RBNgate questions

Online Resources
1

I have a few questions about the workings of RBNgate.

Is it connected permanently, or is there a schedule of times when it will not be available?

Does it use input from all RBN stations, or just a selected number?

Is there a way for the SOTAwatch user to determine whether RBNgate is actually connected?

The reason for my questions is my experience yesterday morning (Monday 15th). I decided to activate my local summit (G/SE-002), but did not post an alert. Once I was set up and ready to go, I sent an SMS message to SOTAwatch at 09:33 giving my frequency as 5261. This was received and diplayed.

After four QSOs and around fifteen minutes of calling, I moved to 10117.5. I did not send a further SMS as I expected the RBN network to detect me. Sure enough, between 09:48 and 09:54, nine different RBN stations logged me as I called CQ. I susbsequently discovered that none of these were displayed on SOTAwatch, and I only managed two QSOs.

From 09:57 until 10:00 I called CQ on 7032.5. This time eight different RBN stations logged me, but once again, no spot appeared on SOTAwatch. Incidentally, a couple of SOTA regulars found me on this frequency, but chose not to spot me either!

Having qualified the summit, and getting increasing cold in the strong breeze, I decided to dismantle the station and return home.

A subsequent examination of SOTAwatch shows that RBNgate (using DL2CC) spotted OK2PDT/P on 7031.4 at 09:46 which was immediately before my operating time on 10 MHz. The next RBNgate spot was for M0KLO/P at 11:26, despite a number of apparently valid operations in the interim. In fact RBNgate seems to have missed many of the later activations too, detecting none of the North American activators after 18:00.

So, what did I do wrong? Am I correct in my understanding that my initial SMS self-spot at 09:33 would have alerted RBNgate to search for me around the bands? As I know that the RBN found me, why did RBNgate (assuming that it was in fact operational at the time) fail to spot me on 30m and 40m?

I guess I was guilty of assuming that RBNgate would spot me after my initial alert, and I realise that further SMS messages after each band change would have solved the issue. However, RBNgate is a valuable tool, and I wish to understand its foibles in order to use it to its best advantage in future activations.

73 de Les, G3VQO

2

In reply to G3VQO:

Hi Les

Sorry about the lack of a spot. I was busy at the time and dont have a PC in the shack so I did not realise that you had not been spotted!

73 Richard G3CWI

3

In reply to G3VQO:

Am I correct in my understanding that my initial SMS self-spot at
09:33 would have alerted RBNgate to search for me around the bands?

No. You need to have an alert in place Les. Eric’s code matches stations seen by the RBN stations with stations that have an alert in place on SOTAwatch. It then puts 2+2 together and hopefully gets 4 as the answer and spots your frequency with the alerted summit details. No alert, no spot. If you did have an alert posted and you posted a self spot before you were picked up by the RBN then it wouldn’t spot you either.

There are other details as to how long a time window either side of your alerted time is considered valid. You can alter this with commands embedded in the comment field.

Andy
MM0FMF

4

In reply to MM0FMF:

Thanks Andy. I must have misunderstood the early discussions regarding the implementation of RBNgate. I thought a self-spot would be equivalent to an alert. Perhaps that’s an idea for possible implementation in the future.

Anyway, the walk did me good, and I qualified another summit on 5MHz CW.

Maybe another next Monday …

73 de Les

5

Alternatively, is there a way to use the SMS system to post an initial alert for those spontaneous activations where a premeditated alert from home is impossible or impracticable?

73 de Les

6

I think I may have broken RBNgate!

Following on from the earlier comments, I have been experimenting with the extended spots feature. I read the thread http://sotawatch.org/reflector.php?topic=7764# that explains how to do so. No mention of a limit is mentioned.

I started by placing an alert for today at 12:00 with a summit G/SE-???, but with an extended time using s+240 in the comment i.e. next ten days. I then tried s+1000 to cover a period of one month as an experiment.

Having got within one hour of the actual alerted time, I called CQ on various frequencies to trigger the RBN. I was heard by several RBN stations, but I did not appear on SOTAwatch. Neither have any other RBNgate spots since I entered my alert!

My apologies if I’ve broken it. It seems that my old skill of managing to break any software presented to me during my working life has not been lost in retirement!

73 de Les, G3VQO

7

In reply to G3VQO:
There does not seem to have been any spots via RBNgate today, so I guess it is down at the moment. I’m watching the RBN directly with a spot search of */P.

Mike

8

In reply to G3VQO:
Les

I also had no joy with RBNgate today but the chasers found me within a few minutes anyway. Tnx for the 3 QSO today while I did SOTA hopping between 6 hills.

