Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?

In article <6vs9u3dsadmb2pc9caj7js4pvangpobsqc DeleteThis @4ax.com>,
Wayne.B <waynebatrecdotboats DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:38:46 -0500, Geoff Schultz
> <geoff"at"@geoffschultz.org> wrote:
>
> >Just remember that you need at least a general license (which requires
> >code)to utilize AirMail.
>
> The original poster is in Switzerland however which may have different
> license requirements.

Yes: We get a full CEPT license without morse code nowadays, and as an
electrical engineer it is just the radio rules I have to pass, no
technical tests at all.

Thank you all for the information - very useful.

How do you access internet as a ham? (low bandwidth) ie where do you
find gateways (or which are the protocols, nets etc to look for)?

The other options are like INMARSAT, Iridium and GSM networks, all of
them quite costly. (from 1 USD/minute upwards)

TIA

Marc

--
remove bye and from mercial to get valid e-mail
<http://www.heusser.com>
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

With Multimode for a macintosh you can also download SitorB to receive
Navtex, Other modes will receive TTY (Good for Atlantic Canada) and
direct download of weather satellite date (you do the
interpretation).
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:36:13 +0100, Marc Heusser
<marc.heusser.RemoveThis@byeheusser.commercialspammers.invalid> wrote:

>How do you access internet as a ham? (low bandwidth) ie where do you
>find gateways (or which are the protocols, nets etc to look for)?

There is no true internet access via ham frequencies that I'm aware
of, however you can send and receive EMAIL via Airmail and Winlink as
long as it is non-commercial in nature. The gateways and frequencies
can be downloaded using Airmail software and a telnet connection.
The protocols are Pactor 1, 2 and 3 (3 being the fastest), and are
defined by the Pactor TNC device. There are ways of retrieving web
pages via EMAIL which is sometimes useful. I use it for getting stock
quotes and news when I'm offshore. The Pactor protocol has excellent
error detection and retransmission capability. It also dynamically
adjusts transmission rates to optimize for changing signal strength
and interference.

More information here:

http://www.airmail2000.com/

http://www.winlink.org/

http://www.sailmail.com/ (non-ham commercial service although
reasonably priced using same basic hardware and software)
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:38:46 -0500, Geoff Schultz
<geoff"at"@geoffschultz.org> wrote:

>Brian Whatcott <betwys1 DeleteThis @sbcglobal.net> wrote in
>news:5ik8u31v4euvklb6g4hp3ueij7almsb8g6@4ax.com:
>
>> On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:11 +0100, Marc Heusser
>> <marc.heusser DeleteThis @byeheusser.commercialspammers.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>I am an electrical engineer and could quite easily get a licence for
>>>amateur radio.
>>>Does it pay off if I'd do that to access weather charts etc on a boat -
>>>this year in Europe, both on inland waterways in France and in the
>>>eastern North sea (between Germany, Denmark and Sweden)?
>>>
>>>Apart from a transceiver I have a Mac that should decode the signals
>>>without any extra hardware with MultiMode
>>>(http://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html).
>>>
>>>Or are other options better?
>>>
>>>TIA
>>>
>>>Marc
>>
>> Amateur licenses are worth another look at now. The morse code
>> requirement has been swept away, and there are just three available
>> classes - tech, general and extra.
...
>> Brian Whatcott
>> Altus OK
>
>Just remember that you need at least a general license (which requires
>code)to utilize AirMail.
>
>-- Geoff

I say again: it is not now necessary to demonstrate Morse in order to
obtain a Technician, General or Extra License

Brian Whatcott Altus OK,
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:00:27 -0500, Geoff Schultz
<geoff"at"@geoffschultz.org> wrote:

>"Glenn Ashmore" <gashmore RemoveThis @cox.net> wrote in
>news:Pi7Fj.41806$f8.16380@newsfe23.lga:
>
>> The code tests went away last March so it is fairly easy to get a
>> General now.
>>
>> With all the alternatives available these days the main reasons to get
>> a license is the camaraderie of the several nets working on the
>> amateur bands and the use of Airmail.
==
>Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the General class still
>requires the code test and a Tech class (which does't require code) isn't
>sufficient for AirMail.
>
>-- Geoff
>www.GeoffSchultz.org

It would probably be better for you to google with
ham test general
than to continue correcting people with out of date info.

Brian W
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

Brian Whatcott <betwys1 RemoveThis @sbcglobal.net> wrote in
news:0fhdu3d0spfb00spciql9djni49l0km50k@4ax.com:

> On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:00:27 -0500, Geoff Schultz
> <geoff"at"@geoffschultz.org> wrote:
>
>>"Glenn Ashmore" <gashmore RemoveThis @cox.net> wrote in
>>news:Pi7Fj.41806$f8.16380@newsfe23.lga:
>>
>>> The code tests went away last March so it is fairly easy to get a
>>> General now.
>>>
>>> With all the alternatives available these days the main reasons to
>>> get a license is the camaraderie of the several nets working on the
>>> amateur bands and the use of Airmail.
> ==
>>Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the General class
>>still requires the code test and a Tech class (which does't require
>>code) isn't sufficient for AirMail.
>>
>>-- Geoff
>>www.GeoffSchultz.org
>
> It would probably be better for you to google with
> ham test general
> than to continue correcting people with out of date info.
>
> Brian W

Perhaps you should have read the rest of the replies correcting my reply
before providing the same answer 2 times.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:05:22 -0500, Geoff Schultz
<geoff"at"@geoffschultz.org> wrote:


>> It would probably be better for you to google with
>> ham test general than to continue correcting people
>> with out of date info.
>> Brian W
>
>Perhaps you should have read the rest of the replies
> correcting my reply before providing the same
> answer 2 times.
>
>-- Geoff

Hehe....if you had listened the first time instead of contradicting,
you wouldn't be on the defensive now?

Brian W
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc? 

Brian Whatcott <betwys1 DeleteThis @sbcglobal.net> wrote in
news:u10eu3lfqpiu5npjegtpiiq7s8img8b39i@4ax.com:

> On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:05:22 -0500, Geoff Schultz
> <geoff"at"@geoffschultz.org> wrote:
>
>
>>> It would probably be better for you to google with
>>> ham test general than to continue correcting people
>>> with out of date info.
>>> Brian W
>>
>>Perhaps you should have read the rest of the replies
>> correcting my reply before providing the same
>> answer 2 times.
>>
>>-- Geoff
>
> Hehe....if you had listened the first time instead of contradicting,
> you wouldn't be on the defensive now?
>
> Brian W

Hey, you're the one who's jumping down my throat for asking someone to
correct me. When someone says "Please correct me if I'm wrong", that
should imply that they're open to correction and that one shouldn't take
the statement as fact.

You seem to imply that one should research questions before posting them.
I had researched this a while back and things appear to have changed since
then. The fact that I haven't kept up with all of the regulation changes
in the ham world shouldn't be a major offense in a boating/cruising forum.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org
 >> Stay informed about: Amateur Radio - to get weather info, access mail etc?