Where you gonna surf when you go digital? "The Digital Domain" of Amateur Radio, of course!

If you are a digital ham or are seriously considering going digital, then you must visit "The Digital Domain" of Amateur Radio--the Web site of Tucson Amateur Packet Radio, which is better known simply as TAPR.

You may ask, "Why visit a site for hams in Arizona that are doing packet radio?" Good question!

TAPR (pronounced "tapper") is an organization that did, indeed, start in Tucson to experiment with packet radio--way back when that mode was new. Over the years, their experiments led to the development of the TNC-1 and the TNC-2, which are the hearts of every TNC still manufactured and sold today. Along the way, their developments attracted an international audience and an international membership with a variety of digital tastes. Today, the organization promotes a great gamut of digital Amateur Radio modes on a worldwide basis.

Bookmark the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR) Web site to access the digital world of ham radio.

The TAPR Web page reflects the varied interests of its members with projects as diverse as software-defined radios (SDRs), digital voice, low-cost weather packet radio stations and more. ("If you have a digital idea, TAPR will help you build it.")

TAPR has also been a long-time supporter of digital discussions by providing the resources for conducting on-line think tanks for a variety of digital interests. I count nearly three dozen special interest groups (SIGs) on the TAPR Web site, where interested parties exchange e-mail on subjects as varied as Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) satellite experimentation, digital signal processing (DSP), Linux and spread spectrum. Most of the TAPR projects have their own SIGs to provide up-to-date news projects and on-line customer support.

On-line, you can purchase TAPR projects as well as become a card-carrying member of TAPR, which entitles you to a 10% discount on your purchases. So, surf on over and join the digital revolution of ham radio!

Until next time, keep on surfin'.

Editor's note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, of downtown Wolcott, Connecticut, is an ARRL Life Member and an incessant contributor to QST and QEX (577 pieces in 25 years), not to mention the author of five ARRL books and contributor to a bevy of other ARRL titles. First licensed in 1969 as WN1LOU, he upgraded to WA1LOU in 1971. Stan began using computers with Amateur Radio in 1978 when he bought a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I computer and wrote BASIC programs to dupe contests and calculate antenna bearings. A virtual beach boy, Stan has been surfing the radio dials as long as he can remember. Instead of surfing all over Manhattan and down Doheny way, however, he now surfs the Internet searching for that perfect page. To contact Stan, send e-mail to wa1lou@arrl.net.

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