OK, some would say it's cheating, and I spose in a way it is, since it
is not, purely speaking, radio end-to-end. Neither,, though, are quite
a lot of linked repeater systems. IRLP is only linked repeaters to the
max!

IRLP (www.irlp.net) is the Internet Radio Linking project. You can
hear about it a little on the latest Amateur Radio Newsline. In brief,
it's a system that allows one to link one node either direct to
another, or to link a bunch of nodes together through a reflector so
that a whole lot of people can all talk together from all over the
place! There are nodes all over the U.S. and Canada, as well as some
in Oz, the UK, and (believe it or not) Antarctica!

Check www.irlp.net to see if there's a node in your area, and get in
touch with the node owner. If someone has a broadband connection, a
spare computer (old and slow is OK, IRLP uses Linux), and a spare
radio (the serious node owners prefer surplus commercial gear), you
could set up a node, too...I'd like to do it myself, come to
that. There's a node here in Dallas on 444.15...there are two,
actually, but I don't know the guy who runs the other one. Anyway,
y'all check it out! How 'bout a blind-hams net on IRLP? Everyone can
participate, even codeless techs, since it's all on VHF! What do y'all
say? Maybe we can commandeer a reflector for some ight for a
blind-hams net!

Vy 73,
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV    | From the pines down to the projects,
Email: [log in to unmask] | Life pushes up through the cracks.
Phone: (972) 276-6360    | And it's only going forward,
ICQ: 36621210            | And it's never going back.--Small Potatoes