[aprssig] Failed APRS?

[Tom Hayward]

> He is angry that his vehicle TRACKING isn't what he expected it to be.

Indeed, sounds like he bought a TX-only tracker and is surprised that
it doesn't know when the channel is clear.

In an attempt to relieve congestion, I've found that every digipeater
in my area can reach an igate, and covers enough distance to reach my
tactical team members. So I usually run 1 hop, WIDE2-1.

Another way to relieve congestion is the move to 9600 baud. There is a
9600 baud APRS network on 144.35 in western Washington and western
Oregon that is seeing lots of recent growth. 9600 baud provides more
bandwidth and shortens the burst time so the signal is less
susceptible to mobile flutter and QRM. Messaging works between the
144.35 and 144.39 networks because they just act like any other
distant RF network--the igates know where to find you.

Yet another congestion relief idea is to move igates to the digipeater
site. This cuts the required messaging congestion in half (I know, not
much of a problem), but also allows tracking-only users to run one
less hop, keeping them from congesting my tactical network. VHEBO is
set up this way (http://aprs.fi/?call=vhebo).

Alas, there is still a lot of educating to do on basic paths and
beacon frequency. WA7NWP has set up a way for us to monitor this is
the Pacific Northwest: http://srv02.compumont.com/wa/check.html

Tom KD7LXL