[aprssig] Confused About Setting APRS Path On FT1D

[Stephen H. Smith]

On 2/25/2014 4:02 PM, Dave Torrey wrote:
> Shouldn't the WIDE2 component appear on the path without an asterisk?
> Otherwise, how would the next tier of digis know to repeat it?
>
> Something like these:
>
> 2014-02-22 09:44:51 EST: KD8GBH-9>TW0W2V,W8CDZ-2,WIDE1*,WIDE2-1,qAR,KD8JAM-1:`t>Cn>vu\`"6.}Suburban_"
> 2014-02-22 09:46:42 EST: KD8GBH-9>TW0W2P,KC8RGO,WIDE1,W8CDZ-2,WIDE2*,qAR,KD8JAM-1:`t=-nq<u\`"60}Suburban_"
> 2014-02-22 09:47:35 EST: KD8GBH-9>TW0V9X,WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1,qAR,KD8GBH-1:`t<kn]cu\`"6=}Suburban_"
>


This is normally what one would expect.   However, depending on how the igate 
TNC or software involved handles the packet, the unused hops may or may not 
show by the time you see it on APRS.fi .


The Internet is not the be-all and end-all of APRS.  APRS is first and foremost 
an RF-based system.     The digipeater hops path settings are exclusively an RF 
issue.

AS I mentioned in my last response, you must monitor OFF-THE-AIR on RF with 
another radio/TNC/display to see the true story about what is going on with 
these path settings.

In fact, of the original poster's two packet samples, only one was even 
digipeated at all.  The first one appears to have hit the igate directly (no 
asterisk after the "WIDE1-1" hop.

Or possibly some "Select", "OK" or "Enter" key wasn't pressed after selecting 
the two-hop path in the Yaesu's menu, and the radio has been transmitting 
WIDE1-1 only all this time.  (I'm not familiar with the structure of the Yaesu 
APRS menus -- I have only had Kenwood APRS radios.)

Note that an off-air monitor to look at your own transmitted packets could be 
as simple as a Bearcat scanner or something similar, with it's RX audio fed 
into the soundcard of a laptop running the freeware UZ7HO Soundmodem soundcard 
soft TNC app.

The Soundmodem program has a built-in text display that shows the raw received 
packets without needing any external APRS software.   Get it here on my website:

      <http://wa8lmf.net/miscinfo>

Scroll abut 3/4 of the way down the page of downloadable stuff and look for the 
"UZ7HO Soundmodem" link.    Note that "out-of-the-box" the modem is defaulted 
to 300 baud HF mode -- you will have to change this to 1200 baud VHF in the 
pulldown menu for two-meter monitoring.


_________________________________________________________________

--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
Skype:        WA8LMF
EchoLink:   14400  [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]
Home Page:          http://wa8lmf.net


  Long-Range APRS on 30 Meters HF
     http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm

High Performance Sound Systems for Soundcard Apps
    http://wa8lmf.net/ham/imic.htm
    http://wa8lmf.net/ham/uca202.htm

"APRS 101"  Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating
   http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths