[aprssig] Local Info Objects

[Stephen H. Smith]

Robert Bruninga wrote:
>>> T
> Most client software should display the equipment type.  When I
> look at a list of all mobiles here in our area... (just now) I
> see 95 total mobiles.  Of those, 75 are D700's, 11 are trackers,
> 3 are D7 walkie talkies, 3 are unknowns and 1 is Uiview and 1 is
> a NMEA tracker.  So about 88% of them are two-way systems that
> can see the world of HAM radio around them on APRS. (which is
> what APRS is all about).
>
> If your area is only transmitting GPS data, then maybe it is
> time to start an education campaign about how APRS is so much
> more valuable and interesting to the users as an information and
> communication service TO mobiles, not just one-way broadcasting.
>
>   


I run a full mobile laptop installation (D700 with UIview).   When I am 
out and about, I will often ping other stations I see on the map (in 
UIview it's very easy - just right-click an icon and choose "Ping" from 
the context menu)   to see if they are two-way capable.   Some 
observations in no particular order:

o     About 1/3rd of pinged stations respond.     

o     For stations less than about 5-10 miles away, I get a higher 
success rate pinging directly than via the local digipeaters. [UIview's 
ping dialog defaults to direct; i.e. no path. You then have to 
double-click the path slot to ping via your default digi path.]   I 
attribute this to the fact that all the L.A.-area digipeaters are on 
high (4000-5000 foot elevation mountain tops) overlooking a populated 
area of 18 million plus and are completely saturated with the activity 
they hear over this vast area.  The packet collision rate, as heard at 
the digi sites, must be astronomical.

o     Attempting to send a message to the vast majority of stations that 
successfully respond to a ping nets nothing.  I can understand this for 
D700/D710 mobiles that may not find it convenient to fumble around 
making a million button presses of a TT mike to reply while driving. 
What surprises me is that a) none of them seem to have any canned 
auto-reply responses, and b) practically NONE of the home stations reply 
(or have auto-reply)  either.  



--

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

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