Rummaging Though My Old Papers, I Found These Old Letters!

In addition to the extensive audio recordings and sound effects libraries housed deep within the vaults of the N2FNH Media Center is an equally extensive archive of simple ASCII text. The vast majority of the files are actual screen saves of complete packet radio sessions documented between 1996 through 2004. You might say I was a unique species of packet radio maven, not so much concerned with the technical aspects but to more to do with the actual deployment, like a spider analog, plucking my way across local and regional AX25 and NETROM networks, hunting for,targeting and finally snaring the elusive Packet Radio/Internet Gateway.
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And some of these Gateways I put to use as mail drops. To me, it was at the time the ultimate cool to have some fellow ham e-mail me from the Internet to any one of a number of e-mail accounts I held around the world. One I used extensively was AVGATE:AB6QV-3 in Southern California. Each evening, I would manually connect out and North via the amateur packet radio network, connect to either KA2TCQ at SUNY Plattsburgh or to K2CC at Clarkson University and the telnet out to AVGATE for that evening's mail.
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Rummaging through the N2FNH Text Library resulted in a few e-mails concerning This Week in Amateur Radio, a handful of which are reproduced below for historical perspective. Take note of the dates, the Internet Service Providers and the descriptions of the Internet environment of the time. Addresses listed will most likely not work. But then again, I didn't check.

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Message #1
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 16:24:08 -0500 (EST)
From: SANDERMAN@delphi.com
Subject: This Week in Amateur Radio #199
To: n2fnh@gw.ab6qv.ampr.org
Message-Id: 01IED53P9VV69
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Here is a summary of news items covered on edition #199 of
"This Week in Amateur Radio", North America's satellite-delivered
audio bulletin service, for the week ending 24-Jan:
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1. Little LEOs Seek Status as "Emergency Adjunct", Threat Remains
2. Heard Island DXpedition Works 12,000 Stations in First 2 Days
3. Computer Problems Again Delay Issuance of Vanity Calls by FCC
4. MIR Ham-Astronauts Switch Places, KC5HBR Operations Uncertain
5. ARRL Resumes License Renewal Notices to League Members
6. "Tower Safety" - NEW FEATURE with Greg Stoddard, KF9MP
7. "This Week in Amateur Radio" Announces Internet Availability
8. Special Event Station Calendar
9. W3USS to Be in Operation during Presidential Inauguration
10.Jim Talens, N3JT, Leaves FCC for Private Practice
11."Gateway 160 Meter Net Report" with Vern Jackson, WA0RCR
12.Weekly Propagation Forecast
13."The RAIN Dial-up" from Chicago
14.AMSAT-Qatar Joins Family of Amateur Satellite Enthusiasts
15.RS-16 Configuration Announced, Russian Bird Launch Next Month
16.Ken Cornell, W2IMB, SK, Renowned "Lowfer" and Author

