CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

FBB (software)

packet radio messaging system

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 22, 2024
Entity authorityQ3062993 ↗
Source-derived summary

FBB is a free and open source bulletin board system for packet transmissions of radio amateurs. Written in C programming language, it allows transmission of messages over the AX.25 packet radio network by VHF, PACTOR on HF and Internet. Originally an MS-DOS program, the current versions run on Linux and 32-bit Windows.

Created in 1986 and consistently maintained, it can be compared to DPBOX and Winlink system, with which it is compatible (Routing mail by the Open FBB forwarding protocol). It also integrates BBS hierarchical addressing.

Editorial summary

“FBB (software)” enters the record as packet radio messaging system. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what software, packet and radio can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1986—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around software, packet and radio.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“FBB (software)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, software, packet and radio provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 22, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q3062993. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1986.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “FBB (software)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow FBB (software) primary sources, FBB (software) archive and software research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “FBB (software)”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “FBB (software)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.