Vmail Waiting Never Sent - solutions? (many stations not beaconing)

Since many stations never beacon, not only are they invisible, but they never receive vmail waiting messages!

It appears MOST U.S. stations NEVER beacon!Note: I believe this is because of a misunderstanding of the FFC rules.

NOTE: VarAC beacons do NOT the same purpose as propagation beacons! They are for networking, and NOT like WSPR. Also, most stations are at home, not in unattended remote locations like the North Pole. The operator is present at the station much of the time! TODO: I believe this is a misunderstood point that must be clarified legally and then documented well in the VarAC application itself e.g. wherever beacons are mentioned - and in the other VarAC documentation!

Please suggest solutions in the comments on this post. Let's brainstorm!

Here are some of my suggestions:

1. Default setting or setup wizard should ask to turn on beaconing, and explain why.

2. Nag the user to send a beacon manually. You could open a dialog box and ask if they would like to send a beacon. If they press nothing, it will close after a timeout. Could also put a Turn on beaconing button in the same dialog box.

   Could nag after opening VarAC, when signals are being received. Maybe after a delay, or indication that they can transmit. Definitely NOT when PTT is off!

3. Clarify and document beaconing in VarAC (as opposed to WSPR) - see the note above!

4. Any time the station is heard, even if communicating with another station - a vmail waiting alert message should be queued. In the ideal world, there should be sent a VARA BREAK message, alerting the stations in a QSO that another station needs them to contact him. Not sure if there is a way to do this in VARA modem, but it is IMHO an important feature that is in the spirit of Ham Radio! Since there is no authentication in VARA, perhaps it can be done by sending a VARA message to the target stations, asking them to break/pause/wait, and then sending the alert message. If necessary, the message can be spoofed as the other connected station, provided the real callsign is explicit in the alert message so the sender is clear.

5. If a CQ is heard, and there are outgoing messages for the station, send the Vmail waiting on the CQ slot. And after a delay of at least 5 minutes, sent it again as needed on the calling channel.

   
   

   Here is a typical example:

   A. FM4TI does not beacon, so he is only visible because he happened to CQ. So he never receives a vmail waiting alert! The vmail will likely sit in the outbox forever, even if he is online every night!

   B. KD8TF beacons, so he receives vmail waiting alerts.