humptybump
Well Known Member
iGate "soon"
It's been an interesting journey setting up my iGate. (it's not yet up full time or in its final configuration) I have been bouncing back and forth between a Windows PC setup and a Linux setup. I'll do a write-up when it is done.
In the mean time I thought it interesting the percentage of packets that the AGWPE Soundcard modem hears vs decodes. It's much lower than I would have thought. I'd say only about 10% of APRS transmissions that my rig is picking up are actually complete and decode-able - aka checksum verified. Now that I have a decent antenna and cable, I feel the audio getting to the Soundcard is as good as it will be. To be honest, I suspect a dedicated hardware TNC would be doing about the same.
What all of this tells me is that APRS in an interesting hobby but users should not be assuming it is anything more than that. Put another way, if I want a rescue tracker in my plane, I'll install a SPOT or similar satellite tracker.
Don't get me wrong, I think it is cool having an APRS tracker in my plane and I often look for other pilots whom I know have trackers. I will just remember that it's a hobby.
It's been an interesting journey setting up my iGate. (it's not yet up full time or in its final configuration) I have been bouncing back and forth between a Windows PC setup and a Linux setup. I'll do a write-up when it is done.
In the mean time I thought it interesting the percentage of packets that the AGWPE Soundcard modem hears vs decodes. It's much lower than I would have thought. I'd say only about 10% of APRS transmissions that my rig is picking up are actually complete and decode-able - aka checksum verified. Now that I have a decent antenna and cable, I feel the audio getting to the Soundcard is as good as it will be. To be honest, I suspect a dedicated hardware TNC would be doing about the same.
What all of this tells me is that APRS in an interesting hobby but users should not be assuming it is anything more than that. Put another way, if I want a rescue tracker in my plane, I'll install a SPOT or similar satellite tracker.
Don't get me wrong, I think it is cool having an APRS tracker in my plane and I often look for other pilots whom I know have trackers. I will just remember that it's a hobby.