[aprssig] Packet routing, path specification.

[AE5PL Lists]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robert Bruninga
> Posted At: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 8:20 PM
> Subject: RE: [aprssig] Packet routing, path specification.
> 
> But this model completely falls apart on the East coast where 
> I am.  We have probably 1000 users in one long chain of 
> cities (all one digi hop apart) from DC, Baltimore, Philly, 
> Trenton, NJ, NYC, Long Island Connecticut, rhode Island, 
> Massachussetts through NH and VT to Maine.

Ah, contraire.  It is especially important in areas such as the eastern
seaboard.  There is no requirement to get "agreement" amongst all the
hams on the eastern seaboard to effectively implement the NSR algorithm.
This has nothing to do with your "I want to my packets to be seen over
there instead of over here"  It has everything to do with implementing a
diverse, yet stable network.  And that is exactly what the NSR does.
True, you might not be able to work Philadelphia from Annapolis on a
direct RF path, but then again you can't reliably do that now.  You can,
however, work anyone in Philadelphia from Annapolis today by specifying
only one digi in your path and using messaging.

Dallas is far from an "isolated" area.  We see packets everyday from
Kansas to South Texas, New Mexico to Louisiana.  (More land mass than
your entire eastern seaboard).  And that is the problem.  There is no
justifiable reason that we need to see their packets in Collin County.
In fact, we don't need to see the packets from users in Dallas County
(the next county south) or vice versa.  This is not a matter of
"agreement" with remote users or sysops; it is a matter of usability of
APRS for local users.

I am sorry you have had problems interacting with repeater owners
(judging from your other posts) but that is no reason to continue to
promote a bad network concept such as source-routing using the AX.25
digipeater fields.  You have not shown (although you were asked in
another thread) a single example where it is critical that a user be
able to define where their broadcast packets end up.  Messaging is taken
care of using gateways to/from backbone networks so they are not a
factor.  Weather, SAR operations, mobile operations, etc. are _all_ well
served by the NSR algorithm.

I am also sorry that you don't fully comprehend the benefits that NSR
would bring to your area.  But I also don't see any way of overcoming
your prejudice towards a well-managed, highly usable network.

73,

Pete Loveall AE5PL
mailto:pete at ae5pl.net