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    The ID-1 has one of those cell-phone-like "3 bars" scales for signal
    strength.  When I set my home to ping the DEM (via the ID-1 radios),
    the DEM ID-1 would sometimes show one bar (with no response), and
    then on the next ping (one second later) show three bars, with a
    reply being transmitted.  At the time, there was no rain or
    appreciable wind, but obviously something on the path was varying
    the signal strength.   When we tried FM voice a couple months ago
    (to evaluate the path for the 5SHPn), it was virtually free of
    noise;  I don't recall if we tried DV voice.<br>
    <br>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2014-05-28 20:27, Bart Kus wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote cite="mid:5386A90D.2090004@bartk.us" type="cite">
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      <div class="moz-cite-prefix">Well yeah, you can't have ping
        without arp first, unless you configure static arp entries.  :)<br>
        <br>
        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.<br>
        <br>
        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.<br>
        <br>
        --Bart<br>
        <br>
        On 5/28/2014 7:20 PM, Dean Gibson AE7Q wrote:<br>
      </div>
      <blockquote cite="mid:53869963.4060202@ae7q.com" type="cite">
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        See <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
          href="http://www.arrl.org/files/file/D-STAR.pdf">http://www.arrl.org/files/file/D-STAR.pdf</a>
        - pages 3-5 describe the DD-mode (data) packet.<br>
        <br>
        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.<br>
        <br>
        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.<br>
        <br>
        <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2014-05-28 17:12, Bart Kus
          wrote:<br>
        </div>
        <blockquote cite="mid:53867B80.7090000@bartk.us" type="cite">
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          <div class="moz-cite-prefix">This is some really broad
            strokes.  Are there specifics on ID-1 protocol / framing
            somewhere?<br>
            <br>
            --Bart<br>
            <br>
            On 5/27/2014 4:59 PM, John D. Hays wrote:<br>
          </div>
          <blockquote
cite="mid:CAN77r3zvJVW14KuAzpSMBXBXDtKp4xfDxHhNAwfzh+1q1QLKSg@mail.gmail.com"
            type="cite">
            <div dir="ltr">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.</div>
            <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
              <div>
                <hr>
                <div style="float:left;padding-left:1em;color:blue">John
                  D. Hays<br>
                  <span style="color:rgb(128,128,128)">K7VE</span></div>
                <div style="float:right;text-align:right">PO Box 1223,
                  Edmonds, WA 98020-1223 
                  <div style="padding-top:0.5em"> <a
                      moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://k7ve.org/blog"
                      target="_blank"><img moz-do-not-send="true"
                        src="http://k7ve.org/images/blog-icon-box-red-26.png"></a> <a
                      moz-do-not-send="true"
                      href="http://twitter.com/#%21/john_hays"
                      target="_blank"><img moz-do-not-send="true"
                        src="http://k7ve.org/images/Twitter-26.png"></a> <a
                      moz-do-not-send="true"
                      href="http://www.facebook.com/john.d.hays"
                      target="_blank"><img moz-do-not-send="true"
                        src="http://k7ve.org/images/Facebook-26.png"></a></div>
                </div>
              </div>
              <br>
              <br>
              <div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 4:28 PM,
                Bart Kus <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
                    href="mailto:me@bartk.us" target="_blank">me@bartk.us</a>></span>
                wrote:<br>
                <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
                  .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                  <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> 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.<br>
                    <br>
                    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?<br>
                    <br>
                    --Bart<br>
                    <br>
                    <div>On 5/24/2014 8:36 PM, Dean Gibson AE7Q wrote:<br>
                    </div>
                    <blockquote type="cite"> That's what I figured
                      ("features [that] are common to all WiFi
                      systems"); it just made sense (although that is
                      not always determinative!).<br>
                      <br>
                      So, my next question:  Is there an available
                      tunneling protocol that employs those features?<br>
                      <br>
                      Note that with the ID-1 in the <b>one watt</b>
                      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.<br>
                      <br>
                      <div>On 2014-05-24 13:13, Bart Kus wrote:<br>
                      </div>
                      <blockquote type="cite">
                        <div>Wow that sucks.  :(  Is the signal level
                          just too low?  Is it a matter of interference?<br>
                          <br>
                          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.<br>
                          <br>
                          --Bart<br>
                          <br>
                          On 5/24/2014 10:19 AM, Dean Gibson AE7Q wrote:<br>
                        </div>
                        <blockquote type="cite"> Scott Honaker and I
                          have moved forward on this project:<br>
                          <ol>
                            <li>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.</li>
                            <li>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)!</li>
                          </ol>
                          <p>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)!<br>
                          </p>
                          <p>Antenna comparison between 1.2GHz and 5.9
                            GHz for the two sites:<br>
                          </p>
                          <ol>
                            <li>On 1.2GHz, both antennas are
                              omni-directional.</li>
                            <li>At the DEM, the 1.2GHz antenna is now at
                              the 100' level, whereas the 5.9GHz antenna
                              is at 150'.</li>
                            <li>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.</li>
                          </ol>
                          <p>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).<br>
                          </p>
                          <p>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.<br>
                          </p>
                          <p>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.<br>
                          </p>
                          <p>-- Dean<br>
                          </p>
                          <p>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 <b>data</b>
                            mode.  Huh?  Another fine example of
                            software of the "seven last words" of poor
                            program design: <b>"Why would you want to
                              do that?"</b></p>
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