GUIDE Washington DC Area The K3AF / DCA Nodes rev. 13 Feb 1990 K3AF DCA 145.07 Serving the Northern Virginia LAN, WD4HXG-7, KA4USE, KF4TE and N4PBE BBS. Linking to the K4UW-6, NF4T-2, WJ4M-3 and VIENNA Kantronics Nodes. Serving the K4UW-1, W9BVD-1, NF4T-1, N4LJZ-1, WA4ECM-1, W4NFA-1 and the WJ4M-1 Kantronics BBSs. Serving the KK4XO DX PacketCluster. Linking to the GARR7 node at Garrisonville. Linking to WOOD7 in Woodbridge, VA. K3AF-1 DCA1 221.01 BBS uplink and secondary backbone channel linking north to #ELK2. Linking to the BALTO (145.05) and BARC nodes in the Baltimore area. Linking south to RICNDS and RICBBS, the WA4ONG Nodes/BBS in Richmond, Virginia. Connecting to mail autoforwarding ports on the W3ZH and K4NGC BBS. Linking to FDK at Frederick and the Maryland 145.09 packet community & KA3T BBS. Serving the W3IWI VHF/HF forwarding BBS (which has full mail access on 145.05). K3AF-2 DCA2 147.57 Directional link to the #MDMN node & the GOFAR satellite link to the Minneapolis - St Paul area and the 145.01 Minnesota node network. Serving the Minn. WB0GDB BBS through the #MNMD node, Serving the SEVERN Nodes and SEVBBS. K3AF-3 DCA3 446.075 Serving the N4QQ and WA3ZNW and ANNAP2 BBS. Link to the FDK4 node in Frederick, MD which is 3-ported with FDK on 145.09 and #FDK2 node on 221.01. Link to WNGTN2 in Warrenton, VA. Link to the INDY node which provides connectivity to the STP node on 145.01 and then to WB4D BBS. K3AF-4 DCA4 145.67 Wide area entry channel for user access to the the DCA nodes. There is little digipeating, no other nodes and no major BBS operation on this channel. K3AF-5 WASHDC 28.103 World-wide 300 baud 10 meter FSK channel. Link to the KT6M-7 KaNode in Los Angeles and the LA VHF network. Link to ENM10 in New Mexico. K3AF-6 DCA6 441.00 User and BBS uplink. Serves the N2GTE FGGM/FMBBS, K1LNJ BWI/BWIBBS and KA3DXX SEVERN/SEVBBS node/BBS. K3AF-7 NATCAP 28.195 1200 baud 10 meter FSK channel beamed west. Link to AZSE node in Arizona which links to the 145.01 network extending thru Arizona to Southern California and the 145.05 network to Eureka in Northern CA. Serves the NJ7P BBS through the BISBEE node. K3AF-8 DCA8 50.61 Primary backbone link to the nodes at Elk Neck: ELK6, ELK 145.01, #ELK2 221.01 & #ELK70 438. These nodes link into PA and So NJ. Link to NAVY6 and to NAVY1 on 145.01 in Annapolis and to BALTO6 in Baltimore. Soon to link south to Richmond. K3AF-9 DCA9 223.40 Adjunct to the 221.01 channel. To be operational soon. K3AF-10 DCCONV Access this node through the node network. The ConverseNode does not have its own radio port. Supports multiple users on multiple channels or conferences. Replaces the CQ feature of the network nodes. Useful also for disaster/emergency and Amateur Public Service activities. Node maps for east coast areas are available for downloading from the many of the area full service packet BBS. Use the W command on these BBS for a list of files to be downloaded. There are eleven interconnected nodes and commands are: Connect, Info, Nodes, Parms, Routes and Users. The INFO command will give a list of BBS stations served and news items of immediate interest concerning node interconnects. For further information, Connect DCA and then Connect NEWS. The nodes use p-persistence rather than D-WAIT for improved channel sharing. The nodes allow semi-permanent connects for disaster/emergency, Amateur Public Service and other uses. Stations can remain connected to each other for up to 12 hours without sending packets. Users should set their TNC to AX25L2V2 - ON to utilize this service. A Users' Manual for network nodes is available for download from the general download area of the N4QQ, WD4HXG-7 and WA3ZNW (and other) BBS. It is a 46K ASCII file and may be located in a sub-directory. Use the W command to locate and then the D command to download. The DCA nodes are an extension of the 145.07 Northern Virginia Local Area Packet Network. The circuits provided by the nodes are designed to be shared EQUALLY by ALL: BBS auto-forwarding, keyboard to keyboard and keyboard to BBS using AX.25 code, TCP/IP code imbedded in AX.25 headers, DX Packet Cluster, HF and VHF Gateway, NTS, Amateur Radio Public Service and other amateur digital radio activities. Consideration should be given to NOT downloading exceptionally long files from a distant BBS that has been accessed through the backbone system during hours of heavy circuit usage. Accessing the network ON the backbone frequencies slows the flow of traffic for all users. Utilizing the backbone to reach distant stations by accessing via a connecting node does not materially affect the network and is, indeed, encouraged. In the WashDC area, K4ADL operates the NEWS BBS. Connect with DCA2 and then Connect NEWS. Current news items and points of interest in the WashDC area are listed on NEWS. The NEWS BBS also contains amateur SwapNet items. The interface to the DX Packet Cluster system is to KK4XO off the DCA node. An amateur Callbook server is provided on the WA4ONG BBS (RICBBS) in Richmond. It supplies names and addresses for U.S. amateur callsigns. (There are no foreign listings or listing of club/military recreation amateur callsigns) Connect with WA4ONG BBS (RICBBS) through the nodes and send the command OS QTH (callsign). Or, a message requesting the address information will return a message addressed to you with the information within a few hours. It can be placed in an autoforwarding BBS and the reply to you will be returned there. The message format is: SP REQQTH @ WA4ONG - (callsign) @ (your forwarding BBS) For example: SP REQQTH @ WA4ONG KD3FU,K3AKK,W9BVD @ N4QQ /ex