Packet | Tippecanoe County ARES

TCARES Packet Node and BBS

The use of packet has seen a recent resurgence by emergency communications groups across the country, and we now have our own packet node and BBS to help support the ARES mission locally.

The Tippecanoe County ARES packet node and BBS is now fully operational at an elevation exceeding 200' AHAAT, thanks to the efforts and generosity of W9DF, N9GKE, WR9A, N9IP and W9TN, and courtesy of WAZY-FM. The packet node and BBS is available for use by all local amateurs. There are currently about a dozen or so hams in the local area that are already active on packet.

Direct links can easily be established via the node to Indianapolis and Terre Haute, and from there to just about all other state and regional packet nodes and clusters.

TCARES Packet Station

Frequency:	145.050 MHz
Protocol:	AX.25
Speed:	1200 baud

W9TCA-1	Mailbox (PBBS)
W9TCA	Digipeater
TCARES	KA-Node
INTIPP	K-Net Node

The station is located about 12 miles west of Lafayette, near Green Hill, Indiana, in Warren County.

Packet Node & BBS Equipment

The packet node and PBBS consists of a Kantronics KPC-3+ TNC with version 9.1 firmware and 512K RAM, connected to an Icom IC-V8000 2-meter transceiver. Power is supplied by an Astron SL-11A.

A DCI-146-4H 4-pole bandpass filter keeps unwanted RF out of the receiver front end to improve sensitivity, and a PolyPhaser IS-50UX-C0 impulse supressor helps protect the equipment from lightning damage. A run of Andrew LDF5-50A 1/2" Heliax feeds into a gain antenna at the 200' level on the tower, producing an EIRP of about 33 watts.

The TCARES Packet Node and BBS is classified as a "stand-alone" system, since it does not utilize a computer running specialized software. Although it is not considered a "full-service" BBS, it does provide most of the same capabilities through its advanced firmware, including: standard BBS message storage and retrieval, automatic message forwarding, digipeating, local area node, network node operation (both KA-Node and K-Net), and remote access.

Packet Software

Outpost Packet Message Manager
Outpost is a Windows-based packet message client that lets you send and receive packet messages with almost any Amateur Radio Bulletin Board System (BBS) or TNC Personal Mail Box. Outpost was designed for the ARES packet user community. The thinking behind it was to create an intuitive, easy-to-use program that lets ARES organizations focus on the "message," not the "medium," as they pass packet traffic to and from an Operational Area BBS. We are recommending the use of this free software package for Tippecanoe County ARES members. Click here to read the April 2008 QST article about Outpost.

Sound Card Packet (AGWPE)
This amateur radio web site explains how to use the AGWPE utility program to send and receive packet -- a digital data mode -- using the sound card or sound chip of your PC instead of a traditional TNC or radio modem. While it is a bit more involved to set up and operate on packet than using a TNC, it can be an alternative for those without one.

PackLet
A web-based text messaging application using packet technology. This has some serious potential in the ARES world. It is very easy to implement, and allows served agencies to send, receive, and manage their own messages with their own computers, using packet as the medium.