Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Mailbox or gateway via satellite.

[Bob Bruninga <bruninga@xxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 26 Apr 2002, William Leijenaar wrote about Satellite BBS's.

> No special protocol is needed. The satellite is only used as a medium.
> The actual mailbox or gateway is on earth !! There are systems ... that
> are connectable via RTTY and can be used as mailbox, or even work as an
> gateway to the packet network !

That is exactly the deisgn philosophy of PCsat.  PCsat is only a relay,
but it allows anyone with FM and packet to send and receive Messages and
email from anywhere to anywhere on the planet.  When PCsat is inview, it
relays all  packets heard via IGates to the worldwide APRS message system.
Here are how those messages can be processed:

  1) Live to anyone in the footprint
  2) Live to anyone on the planet within the APRS RF infrastructure
     (via the IGates monitoring around the world)
  3) Captured and stored on the recepient's machine for later reading
  4) Live to anyone on the internet logged on to one of the APRS hubs
  5) EMAIL to anyone anywhere
  6) Live to the PCsat and ARISS WEB pages

Think of PCsat as only the relay.  THink of the "BBS" as being 20,000
PC's all over the planet, hundreds of RF gateways in all HAM countries
and dozens of WEB pages all linked into the internet, all linked live to
the satellite.  It sure beats any "BBS"...

ANd it works for ANYONE.  If you dont believe me, try it.

1) Monitor your local 2m APRS freq and pick ANY callsign you see there.

2) On the next pass of ISS or PCsat, send an APRS packet TO that
persons callsign via ISS or PCsat.

3) WIthin a few seconds, you SHOULD see your packet come back out on to
the local APRS channel after having gone via the satellite, via an IGate
and then via the internet to your local ICate and back to RF on the APRS
channel to get to that person LIVE.

It works!

Or do the reverse.  When you see PCsat over the USA, Europe, or Australia
and you are anywhere  else on the planet, simply send an APRS message on
your local APRS RF frequency to a callsign of someone on the air IN THE
COUNTRY under PCsat at the time.  He should get the message!  It goes from
your radio, to the local IGate where it goes worldwide.  If there is an
IGate anywhere on the planet that has just heard your target station on
the air VIA PCsat or ARISS, then that local IGate will take the packet and
send it via the satellite and the end users will get it... LIVE...

Of course, this is HAM radio.  Be more surprised when it works than when
it doesnt...  But if we just had more IGates it would sure work better.
And this would work via UO-22 as well as ISS and PCsat if we just hat
permanent IGates on it as well...

de WB4APR, Bob




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