[drats_users] D-RATS questions, suggestions

[Amateur Radio WB8NUT]

I would like to see people actually using the D-RATS program with their 
RADIOS!!!

I have tried on REF015C numerous times and no one responds.

Anyone up to trying some digital chat on REF015C/

Thanks,

Duffy
www.wb8nut.com


> Craig Gunther <mailto:craiggunther at yahoo.com>
> November 12, 2012 5:35 PM
> These are very good questions.  Thank you for taking the time to ask 
> them in writing.  I run a reflector for our city and have observed 
> many of the same issues you mentioned.  I anxiously await the answers 
> as well.
> - Craig KE7YLZ
>
> *From:* Brian Mileshosky <n5zgt at swcp.com>
> *To:* drats_users at intrepid.danplanet.com
> *Sent:* Monday, November 12, 2012 2:02 PM
> *Subject:* [drats_users] D-RATS questions, suggestions
>
> Dan --
>
> I'm beginning to use D-RATS and am trying to generate interest
> throughout New Mexico for its use as well.  Some questions and
> suggestions for improvement:
>
> 1) It would be VERY helpful if the "Stations" screen on the right side
> of the Chat tab reflected stations on a particular Chat channel ONLY
> (when viewing a Channel tab).  That is, if I create a channel called
> "NM", and I click on its tab, then the callsigns on the right side of
> the screen should only show those on the NM channel.  If I want to see
> EVERYONE on a given ratflector, then I can click on the default "Main"
> chat tab.  This way, if during an emergency event that requires a number
> of tactical "chat nets" via chat channels (i.e. a channel where the EOC
> is found, another for where shelters are found, etc), I can see exactly
> (and only) who is on each channel, and not have to wonder who is on one
> channel and who is not.  Right now, when I set up a channel I have no
> idea who is on it since the list is cluttered with callsigns of people
> who are NOT on that channel as well.
>
> 2) In the log screen, when filtering for file transfers, it would be
> nice if a file transfer log listing also included the callsign of
> whoever grabbed a file from my "Shared" folder.  This way, if I ask a
> station to grab a file from me, I have record that they in fact did, so
> I don't need to consume additional time following up with them and
> asking. Right now all I can see is that a file was transferred at a
> certain time, but I have no clue who transferred it.
>
> 3) Is there any reason why transferring files via internet can't occur
> at internet speeds?  It would be nice if D-RATS knew the method of
> transfer based on whether it's connected to the internet, or via RF
> (even if a future release made each message user selectable via a radio
> button or pull-down menu): Internet would occur at internet speeds, but
> if via radio it would automatically throttle the speed settings for that
> particular medium accordingly.  If the internet is up in an emergency, I
> say leverage it as fully as possible to unburden the limited RF
> channels.  Somehow this should be seamless (based on the software
> detecting the medium across which a file or message is to be sent) and
> not require the user to change blocksize when sending via the internet
> vs RF.
>
> 4) I noticed, when sending multiple NTS forms in version 0.3.3, that
> after I click on "Send" within the message screen, the message(s) isn't
> actually sent.  I have to secondarily click "Send/Receive" on the main
> program screen before the message actually gets sent.  Additionally, if
> I have multiple messages queued up for sending, I need to click
> "Send/Receive" for each message in the queue before each is sent
> individually.  It would seem that the "Send" within the message screen
> would be sufficient, and that multiple messages in the queue would be
> sent on their way automatically.
>
> 5) We recently set up a ratflector here in New Mexico and our initial
> testing revealed that, if a ratflector went down temporarily, then any
> D-RATS user out there who was connected to it would manually have to
> reconnect to it.  I can see a situation where a user, perhaps in an ARES
> tactical net, might not be aware that his connection was lost and might
> consequently miss out on important action.  Is there not a way for the
> D-RATS application to sense that a connection has been lost and
> automatically reconnect?  It could be as simple as, when D-RATS hasn't
> seen data from a ratflector for n-minutes, the D-RATS application sends
> a ping or keep-alive message to the ratflector.  If no response from the
> ratflector, it assumes it went down and automatically tries to
> re-establish connection with it.  If the ratflector is down for a long
> duration, D-RATS would attempt a reconnect every n-minutes until a
> connection is re-established or until the user switches to a new
> ratflector.
>
> If you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts I'd appreciate it.  Thanks
> for an excellent software application!
>
> 73,
> Brian N5ZGT
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