VK4ZZ BBS closes, VK4ZZ APRS Igate opens

With lots of Packet BBS closures in the news recently comes information about yet another BBS closure - but it has a happy ending !

After about 15 years of operation the VK4ZZ Packet BBS in Townsville has closed, all RF and TELNET access has ceased and forwarding links stopped.

In its place, configured from bits and pieces of the old BBS, a new Packet service has started up in Townsville, the VK4ZZ APRS Igate.

The Townsville APRS Igate is online and on-air 24 hours a day, runs on battery powered radios and computers using uiVIEW32 and supports APRS Messaging service.

The radio port is accessible on 145.175MHz at a speed of 1200baud and runs a squelchless TNC using TF firmware for maximum sensitivity and speed.

The internet port is linked via broadband service to the First Australian APRS server in Sydney.

For those stations wanting to play APRS using uiVIEW, a series of calibrated maps for the program can be downloaded from the Documents section of the TARCinc website www.tarc.org.au

Wireless Institute of Australia