[HamWAN PSDR] 1.2GHz to Paine [was: 44.x.x.x HamWAN network at Paine]

Bart Kus me at bartk.us
Wed May 28 20:27:09 PDT 2014


Well yeah, you can't have ping without arp first, unless you configure 
static arp entries.  :)

So it looks like the protocol does support 1/2 FEC, and also enforces an 
FCS (CRC).  The FEC starts after clock recovery and frame synch, which 
is optimal.

Forget the FM receive thing, all I really wanted to know is what the SNR 
of the 1.2GHz signal you get from Paine?  If the ID-1 doesn't tell you 
this, an RTL-SDR should.  Does the link work in 4.8kbit mode?  I'm 
assuming you have both sides set for 128kbit right now.

--Bart


On 5/28/2014 7:20 PM, Dean Gibson AE7Q wrote:
> See http://www.arrl.org/files/file/D-STAR.pdf - pages 3-5 describe the 
> DD-mode (data) packet.
>
> The ID-1 apparently doesn't know whether or not the Ethernet frame is 
> corrupt.  From the TX/RX lights for both the radio and the Ethernet 
> connection, it appears that every received packet from one end, goes 
> out the other.
>
> When conditions are right and I receive about 10% of the packets from 
> a PING (like last Monday), it seems clear from observed behavior that 
> once an ARP response is received, then quite a few PINGs get through.  
> I haven't tried listening on FM to a DD packet, but I can try that on 
> Thursday, when I am at the DEM.  I'm not sure what the point of that 
> would be, though.
>
> On 2014-05-28 17:12, Bart Kus wrote:
>> This is some really broad strokes. Are there specifics on ID-1 
>> protocol / framing somewhere?
>>
>> --Bart
>>
>> On 5/27/2014 4:59 PM, John D. Hays wrote:
>>> ID-1 simply encapsulates an Ethernet frame behind a D-STAR header. 
>>>  The header has some correction, but the Ethernet frame is not 
>>> corrected by D-STAR.
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> John D. Hays
>>> K7VE
>>> PO Box 1223, Edmonds, WA 98020-1223
>>> <http://k7ve.org/blog> <http://twitter.com/#%21/john_hays> 
>>> <http://www.facebook.com/john.d.hays>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 4:28 PM, Bart Kus <me at bartk.us 
>>> <mailto:me at bartk.us>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     There's no protocol I'm aware of that implements these features
>>>     on top of ID-1.  You'd need the ability to receive corrupt
>>>     frames from the ID1 to allow the use of FEC. How does the ID1
>>>     handle corrupt frames?  Is there a CRC or something in the
>>>     framing?  For ARQ, you could keep the TX retrying until it hears
>>>     an ACK or times out.  Custom software would be needed, or
>>>     perhaps pppd can do such tricks, I dunno.
>>>
>>>     Did you hear any signal when you listened with an FM receiver? 
>>>     Can you use an RTL-SDR or equivalent to see if there's any
>>>     signal present?
>>>
>>>     --Bart
>>>
>>>     On 5/24/2014 8:36 PM, Dean Gibson AE7Q wrote:
>>>>     That's what I figured ("features [that] are common to all WiFi
>>>>     systems"); it just made sense (although that is not always
>>>>     determinative!).
>>>>
>>>>     So, my next question:  Is there an available tunneling protocol
>>>>     that employs those features?
>>>>
>>>>     Note that with the ID-1 in the *one watt* setting (same omni
>>>>     antenna), I can use the 1.2GHz KB7CNN repeater 35 miles away on
>>>>     East Tiger mountain, with no noise in the FM signal. The link
>>>>     to Paine (5 miles away) was tried at max power (ten watts) on
>>>>     both radios.  I tried two different frequencies (that's the
>>>>     beauty of being able to control both radios from one
>>>>     location!): 1.250GHz and 1.249GHz (I listened on both in FM
>>>>     mode), with no significant difference.  So, in my opinion, it's
>>>>     a path problem.
>>>>
>>>>     On 2014-05-24 13:13, Bart Kus wrote:
>>>>>     Wow that sucks.  :(  Is the signal level just too low?  Is it
>>>>>     a matter of interference?
>>>>>
>>>>>     And yeah, I can confirm that the microwave stuff we use
