66 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
66 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
# PacketServer BBS
|
|
|
|
*DISCLAIMER* This whole project is still a major WIP.
|
|
|
|
*HUGE HUGE THANKS TO https://github.com/mfncooper* for providing the pyham_pe package
|
|
that this uses to talk to the TNC
|
|
|
|
## Intro
|
|
|
|
Basically, this is supposed to be a modernized BBS for radio,
|
|
but with clients and servers exchanging binary messages
|
|
(which can be compressed automatically) rather than human-typed text.
|
|
|
|
This compression is inherent to the protocol, and actually results in
|
|
some pretty large transmission time savings when sending longer
|
|
messages back and forth!
|
|
|
|
The downside is that right now, this BBS system will be useless to someone
|
|
without the client library. You won't be able to just type in messages to the server.
|
|
I may add some kind of workaround for this.
|
|
|
|
Right now, it uses ax25 connected sessions through any TNC that can
|
|
provide an AGWPE TNC, though I may add a restricted unconnected protocol using
|
|
UI packets later on..
|
|
|
|
## Requirements
|
|
|
|
- A radio of some kind that can transmit on a band suitable for any kind of AX25 packet work.
|
|
- A way to connect the radio to a Linux machine (for hosting using the container orchestrator) or just anything that runs Python for the client. I recommend DigiRig.
|
|
- A TNC that provides an AGWPE interface. Direwolf works; there are others for different platforms.
|
|
- Recent Python (Python 3.11+.)
|
|
- A version of the pyham_pe package that fixes the minor bug with incoming connections. (https://github.com/alienhunter3/pyham_pe_bugfix_incoming_connections)
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Features completed:
|
|
|
|
- protocol using connected mode sessions to provide request/response architecture
|
|
- Object CRUD operations
|
|
- Podman containerized job orchestrator
|
|
- automatic compression for all RF communication
|
|
|
|
## Features in-progress and working to some extent:
|
|
|
|
- Sending and receiving and searching messages to/from other users
|
|
- Posting, retrieving, and editing public bulletins
|
|
- Python client wrapper library for the complete RF 'API'
|
|
|
|
## I'm considering several other features like:
|
|
|
|
- Useful documentation of any variety..
|
|
- RF beacon
|
|
- service administration over RF
|
|
- cli administration tools
|
|
- Right now, just edit the zope database with a python interpreter
|
|
- possibly a cron system (again in containers for safety)
|
|
- maybe an e-mail or an sms gateway (though clever user uploaded scripts could do this instead)
|
|
- maybe APRS integration through APRS-IS
|
|
- Kubernetes or possibly simple shell job execution.
|
|
|
|
## Final Thoughts
|
|
|
|
I may also add a TCP/IP interface to this later, since that shouldn't be too difficult. We'll see.
|
|
|
|
I'm envisioning using a couple of python CLI clients with this for now, or possibly an android or
|
|
PC GUI, assuming an AGWPE TNC is available on the network.
|