[aprssig] time for APRS second generation network?

[Phillip B. Pacier]

Greg Noneman wrote:

> Phil,
>
> Just curious...what six digipeaters can you get into with your 
> tracker.  You must be in one choice  spot (or cursed, depending on 
> your point of view).  I don't think I've ever been in a location that 
> links to that many digis (including local digi sites, themselves).
>
> Have any recommendations on which digis to eliminate (or move)?  I 
> have actually been considering moving the Crestline digi to something 
> at a lower altitude.  Its performance definitely suffers from being as 
> high as it is and from seeing signals both north and south of the San 
> Bernardino Mountains.  A lower site that caters specifically to the 
> Inland Empire would be

Conditions have to be really good and the channel has to be relatively 
clear, but here are the digipeaters I can regularly hit with my home 
station:

N6EX-4
N6EX-2
N6EX-1
ONYX (K6TVI-1)
WB6JAR-10
W6JPL-2

I can also hit these when mobile down near the Disneyland area where it 
is relatively flat.  Along the 22 freeway I can generally hit most of 
these.  If not all six simultaneously, at least three or four.  The 
problem is, it is rare for the channel to be clear enough to hit them 
all or even a majority of them, but they all have the ability to hear 
everything in the basin.  I have even seen my packets digid by K7GIL-1 
and W6SCE-10 when the conditions are beautiful.

I agree with your suggestion to move N6EX-2 to a lower location, as 
K7GIL-1 covers the high desert quite well and will spill enough packets 
over the hill on most days I think.  ONYX is even higher than N6EX-2 - 
perhaps we should look at making that a link digi instead of a WIDE.  I 
haven't been able to tell how much N6EX-1 and W6JPL-2 compete, but I've 
always wondered if they do compete for a lot of the same packets.  Do 
you have any data on that?

73
Phil - AD6NH