[Xastir] Please consider ...

[Curt, WE7U]

On Thu, 11 Feb 2010, Joseph M. Durnal wrote:

> Xastir annoyed me into using a more obnoxious path than I wanted to.
>
> I'm probably running an older version, but it seemed to freak out when
> I used WIDE2-1,MD2-2 and suggested WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2.
>
> While both paths would get my packets where I needed them to go, the
> first path would light up 9 or 10 digipeaters and the second, I lost
> count after about 20.

There are two things wrong here:

One is that the Xastir code should be working properly off either of
those *2-1,*2-2 paths without annoying you about your path
selection.  I can take a look at that bit of code when I have a bit
of free time.

The second:  Being able to count 20 digipeaters on transmit means
that the digi's do _not_ have DWAIT set to 0, so are waiting on each
other before transmitting...  This is not supposed to happen.  They
are supposed to transmit immediately and all at once.  You ideally
should get three digipeat slots out of that path, with lots of
digipeaters transmitting in at least the last two slots (probably
only one or two digi's repeating you during that first slot).
Perhaps there are lots of home fill-in digi's that are set up
improperly, or you have multiple types of digipeater
firmware/software that don't play well in the system together,
therefore the "fratricide" that Bob is always talking about as
beneficial ain't happening.  After looking up that word, "siblicide"
seems more descriptive of the desired situation, but "fraticide" is
used in the military and Bob's a Navy guy.

Here's Bob talking about it:

http://www.tapr.org/pipermail/aprssig/2009-October/031823.html

Here's another (near the top):

http://on1gl.dyndns.org:7373/cmd?cmd=READ+OZAPRS+376

-- 
Curt, WE7U.                         <http://www.eskimo.com/~archer>
    APRS:  Where it's at!                    <http://www.xastir.org>
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Windows:  Microsoft's tax on computer illiterates. - WE7U.
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