Note that multiple addresses may be requested with the calls separated by commas. There is no "text" in the message - only the address and the subject line followed by /ex or Ctl-Z. This system is used most efficiently if you combine several callsigns in a request rather than making multiple requests. A "real-time" Amateur callbook server is available locally on the KF4TE BBS on 145.07, off the DCA node. After connecting, type OS QTH (call1) (call2) and the server will return the information. It should be noted that much of the BBS software used in this Mid-Atlantic area is restricted in the number of simultaneous connectees. Thus, users should plan their connect time to a BBS so as to maximize the use of the port for all users. This means, simply, that during times of heavy use, a BBS client should log on, do his business and log off. Only very short messages should be composed "on-line" with a BBS unless the user is equipped with only basic terminal equipment. If sufficiently equipped, a station would compose messages "off-line" and then reconnect with the BBS and enter a string of messages. The BBS software will support commands one after another, with the user not waiting for prompts. Two or three messages can be concantenated into the input of a BBS. Thus the user might store on disk messages in this format: S KD3FU @ N4QQ Thanks for the info Paul - I got your message last night and the information was invaluable. Thanks. Dick - K3AKK @ N4QQ /ex Several messages can be entered serially to the BBS without waiting for prompts. For users with MS-DOS machines, the combination of YAPP terminal software and Borland's Sidekick is a very useful combination. Similar programs exist for the Commodore. Even the Model 100 laptop can be used in this manner to compose messages "off-line". It allows spelling and other errors to be removed from text before transmission. The most efficient flow of packets occurs when connecting direct to a station or when connecting through MULTIPLE nodes. For example, entering the system by connecting with DCA4, connecting with DCA3, then connecting with N4QQ BBS, the packets are stored and buffered by two nodes enroute to the BBS and there is no contention for a single channel by the user and the BBS. When stations are within simplex range of each other and plan to transfer lengthy files, consideration should be given to QSYing to an unused packet channel rather than using the nodes. If nodes are utilized, there is a more efficient flow of packets when stations are on different node frequencies and the packets traverse the node "stack". Uplinking to a node and then connecting to a station on the same channel usually is very inefficient with many packet collisions. When digipeating through a node, the node does NOT use p-persistence for channel sharing and the repeated packets capture the channel to the detriment of other nodes and users. So, it is better to connect and then connect again (preferably through cross frequency nodes) rather than digipeat. The digipeat function is turned off on DCA1, DCA4 and DCA6. It is turned on at the other nodes to accommodate Mail Beacons by BBS and occasional use as a digipeater. As nodes replace digipeaters across the country, it is becoming a rewarding experience to connect and explore the packet system. The traffic on distant BBS provide insights into the amateur packet activity in other areas. If nodes are not available, it is usually not practical to access a BBS through multiple digipeaters. Most BBS will refuse connects via more than 3 digipeaters, though there is no "counting" of the nodes traversed. The intervening nodes buffer and append packets to make efficient use of the network. The network is becoming very sophisticated and versatile. K3AF is the Amateur call of USAF MARS station AIR and the nodes are located at Silver Hill, MD (near Suitland). The antennas are mounted at the the top of a 330 foot tower and are fed with 7/8" hardline, except for the NATCAP node which uses a 3 element beam, at 40 feet, aimed west. The VHF and UHF frequencies have an operating radius well in excess of 50 miles. At the Silver Hill site, eleven TNC-200s are interconnected by a matrix of diodes. The diode network functions as a small 9600 baud LAN with full handshaking between the TNCs. The three 2 meter nodes use Azden PCS-3000s, the 440 nodes use a Kenwood TM-401B and a TM-411B. The 220 node uses a ICOM IC-38A and a Mirage 120 watt amplifier. The 223.4 node uses a Kenwood TM- 321. The 28.103 300 baud node uses a ICOM 730 with a AEA PM-1 HF adapter on the TNC. The 28.195 1200 baud node uses a Drake TR-7 and its TNC-200 has the N7CL modification for true tone Data Carrier Detection and variable threshold DCD. There are several power supplies that provide a total of 200 amperes of current at 13.8 volts. An omni 4-bay J-pole antenna is used (with a duplexer) for the 145.07 and 145.67 nodes. A three element beam pointed north is used for 147.57. The two 440 nodes share an omni 4-bay J-pole through a duplexer. The 220 nodes use an omni 4-bay J-pole through a duplexer. The 6 meter node uses a half- wave vertical. The 300 baud 10 meter node uses a 1/4 wave groundplane antenna with four radial elements. The 1200 baud 10 meter node is connected to a three element beam pointed west. 24 hour a day monitoring and remote control of the equipment at Silver Hill is provided by radio links and by leased telephone lines. Back-up power is provided by auto-start diesel engine generators. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Address inquiries and complaints to sysop: Dick Wareing - K3AKK @ N4QQ