VarAC V13 AI Gateway
Each of us has his or her own opinions. I’ll share mine at the risk of being “flamed”. (Note: I am an active member of Amateur Radio Emergency Service, but the discussion below is not an official ARES position, only my own.)
Bottom line: I think the AI Gateway in Version 13 is a bad idea.
VarAC is becoming a good mode for EmComm. In a “grid down” situation, where EmComm would likely be employed, VarAC has an advantage over Winlink in that VarAC allows a message sender to connect to a station which is known to be on the air (beaconing) rather than having to depend on a Winlink propagation forecast or resorting to hunt-and-try for a usable Winlink gateway. ( Winlink propagation forecasts are useful when they can be updated via internet, but they rapidly become outdated and in a grid-down situation without Winlink VHF FM, the forecasts…
Dear Mike,
Let me start with the bottom line — Ham radio and VarAC are hobbies, much like chess. If someone enjoys “doomsday practice” as a hobby, that’s perfectly fine. If another prefers playing chess with friends, that’s fine too. VarAC is not a business — and like any hobby, it doesn’t require a business plan.
Now, to your point:VarAC is not limited to 10 slots. You can QSY to any frequency you wish. You mentioned there’s no problem to solve, but I see it differently. Until now, there was no real way to browse the web via HF radio — and now there is. This opens up real EmComm use cases, such as accessing weather updates or news when completely off-grid. Most organized EmComm groups don’t use the VarAC CF anyway; they have their own designated frequencies.
I fully respect your opinion, but I simply don’t share it. VarAC was created first and foremost as a hobby, and only secondarily does it offer useful capabilities for EmComm. For example, I personally dislike packet radio — but I don’t consider it illegitimate. The same goes for RTTY. Different people enjoy different aspects of the hobby: some are drawn to RTTY, some to packet, some to chess, and some to AI.
And one last note: AI is here to stay. We all use it daily — every Google search already benefits from it. History has shown that opposing technological progress has never been an effective strategy.
I wish you many enjoyable hours with VarAC — and may you never truly need its EmComm capabilities.
Warm regards,
Irad