73 de Dominik, HB9CZF

9

In reply to G3VQO:

Hi Les,

RBNGate runs continuously, but there was a period when it apparently wasn’t receiving data from RBN. I don’t know why, and I have code in the software that detects a dropped connection and automatically resets it, and more code that detects a dead connection (e.g., connected but no data received in the last 10 minutes) and resets it in that case as well. I didn’t know about the “spot outage” until I saw this thread earlier today. Since neither of my detect-and-reset algorithms corrected the problem, I reset the entire program and it seems to be spewing out spots again.

Yes, and as per my RBNGate FAQ, spotting yourself does indeed create the equivalent of an alert inside the software and you will be spotted even if you have no corresponding SOTAWatch alert. The spotting window in this case will extend for 3 hours from the time your self-spot was received.

I can see in my software logs that your “s+240” and “S+1000” codes in your alert comments were processed and your alert for G/SE-??? will be in effect for many more days (for 1000 hours from 4/16/2013 1200z). This means that you will be spotted anytime you call CQ on CW, even if not on a summit.

Note that there is actually no way for an activator to remove or cancel one of these extended spotting windows once they enter it into an alert. RBNGate persists this info in a separate file, and actually must do this since the original SOTAWatch alert will eventually get dropped from the SOTAWatch listing due to age. If the information wasn’t persisted, the spotting window would abruptly end at that time, rather than 1000 hours later (in your example). I can manually delete your two if you like.

73,

Eric KU6J

===========================================
Free SOTA Spot Monitor Software + RBNGate FAQ:
http://www.ku6j.com

10

In reply to KU6J:

Thanks for the explanation Eric. I was beginning to think my memory was playing tricks, but you have confirmed my belief that a self-spot equates to an alert in terms of RBNgate behaviour.

Thanks also for the additional information about the persistence of the extended spot time, even if the original alert is subsequently cancelled. It pays to be aware!

As my thousand-hour alert was just a test (glad it worked rather than breaking RBNgate!!!), please delete it to avoid confusion if I call CQ over the next month.

73 de Les, G3VQO

11

One further question.

The mobile phone I use to send SMS spots has been “registered” as G3VQO for SOTAwatch. If I use it in another country to spot myself as GW3VQO/P or F/G3VQO/P, does RBNgate recognise this as a self-spot?

73 de Les, G3VQO

12

In reply to G3VQO:

All these question do seem to imply that an “RBN help” page is needed somewhere obvious. I think the RBN link is a real boon (and is perhaps one of the most significant steps forward for SOTA’s IT in recent years) but I would struggle to recall the details of how best to leverage its many facilities.

73 Richard G3CWI

13

In reply to G3CWI:
FAQ is here: http://ku6j.com/ look at the 2nd line of the page
or directly:
RBNGate by KU6J - Automatic SOTA Spotting

73 de Dominik, HB9CZF

14

In reply to HB9CZF:

Thanks Dominik

It probably needs to be linked in a bit more to SOTAwatch to be obvious!

73 Richard G3CWI

15

In reply to HB9CZF:

Thanks for that link Dominik. It appears to answer the question about my self-spots. My understanding is now that it will accept as a self-spot any callsign which contains G3VQO, but will not work where the UK prefix changes as in GW3VQO/P or GO3VQO/P.

I concur with Richard that the RBNgate information needs to be more easily found. Perhaps there could be a direct link to Eric’s excellent FAQ page from the SOTAwatch main page.

73 de Les

16

In reply to G3CWI:

An FAQ file for SOTA has been in preparation for some time, I could include some coverage and a link to Eriks page. At some point the FAQ will go into the SOTA website.

73

Brian G8ADD

17

In reply to G8ADD:
.
“In preparation for some time” is a good way to put it. I had an exchange with the MT about this 8 months ago. Four months ago it was termed “soonish”, one of the better coined terms in recent memory. I think we should invent a WikiPeaks procedure, where questions/answers are submitted to the MT for editing and possible inclusion in the FAQ section. Check this out:
.
http://www.sotawatch.org/reflector.php?topic=7550#63169
.
Elliott, K6ILM
troublemaker #1

18

In reply to K6ILM:

Hey Elliott

I’m there in your link. Can I be troublemaker #2 please?

73 Richard G3CWI

19

In reply to G3CWI:
.
Permission to come aboard granted. You can be my wingman, Richard, with all the rights and duties attendant thereto. Enjoy.

Elliott, K6ILM
Troublemaker Supreme

20

In reply to K6ILM:

He’s only a beginner Elliot, he hardly registers on the troublemaking score-o-meter!

:wink:

Andy
MM0FMF