Bulletins from the Pacific Packet Radio Society - page 065
guarantee there will be any more free packet/ham radio gear though! )
FILE QST.82.05.12.0. KD2S
To: all
From: DenI have placed copies of the June TAPR newsletter and a short article I have written on protocol on the net. See below.
73,
Den
As summer continues down here (it starts months before other people's summer), We finally are playing with our own boards! We are very busy with the software effort, and have been modifying hardware design, layout, protocols etc. as the Alpha test nears completion. See Lyle's hardware report for some of the details.
TAPR will be looking for groups of hams who are interested in helping us with testing the Beta version of our board, to prove the system in real environments, and find improvements in the protocol required to handle real-life problems. We also are setting up a second set of tests, to be performed by the same or additional Beta test sites, using software provided by some standards agencies to determine the applicability of different standard protocols in a packet radio environment. We believe this kind of experimentation is very important for amateur packet radio at this time, and performs a unique service, providing a testbed far larger than these agencies could ever hope to realize.
Our programming effort has shifted now to developing the FORTH primitives for interfacing to the on-board components, and to creating the state sequences necessary to effect the dynamic addressing protocol we have chosen for our first efforts. The higher-level routines are written, and the VADCG-compatibility program elements will also be worked on this month.
TAPR Hardware Report
Alpha boards are here ! The PC released the boards on April 5th, and during the next several days the twelve Alpha testers took delivery of boards, documentation and brown paper sacks filled with parts. Soon the sacks were empty and the boards full. Those of you who were at Dayton got a sneak preview of an Alpha board, courtesy of Pete Eaton, WB9FLW. And we certainly appreciate the constructive comments made at Dayton regarding the TAPR TNC --wait 'till you see the Beta boards!
Due to some job commitments, forced travel, examinations and other events that somehow get in the way of more important things such as Amateur Radio, the Alpha test phase is a bit behind
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