[drats_users] Slow Speed Data via reflector

[Dan Smith]

> Copying the keyboard to keyboard chats was problematic at times. 
> Watching the radio display, and listening to the beeps, it was clear 
> that a lot of text was being passed rapidly, but often the software 
> couldn't seem to keep up. A lot of it simply never displayed. Better 
> results were obtained by using a Hyper Terminal, but still a lot text 
> was missed.

It's not an issue of "keeping up" I can assure you.  The maximum data 
rate of the radios is so slow that a 15 year old PC would be bored 
waiting for it.

Sending text chats and associated data requires no coordination between 
nodes, so if that stuff is getting dropped, it's likely at the reflector 
itself.

> File transfers were also an issue. As many noted, any interruption 
> guaranteed a failure. I'm eager to participate in more testing.

Interruption on simplex and a normal repeater does *not* cause a 
transfer to fail, in my testing.  I often use an FM handheld to screw up 
  transmissions mid-transfer.  Unless you kill 10 blocks, or hold the 
channel up for a long enough period of time, it does retry.

However, the way data seems to get lost on the reflectors is pretty 
catastrophic.  As John says, I really think that data has very little 
place on a reflector, from what I've seen of their behavior.

-- 
Dan Smith
dsmith#danplanet.com, s/#/@/
www.danplanet.com
KK7DS