Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!news.Brown.EDU!noc.near.net!gateway!miki!wpns
From: wpns@miki.pictel.com (Willie Smith)
Subject: Re: Looking for low-cost wireless data link
Message-ID: <1993Feb14.233332.6690@miki.pictel.com>
Organization: PictureTel Corporation
References: <JAK.93Feb12013920@aruba.cs.brown.edu> <1993Feb12.194536.6193@miki.pictel.com> <1993Feb12.234635.9332@ncsu.edu>
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1993 23:33:32 GMT
Lines: 29

In article <1993Feb12.234635.9332@ncsu.edu> djbarnes@eos.ncsu.edu (DONALD JAMES BARNES) writes:
>Pardon my ignorance of the subject, but could someone please explain this 
>paragraph to me.  I understand that you need HAM licenses for some types of
>communication, but I don't know what ham tickets are.  And why are they easy
>for people in this group to come by?

Sorry about that, the jargon caught up with me.  A Technician class
amateur radio license (ham ticket, same thing) now requires no Morse
code, and consists of a 55-choice multiple-guess exam with a 70
percent requirement for passing.  You can get study manuals from your
local Radio Shack, and you can take exams at local ham radio clubs
almost every week in populous areas.  Two weeks of studying part time
would suffice for anyone with a decent brain and an interest in
technology (hence anyone here).

I'm using Amateur (FM) TV for getting the video signal back from my
teleop vehicle, and 9600 baud packet gear for communications between
the base (operator) and onboard computers.

There are some business (no business use, no money changes hands,
no-one profits) and content (no profanity, no music, no encryption)
restrictions, but they don't apply to hobbyist robotics, and probably
don't apply to schools.  Stop by rec.radio.amateur.{misc,packet,policy} 
for detailed answers to these and other questions.
-- 
Willie Smith
wpns@pictel.com
N1JBJ@amsat.org

