Resources

Resources & References

Primary sources, technical references, and archives we draw on for radio infrastructure, packet radio history, community broadcasting, and online radio.

A working list of the documents, archives, and reference sites we use.

Most of what gets published on PacketRadio.ca depends on a fairly small set of authoritative sources. Rather than scattering links throughout the article archive, we keep them collected here and update the list as we draw on new material. Anyone researching packet radio history, modern radio infrastructure, or the practical operation of community and online stations should find a useful starting point in one of the categories below.

Canadian regulatory & spectrum

  • ISED — Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Canadian regulator for radio spectrum, including amateur, broadcasting, and unlicensed bands. ised-isde.canada.ca
  • RBR-4 — Standards for the Operation of Radio Stations in the Amateur Radio Service The current Canadian rule book for amateur radio operations, including band plans and operating restrictions.
  • BPR-1, BPR-2, BPR-3 — Broadcasting Procedures ISED’s broadcasting procedural rules, including the technical and licensing framework for FM, AM, and low-power broadcasting in Canada.
  • CRTC — Broadcasting Content, ownership, and licensing rules for Canadian broadcasting, including community radio policy. crtc.gc.ca

Amateur radio organisations

  • Radio Amateurs of Canada National organisation, band plans, advocacy, and the Canadian Amateur magazine archive. rac.ca
  • ARRL US national organisation. Their technical archive and protocol documentation are useful for both packet history and modern digital modes. arrl.org
  • TAPR — Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Long-running organisation responsible for much of the original packet radio research, including the original AX.25 specification work. tapr.org

Packet radio & protocol references

  • AX.25 Link Access Protocol, Version 2.2 The current published version of the AX.25 specification used by amateur packet radio. The TAPR archive carries a full copy.
  • JNOS / TheNet / NET/ROM documentation Software stacks that ran most of the active SOPRA-era nodes. Source and documentation are still maintained by enthusiasts and mirrored across several sites.
  • APRS Working Group documents Bob Bruninga’s original APRS specification and the working group’s subsequent revisions remain the reference for APRS implementations.
  • Internet Archive — amateur radio newsletters Scanned runs of QST, the Canadian Amateur, and several regional newsletters that documented packet network developments through the 1980s and 1990s. archive.org

Streaming & online radio infrastructure

  • Icecast 2 & Liquidsoap documentation The two open-source projects most small online stations actually run on. Their documentation is the practical reference for streaming infrastructure work.
  • AzuraCast project A self-hosted web interface that bundles Icecast/Liquidsoap with playlist management, AutoDJ, and listener stats. Widely used by community and online stations. azuracast.com
  • National Campus and Community Radio Association The NCRA represents Canadian community and campus stations and publishes useful operational guidance for new and existing licensees. ncra.ca

Archives we’re drawing on

  • Wayback Machine captures of PacketRadio.ca 47 captures between 2011 and 2025. The 2017 snapshot is the source for much of our SOPRA-era node and network-news preservation.
  • RAC News and TCA archives Reports of network changes, BBS forwarding agreements, and band plan updates that touched the Southern Ontario packet network at various points.

If you know of a primary source we should be drawing on — particularly anything related to SOPRA meeting minutes, GTA-area packet network logs, or historical photographs of the node sites — please get in touch. We add to this list as the archive grows.