Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!husc6!sri-unix!larson From: larson@sri-unix.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems Subject: Re: Public Digital Radio Service wireless modem proposal Message-ID: <5899@sri-unix.ARPA> Date: Thu, 20-Aug-87 03:56:11 EDT Article-I.D.: sri-unix.5899 Posted: Thu Aug 20 03:56:11 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 22-Aug-87 09:07:24 EDT References: <2788@hoptoad.uucp> Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA Lines: 54 I apologize in advance if this article seems agressive and unfriendly. I just did not feel that I could let such a vast amount of mis-information be broadcast without a reply. John, You seem to have some misconceptions. Since your article is quite long, I will not quote the entire thing. > Hams work hard to keep others out, so there will be more frequency > spectrum for them to use, I suppose this is why they give classes to those interested in amateur radio. Often these classes are free. A prevalent thrust in amateur radio is recruting new amateurs. > What hams knew, or wanted to know, about computer networking in 1982 > would fill a thimble, maybe. Most still are. Amateur radio is NOT A COMPUTER HOBBY. It includes many other forms of activity, unrelated to computers. Many amateur radio operators have NO INTEREST in computers, no matter how much they excite you. Those that do know computer networking are in the minority, but they know an amazing amount about the subject. > It's in fact illegal to go faster than 9600 baud over ham radio in the > United States. Not even close. 97.69 (a)(1)(iii-iv) specifically allow 19.6 Kbaud from 50 MHz to 220 MHz, and 56 Kbaud above 220 MHz. Since these are baud rates, clever modems can provide even higher bit/second rates. Further, for domestic communication, even higher data rates are allowed -- these are defined as bandwidths, and are limited only by the requirements to say in the allocated bands on frequencies above 1215 MHz. Thus, data rates in the MegaBauds are clearly allowed. >I figure about 20 years' worth of old hams will have to die before it becomes >possible to do anything interesting with the amateur spectrum space. It depends upon your definition of interesting. Some of us are not so narrow in our views. - - - - - I hope to comment on the original proposal. While there were some glaring problems, it had some really good ideas buried in it. Please mail flames/replies -- I don't expect to have much time for news for some time. Alan