[Skimmertalk] [RBN-OPS] false 6 meter spots

[N4ZR]

Hi Andy et al - replies interspersed

73, Pete N4ZR
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On 7/7/2017 11:18 AM, Andy KU7T wrote:
>
> Thanks all for the insight. I am away from the shack for a few days, 
> so cannot really fire up HDSDR to look 6m while skimming.
>
> To give a little more context about my situation, I *usually* run the 
> CW Skimmer server with the QSR1 with Normal validation level but I 
> post non-CQs so beacons get through. But it is my understanding that 
> non-CQ spots are only sent from CW skimmer server to RBN aggregator 
> and not any further.
>
True, but the Aggregator gets a file, beacons.csv, from the RBN server, 
and examines each spot looking for a callsign and frequency match.  If 
the Aggregator finds a match, it sends the spots with a beacon 
identifier.  Hence, the important thing is that you tell Skimmer or 
Skimmer Server to forward all spots to the Aggregator
>
> *However*, when I tried 6m a few weeks ago (when I noticed the few 
> busted spots), I was running a Flex with CW Skimmer integration and 
> RBN aggregator (antenna was SteppIR tuned to 6m, but it is not very 
> good on 6m). I believe I have set non-CQ spots to be sent out but I am 
> not sure anymore. For sure I was using Normal validation level.
>
> I wonder if if CW Skimmer has different spot treatment as CW skimmer 
> server.
>
They are the same.
>
> Finally, from what you are all saying, it seems 6m may be somehow 
> treated special and there may not be any real issue with my setup. 
> What are the reasons that 6m’s spot handling is treated differently?  
> And where is that special handling, in skimmer or in aggregretor?
>
The special handling is in the Aggregator, and involves simply sending 
all spots received from Skimmer or Skimmer Server forward to the RBN 
server.  The thinking in doing this for 6M and above was that existence 
of openings is more important than simply finding CQers to reply to.  We 
realized in doing this that we would be spotting a number of callers and 
other non-CQers.  This is one reason why we recommend Aggressive 
validation on 6 and above, to cut down on the number of non-CQers who 
are spotted by requiring more repetitions before a callsign is validated.

The NCDXF beacons are a special case, because they do not send enough 
repetitions of their callsign to be spotted.  For this reason, Skimmer 
and Skimmer Server both incorporate a user-modifiable file called 
watch.lst.  Stations on the watch list are spotted as soon as they are 
heard, which is perfect for the NCDXF system.

For the full story see <http://reversebeacon.blogspot.com/2014/02/> and 
<http://reversebeacon.blogspot.com/2014/01/>.