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Denver Metro APRS Network Analysis

Here is a breakdown on packet radio activity over a 24 hour period in the Denver area. This data was collected with APRS Net Spy.

The data collection is dependant on the location of the receiving station.

All data was received over the RF network, 144.390 MHz. Any stations outside of the local area have either been repeated via HF gates or I-gates onto the local RF network.

The data includes ALL packets heard. This includes original transmissions (in some cases) of packets and each repeated copy of that packet via various digipeaters.

Here is the overall picture:

Network Analysis        
Log Opened: 11/20/01 4:12        
Log Closed: 11/21/01 4:12        
Process Time: 024:00:09        
Elapsed Seconds: 86409        
         
Packet Type Total Per Minute Per Hour Per Day Last 5 Minutes
All Packets 15,449 11 644 15,447 53
Position Fix 8,486 6 354 8,485 33
APRS Packets 4,483 3 187 4,483 20
Mike-E 884 1 37 884 0
GPGGA 455 0 19 455 2
GPRMC 2,679 2 112 2,679 11
Cse & Speed 3,148 2 131 3,148 11
Altitude 1,156 1 48 1,156 6
IDs 2,263 2 94 2,263 3
Beacons 2,014 1 84 2,014 12
Wx 2,768 2 115 2,768 8
PHG 1,534 1 64 1,534 8
         
Stations Reporting          
Total Stations 113        
APRS 86        
Mike-E 10        
GPS 8        
IDs 25        
Beacons 27        
Weather 21        
PHG 43        
         
Software Used          
unrecognized 38        
APRS/CE, Windows CE 0        
Linux aprsd server 0        
PIC - Encoder 0        
Icom radios 0        
ICQ messaging 0        
Kenwood Radio 0        
MacAPRS 0        
Pocket APRS 0        
APRS-DOS 8        
Old Ver of APRSdos 29        
Old Ver of MacAPRS 0        
Old Ver of WinAPRS 4        
APRS + SA 12        
WinAPRS 19        
X - APRS 0        
Yaesu radios (future) 0        
Experimental 0        
GPS 2        
APRS Net Spy 1        

notes:
The per minute, hour and day figures above are continuously calculated by APRS Net Spy. They are not really needed here, however they do come in handy when you only run the program on the network for an hour or two and wish to get an estimation on what activity looks like for a particular day.

I think I still have some work to do on the software used category as I'm sure there are numerous Pic and Kenwood categories on the air. I'll get right on that. :-)

Here are some graphs of this data:

Above, this graph shows the number of packets received for each type.

This graph shows how many stations are transmitting each type of packet. Stations often transmit multiple types.

If properly configured, the unproto address indicates which type of software is being used to generate the APRS activity.

Here are two ASCII delimited text files that should import straight into any spread sheet program that will allow you to view this data any way you choose. The first file contains the overall network data (exactly what is shown at the top of this page), the second contains summary data about each of the individual stations heard on the network during the 24 hour period.

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Network_Log_01_11_21_04_12.csv
Contains overall network activity

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Stations_Log_01_11_21_04_12.csv
Contains station detail. Individual packets or data shown are usually from the last packet received. Range and Bearing are computed from my QTH.

 

webmaster: Rick von Glahn, NØKKZ Last Edit: 04 Apr 2011