EMA Packet infrastructure notes

The VHF frequency 145.09 is pretty busy these days. I took a look at what my station is hearing today and also what the BROCK node is hearing. The ax2 interface is the active radio interface:

/uronode$ J
Just Heard list:
Callsign Device Packets Date & Time Frame Type(s)

W1ZSA ax2 1247 Jun 22 12:44:22 Text
W1ZSA-1 ax2 1303 Jun 22 12:44:22 Text
KA1VSC-5 ax0 51752 Jun 22 12:44:04 NetRom
KZ2X ax2 814 Jun 22 12:42:01 Text
KD1CY ax2 469 Jun 22 12:41:23 Text
N1UMJ ax2 1971 Jun 22 12:40:39 Text
N1XTB-4 ax2 8348 Jun 22 12:40:04 Text
W1MV-7 ax2 6838 Jun 22 12:39:30 Text
KW1U-1 ax2 1767 Jun 22 12:38:26 Text
N1IQI ax2 3267 Jun 22 12:38:06 Text
W1SGL-10 ax2 4400 Jun 22 12:36:49 Text
KF1D-10 ax2 2406 Jun 22 12:36:29 Text
WB2CMF-5 ax0 15497 Jun 22 12:31:07 NetRom
WA1PLE-2 ax2 4191 Jun 22 12:17:27 Text
WX1BOX ax2 1165 Jun 22 11:56:56 Text
KW1U ax2 3524 Jun 22 10:27:13 Text
N1IQI-1 ax2 381 Jun 21 22:02:41 Text
ax2 2573 Jun 17 14:02:57 Text
W1JT-3 ax2 53 Jun 9 11:09:48 Text
WB2CMF-15 ax0 10 May 23 15:34:54

To get a bigger picture, the BROCK node has a large footprint, so took a look at what it hears using the long form JHeard command:

uronode$ c ax2 brock
link setup (ax2)…
*** connected to BROCK

CONNECTED TO NODE BROCK(W1MV-7) CHANNEL A

Welcome to BROCK (W1MV-7) in Brockton, Mass
ENTER COMMAND: B,C,J,N, or Help ?
J L
WX1BOX > W1SGL-10 06/21/22 06:27:47
KF1D-10* > AB1PH-10 06/21/22 06:37:17
VIA WA1PLE-2 N1IQI > BEACON 06/21/22 06:38:56
VIA BROCK KZ2X > BEACON 06/21/22 06:42:51
VIA BROCK W1ZSA > BEACON 06/21/22 06:45:05
VIA WA1PLE-2 W1ZSA-1 > MBX 06/21/22 06:45:05
VIA WA1PLE-2 W1SGL-10 > BEACON 06/21/22 06:45:43 WA1PLE-2 > BEACON 06/21/22 06:48:17 AB1PH-10 > WL2KUS-5 06/21/22 06:53:26 KC1CNP > BEACON 06/21/22 06:55:00 KW1U-1 > ID 06/21/22 06:59:28 W1MV-7 > ID 06/21/22 07:00:20 N1XTB-4 > FBB 06/21/22 07:00:54
VIA *BROCK
N1XTB-7 > ID 06/21/22 07:00:55
KD1CY > N1XTB-10 06/21/22 07:03:58
N1XTB-10 > KD1CY 06/21/22 07:04:22
BROCK > N1XTB-15 06/21/22 07:04:32
N1XTB-15 > BROCK 06/21/22 07:04:37

Don Rolph AB1PH has done quite a bit of work keeping track of the Winlink and APRS stuff going on. Hope to provide some of Don’s information shortly.

N1XTB-10 packet winlink example

Locally, the VHF frequency 145.09 is used for a great deal of packet activity. Several Winlink Radio Message Server (RMS) gateways are available in Eastern Massachusetts. The example screen shots below show the use of the Winlink Express client software preparing and sending email messages. Below is the opening Winlink Express screen.

The next step is to select New Message from the Message menu, then prepare a message.

This message is addressed to just a callsign. The default in cases like this is to the winlink mailbox for this ham. The normal email address would be callsign@winlink.org. The full address is not required if staying within the winlink system.

after the message is prepared, place it in your outbox (select this from the main menu). Once in the output, a packet session can be initiated. Select Packet Winlink from the pulldown choices, then select Open Session. This will initialize your connected TNC.

At this point you can select which RMS gateway where you will transmit your message. The above example shows a direct connection to N1XTB-10. The Brock digipeater is also available to relay a connection to a gateway if your location does not support a direct location on VHF. The example below shows a packet connection to AB1PH-10 via the Brock digi.

Once you have selected your path, You can start your session by selecting Start in the upper part of the session window. Your radio will start calling the gateway and establish a connection and hand off the message. The example below shows the message prepared earlier being handed off via a direct connection to N1XTB-10.

Any messages waiting for you will also be picked up at this time. Similarly, a message can be prepared going out to a regular internet address and sent.