[aprssig] YAAC + Direwolf configuration puzzle...

[Greg D]

Hi folks,

I'm putting the finishing touches on my Raspberry Pi-based mobile APRS
station (aka my CarPi), and have most of it working.  But one little
detail has me stumped.  Well, at least one detail.  Bottom line, I think
I'm confused :).

I am running Direwolf as the TNC, with YAAC as the client on top. 
Direwolf is intended to be just the TNC, I think, with YAAC controlling
stuff.  I configured Direwolf with an SSID of -4, and YAAC as -9. 
YAAC's configuration has both RF -> IS and IS -> RF enabled, as well as
its digipeating for Wide1-1. 

After first beaconing my position, I can send a message from my D74 HT
(-7) to -9 and it pops up on the car's screen.  Yay!  Haven't figured
out how to send a reply back, however, as that text window can't be
typed on.  Odd.

But the puzzle for this post is the following.  I can also send a
message from the D74 to my APRSIS32 instance (internet-connected, no
RF), and I do see it gets iGated by the Pi, and shows up on the PC as
from -7.  But a reply doesn't get back to the D74.  Also odd, the D74
sees its own message echoed back by -4, which I'm thinking is just the
Digipeater function in YAAC being enabled, but it's odd that the D74
would react that way. 

So, as I said, I think I'm not groking the overall setup right, in terms
of what roles to assign to YAAC and Direwolf, and how that should be
reflected in their configurations.  There appears to be a lot of overlap
in terms of capability - iGating, Digipeating, etc.  How should I
approach this?  Maybe push more responsibility to Direwolf and less to
YAAC?  Or ?

I do notice that if YAAC is started before the Hotspot is live, or if
the network goes down for more than a few moments afterward, YAAC
disables the IS connection, asks if I want to keep it (yes, I do), but
doesn't re-try later.  Very annoying.  I either have to restart the
program, or manually re-enable the port.  Is there not an option to do a
retry?  How does Direwolf's iGate function handle this?  Internet access
will be spotty at times, as is the RF environment.

My intent is to have the station configured for a couple of uses.  One,
I want to have the CarPi be able to show a map with my station and those
around me on my dash screen (patched in to where the backup camera
goes).  I also want to have my position posted periodically to the APRS
network at large, either over RF or Internet (via a hotspot in the
car).  And I want to be able to park the car somewhere and have the
radio be able to act as a digipeater and iGate, for use during community
events or possibly emergency situations.  Messaging from/to the CarPi
should also work, via a small Bluetooth keyboard (but obviously not
while driving!).

Thanks,

Greg  KO6TH