[aprssig] TNCX setups?

[Bill V WA7NWP]

It's been a while since we shared our canned sermons so I'll repeat mine...

> enough.)  Our sole VHF frequency simply can't afford full-time full-service
> WIDEn-N digis on every hogback, side ridge, or anthill.

Actually it can.   The problem is not the number of digis but the
overlapping of them.  It can be argued that any one digi will handle
from somewhere between 20 and 50 stations.  If the number of users
exceeds that fuzzy limit, then it's time to split the cell by reducing
the range of the existing digi and creating a second new cell/digi.


> In one sense, it's quite fortunate for our VHF network that most users don't
> care to receive _any_ packets from other stations; they only want their own
> packets to reach the internet (from everywhere all the time).

That's legal Amateur Radio?   Too bad there aren't any commercial
solutions for this 'broadcasting'..   (heh heh - Me - trolling?  Nah I
wouldn't do that.)

> Already in Northern and Central California, most of the entire "Sierra front
> country" counties are covered by full service digis _on the far side_ of the
> Central Valley.  Unfortunately, any full service digis on the high elevation
> Sierras themselves are sharing the limited airtime throughout the greater SF
> Bay Area and entire Central Valley too.  Our high elevation VHF
> transmissions do not stop at the County line.

I realized one of the reasons our 9600 UHF network worked so well
wasn't because of the 9600 but rather the more 'limited' range of the
digi's.  It was more cellular and it worked well.   Putting this
politely, 'higher is less then optimum.'

>
> It routinely becomes too much airtime consumed for too few actual
> _listeners_.  It must be hoped that we can all keep "the big picture" in
> mind more often, and strive to operate in a manner most courteous to our
> fellow hams.

Of course keeping good RF engineering on the table helps too.

> Of course we believe we know this already.  <grin>

Yup.  We need to come up with canned emails.   You say - check message
AFE13.  I'll reply, that's a good one, here's the NWP31 response back
at you.

> 73, Cap KE6AFE

73,
Bill - WA7NWP

PS.   My personal rule of thumb is that if a D7 with the stock HT
can't make it into the network, then more digi's are needed.   If you
disagree, what do you say when you turn on your cell phone and there's
no coverage so you have to move to make it work?  Do you consider that
acceptable service from the cell phone provider?