[OZAPRS] Digipeaters and iGATE's

[Liz VK2XSE]

QTR Sun, 19 Oct 2014 08:50:33 +1100 VK3AJ QTC

> Greetings to all on this list,
> 
>  
> 
> I manage a number of radio sites here in Victoria for Scouts Victoria
> as well as myself in significant locations.
> 
> Since getting a nice new TM-D710GA to play with, I have been getting
> more interested in APRS and how it works.
> 
> I noticed some significant holes in the APRS coverage in the areas my
> voice repeaters cover, so have started the process of establishing
> APRS on one of the sites (VK3RSA) to fill these holes and learn more
> about how the network works.

Welcome to APRS
I'm not going to comment on the site, as I haven't tested APRS on that
side of Melbin. I was wondering if a directional antenna would reduce
the effect on Greater Melbourne and preserve the effect to the east.

Unlike Owen, I would digipeat, because users of Kenwood 700 and 710
gear like to see who is travelling around at the same time as they are
(maybe strike up a conversation on the voice repeater as well).

I use aprx on a RPi for mine. It has some specific features of which I
think Owen would approve - it has a delay before transmission, and
drops packets if it hears another station digipeat it. 

<quote>
Classically a fill-in digipeater means a system that digipeats heard
packet only when it hears it as from first transmission. Usually
implemented as “consider WIDE1-1 as your alias”, but the Aprx has more
profound understanding of when it hears something as “di- rectly from
the source”, and therefore there is no need for kludges like that
“alias WIDE1- 1”.
snip...
With Aprx you can add condition: and only if nobody else digipeats it
within 5 seconds.
</quote>

Other systems may offer similar programming.
Aprx is currently not being updated by its original author, others are
working on it.




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Liz
VK2XSE