More often than not, I don't run SmartBeaconing at all. Lately I've been running 5 watts (on a T2-301) with a 30 second interval and NICE set to 3 so the effective beacon rate is every 2 minutes as long as it's getting into the network. Works really well around town and out on the highway. I'd probably go with a longer interval anywhere that has a more congested network, though.
Scott Keith VE7GDH wrote: > > > N1KCG wrote... > > > Use a Nuvi 350, OT2m, and a Kenwood TM-V71. It works and gives me > > waypoints of nearby stations, plus puts out beacons of my location, > > but also noted it is not super reliable. All in my Toyota Avalon while > > driving to work, and home. Set my beacon interval to 15 seconds, and > > my power medium. Seems to work to get some location beacons out. > > Tried SmartBeaconing, but that resulted in less packets transmitted, > > and a poor breadcrumb trail plotting on aprs.fi . > > You need to find and fix the underlying problem. Beaconing every 15 > seconds is just QRM, whether you are being decoded or not. Shortening > your beacon will improve success rates. Switch to compressed beacons > and if you really need to tell the world that you are in a black Avalon > Cruiser, just send it every 10 beacons. Your problem isn't that > "SmartBeaconing sends less packets". That is a good thing as it makes > sure you beacon one or more times when you change course, more often > when travelling faster, and less often when travelling more slowly. > Again, you need to fix the problem instead of beaconing more often to > compensate for it. > > > One trick I found was to make sure your gps (nuvi 350) has a lock on > > the location. My beacons do not seem to start until a few minutes > > after the gps is locked. > > If you have the time, turn it on before you start moving, but I find > that the Nuvi is quite quick to get a lock. > > > Have to experiment more. Also need to experiment with digipeating > > while mobile, as did not realize I could have more problems. Need to > > turn digipeating off while mobile. > > Most of the time, the digi function should be disabled while mobile. > > Most of the time, you are being digi'd first by KB1AEV-15. Are you just > always near that digi, or is it the only one that can decode your tones? > What is your deviation? Even if you don't have a meter, it should be > fairly easy to get it in the ballpark by ear. > > http://aprs.fi/?c=raw&call=N1KCG-9&limit=1000 > <http://aprs.fi/?c=raw&call=N1KCG-9&limit=1000> > > Are you using a path of WIDE2-1? Give WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 a try... in > conjunction with SmartBeaconing using reasonable (not abusive) settings. > > How are you connecting to the TM-V71? are you transmitting > pre-emphasized audio? > > What is your transmit delay? > > Are there a reasonable number of well placed digis near where you > usually travel? > > Is the frequency quite or very busy? > > 73 es cul - Keith VE7GDH > -- > "I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!" > >
