[aprssig] Gawd This APRS Path May Reach Mars!

[Stephen H. Smith]

On 2/2/2011 9:33 AM, Cap Pennell wrote:
> Nah, that's too difficult.  Instead, the ignorant VHF abusers only need a
> touch of friendly education from neighbor hams.  Works almost every time!
> Start simply with a polite "hello", as Jav W6VMS notes he is considering.
> For example, that 10-hop broad path AF6TM-7 used yesterday has now already
> been repaired, due simply to feedback from fellow hams.
> 73, Cap KE6AFE


The problem is the educators are also misinformed!  The "fixed" path is -STILL- 
not right.   The station is now using a three-hop path  (WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2) in a 
congested urban area rimmed with numerous digipeaters on 5,000-foot mountain 
tops.     Each transmission is now creating 4-6 retransmissions IN THE SAME AREA.


Normally, one should be using a two-hop path  WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 .


However, because of the unique terrain of SoCal  (A coast and basin with a 
population of around 20 million surrounded by multiple 
4,000-to-7,000-foot-high  mountain ranges), the recommended path in the greater 
SoCal area has been for many years
   WIDE2-2    only.

WIDE1-1 home fill-ins are heavily discouraged here since stations on the ground 
in the greater L.A. basin and adjacent coastal areas can easily hit the high 
mountain-top "superwides"  tops directly.  (Home fill-in transmissions just add 
to the congestion and are totally unneeded.)  In turn, the mountain-top digis 
here treat WIDE2-2 as a single hop.     Even so, one typically hears 
re-transmissions from several different mountaintops simultaneously around here.


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--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
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