[Xastir] APRS Queries

[Tom Russo]

On Sun, Jan 09, 2005 at 05:32:52PM -0800, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <xastir at n6nu.org> flavor, containing:
> 
> I just bought a new D7A and started playing with Queries.
> 
> I can send queries with the message window. The problem is that Queries are
> not ACKed and Xastir will keep going and going until timeout.
> 
> I suggest to introduce one-time shots as Buttons or Xastir recognizes the
> message content as a query and reacts accordingly.

A number of queries are already implemented as buttons from within the
Station Info dialog.   Pull up the Station Info dialog, and use the
"Direct Stations Query" "Trace Query" "Unacked Messages Query" and 
"Station Version Query" buttons to get the behavior you want on directed
queries.

General queries are accessible from the Messages menu.

It should also be possible to modify Xastir to recognize queries input into the
"Send Message" dialog as being of query format and sending them without
expecting acks, and that would be a good thing to do.  I'm not all that familiar
with the messaging code, but it appears that for the existing query buttons all
xastir does is call "transmit_message_data" directly, but for messages entered
through the dialog it queues them up and they are later transmitted by
check_and_transmit_messages.  One could hack the send message dialog to
look for the initial "?APRS" that distinguishes queries, and if found go the
former route, if not, the latter.

But until someone makes that change, every message sent through the send 
message dialog is put into an outgoing message queue, given a sequence number 
and requires acks, and one needs to use the individual directed query buttons 
in the Station Info box or the general query menu items in the Messages menu 
for ack-less queries.  

-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY     SAR502  DM64ux         http://www.swcp.com/~russo/
Tijeras, NM  QRPL#1592 K2#398  SOC#236 AHTB#1 http://www.qsl.net/~km5vy/
 "When life gives you lemons, find someone with a paper cut."