[aprssig] Interpeting packets on findu

[apratt at bestbits.org]

Here's something I'd like to see answered on the wiki: how do you
interpret what you see on findu? Not the data parts, but the routing
parts.

My packets seem to show up with one digi's call sign, then the route I
specified, then the letters qAo or qAO, and finally another digi's
call. Here are two examples:

WR6ABD*,WIDE3-3,qAO,N6TBQ
W6CX-3*,WIDE3-3,qAo,K6BMD-9

(Please don't give me a hard time about WIDE3-3: I'm running an
experiment and I am not using that path routinely.)

What does that say about digis, hop count, and IGates? What are other
patterns a user might see, and what do they mean? Without getting a
Ph.D. in APRS packet formatting, I think a few rules of thumb would be
a nice addition to the wiki.

If a few people answer here and we kick the topic around for a day or
so, I volunteer to write up a summary for the wiki. Deal?

-- Allan Pratt, apratt at bestbits.org