Doug, K4GKJ

Hardware

Experiences

Make sure the GPS is off. I have found that for many people, including myself, it is easy to assume the GPS is off. And if you have an model # 800, the GPS can be turned on and still cause issues with this and other programs even though you do not have a GPS installed (Make sure it is off in any case).

Also, Some have suggested that one can have the GPS turned on, but have the 'DATA' turned off, and recieve good results. I have not found this to be true. Just can't stress enough, the GPS data output will be irritating.

USB-to-serial adapters can be flakey. The group I am working with is having good success with the Belkin and the Keyspan adapters. Although, if the program 'locks up' you will need to unplugg the adapter devise so that it may reset as well. I understand that the issue with the program locking up is known and will be resolved very shortly. By not resetting the adapter, you will get no response from the radio.

Last night, 2-25-08, Don W4DSW and I transferred a few text messages and files with great success and enjoyment. We were using the DDT settings of Outgoing Block size 2048, Write chunk size at 320, and Chunk delay at 1.0. We will be trying different values, but these worked great for us last night.

When sending a file, you will need to make sure the intended recipent is ready to 'click' on recieve file. If your trying to send a file, the program sends out a signal every so often for a short while to alert and give others a chance to recieve it. A neat feature, but it will time out, as it should, if no-one responds.

When recieving a file, make sure to create a new file, save it in a place that is easy to find (I use my desktop). Name it so that you may save muliple files in this new folder for easy reference.

The bit rate on all radios tested has been at 9600. We will be attempting different settings just for kicks.

Also, make sure to make good use of the forms available in the program. This will be a valuble asset I'm sure.

I'll post more as I learn more..........

...........Learning more and enjoying every bit of it.

On March 13th, 2008, our local airport (Tallahassee Regional Airport of Florida) had it's annual excersise, and about 16 hams were a part of it. Many of us were running D* and D-Rats with great success. Unfortunatly, we were unable to take full advantage of all the options available to us in the program, but the program worked flawlessly, and we were able to convey data from one place to another that was faster and more accuratly done than that of the local EOC's communications. Clearly, we raised a few eybrows and gained a bit of confidence from those agencies we support. For this exersise, we used version 1.8, and am looking forward to using the latest version in our upcoming hurricaine excersise.

Great work Dan. D-Rats is proving to be a valuble asset. Thanks, doug.

doug

K4GKJTesting (last edited 2008-03-19 18:16:49 by Doug Bennight)