[aprssig] HF APRS igates on fldigi

[Stephen H. Smith]

On 5/8/2020 4:42 PM, spam8mybrain wrote:
 > Ok, I'm trying to beacon on 5403.5 USB with fldigi 4.1.12 and YAAC, using
 > MFSK-16 and AX.25/APRS packets. I'm running about 25 watts into an Alpha Delta
 > DX-CC multiband dipole. Alas, 60 meters is not one of the bands this antenna
 > was built for, and it's only 12 feet off the ground (and right over our parked
 > cars), so this is lousy even by NVIS standards (and it's out of range for the
 > tuner, too). But the transmitter is keying up.
 >
 > Can anyone hear me?
 >

I did copy one RSID about 4:30 EDT, but no data.

Do you have FLdigi's cursor set to 1700 Hz?   Until your override the default 
settings, it has an annoying tendency to snap back to 1500 Hz (which won't get 
through my narrow receive filter) each time you change mode.

Go to "Configure, Configure settings".  Click the "+" sign next to "Misc" to 
reveal more branches. Select "Sweet Spot" and change the frequency for "PSK et 
al." from 1500 to 1700 Hz.

I suspect the most favorable 60M propagation for you to my QTH will be late 
afternoon to early evening hours.





On 5/8/2020 5:46 PM, spam8mybrain wrote:
 > What are the preferred beaconing rates for HF APRS? I think I need to tweak 
my beacon timing code for when a radio interface is identified as HF band.
 >
 > Andrew, KA2DDO

Auto-beaconing works on 30 meters and is legal there.  Due to the far slower 
data rates (i.e. longer transmission times of 15-20 seconds) compared to 1200 
baud packet on VHF, and the fact that you are occupying the channel across a 
large part of the entire country (not just a city or county-sized area), one 
should be only beaconing every 10-20 minutes.

BUT-on 60 meters, one should NOT be auto-beaconing at all.  60 is shared 
between hams and federal agencies such as FEMA. We are obligated to monitor 
before transmitting, and refrain from transmitting if federal users need the 
channel.

By the way, I found it very difficult to disable auto-beaconing and then send 
beacons manually on demand. This was true in both YAAC and APRSis32.

(This is trivial in UIview - my primary APRS app. You set the beacon interval 
to 0 , and then hit F9 anytime you want a beacon on demand.)

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

-----   NEW!    60-Meter APRS!   HF NVIS APRS Igate Now Operating  ------
    <http://wa8lmf.ddns.net:14447/>



Live Off-The-Air APRS Activity Maps
    <http://wa8lmf.net/map>

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