[drats_users] E-Mail SMPTE Connection

[Dan Smith]

> Prior to using D-RATS, many here had been experimenting with D-Star 
> COMMS, another software product for slow speed data. One feature that it 
> contained that I thought had critical importance for EMCOMM was the 
> ability send and receive short e-mail messages, and allowing stations 
> connected to the Internet to function as "gateways" for this type of 
> traffic.

I'm not familiar with what it does in this area, but I've seen this 
mentioned before.  Can you explain in a little more detail what it does 
in the way of email?

> During a disaster, the impacted area and it's EMA might well lose 
> Internet connectivity. In theory, amateurs could use D-Star with it's 
> slow speed data capability to send and receive e-mail by linking to a 
> station outside the area who still had connectivity to the Internet. I 
> personally saw Winlink 2K used to fill this need in Gulfport, MS after 
> Katrina.

D-RATS has the ability to forward arbitrary TCP traffic over the radio, 
which could be used for SMTP or POP3 and can bridge an island station to 
its normal mail servers through only a D-STAR radio.  It's slow as heck, 
but it works for me ;)

There is also an improvement I plan to make when I get some time, which 
is to add acceleration modules for specific types of traffic (i.e. SMTP 
and POP3) that would make this much much faster.

-- 
Dan Smith
dsmith#danplanet.com, s/#/@/
www.danplanet.com
KK7DS