[Debconf-discuss] Invitation to try amateur radio
Hi folks,
I've made some contacts with random[1] New Yorkers here on amateur radio
bands, from the campus of Columbia.
I have a handheld radio with me that works on several amateur radio
bands. If any of you are interested in using it to see who you might
talk to -- and who knows how many or few you'll find -- I'll be happy to
schedule a time where we can do that. Note that it will need to be
outdoors due to signal propagation needs.
There are some local repeater networks, and you can essentially talk
with one or many people across a large part of New York state, New
Jersey, and perhaps some surrounding states from a simple handheld here.
It is normally not legal to transmit on amateur bands unless you have a
license, but if the transmitter is being directly supervised by a
licensed ham that is physically present, those rules are relaxed.
There are quite a few digital modes that radio amateurs are involved in.
Debian has pretty good support for this. Alas, I lack the proper
cable for my handheld (which I may rectify if there is a suitable store
nearby). Digital amateur modes are pretty nifty, and range from
anything from simple low-bps radioteletype all the way to TCP over
radio. Some of these digital modes can be used across continents with
*no* intervening infrastructure other than your radio and the recipient's.
As someone else said, Amateur Radio and Free Software have somewhat
similar mindsets. Amateur is the only radio service I'm aware of that
permits and encourages licensees to build their own radios and develop
their own modes of communication.
-- John
[1] Well, somewhat random; the people you talk too have all passed a
(not too difficult) licensing exam. It's like Usenet before the Eternal
September and the flamewars. On second thought, it's not like Usenet at
all.... ;-)
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