[aprssig] How to detect silent/stealth digis/Igates?

[Bill Vodall]

> How can one detect if a 'stealth' (non-beaconing) digi is working? I just got assigned to keep track of my county ARES group's digipeaters, and I'd like to find a quick way to test them for operation without having to do site visits.

1.   Turn on the beacons...   Resource discovery is a good thing.

2.  Use a standard TNC
- set unproto to :  CQ via WIDE1-1,KA2DDO,WIDE1-1
- go to conv mode:
  set out a couple "hello world"  text packets
- watch the monitor for the packets coming back after being digipeated
at the various points in the path chain.

This gets even more fun when you try to ping a digi a few hundred miles away...

If you know the path, use specific digi's instead of the generic W1 alias.

You might be able to test all your digi's at once.   Set unproto to:
DIG1,DIGI2,DIGI3,DIGI4,DIGI3,DIGI2,DIGI1   - if that works - it works!


73
Bill, WA7NWP

>
> At the present time, I'm assuming I'm going to have to drive near enough to each one to have direct RF contact, and then send something they would have to respond to. But what does every digi have to respond to in its own callsign (not some other station being relayed)? I haven't had any luck yet using ?APRST queries.