.NLD.EU
To : TCPDIG@EU
Received: from pa2aga by pi1hvh with SMTP
id AA16182 ; Tue, 27 Aug 96 11:00:13 UTC
Received: from pa2aga by pa2aga (NET/Mac 2.3.61/7.1) with SMTP
id AA00003482 ; Mon, 26 Aug 96 21:10:35 MET
Received: from pa2aga-1 by pa2aga with SMTP
id AA00003477 ; Mon, 26 Aug 96 21:07:45 MET
Received: from pa2aga-1 by pa2aga-1 (NET/Mac 2.3.61/7.5.4) with SMTP
id AA00007913 ; Mon, 26 Aug 96 21:07:36 MET
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 21:02:49 MET
Message-Id: <tcp_96_172B>
From: pa2aga
To: tcp_broadcast@pa2aga-1
Subject: TCP-Group Digest 96/172B
X-BBS-Msg-Type: B
BK> Even better than the GRAPES 56kb modem, something that did
BK> spread-spectrum would be a great solution. (Glenn Elmore and
BK> others have proven that the only practical way to do high speed
BK> radio networking is with spread spectrum - all other methods
BK> are killed by multipath). We've got LOTS of spectrum at 1200
BK> MHz, and the STA lets us play in any ham band above 30 MHz.
This is reasonable, too, but the design goal should be to avoid building such
assumptions directly into the hardware at all.
BK> So what's the first step?
If we were to build a card that plugged into a standard motherboard and which
assumed the availability of a standard Ethernet card, what features would we
want? Would it be necessary to be able to boot from ROM, eliminating the disk
drives and controller? After all, most Ethernet cards have boot ROM options,
and it might not be so hard to make something like that work with Linux.
It seems to me that the key would be defining some kind of standard interface
for generic RF modems. This would allow hardware to be constructed to a well
defined interface for which common software routines would be available. The
standard interface I have in mind would look a lot like the NDIS or Packet
Driver specification, and the software for each modem would be provided as a
library specific to the operating system. However, the software above this
would not be specific to the modem or operating system.
-- Mike, N1BEE
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 08:31:06 -0700
From: brian@nothing.UCSD.EDU (Brian Kantor)
Subject: advanced networking
Sorry, Mike, I didn't make it clear that I'm just worrying about the
network nodes, not the home stations.
What Mike says about using a regular PC is, of course, correct for a home
station, or one located in a benign environment. Adding a few little
things like power control, temperature alarms, and a UPS could make an
ordinary PC quite a reliable unattended network node, again for benign
environments.
For the more specialized harsh environment such as experienced on
mountaintops, I believe the extra cost and reliability of a PC-on-a-card
is justified, and that's what I hope to replace our Gracilis PackeTen
card with - we've run out of ports and have to do something.
- Brian
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 15:51:34 -0400
From: Brian Coggins <bc@digital.net>
Subject: advanced networking
I'm interested in the same thing. Please send some info! I'd like to
get some decent 56K up in my area.
Thanks,
Brian
Steve Sampson wrote:
>
> > We are running a 56K network up here. 56K goes into the shack!
>
> Well hell Dennis, we can only envy you. The big thing in OKC is the .5 Watt
> 9600 repeater :-)
>
> > We designed our own RF gear for 440 MHz. Sold kits to everyone in sight.
> > Had a tune-up party (several times too).
>
> I'm interested. How do you distribute the particulars? How much do you
> charge? You see, part of this whole exercise is to just go and define what
> it is people need. If you have the RF side complete, then the best form of
> thanks is duplication (to coin a phrase)... I do like the new 56 k design,
> but I think I read they were only sold assembled??
>
> Do you have a web page of the info? Do you have something like a mailer
> if someone would write you?
>
> I'd like to fully design a solution based on the experiance your group has
> had. Something like a Web page that any Ham could go to. It would have the
> code, the kits, the advice. Once they click on all the parts, get them
built
> and aligned, they have a tried and tested solution.
>
> Has your group done this already?
>
> Thanks for sharing,
> Steve
--
Brian Coggins / Leesburg, FL / KC4LLD / PGP 2.62 public key available
bc@digital.net, kc4lld@amsat.org / Using Win95 and Netscape 3.0b5
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 15:00:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dennis Rosenauer <rosenave@octoblob.rfnet.sfu.ca>
Subject: advanced networking
According to Brian Kantor:
>
> For the more specialized harsh environment such as experienced on
> mountaintops, I believe the extra cost and reliability of a PC-on-a-card
> is justified, and that's what I hope to replace our Gracilis PackeTen
> card with - we've run out of ports and have to do something.
>
We have a 56K mountian top repeater, we can get at it most of the year
with a 4x4. It is simply a bit regen, a modem, some RF gear and a
duplexer. We kept it really stupid. We wanted a bent pipe with
some help in taking care of hidden transmitters. The only control we
have on it is to shut it down and to transmit a PN code to help align
antennas etc (we can look at the RX eye and tune and move the antenna
at the home ham shack for minimum ISI). That control is on a separate
RX and uses a simple DTMF decoder.
Keeping a PC on site is not a big problem if your site has nominal heat
etc. We are co-located with a commercial site and they have hardware
that is every bit as flakey as a PC on site. :-). I have PC based
UNIX machines that have been up for over 300 days, they just drop when
the power fails. They reboot just fine. Choose some reasonable hardware
and if your power is kind of flakey, put in a cheap UPS and get it to
tell the PC when the power is low and then get the PC to shut down the
radio gear and then shut itself off. When the power comes back up, the
PC comes up first and then the radio gear.
Dennis.
--
Dennis Rosenauer VE7BPE | A computer running for 2 seconds
rosenave@octoblob.rfnet.sfu.ca (home) can make as many mistakes as 20
rosenaue@mpr.ca (work) | men working for 20 years.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 20:58:00 -0500 (CDT)
From: Steve Sampson <ssampson@disco.oklahoma.net>
Subject: advanced networking
> Sure, but the economics of manufacturing dictate that the cheapest such
device
> would be a standard PC!
You could argue one way or another for years (we're blue already). The object
is an engineering problem. Of course the home will be a PC with a Ethernet
and DMA card.
Let's go on the assumption that the PC is good enough. Those that the
PC isn't good enough can expand the envelope.
OK, who's got the Linux for a home 386, AX.25, NE2000, 8 meg router. Put it
up on the ftp server. No more than quarterly updates, we don't need to go
on an upgrade ride to hell...
Steve
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 96 01:26:00 -0000
From: mikebw@bilow.bilow.uu.ids.net (Mike Bilow)
Subject: advanced networking
Brian Kantor wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:
BK> For the more specialized harsh environment such as
BK> experienced on mountaintops, I believe the extra cost and
BK> reliability of a PC-on-a-card is justified, and that's what
To be continued in digest: tcp_96_172C
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
