[aprssig] Puget Sound packet hog counter

[Bill Vodall]

> >The hog counter has a configurable option that allows 
> >it to call out packets it sees above a certain threshold.  
> >In this case anybody running a path great than 3-3 
> >gets flagged in the counter.
> 
> Again, what I learned over the last several months is that
> it is not really the Big-N counts that generate the most packets
> in our area but the use of RELAY and WIDE which almost 
> guarantee multiple dupes of every packet at every digi.  
> Of course, big N's also hurt too...
> 
> Just a thougth.  That's why I woild like to see the page
> indicate if RELAY is being used on these packets.

I've considered adding special code to check if D700 users in the
busy Seattle region were running with RELAY and flag if they were.
That's a bad thing and they have no excuse since it's only a push of a button
to switch over to the UHF network or at least go to a path without RELAY.

Someday I may do that, but make it smart.  The software should recognize
where RELAY is or isn't needed.  The metrics tools can recognize that and
display accordingly.  We need smarter software!!!

What we need smarter clients -- to use RELAY only if they need to --  and
smarter digi's -- to respond appropriately to the paths they see.

Dupes aren't bad and RELAY is still, in general, a good thing...   Far better to
see a packet an extra time or two then to lose it completely.

Here's my suggestion.

Take Kantronics TNC's out of service as APRS digi's and use them with the
Airmail program..   Airmail speaks Kantronics host mode but not KISS.   Then,
put UIDIGI or KISS Eproms (for digi-ned) in TNC-2 style TNC's (MFJ-1270, Tiny-2, etc)
and use them for the APRS infrastructure.

73,
Bill - WA7NWP