[CLUG-chat] hobby/recreational use of LINUX

[Peter Hart Davis - MWeb]

Hi there
I have been looking at this - one of those things I have always meant to try and get time for - and have been considering getting a license (I was 4 years in the Navy as a Communicator).  As you might notice I work at M-Web and I have got a tentative approval to set something up here if I get it together particularly as people are now looking at 802.11.
Peter



-----Original Message-----
From: Frank DAELEMANS, ZS1CM [mailto:zs1cm at xsinet.co.za]
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 8:00 PM
To: clug-chat at clug.org.za
Subject: [CLUG-chat] hobby/recreational use of LINUX


Some of our readers may be surprised how far Linux has 
penetrated our lives outside professional/office use.

At on time, EEng Dr Robin Braun had a (Debian) gateway running 
where licensed radio amateurs could log-in via VHF radio @ 1200 
Bd and access the world-wide AMPR.org net (domain 44.xxx etc)
[AMPR = Amateur Packet Radio] 

In most countries around the world, Packet Radio runs at 1200 bd 
on VHF and 9K6 Bd on UHV, the low speeds are dictated by the 
maximum deviation we are allowed at the various frequency bands, 
tests have been done at 56K on 2GHz. The protocol used is a 
modified X25 version and is well defined and stable now for many 
years. We also have a handful of amateur satellites, some of which 
handle message forwarding via satellite.

So locally, a radio ham logs-in to a BBS within reach (topography) 
and uoload/download private messages and bulletins.

Even very slow (300 Bd) network send messages around the world 
on HF frequencies.

With the advent of the gateway at UCT, we could access the 
gateway via radio from your car or from home, through the gateway 
access any other domain 44.xxx gateway and come out on radio 
again and chat to foreign radio amateurs (keyboard to keyboard) or 
access data on that BBS. In this system the AX25 packet must be 
encapsulated into TCP/IP stream onto the ampr.org net.

All the gateways/routers where running LINUX  as the AX25 is 
already provided for in most versions....

We at ON0OB have a Linux tcp/ip server up and running since
late January 2000.

Here I copy a short message from a gateway near Gent in Belgium 
that is part of the AMPR.org domain.

> Our Linux tcp/ip server has http,ftp,smtp etc running.
> A "mini" HTTP file can be seen at: 44.144.152.1
> The Full blown Linux server has an HTTP server: 44.144.152.3
> Apart of the http we have also the usual:ftp,nntp,smtp...etc
> You are hereby invited to surf this way and have a look...
> Several USER web-pages can be connected as well.
> -*-

The more difficult part here is to stop the reverse process... from 
Internet one could access any gateway and come out on the radio 
port, without proper authorization for use of that specific radio 
spectrum... so world-wide access is restricted to properly licensed
radio operators with associated passwords.

Still, clever charlies get access and force authorities to shut-down 
these systems... such was the end of the UCT gateway.




from the desk of:

                 Frank DAELEMANS, ZS1CM
                 P.O.Box 415
                 GREEN POINT
                 8051
                 South Africa
e-mail: zs1cm at ananzi.co.za
tel: +27 21 4343698
PMS: 082-511-7337

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