Incommunicado

After inviting all of my readers who have APRS capability to send a text message to my new VX-8E I was left with egg on my face when someone did and the radio did not receive it. The messages were reaching my computer but not being transmitted over RF so the HT could receive it. Nor did the reply I sent once I discovered the messages using findu.com get any further than my computer.

The problem with messages sent from my radio not getting to the recipient was simply resolved by setting the default message path in UI-View32 to I (for Internet) instead of 1 (which is the radio port.) The problem of messages sent to my radio never reaching it was harder to solve, and is still not resolved very satisfactorily.

In the Internet Server configuration of UI-View32 I checked an option to "gate all local messages to RF." I thought that would result in messages to stations in my area being transmitted over the air. But apparently not.

There is an obscure option called "Edit IGATE.INI" where you can specify which messages are gated. The trouble is, you can only specify them by sender or recipient. By adding "G4ILO-7 RECIP" to this list, I managed to ensure that any messages being sent to my VX-8E having "G4ILO-7" as the destination are transmitted by my gateway so the HT can hear them. But there appears to be no way to set the gateway up so that if someone comes to visit me who also has APRS equipment, he can also receive messages via my station.

If, for the sake of example, I go to the G-QRP Convention next month and take my VX-8E with me, and my position gets logged as being in that area, then I would like to receive messages sent to me there, not have them transmitted over the north Cumbrian airwaves where I won't hear them.

Is this possible using APRS? I don't know at the moment.