Exploring Radio Web Services (RWS) - April 14th 2024 writing this at night time heh.
Learn more about the project here
https://github.com/Glitch31415/rws
As you know, I'm always into I.T/computers and such, so I've always been fascinated by all sorts of tech related stuff.
So I came across a project created by a ham that aims to bridge the gap between ham radio and the internet, allowing users to access the web via HF radios using the VARA modem.
A while ago, I learned about the project, created by a ham with a vision to enable anyone using VarAC - a chat application that utilizes the VARA modem or a VARA Chat Terminal - to access the internet if needed. VarAC is a somewhat new-ish chat app if you hadn't heard of it.
Eventually after talking to the ham off and on, I've decided to try and help him out with as much as I can, with trying to get the word out and or trying to show it off. I've also been working on some RWS-tools related stuff that might help expand it from a client side point of view
(This project is one way)
To establish a connection with the server, ensure that you have VARA and VarAC installed on your system (at least for this demo use, you could maybe use Vara Chat, but VarAC is recommended).
Once these are installed and properly configured, tune your radio to 14.110 MHz USB and initiate a CQ call.
(Note: Both 500 Hz and 2300 Hz bandwidths are compatible.) Allow at least 2 minutes for a response. If a server detects your call, it will respond and attempt to establish a connection with you.
Once connected, you will receive a transmission containing a list of commands and further instructions.
This is what the RWS server has to offer to people, it comes with a variety of built-in commands.
1. View Websites: Either you prefer viewing websites in plain text or raw HTML, it has options for it.
2. Perform Quick Searches: Need to find something? The server enables you to perform web searches.
3. Get Weather Forecasts: You can get the weather!
4. Download URL Content: The server can download content from a given URL, encoding the download into base64 to allow it to be transmitted through text.
5. Interact with the Community: View and create threads and comments in the community section of the GitHub repository for the project.
6. Print Server Info, Logs, and Active Servers: See the server info, logs, and a list of global active servers.
The creator's ultimate goal for the VRWS project is to have hundreds or even thousands of servers hosted around the world, providing access to the internet through VarAC and other VARA chat applications for anyone with an HF radio and a computer.
Despite the potential uses or just in general fun of RWS, some members of the ham community (of course) have expressed skepticism or disapproval of the project.
Some argue the fact that services like Starlink provide faster and simpler solutions, overlooking the essence of RWS as a hobbyist endeavor.
And even then, what if you don't want to use starlink? What if all you had was just an HF rig? Or maybe you wanted your own server setup. And yep! You can setup your own RWS server and host it for others.
The speeds of course are going to be quite rough. But this is a really neat project and works great for simpler sites. I'm also exploring maybe helping the project extend to Gopher support (maybe) not sure yet.