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Table of Contents
GB7BSK Basingstoke, Hampshire
See live packet connectivity map
Sysop: 2E0HKD
Locator: IO91kg
RF Ports
| Port | Frequency | Mode | NinoTNC Mode | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 144.950 MHz FM | 3600 baud QPSK IL2P+CRC | 0101 (v39 only) | Operational |
| 2 | 70.3125 MHz FM | 4800 baud GFSK IL2P+CRC | 0100 | Semi-Operational (new port still being tested) |
The 3600 baud mode is available with NinoTNC firmware v39, setting 0101 (this firmware replaces the old 0101 mode of DPSK 2400 IL2P)
Good link to GB7RDG.
BBS/Mail, and Chat available. SSID for direct connection to BBS GB7BSK-1, and for chat GB7BSK-4.
Packet mail region: #48.GBR.EURO
BBS Hierarchical Address (HA): GB7BSK.#48.GBR.EURO
Sysop address: 2E0HKD@GB7BSK.#48.GBR.EURO
Forwarding enabled for bulletins to:
- OARC - For the Online Amateur Radio Club (OARC) community
- GBR - Great Britain wide
- WW - World wide
Rejects bulls @WW over 5000 bytes from external BBSes to avoid saturating onward HF links within the network, please keep bulls a sensible length as you never know what links they may need to traverse!
QtSoundModem Settings
NOTE: The new NinoTNC 3600 bps mode does not yet work with QtSoundModem, but compatibility is being worked on! Unfortunately the 2400 bps mode mentioned below will no longer work with the node.
If using QtSoundModem as a modem, you should select “QPSK V26A 2400bps” and a centre frequency of 1500 hz.
And in the modem settings (Settings → Setup Modems) enable FX25 and IL2P for RX+TX, and tick the CRC box.
AX.25 2.2 with SREJ
It is also possible to connect using Ax.25 2.2, which may have some advantages described below.
To do this from a BPQ node, use the “nc” (new connect) command, rather than the more common “c” (or “connect”) command, and force L2 (no NET/ROM) by putting an exclamation mark in front of the callsign. E.g.:
nc 2 !gb7bsk
(The 2 in this example specifies the port, use the “ports” command on a node to work out which one is on the appropriate band).
One advantage of this type of connection is the ability for SREJ, or selective reject, to be used. Normally, several packet may be sent out in order, and if one of them is not received correctly the entire batch is rejected with a REJ message. The whole set of packets then has to be retransmitted. SREJ allows only specific packets to be rejected, so only those individual packet need to be retransmitted.
LoRA-APRS
APRS over LoRA is also run under GB7BSK-10. Initially this is a separate system, but there are plans to create some interaction with the packet node so you can interact with one from the other (within some limits, no large transfers over LoRa which would swamp the frequency!)
This runs on 439.9125 MHz, Bandwidth 125khz, Spreading Factor 12, Coding Rate 4/5 (ie. enter “5” for the coding rate). This is the same frequency for LoRa based APRS across the UK. As a shared frequency, try not to dominate it too much just like standard APRS.
For those that don't know, APRS over LoRA is exactly what it sounds like: Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) packets sent using using LoRa radio modulation, instead of the more common FM modulation used in standard APRS.
In fact APRS packets are in the AX.25 format, just like regular packet radio, but it uses the format in a different way and so is not directly compatible at the protocol level with traditional packet radio. It is possible to run a packet node and/or BBS over the LoRa modulation as well, and GB7BSK may experiment with this at some point as well.
A LoRa-only APRS map can be found at https://lora.ham-radio-op.net/, though packets from LoRa based devices are still found on common APRS sites like aprs.fi.