WA3Z

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====== Are you looking to get back in to packet radio in 2026? ======

"Forget all that you know or think you know." ― Wayland Drew, Willow (good movie, even better book)

Okay, okay, maybe it isn't that extreme but a lot has changed recently.

===== Can I still use my old packet radio gear? =====

Of course you can. If you still remember the old arcane ways then please join us again!

But a better question is, "Should you continue to use your old gear?". If your old packet gear is hardware based you will see great improvements moving to packet radio software and soundcards. The new packet radio software is more capable, has more features, and require less tweaking than hardware does.

===== What software I need to join in packet radio? =====

Download the latest versions of Soundmodem and Easyterm from [[https://uz7.ho.ua/packetradio.htm]]

To improve decoding with Soundmodem go in the Modem settings and set Add. RX to 3 pairs. This will help decode signals that aren't exactly on the same audio frequency. Also set FX.25 Mode to RX+TX. This will turn on forward error correction. Because forward error correction is backwards compatible with no error correction you can still send to and receive from stations without FX.25 but when a station has FX.25 enabled you both will benefit!
===== Where can I find packet radio activity? =====

Visit [[https://vapn.org/about/virginia-packet-network-design/references/hf-robust-packet-frequency-list|HF and Robust Packet Frequency List]] for a list of frequencies.

I've have luck on the following frequencies...

14.102.300 MHz USB with an audio center frequency of 1000 Hz
If you prefer LSB then use 14.105.000 Mhz LSB with an audio center frequency of 1700 Hz. This is the same as the USB frequency above because that's how math works and packet radio doesn't care if the mark and space frequencies are "flipped."