The video version of this episode is at: https://youtu.be/h6__7kv8zjk

Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications (a project of the Internet Archive): https://archive.org/details/dlarc

Zero Retries Newsletter: https://www.zeroretries.org

Amateur Radio Digital Communications: https://www.ardc.net

GNU Radio Conference 2025: https://events.gnuradio.org/event/26/

Zero Retries Digital Conference 2025: https://www.zeroretries.org/p/conference

IP400 Network Project: https://adrcs.org/adrcs/ip400-network-project/

Hamvention: https://hamvention.org

The big news of this episode is that Internet Archive received a second grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) to enable DLARC to continue for an additional two years. There is already a queue of scanning work to be done, and digital material to be added. Steve observed that “all the infrastructure, systems, and relationships” are in place to make even more progress with this second grant.

Kay discussed the addition of 32 Amateur Radio Callbooks to the Callbook section, bringing the total to nearly 150. These books, dating back to the 19th century, provide valuable information on Amateur Radio callsigns, addresses, and names. Kay also shared their discovery of old floppy disks containing software and meeting minutes from the Northwest Amateur Packet Radio Association (NAPRA).

Of interest to Steve, Kay mentioned packet radio software WA7MBL MailBox V2.04. It’s an DOS work-alike of the W0RLI MailBox software (which originated on CP/M systems, and was later ported to DOS). There’s PBBS – Packet Bulletin Board System published by the Wake Digital Communications Group in 1985. And, meeting minutes from the Northwest Amateur Packet Radio Association for 1990-1991. If NARPA seems familiar, maybe it’s because they published a newsletter called Zero Retries.

NAPRA’s Zero Retries newsletter was the origin of Steve’s use of Zero Retries, since NAPRA is long defunct. Steve’s looking forward to looking over those additional issues of Zero Retries (he contributed a number of paper copies).

This episode encompasses Zero Retries issues 0193 thru 0198.

Steve discusses he and his wife Tina (KD7WSF) attendance at HamSCI 2025 conference in Newark, NJ in March.

In addition to publishing Zero Retries every Friday, Steve has stayed busy in the past month or so replying to FCC Requests for Comments. Steve discussed his new perspective that Software Defined Radio is THE Imperative for US Amateur Radio. He also discussed his “deja vu – flashback” from two decades ago when a black box data radio was first discussed by his advanced packet radio co-conspirators in the Seattle area.

Steve and Tina are now volunteers for the GNU Radio Conference (GRCon) which will be held in Everett, WA this year from September 8-12. In addition to GRCon 2025, Tina and Steve have decided to start their own Zero Retries Digital Conference (ZRDC) to be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at the same venue as GRCon. The two conferences are independent of each other.

Steve is also deeply involved in the development of the IP400 Network Project, and he discusses IP400 a bit. There will be a major announcement regarding IP400 in Zero Retries 0200, which will publish on May 2, 2025.

Steve is looking forward to attending Hamvention 2025 in Xenia, OH on May 16-18. Because of his Editorship of Zero Retries, Steve has been granted media access so will be able to interview vendors before the conference on Thursday May 15th for stories in Zero Retries.

Listen for some exciting “reveals” of both new additions to DLARC now that DLARC acquisition and archiving is ramping back up, and stories from Hamvention in the next episode of Store & Forward.