Internet Radio Linking Project Connects the World
When I attended Black Hat USA 2003 in Las Vegas last month, I brought my amateur radio with me and found myself listening to callers all over the world. It turns out I had stumbled upon a frequency used by the Internet Radio Linking Project. The IRLP links amateur radio repeaters by encapsulating voice communications over the Internet. So, when I listened to 146.40 MHz in Las Vegas, I was listening to node 3290 on the IRLP! This is another example of how amateur radio is alive and well in the age of IRC and text messaging via cellphone. You can listen to the IRLP live for free here: http://live.irlp.net:8000/listen.pls.
>Currently my rig can only operate on 2 meters (144-148 MHz), and the nearest IRLP nodes to me operate on 70 centimeters (420-450 MHz). I've been checking the eHamnet Reviews for a good dual-band rig I can afford. The Yaesu FT-8800R has good reviews and supports a feature called WIRES, or "Wide-coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System."
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