Dave M1DOZ wrote...
Should we be using standard
settings for APRS - I have
tried variations settings using
wide and trace 3-3 etc etc and
not sure what settings we should
be using to gain best use.
Are you trying to decide what path to use for your outgoing beacons, or are you trying to set up a digipeater?
Looking around at other stations around you, they seem to have adopted the "new paradigm" adopted by much of the rest of the world some years ago... e.g. WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 would be an acceptable two hop path for a mobile station.
Fixed stations (and almost nothing that flies... probably not a problem there!) should not use WIDE1-1. WIDE2-1 would be a one hop path. WIDE2-2 would be a two hop path. I would recommend the shortest path that would make you visible a reasonable distance around your location. If there are any "high" WIDEn-N digis, a one hop path would make you visible for some distance.
A fixed station with a tall antenna could operate with no path. If it needed help from a digi, a one-hop WIDE2-1 could be used. A two hop path (if really needed) would be WIDE2-2.
Here, many mobile stations do just fine with a single hop of WIDE1-1. A station out in the boonies (country) might need a few more hops to reach an iGate... e.g. WIDE1-1,WIDE3-3. I wouldn't recommend this where there is dense APRS use though.
If you are trying to set up a digpeater, close UI-View and edit the file uiview32.ini. Look for the [DIGI_OPTIONS] section. Change UIFLOOD to the two letter abbreviation used there. Is it UK? Change UITRACE from TRACE to WIDE. Change WIDEN-N to TRUE. Change TRACEN-N to TRUE. Enter your call sign in SUBST_ALIAS.
The paths of WIDE, RELAY and TRACE are obsolete. We are now using WIDE1-1 and WIDEn-N. The UIFLOOD setting will allow people to use WIDE1-1,UK7-7 for emergency messages. It would be a total of 8 hops. The WIDE1-1 would make the insertion point traceable. The UK7-7 would be up to another 7 hops. It would be considered an abusive path to use this all of the time. In times of emergency, it would give users a way of spreading a message or bulletin as far as they could.
Let me know if any of my suggestions aren't suitable for operation in the UK, but the above seems to match what others around you (and much of the world) are using.
--
73 Keith VE7GDH
"I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"
--
73 Keith VE7GDH
"I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"
