I'm not sure what other solution you could do if not port forwarding.  If 
you're on dsl, you'll need to set the modem up in bridge mode so you don't 
get double address translation.  The Linksys is easy to configure, I've 
set up several.  You also need to kknow the address of your echo link 
computer.  If you don't know this, go to a command prompt and type
ipconfig /all

You should see among other things, something like
gateway 192.168.1.100 (your router)
192.168.1.101 or whatever for your computer.

I don't know about echo link, but on i r l p boxes, they must be a static 
address to port forward.  If you  have your computers set up for dhcp and 
they come on line at different times, the address may not be the same. 
Perhaps others who have run echo link can be a bit more specific.
73
Butch Bussen
wa0vjr
open Node 3148
Las Vegas