Bob:
On 1/16/2021 7:17 PM, Robert Bruninga wrote: I have never actually used Falconsat for APRS except for a test a few years ago. And have never used its BBS. So I need you to clarify some things for me as to how it looks to an end user...
I ran another test this evening with the APRS beacon interval set to once every 30 seconds for a total of 24 beacon transmissions sent during the pass. I made sure the down-link was full scale during the test period.
The results showed that 4 out of the 24 APRS beacons were digipeated by Falconsat. By contrast, BBS fill requests are usually acknowledged on the first attempt (no repeats) so it seems as though the BBS is somehow more responsive - hence the priority question.
One could investigate further by observing how the satellite responds while working both the BBS and APRS simultaneously. I know some folks are setup to do this so it would be interesting to hear from them. A screen capture recording would be useful for analysis.
Tony -K2MO
On 1/16/2021 7:17 PM, Robert Bruninga wrote:
I have never actually used Falconsat for APRS except for a test a few years ago. And have never used its BBS. So I need you to clarify some things for me as to how it looks to an end user...
I was wondering how Falconsat-3 prioritizes APRS vs. BBS traffic? It seems as though APRS might take a backseat to BBS traffic due to the high volume of stations accessing the BBS. That assumes that the system can't handle more than one process at a time or that the BBS is given higher priority.It doesnt prioritize, it just digipeats what it hears. How do you measure APRS success? Presumably, getting a successful digipeat once a pass should be sufficient for remote stations "getting in" and being logged heard in the APRS-IS (I call this beacon modde).. Of course it takes a higher success rate if one is trying to do a live APRS message contact with another operator.
Ground station transmissions are relatively short at 9600 baud so I don't believe packet collisions are keeping APRS traffic from getting through. I have no problem accessing the BBS, but APRS access seems restricted even when the beacon set to 30 second intervals.So what is your observed degree of "restricted"? 90%?, 50%? 10%? per packet transmitted (for live messages)? Or success "per pass" for :beacon mode"? Remember, that when accessing the BBS mode, there is an automatic retry involved, whereas for APRS a missed packet is just missed.'
Any thoughts...Tony -K2MOBob, Wb4APR
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