{"id":1,"date":"2010-11-05T23:45:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T23:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/?p=1"},"modified":"2021-01-27T00:45:55","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T00:45:55","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/2010\/11\/05\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Echo-Link is Not Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">November 5, 2010 &#8211; In late 2005 I returned to Amateur Radio after an 9 year absence. I found that the radio equipment has gotten better and grown smaller. HTs packed more features in a smaller package and the cost had not gone up too much.\u00a0 But I also came across the concept of Echolink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is how Echolink describes itself on its webpage: \u201c<em>EchoLink\u00ae software allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using streaming-audio technology.\u00a0 The program allows worldwide connections to be made between stations, or from computer to station, greatly enhancing Amateur Radio\u2019s communications capabilities.\u00a0 There are more than 200,000 validated users worldwide \u2014 in 162 of the world\u2019s 193 nations \u2014 with about 5,000 online at any given time<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.n2lrb.com\/images\/uploads\/echolink_graphic.png\" alt=\"image\" width=\"581\" height=\"361\" \/>As you can see Echolink is using one\u2019s computer to connect to another person\u2019s computer via the internet that is then routed through their radio out to a repeater or straight out to SSB.\u00a0 Now this is not getting into a local computer, to then get on a local repeater, though that is possible (kinda like remote control).\u00a0 Most hams connect into Echolink and choose a repeater that they could not reach with their radio equipment or through a repeater system. When first explained to me I was puzzled.\u00a0 Is that not HF without the radio? Why would computer internet communications ever be considered the same as over the air radio communications? I found that many hams considered Echolink radio communication. Echolink is not radio communications. It is computer networking software. Whereas radio communications is over the air communications.\u00a0 If hams wish to talk long distance, they should get on HF and work the bands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Echolink is no different than pick up ones cell phone and calling a phone patch input to a distant repeater and using that as a communications device.\u00a0 How could any ham call that \u201cradio communications\u201d?\u00a0 Is that not cheating a bit in stretching the term \u201cradio communications\u201d? Since the beginning of radio it\u2019s definition has been communicating \u201cwirelessly\u201d \u201cover the air\u201d regardless of how that was done.\u00a0 First came spark gap technology, then CW, followed by SSB, Ritty, Amtor, and all sorts of digital means to communicate.\u00a0 But all of it was done \u201cover the air\u201d.\u00a0 Not through telephone lines to a repeater and then over the air. Since Echolink itself is really computer intranet technology is can not ever be considered radio.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that is not to say that this can not or should not be used in case of an emergency where it may prove helpful.\u00a0 Yes, go ahead and practice, drill using Echolink, but never confuse it with real over the air communications.\u00a0 Sure it gets the job done, but what\u2019s to stop hams from getting rid of their radio equipment all together and just get on the intranet that is Echolink?<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>November 5, 2010 &#8211; In late 2005 I returned to Amateur Radio after an 9 year absence. I found that the radio equipment has gotten better and grown smaller. HTs &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/29"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.n2lrb.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}