Kenwood: Kenwood D710G aprs Beacon Interval

[horizonscanner]

Ok got a new rig yesterday the D710G, familiarized everything and seems just not hard to work with. APRS RX work fine no issues, now i got confused about the beacon interval, was observing it and noticed that its not following the set interval.. When i set it to 1 sometimes its not transmitting and sometimes advance or late to transmit and some other times its consistent. Did i miss anything on the setting or this is just normal? I need some of your inputs about this issue ..


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[krokus]

Do you have smart beaconing enabled?

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[horizonscanner]

Its set on AUTO..


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[jwt873]

Try changing the Beacon Tx Algorithm From Auto to SmartBeaconing. That way it will use the SmartBeaconing functions.

 

[KE5MC]

Ok got a new rig yesterday the D710G, familiarized everything and seems just not hard to work with. APRS RX work fine no issues, now i got confused about the beacon interval, was observing it and noticed that its not following the set interval.. When i set it to 1 sometimes its not transmitting and sometimes advance or late to transmit and some other times its consistent. Did i miss anything on the setting or this is just normal? I need some of your inputs about this issue ..


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Another setting will hold off the transmit if the radio is busy receiving beacons. If you are in a busy APRS area it could be holding off 20-30 seconds till it beacons and then again on the next minute it beacons if quite.

Smart beaconing can seem erratic if you are changing positions and speed. Stationary should be consistent, but still delayed. You don't want to transmit on top of another stations beacon.

Mike

P.S. I was meaning to add change to 5 minutes and see if it seems more consistent. That way the busy hold offs seem to have less effect on auto.

 

[horizonscanner]

Yes am on a busy area.. I think had it work now. What you guys set on your 630 menu? smartbeaconing 1?


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[KE5MC]

Yes am on a busy area.. I think had it work now. What you guys set on your 630 menu? smartbeaconing 1?


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I have always used 'auto' if on at all. I think what they have done with the different smart beacon setups is establish a bias for how you are traveling based on how you are moving. Something like a SAG wagon for a run or bike race (slow, start-stop, change direction) vs. something like a freeway convoy.

Mike

 

[horizonscanner]

By the way, with AUTO .. If the freq is busy does it affect the beacon interval as often when it hears a packet ahead just before it is scheduled to Tx? Smartbeaconing works flawlessly but Auto seems inconsistent..


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[KE5MC]

By the way, with AUTO .. If the freq is busy does it affect the beacon interval as often when it hears a packet ahead just before it is scheduled to Tx? Smartbeaconing works flawlessly but Auto seems inconsistent..


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I had a 710D and never really noticed how the timing was effected.

Try this:
Setup for normal APRS operation. Put the radio on a dummy load so the receiver does not hear beacons and monitor when your radio transmits. Use a watch with a sweep second hand and note the minute and second of the transmission. Establish a baseline for 1-2-3-4 minutes, but I don't recall what the radio allows in auto. Is it always on the same second at the appropriate minute interval? Reconnect the antenna and see how your dummy load baseline is effected by receiving beacons for the various auto times.

Comparing the two results should give you some idea the impact of receiving beacons has.

Make sure to share your results. 😊

Mike

 

[AK9R]

By the way, with AUTO .. If the freq is busy does it affect the beacon interval as often when it hears a packet ahead just before it is scheduled to Tx?

No matter what the Beacon mode, the radio will not send an beacon if there's a signal being received.