[aprssig] Voice Repeater Posits...

[Stephen H. Smith]

bruninga at usna.edu wrote:

>
>3) Have your local IGate operator enable the EXISTING
>beacons from those nodes that are on the APRS-IS
>to enable them to RF.  Then the IGate will send them
>out locally.
>
>Number 3 works because the IRLP and ECHOlink software
>are supposed to generate these bacons and send them
>into the APRS-IS whenever they change state.  All the
>IGate has to do is allow them to go to RF...
>
>Bob
>
>
>
>  
>

I can't speak for IRLP, but as the operator of  Echolink node 14400 
(which outputs on UHF RF), I CAN confirm that EchoLink DOES NOT 
communicate with the APRS-IS !  

 It can activate a TNC on RF, and it does communicate current node 
status to a dedicated list on the EchoLink website via TCP/IP, but it 
DOES NOT talk to the APRS Internet System.    The TNC setup takes 
exclusive control of the TNC; no other APRS application can co-exist 
with it except for UI-View running in the non-KISS (i.e. command line) 
mode.  The path defaults to "RELAY" in a stock Echolink installation but 
can be changed.  
A second serial port and TNC will be required if normal APRS operation, 
igating, etc is running on the same PC.    

I wrote to the Echolink author suggesting/feature requesting    that the 
interface support the AGW Packet Engine (which allows multiple apps to 
share up to 16 hardware and soundcard soft TNCs) but I haven't heard 
anything back. 

Perhaps some day a new release of EchoLInk will incorporate this feature 
which would  be really useful in my present setup.   [Where I am running 
an VHF and HF igate, APRN and Echolink on a single dedicated PC.  AGW is 
arbitrating the output from both sides of a KAM and the output of a 
KPC3+, and then distributing these three logical streams to 4 copies of 
UIview, UI-Traffic, UI-Messenger and APRS Emergency Alert. ]


P.S.  The help file in the current version of Echolink, in the paragraph 
dealing with APRS,  is referencing the obsolete  .mil  domain for your 
website instead of the  .edu  one.....






Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
EchoLink Node:      14400    [Think bottom of the 2M band]
Home Page:          http://wa8lmf.com

"APRS 101"  Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating
  http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/DigiPaths

Updated APRS Symbol Chart
  http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/miscinfo/APRS_Symbol_Chart.pdf   


New/Updated "Rev G" APRS     http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/aprs
Symbols Set for UI-View,
UIpoint and APRSplus: