A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with a guy on our local repeater, and he happened to mention that a friend of his had started using something called EchoLink. I just happened to be in my office, so I pulled up the website. How cool, I thought!
What EchoLink is is a way to connect to other amateurs over the Internet using VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). Now VOIP is nothing new, and many chat programs use this technology. What makes EchoLink so cool is that amateur radio operators are using the technology to connect their VHF and UHF radios and repeaters to the Net. Via EchoLink, for example, I can make contacts through repeaters all over the world. Cool, eh?
The software is very easy to download, install, and use. The downloadable file is only about 1.5 Mbytes, which should be doable even on a dialup line. On my ADSL line, it took less than a minute. Once you’ve installed the software, all you have to do is point and click and you’re connected to the ham at the other end (once you have registered your callisgn with the server).
I did experience a couple of glitches. The first was my ADSL router. It has a built-in firewall that rejects accesses on all ports, except those I allow. Programming it to accept accesses on the ports that EchoLink uses cured that. The second was getting the microphone volume set properly. I’d never used a mike on this computer until now, so it was set way too high.
My first “QSO” was with Phil, a retired plumber in Connecticut. Just this afternoon, I worked my first DX when Wayne, an English ham called me. Both times, the audio was nice and clean, and we had nice chats.
The next step is to buy one of the audio card interface boards–the WB2REM board is inexpensive, as is the VA3TO board–and connect it up to my Icom IC-22U. That will open Ann Arbor up to the world and vice versa.
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