diff --git a/kiss_and_db.py b/kiss_and_db.py
index 58d004c..e2d1856 100644
--- a/kiss_and_db.py
+++ b/kiss_and_db.py
@@ -78,8 +78,8 @@ def main():
                     a['path'] = str(a['path'])
                     # Process 3rd-party data
                     if 'subpacket' in a:
-                        a['subpacket'] = str(a['subpacket'])
-                        b = a['subpacket']
+                        b = a['subpacket'] # make a copy 
+                        a['subpacket'] = str(a['subpacket']) # turn the original to a string
                         b['party'] = 3
                         b['station_call'] = config['Settings']['station_call']
                         b['station_lat'] = config['Settings']['station_lat']