[aprssig] Fundamental APRS capacity

[Rick Green]

On Mon, 4 Oct 2004, Robert Bruninga wrote:

> * C begins as 1, but as you encounter each digi, further
>   and further away, increment C by 1 because of the added copy.
  I still haven't heard you tell us how this algorithm gives us a clear
indication of how to set an unproto path.
  By your algorithm, each digi encountered increments C.  If you have six
neighbors who digi RELAY in your neighborhood, you'll get a high C value,
but it doesn't tell you anything about the number of hops necessary to
reach the edge of your ALOHA range.  So  in this case, 'RELAY, WIDEC-C'
would seem quite excessive. Or even 'RELAY, WIDEn-n' where n is C-1 (to
account for the RELAY hop).
  I think a more realistic guage would be to examine the packets received
from your ALOHA stations, and list the greatest number of digis
encountered on their path to you, as well as the number of digis traversed
by the most-distant station in your ALOHA group.  They're not necessarily
the same!

-- 
Rick Green

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
 temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
                                  -Benjamin Franklin