[aprssig] TH-D7 not making it to any IGATES

[Keith VE7GDH]

Richard KC0RNP wrote...

> I just got a TH-D7 the other day and it is not making it into
> any IGATES. The call is KC0RNP-7

Do you mean "you aren't making it to any IGates" (which is really
true... at least as of 2 days 15 hours 50 mins when your beacon was last
digi'd by your D700 and you were ultimately gated) or "you aren't being
digipeated"... or even "you are no longer being decoded by anyone at
all"? If you still have the D700 beside you, troubleshooting should be
easy. Make no assumptions verify that the D7 is actually beaconing.
Check the power setting. Check the path. Check the battery condition.
Check the frequency. Make no assumptions... or did I already say that?

I don't have a D7, but... is the D7 connected to a GPS receiver, or is 
the position entered manually? If it's connected to a GPS, does the GPS 
have a lock? What does a D7 do when a GPS is connected but the GPS 
doesn't have a lock?

> I did get the unit to work 2 days ago with my D-700 in my car
> hooked up as a DIGI. That station is KC0RNP-9, but I am no
> longer getting the TH-D7 to get "repeated" using the radio in the car.

What changed? Is your D700 still able to decode received beacons from
your D7? What is the distance between the D7 and the D700? If it's in
your driveway and no settings were changed on either end, you have a
problem. If the D700 is the other side of town or a couple of valleys
over, perhaps the situation should be expected. On the other hand, why
aren't other digi's responding? There seem to be a few around you.

What path are you using for KC0RNP-7? The last beacon from KC0RNP-7 that
was gated was using a path of WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2. While this is one hop
longer than the recommended path, it was digi'd by your D700 and two
other digis (N9AZZ-2 and KC4FIE-8) before being gated by KY4K. Perhaps 3
hops is needed where you live. However, looking around you, some
stations are doing just fine with the recommended two hops, while others
were using three. www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?call=KC0RNP-7

> I am not sure what is going on. I am using the TH-D7 out of the
> box. I am thinking that I have had folk tell me that the antenna
> that comes with the TH-D7 is not the best to be used. Should I
> get a better one and if so should I look at something with more
> gain? (I would want Dual Band).

My understanding is that the stock D7 antenna isn't very good. I would
suggest taking both of Jan's suggestions... get a better rubber duck
replacement for when using it "hand held" and get an external antenna
for use in a vehicle. Don't expect miracles, but a better antenna will
always help.

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the list.

73 es cul - Keith VE7GDH
--
"I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"