@irad d
For EMCOMM we may need to contact stations operating with very compromised antennas and need the most robust transmission.
IMHO the current -5dB requirement for decoding broadcasts is too limiting and we should have an option to use the same -21dB decoding requirement as CQ.
Thus for EMCOMM I would like to be able to select broadcast transmission to use the same speed-level as CQ.
e,g, When broadcast first came out I tried to use it but not be heard.
For a station I was working with normal messages had no problem.
I could also receive broadcast from same station.
From Irad on FB page:
Broadcast is like aprs. Sending out a message (up to 92 chara) to the universe.
As demtre stated, cq is more robust and can be decoded with -21db like ft8.
Broadcasts are not and not decoded below -5db.
I think now that VARA-KISS has a DCD mechanism and Jose is actively deveping it, an EMCOMM group should ask him about allowing SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4 and SL5 speeds to be selected by the user in VARA when KISS MODE is activated. Jose needs some convincing, but an EMCOMM group could probably convince him more easily than an individual.
Well - next version will include showing SNR levels of broadcasts. we have seen that it works great up to -12DB and not -5 as stated before
But, VARA has one size fits all KISS broadcasts. which is SL5 (Speed level 5). So I can't change that. Its a VARA limitation.
Irad
Our group is going to experiment with the HF broadcast feature in February. Realizing that low power stations may be unable to be seen on print, we are going to ask such stations to report their status to the exercise coordinator. Being able to see the HF broadcast print could be very valuable, in and of itself, even if a station's signal is too weak to print. Integrating new features into the EMCOMM plan is the fun part to figure out.