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Funding for the program's transmission and production expense was provided this week by a grant from the Columbiana County Amateur Radio Club, which carries "This Week in Amateur Radio" on the KD8XB repeater in Lisbon, Ohio, serving East Palestine, East Liverpool, East Rochester, and East Central Ohio on 146.805 MHz. Presentation of "The RAIN Dial-up" has been made possible by a grant from Therese Cheney, N0YNQ, of Mounds View, Minnesota.
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"This Week in Amateur Radio" is a weekly amateur voice bulletin service, produced by Community Video Associates, Inc., a New York State not-for-profit corporation based in Albany, NY. The program is heard on the "W0KIE Satellite Network" each Saturday at 9:00 PM (EST) on the Hughes Communications SBS-6 commercial communications satellite, transponder 13B upper, located at 74 degrees west longitude in equatorial geosynchronous orbit. The transponder center frequency is 12.019 GHz; tune up in frequency to 12.031 GHz. Program audio is on the 6.2 MHz analog subcarrier and carried on VHF/UHF repeaters throughout North America and on 160 meters at 1860 kHz. Contact your local amateur radio club or repeater operator if "This Week in Amateur Radio" is not being heard in your area.
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Production and transmission expenses are underwritten by donations from repeater operators, amateur radio clubs, and individuals. Further information is available from George Bowen, N2LQS, at 518/283-3665 (email kxkvi@delphi.com) or Stephan Anderman, WA3RKB, at 518/664-6809 (email sanderman@delphi.com). You may also reach them @ WA2UMX.FN32AW.ENY.NY.USA.NA via amateur packet.
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Message #2
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 20:52:39 -0500 (EST)
From: SANDERMAN@delphi.com
Subject: "This Week in Amateur Radio" Audio Now on Internet
To: n2fnh@gw.ab6qv.ampr.org
Message-Id: 01IEESRLH12A9
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"THIS WEEK IN AMATEUR RADIO" AUDIO AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET
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Producers of Albany, NY-based "This Week in Amateur Radio", the activity's only satellite-delivered news and information service, in conjunction with the Blue Ridge Video and Digital Society of Roanoke, VA, are pleased to announce that "This Week" program audio is now available on the Internet. The service, carried on VHF/UHF repeaters throughout the United States and Canada and on 1860 kHz via WA0RCR, had previously been available only via satellite.
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According to "This Week" Technical Director, George Bowen, N2LQS, "This was a big step for us. We're still using 8088s and 286s for all of our internet and data communications and have large piles of coal to shovel into this equipment daily. This was and still is the reason that we, on our own, never offered 'This Week' on the net." The service carries the latest ARRL bulletins and other amateur radio news, the "RAIN Dial-up", contest and convention updates, special events, propagation forecasts, and features from their exclusive staff of "voice columnists".
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Blue Ridge's John Campbell, KC4LWI, records the program audio from the bird each Saturday and converts it into an 8 bit wave file sampled at 11.025 kHz. The file is the posted each Sunday on the group's Web site in zipped and unzipped form. Approximate file sizes for the entire 50 minute program are 24 megabytes zipped and 33 megs unzipped. The address for "This W¥ek in Amateur Radio" audio on the internet in .WAV file format is: http://www.intrlink.com/~sparky/wb4qoj/wb4qoj.htm. The file name is TWIAR (the 3-digit program number) dot ZIP or dot WAV, i.e., TWIAR199.ZIP or TWIAR199.WAV.
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Adds Bowen, "Please note that the program is not, and will not be available in any streaming audio format until we are able to upgrade our computer hardware. In the meantime, we have taken this interim step to place our bulletin service on the net. You can download each week's program on Sunday, the day after our satellite feed. The site will also offer the program from the previous week, and well as our first 10 minutes of 'headline news.'" The program continues to be delivered via satellite, through transponder time and uplink equipment provided by Mike Reynolds, W0KIE, of Tulsa, OK, as a service to the amateur radio community. "This Week in Amateur Radio" airs each Saturday at 9:00 PM (ET) on the SBS-6 Ku-band satellite (74 degrees W), transponder 13B upper, 6.2 MHz analog audio.
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For answers to technical questions regarding the Web page or if you would like to have the audio file e-mailed to you each week, please contact KC4LWI at sparky@intrlink.com. Community Video Associates, Inc., which produces "This Week in Amateur Radio", is grateful for the time and effort put into this project by KC4LWI, Lee McDaniel, WB4QOJ, and the Blue Ridge Video and Digital Society.
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For further information on "This Week in Amateur Radio" or to become an affiliate, contact Stephan Anderman, WA3RKB, the program's executive producer, at 518/664-6809 (e-mail sanderman@delphi.com) or George Bowen, N2LQS, at 518/283-3665, (e-mai kxkvi@delphi.com). Both can also be reached via packet @ WA2UMX.FN32AW.NY.USA.NA.
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Message #3
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 21:55:00 -0500 (EST)
From: SANDERMAN@delphi.com
Subject: An Invitation...!
To: n2fnh@gw.ab6qv.ampr.org
Message-Id: 01IEEUYASGPU9
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As you can see, "This Week in Amateur Radio" audio is now available via the Internet. Let me take this opportunity to invite those of you who were lost in the shuffle during several satellite changes and our transition to Ku-band satellite delivery several months ago and have internet audio capability to access the Website listed and try it out!
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A special thanks goes to John Campbell, KC4LWI, Lee McDaniel, WB4QOJ, and the guys at Blue Ridge Video and Digital Society who have poured a lot of sweat equity into this effort. So when you sign onto their Website, please let them know how much you too appreciate their work!
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I have also sent you the updated affiliates list. Please let me know if there are any additions or corrections to be made to it. George and I would both love to be able to get that list back up to a bona fide 100 affiliates again, like we had back in the old C-band days. And we're hoping that this first step into internet audio will entice some of you back into the fold. We have already returned two affiliatgh we realize the size of the audio files is quite large and may take a considerable amount of time to download, it is a necessary first step for us. Due to financial considerations (both personal and with regard to program funding), we have been unable to secure computer hardware that would allow us to use a "streaming audio" format. Without minimizing the offers we have had from some of you to provide us with a Website that would afford us this capability, our inability to locally maintain and control it would be a severe detriment to integrity of the service. At such point as we acquire computer equipment that would allow both George and myself to perform these tasks, I can assure you that we will broaden the Internet presence of "This Week in Amateur Radio". We are most assuredly open to any equipment donation offer that could accellerate this evolutionary process. But I must stress that we are still very strongly committed to satellite delivery of "This Week in Amateur Radio". Those of you who have continued to ask for a C-band outlet for the service are not being ignored, but we all are aware of how rare affordable 4 GHz subcarriers have become. Our current arrangement with Mike Reynolds, W0KIE, has proven to be very satisfactory for all parties and we are pleased with the level of reliability of these services. And I think you'll agree that the "leaner and meaner" 50 minute program is tighter, more entertaining, and more journalistically relevant than ever before. It is our belief that internet distribution of "This Week in Amateur Radio" is another path; one which has been less travelled, at least by us. For you, we hope it makes a difference! We will continue to take whatever steps are necessary and financially prudent to ensure that "amateur radio's most up-to-the-minute news and informatiob service" remains so. We feel we have done a whole lot with a very little ("we, the unwilling", etc.) and are proud of the position we hold within our amateur radio "community". On behalf of my good friend and program techno-guru, George Bowen, N2LQS; Vern Jackson, WA0RCR; Ed Barnat, N2RKA; Bill Continelli, W2XOY; Greg Stoddard, KF9MP; and the growing staff (which now also includes Lee McDaniel, WB4QOJ, and John Campbell, KC4LWI) that helps make "This Week in Amateur Radio" happen each week, belated wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 1997.
Stephan M. Anderman, WA3RKB
Executive Producer - "This Week in Amateur Radio"
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