Equipment Settings
An APRS infrastructure comprises a variety of Terminal Node Controller (TNC) equipment put in place by individual Amateur Radio operators. This includes soundcards interfacing a radio to a computer, simple TNCs, and "smart" TNCs. The "smart" TNCs are capable of determining what has already happened with the packet (unit of information) and can prevent redundant packet repeating within the network.
Reporting stations use a method of routing called a "path" to broadcast the information through a network. In a typical packet network, a station would use a path of known stations such as "via n8xxx,n8ary." This causes the packet to be repeated through the two stations before it stops. In APRS, generic callsigns are assigned to repeater stations to allow a more automatic operation.
Read more about this topic: Automatic Packet Reporting System
Famous quotes containing the word equipment:
“At the heart of the educational process lies the child. No advances in policy, no acquisition of new equipment have their desired effect unless they are in harmony with the child, unless they are fundamentally acceptable to him.”
—Central Advisory Council for Education. Children and Their Primary Schools (Plowden Report)