>>>>>     includes both FEC (at up to 1/2 rate) and an ARQ system (look
>>>>>     at "hw-retries" setting). These features are common to all
>>>>>     WiFi systems too, and they're just carried over into our NV2
>>>>>     TDMA system.
>>>>>
>>>>>     --Bart
>>>>>
>>>>>     On 5/24/2014 10:19 AM, Dean Gibson AE7Q wrote:
>>>>>>     Scott Honaker and I have moved forward on this project:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>      1. We have installed a gateway (Linksys BEFSR41) between the
>>>>>>         ID-1 and the internal ARES/RACES subnet (not 44.x.x.x) of
>>>>>>         the DEM.
>>>>>>      2. We have installed a Digi "AnywhereUSB" box to give us
>>>>>>         remote access to the ID-1's USB port, and thus remote
>>>>>>         control of the ID-1 radio.  This not only allows multiple
>>>>>>         use of the ID-1 (which has useful 1.2GHz FM and digital
>>>>>>         voice modes as well as Ethernet data), but provides for
>>>>>>         remote frequency agility and a diagnostic capability. 
>>>>>>         This works beautifully (eg, to search for and use a
>>>>>>         low-noise frequency)!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     Unfortunately, what does not work very well, is the RF
>>>>>>     portion of the connection.  PINGs failed at a rate of over
>>>>>>     99% when using the 1.2GHz antenna at the 70 ft level on the
>>>>>>     tower, so we swapped the antenna with the one used for the
>>>>>>     Icom 1.2GHz repeater (which wasn't seeing any action anyway)
>>>>>>     at 100 ft. That made a "dramatic" improvement, as PINGs now
>>>>>>     only fail at a 98% rate (depends upon the time of day, etc)!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     Antenna comparison between 1.2GHz and 5.9 GHz for the two sites:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>      1. On 1.2GHz, both antennas are omni-directional.
>>>>>>      2. At the DEM, the 1.2GHz antenna is now at the 100' level,
>>>>>>         whereas the 5.9GHz antenna is at 150'.
>>>>>>      3. At my home, the 1.2GHz antenna is about 10' above the
>>>>>>         5.9GHz antenna, and it's on the same line-of-sight path.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     Note that voice communication between the two sites using the
>>>>>>     two ID-1 radios, is fine (there is a slight bit of noise on FM).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     The big difference, in my opinion?  I'll bet that the
>>>>>>     wireless protocol used by the MikroTik radios includes an
>>>>>>     aggressive error correction and retry protocol, whereas the
>>>>>>     ID-1 is like a piece of Ethernet cable, and thus relies on
>>>>>>     the standard TCP/IP retry mechanism.  The TCP/IP protocols,
>>>>>>     while "unreliable" in the technical sense of the term,
>>>>>>     require a higher overall reliability than a typical raw
>>>>>>     wireless connection.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     What this says (and I'm a bit surprised to note this), is
>>>>>>     that sites considering using ID-1 radios for data
>>>>>>     communications, may find that even with the tighter siting
>>>>>>     requirements of 5.9GHz, that the latter may be more
>>>>>>     successful (whether or not part of HamWAN). In addition to
>>>>>>     being a lower-cost radio with a much higher data rate, the
>>>>>>     MikroTik radios offer a built-in router, which can obviate
>>>>>>     the need for a separate router.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     -- Dean
>>>>>>
>>>>>>     ps: The callsign and digital code filtering features of
>>>>>>     D-Star that we previously discussed, are not available
>>>>>>     (greyed out in the software) for digital *data* mode. Huh? 
>>>>>>     Another fine example of software of the "seven last words" of
>>>>>>     poor program design: *"Why would you want to do that?"*
>>>>>>
>
>
>
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