[aprssig] APRS-IS Tier 2 News

[Keith VE7GDH]

Phil AD6NH wrote...

> For some time now, rotate.aprs2.net has been available as a connection 
> option to Tier 2. This address keeps a pool of no more than 22 of the 
> Tier 2 servers (to accommodate some router firmware that will not 
> parse more than 22) and automatically adjusts for servers that go 
> offline. It is a fairly effective setup, but some clients have 
> responded that they do not understand why their UI-View program 
> running in Tuscaloosa is connected to the APRS server in Thailand...

I've added the following to my list of servers in UI-View...

noam.aprs2.net:14580;North America - Tier 2

Something that I learned recently is that two stations connected to the 
same server can still exchange messages even if that server has lost 
connectivity to the Core servers (not too likely, but...) so an added 
advantage (for people in North America) is that by switching from 
rotate.aprs2.net to noam.aprs2.net, there would still be something like 
a 1 in 12 chance instead of a 1 in 22 chance that they will be connected 
to the same server as their neighbours if they also adopt 
noam.aprs2.net. The odds of connecting to the same server as their 
neighbours could be increased even further (in UI-View) by selecting 
only two servers... the one closest to them, and noam.aprs2.net for 
their backup server.

Of course, you could say the same thing about two stations or IGates 
both connecting to the same Core server... i.e. if two stations are 
connected to the same Core server, and that Core server loses 
connectivity to the other Core servers, the two stations could still 
exchange messages via the APRS-IS.

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