VarAC Forum

I would like to suggest the ability to schedule a broadcast. This could be useful during a net. For example, net participants could be assigned a specific time during which to broadcast their check-in.

With RWS, not only do you not need internet, you don't even need a radio link with someone to chat with them! All you need to do is connect to an RWS server, enter the callsign you want to chat with, and you can message them using the RWS server's internet to bridge the gap when RF doesn't work. Someone in northern Africa could use a server hosted in South Africa to chat with someone from Alaska who uses a server hosted in Canada. This isn't the only feature that RWS offers. The RWS project allows anyone using an HF radio and a computer to access the internet from anywhere if needed, either because of an emergency or if you simply go somewhere that doesn't have internet. The current implementation of the server uses the VARA modem, which is free, though the uncapped speed version costs $70. (But, if you call CQ and a server with a licensed copy of VARA answers, there won't be any restrictions, and vice versa for any unlicensed server hosters) The server has a lot of built-in commands which, as well as chat with people in the way shown above, also allow you to: • View a website (either in plain text or raw HTML) • Perform a quick DuckDuckGo search • Get the weather forecast for a given city + state • Download a given URL (download is encoded into base64 to allow download through text, instructions for how to decode are given alongside the download) • View and create forum posts and comments in the community section of the GitHub of the project • Print server info, logs, and global active servers I've read Part 97 and I've made sure my server is fully legal. My end goal for the project is to have hundreds or thousands of servers hosted around the world, which would allow coverage for almost everyone on Earth. The server and instructions for how to host your own are listed at the GitHub: https://github.com/Glitch31415/rws To connect to a server, make sure you have VARA and VarAC installed. Once those are installed and working correctly, go to 14.110 MHz USB and call CQ. (Both 500 Hz and 2300 Hz bandwidths are supported.) Wait for at least 2 minutes. If a server has heard you, it will call back and try to connect with you. The list of commands and other instructions are sent once you're connected. I need testers and server hosters to properly see if the server will work correctly in the real world! If you aren't using your radio at the moment, and if you have a computer connected to the radio, you can get the server running in 10 minutes and just let it sit in the background, waiting for a connection, with no further hassle needed. If you want an external helper for dealing with the downloads and base64, KC3VPB has created a helper that can decode base64 automatically and save it to a file. https://github.com/Caleb-J773/rws-tools-release/releases For more info or if you need help, email me: jpradiophone@gmail.com Discord invite link: https://discord.gg/muYEBCjqsM

Running 10.2.1, and VARA-HF 4.8.9 on Win 11. When a URL is received, there is no way to select JUST that URL from lines of text received. (It cannot be highlighted and copy-pasted into a browser). The entire block of text can be copied, but not just the URL. Clicking on the URL in the received text also no longer starts the browser (Chrome or Edge) with the URL automatically pasted into it (which is how I think it used to work).