[amsat-bb] AMSAT's early internal email systems.

["Larry Kayser" <kayser@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Poking around the AMSAT archives reminds me of the early days of AMSAT email
back around 1980.  There were by then numerous RBBS stand alone CPM based
Z80 microprocessor systems that had a mail package.  Email was becoming
known.

AMSAT had been casting around for a way to co-ordinate the worker groups - a
significant requirement.  The basic world wide network had started to grow
based on X-25, there were major companies in many countries with extensive
X-25 networks.  While digging around in the X-25 world I found a chap, a W6,
who was working for the then major email provider in the USA.  He was
interested in AMSAT and created a closed user group within the email service
of his employer.  AMSAT workers were invited to make use of the new service,
we called it PRNET.  PRNET stood for Packet Radio NET, the goal being to
provide email for AMSAT and to also start tying the then quickly growing
Packet Radio systems around the country.

PRNET grew quickly and we had, in my foggy mind, an estimated membership of
about 50 people and we had connections to Australia and Europe.  As time
went on, my contact with our benefactor became less and less and finally it
was very hard to get in touch with him at all.  PRNET however kept rolling
along.

Considerably later, it was collectively realized that our benefactor had
left the employ of the provider of PRNET some considerable time earlier and
we had been running on autopilot for a long time.  PRNET was the best priced
email service we ever had in my opinion, we moved to another commercial
email system that ended up costing AMSAT a great deal of money over a period
of some years.  The Internet based system we have today is based on a long
history hi.

What started this story was when I looked at the AMSAT Archives I see that
Paul, KB5MU is still looking after the AMSAT Internet presence and the email
etc etc etc.  We all owe Paul a HUGE vote of thanks, he has been at this a
long time and has always been there whenever I showed up for an email
address change or whatever.   His contribution on the basis of continuous
effort over a long period of time is certainly up there with the top of the
pile crowd in AMSAT.

Thanks Paul.

73
Larry
VA3LK / WA3ZIA



----
Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org