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EchoLink
One of the newest innovations in amateur VHF/UHF communications is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).
VoIP has been around the Internet for years. It's not uncommon for many of us to log onto one of our messaging clients and talk to friends around the world ... for free.
In 2002 it came to amateur radio and suddenly VHF and UHF rigs are capable of nearly unlimited DX. With your little 2-meter HT you can reach halfway around the world with typically the same signal quality and strength you realize across town.
For an fairly in-depth treatment of all this see the February 2002 QST. Or get the PDF of the article HERE.
EchoLink has come to the ARASWF repeater!
Thanks to Carl Foust (WA9ZIF) we now have EchoLink.
Our node number is 47325.
EchoLink Procedures for Radio
To connect to EchoLink with your 2-meter rig you'll have to be on the repeater (146.670-).
- Key up, give your call letters
- Enter * then DTMF tones ( will say connecting to )
- Wait for a connected to announcement
- Call CQ or call a specific station
- After QSO Enter # sign
- Identify
The table below shows a list of the available codes you can transmit. When you transmit any DTMF tones, wait for a voice recorded cue such as 'Connecting to...' or '# not found...'
| * | Request station info file to be played. Brief instructions. [useful to see if you are in range of a link] |
| *nnnnn | Connect to station index number nnnnn (ie. If the station's node number is 4242, you would transmit *4242 using your keypad) |
| *00 | Connect to random station [any station currently active] |
| *01 | Connect to random repeater or simplex station |
| *02 | Connect to random conference server |
| *03 | Connect to random personal user [Hams on their computers] |
| *08 | Check status of link [use if not sure the current state of the link] |
| *09 | Reconnect to last station connected |
| # | DISCONNECTS a link. (You do not need to disconnect if you were unable to connect to begin with) |
A clickable map of US node numbers can be found at http://www.echolinkmap.org
To log onto EchoLink from your home PC (I don't think there's a Mac version out yet) you'll need the free software from http://www.echolink.org/ and an active Internet connection. You'll have to register your callsign to get activated and then you're off and flying! The program comes with comprehensive help so I don't need to tell you how to do it here.
To go to another section of ARASWF's website,
click on the page name you want in the drop-down box below.
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