[App_rpt-users] ECHOLINK CONNECTIONS

[Bryan D. Boyle]

On 1/16/12 8:15 AM, Bradley Haney wrote:
> nope..  numbers don't even match...   i connceted my droid to the link and
> the number that poped up was different each time.
>

If you're not connecting directly from the droid/samsung/iPhone/??? 
handset to the node and going through a proxy, you are picking up the 
proxy node number rather than your own (even though , since you 
authenticate to the proxy, the intermediate node is what actually makes 
the connection to the end point).  That's what Echolink sends out; 
app_rpt is only displaying what the Echolink software sends it, so, it's 
not an app_rpt problem.

Just demoed it here to see what's going on while looking at a tail -f on 
my asterisk messages file.  Connected via a public proxy (which may 
change from time to time, even from handset to handset standing next to 
each other...just did it here on my node with an iPhone and android 
something or other...two apps, two handsets, two different node 
numbers...then connected directly with my iPhone...and it picked up my 
proper number, not the proxy node number...) It's not that big of a 
deal.  I don't announce Echolink connections when they connect...I'm 
more concerned with the Allstar nodes correctly reporting than people 
driving by aimlessly connecting through Echo.

app_rpt is NOT a native Echolink application, so, it depends on 
downloading the authenticated node list on a regular basis (every 5 
minutes iirc, so as not to overload the echolink servers and probably 
get Jonathan's shorts in a twist...) instead of interactively 
authenticating.

The proxies are always there (well, as much as anything that is run by 
volunteers...), so, they're in the list more often than not, which is 
why you can start the app on the handset, authenticate to a proxy, and 
almost immediately get connected to an Allstar system versus connecting 
directly and getting an 'unauthorized' reply when you try and connect to 
an allstar node.

IF you're using a proxy, you have no guarantee that you will get the 
same one each time, or ever get to a proxy to begin with.

So...why is this a concern?

-- 
Bryan WB0YLE
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.
Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.
You may quote me.

Sent from my MacBook Pro.