PACKET RADIO BEACONS

Infrequent, and Informative

The text of the beacon is specified by BTEXT. The path used for the beacon transmission is specified by the UNPROTO command. YOU SHOULD USE BEACONS INTELLIGENTLY! Beacons are often a point of controversy in the packet community because they tend to clutter the frequency if used too frequently. You should keep your beacons short and infrequent, and they should only be used for meaningful data. Bulletin boards use the beacon for advising the community of who has mail waiting for them, clubs use beacons for meeting announcements, and beacons are used for severe weather warnings. In areas with heavy packet activity, beacons should not be used just to let everyone know that you're monitoring the frequency, that your mailbox is ready, or that you'd like someone to connect to you. You should monitor the frequency for activity and make some connections yourself.

BEACON: EVERY or AFTER

BEACON EVERY n

The TNC will transmit a beacon every "n" units of time.

BEACON AFTER n

The TNC will transmit a beacon after it hears not activity for "n" units of time.

BEACON EVERY 0 (or B E 0)

The TNC turns the beacon off.

Know Your TNC's Unit Values

Not all TNCs are made equal. Not all units expressed in their commands result in the same values to be executed.

• Kantronics (KAM-XL, KPC-3+, KPC-9612+)
  BEACON: the unit of "n" is 1 minute (e.g., 10 = 10 minutes). (range n = 0 - 255)
  • BEACON EVERY 30 (or B E 30): TNC transmits every 30 minutes.
  • BEACON AFTER 30 (or B A 30): TNC transmits after 30 minutes of not hearing any packet activity on the frequency.
  BTEXT: (0 - 128 characters)
  
  
• Kenwood (TH-D7, TM-D700, TM-D710)
  BEACON the unit of "n" is 10 seconds (e.g., 10 = 1 minute 40 seconds). (range n = 0 - 250)
  • BEACON EVERY 180 (or B E 180): TNC transmits every 30 minutes.
  • BEACON AFTER 180 (or B A 180): TNC transmits after 30 minutes of not hearing any packet activity on the frequency.
  BTEXT: (0 - 159 characters)
  
  

Recommendation

Non-bulletin board stations should avoid beconing periods of less than 30-minutes as part of their BEACON command string. I configure my TNC used on VHF as K-Net Node to beacon "EVERY" 30 minutes. My TNC that is used for AirMail on VHF is configured to beacon "AFTER" not hearing any activity for 30 minutes on the frequencies it monitors.