Echolink Follies

One of the developments we're seeing in amateur radio over recent years is the proliferation of VOIP and digital voice technologies. Examples of this are things like D-Star, IRLP, and EchoLink. The latter is sometimes a contentious technology, in that some amateurs don't consider it "real" radio because the audio/control interface is PC-based. Once while on a visit to San Diego I was having a pleasant conversation with a local repeater operator which turned very sour at the mere mention of the word "EchoLink" as he went into a tirade about the evils of the system. Normally hams reserve this sort of loathing for CB radio and BPL companies, so I was a bit surprised.

Since then I've encountered a few more instances of "EchoLink Enmity". My personal opinion is that there's little difference between controlling a radio/repeater with EchoLink versus using Ham Radio Deluxe plus Skype to control a rig remotely. The question of whether EchoLink users are higher or lower on the amateur food-chain is best left to the philosophers. I will concede however that there's an annoying element to EchoLink, but it's the fault of the developers and not so much the users themselves.

Allow me to explain: Most if not all EchoLink users are unaware that when they connect to a repeater or simplex link the server software by default transmits an announcement over the air which says "Connecting to EchoLink [callsign] -- Connected". Since a lot of EchoLink users are looking for QSOs (amateur-speak for conversations) they tend to hop from repeater to repeater looking for traffic. If a repeater's quiet, they tend to silently disconnect and go looking elsewhere. And again the server software by default transmits an announcement which says "[callsign] -- Disconnected". To the locals on the repeater, this can seem a bit rude. If the EchoLink user was looking for a QSO, then why didn't he transmit and ask if anyone was interested/available to chat? So throughout the day you hear a lot of Connect-Disconnect, Connect-Disconnect...over and over again. After a while, you might start to think that maybe EchoLink users really are bozos.

However I think the users are largely not to blame for this. The connection announcements are not played back to the EchoLink client's inbound audio, so users don't know about them unless they're listening to the repeater in question. Most EchoLink users connect to remote repeaters or links in other parts of the country or even around the world, so they often don't ever hear what goes out over the radio. I once sent a detailed email to the EchoLink developer team explaining all this. I was told that a repeater/link admin can turn off the announcements, but they're on by default. Most admins clearly don't bother to turn announcements off, and the users are unaware of them. I suggested to the EchoLink developers that they might want to add a note to the EchoLink FAQ/guide explaining all this, but they didn't. And so EchoLink users will continue to unwittingly annoy repeater users, and apparently the developers think this is OK. I don't understand this, but whatever. Therefore, here are my How Not To Be An EchoLink Bozo tips:

• Be aware that every time you connect/disconnect, your callsign is transmitted over the air.
• Knowing the preceding it should be no surprise why when I further suggest: Don't repeatedly connect/disconnect to the same repeater. It is amazingly annoying to the locals when you do.
• Try saying hello if it's quiet. You may be surprised at how many locals are listening and willing to come back and chat with you.
• Be careful about "calling CQ" on a repeater. CQ is traditionally used for simplex contacts, and a repeater is not a simplex system. Some people won't care, but others will think that you're a bozo. If the EchoLink node ends in "-R" it's a repeater and I advise against calling CQ. If the node ends in "-L" (a link node) then CQ is probably OK.
• Don't ask for a QSL card because you made a contact over EchoLink. People will think you're a bozo. For that matter; I will think you're a bozo. QSL cards are for commemorating simplex contacts. Would you send a QSL card to someone you chatted with over Skype?

Amateur Radio: A funny thing happened on the way to the contest today...

Just a quick note on a funny story; at least one of those ones that radio amateurs find funny.

Most amateurs have stories about RF (especially in the HF bands) causing trouble around the house. Usually just simple TV interference, harmless stuff. One guy I knew said his digital bedside clock would reset itself when he transmitted on certain frequencies. Another said his stereo would turn on by itself. I've heard my external hard drive park its heads during transmit, and in general USB hardware doesn't seem to like RF.

I've been dealing with some "RF in the shack" lately; because until I can get my heavy coax run back up to the roof I'm operating on a somewhat hacked setup. Specifically; at anything below 20 meters I get feedback paths into my audio, and one night I got "bit" by one of the screws on my radio's casing. (Caused by signals inducing currents into the radio itself.) Typical symptom of a grounding problem, and expected considering my current setup. I decided to try out an artifical ground; which is essentially like an antenna tuner between the station and ground. It provides a tuned circuit that electrically lengthens or shortens the ground, and it can even be used to make a random wire stretched along the floor act like a ground.

So as I fiddled with the artificial ground settings on one band I keyed up and as I did I heard my sprinklers come on. Maybe my wife's working in the garden, or...? I key up again, same thing. Apparently I was kicking out enough power to activate the driver transistors in my sprinkler controller and this is what caused them to turn on.

Bizarre.

How to not be evil

Today's buzz is Google's Ex Parte FCC filing in which Eric Schmidt tells Chairman Martin that they have committed $4.6 billion to purchase spectrum in a future Upper 700 MHz auction - provided that the FCC structures the new service in such a way that license holders will have to offer at least 1/3rd of their spectrum to other companies on a wholesale market. The interesting thing about this is that the FCC's "auction reserve" has been said to be...$4.6 billion.

I think it's great that Google is trying to leverage their financial strength in order to ensure that wireless broadband remains somewhat open, and help prevent yet another telco monopoly from developing. The 1982 court-mandated breakup of the Bell system (the Greene Decision and subsequent Modified Final Judgement) opened the doors to increased competition and (some would argue) allowed technologies such as DSL to develop which would not have done so under the oligarchy of Ma Bell. To a large extent, today's cellular providers are no different than the wired telcos; largely run by a bunch of visionless business school graduates who are unresponsive to the needs of a market hungry for cutting-edge technologies. In a very real sense, the driving force behind wide-area broadband technologies such as WiMax exists because of the cellular carriers have consistently failed to meet those needs.

The carriers are of course not stupid, just short-sighted. Their initial response to alternatives was to be indifferent; then arrogant, and finally now they've become patronizing and suggested that the FCC should not allow "distractions" from smaller players (i.e. anyone who isn't a cellular carrier) and let them do what they will with the Upper 700 MHz spectrum. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about all this wireless stuff, young lady. This is man's work. Run along and play with your dolls now."

Allowing any one company or group to monopolize all or even a majority of the Upper 700 MHz would be a mistake of biblical proportions, and would result in the exact same kind of anti-competitive market and visionless wireless technology offerings the cellular carriers have today. The Upper 700 MHz spectrum is fertile soil in which entirely new markets can be grown and nurtured; wireless broadband, additional spectrum to relieve the crowding in 900/2400/5200 MHz ISM bands, and with any luck a nationwide interoperable emergency communications system which we desperately need and do not have today.

This isn't to say that if Google bought the Upper 700 MHz whole band that they would do the right thing either. Their mantra "Don't Be Evil" is simply that; a mantra. That and $3 will get you a latte at Starbucks, and I've always wondered when (not if) Google would devolve into a typical big company mentality. A few quarters with shortfalls in earnings ought to do the trick. But in the meantime, I think what they're doing is great and applaud them for their willingness to put their money where their mouth is.