[aprssig] New User Question(s)

[VE7GDH]

Jim W4BQP wrote...

> I've addressed some of your reply in my previous posts, but not the
> following. Probably the only time I was able to hit a digi was when I
> was using the station antenna, the Ringo, with my HT and the TT3.

As I mentioned, there is APRS activity around you, but there aren't
very mini digis close to you. www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?call=W4BQP
Just distance alone probably makes it not easy for you to make it to one of
those digipeaters. As well as distance, you could also be dealing with
packet collisions with stronger signals being heard by the digipeater if you
happen to beacon at the same time.

> In UI-View, my home station, I am using W4BQP. The TT3 station is
> using W4BQP-5. Although I've tried several permutations of equipment
> in the past few days.

The last time W4BQP was heard, it was the TT3 with a car symbol.
www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=W4BQP

 > I will probably set up my home station as a digi, but I am going to wait
> until I understand things a lot better before I try to set it up as an
> I-gate. I don't want to put a bunch of extraneous stuff on the
> internet. Heaven knows that there's already too much of it out there
> already <G>.

Actually, there isn't any extraneous stuff - hi! The purpose of an IGate is
to gate EVERYTHING that it hears to the APRS-IS. You gate everything you
hear and the APRS server sorts out which beacons are duplicates either heard
by other IGates or showing up delayed by a digipeater. There will probably
never be "too many IGates" but some places have not enough or too many
digipeaters. One thing you don't want is too many IGates gating messages to
"local" stations. Generally speaking, IGates should be gating NOTHING out to
RF except for messages sent TO a local station. What is "local' is
determined by how many digis and how many other IGates are around you.

> I'll be back when I get my TNC - radio transmit problem straightened out.

You may not have a transmit problem. It might just be a matter of distance,
signal strength, multi-path and packet collisions. Keep investigating. Keep
learning. Look around you. See what kind of a footprint your home station
with the gain antenna has by watching other stations and your own TT3 while
you are on the move.

What is the "transmit delay" set for both in your TT3 and the TNC you are 
using with UI-View? What do your transmitted tones sound like from both of 
them? Deviation not too high or too low on either one? Transmit delay not 
too short? For both of them, I would recommend using compressed beacons. The 
shorter the beacon, there less chance of being clobbered, as well as less 
chance of clobbering other stations.

Oh... just saw your other note abut your home station not transmitting. Yes,
that would be a transmit problem - hi!

73 es cul - Keith VE7GDH
--
"I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"