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ZL3AI > APRDIG 23.04.07 01:34l 252 Lines 10543 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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From: ZL3AI@ZL2BAU.#79.NZL.OC
To : APRDIG@WW
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:16:57 -0500
From: Jim Duncan <jdbandman_at_earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Cheap laptops
For anyone interested... I have four used laptops of various vintages which
I would be happy to part with. (Especially since Mona said "let's clear out
some of the excess stuff we have!")
Please contact me off list if interested for details.
Jim Duncan, KU0G
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:58:03 -0600
From: "Dave Sloan" <desloan_at_earthlink.net>
Subject: [aprssig] APRS and Dayton
I plan on being at Dayton again this year. I haven't seen anything about an
APRS Pizza Party being planed again for this year. Will there be anything
else for APRS besides the forum?
73,
Dave N0EOP
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:24:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris Rose <kb8uih_at_sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Why APRS mobile?
I didn't see the original posting of this thread and I haven't and am not
going to see it at the aprssig archives right now. Having said this, I
don't have a laptop with my D700 or THD7 when I use them all the time.
They display any info I need to see while mobile or foot portable. Weather
packets from the NWS display their messages and others that hams may send
are displayed just fine. I guess I need someone to clear up the mud on
what the fuss about all the NMEA data is and what the TTs are sending that
you all are talking about when dealing with weather and SKYWARN mobile?
Thank you,
Chris
KB8UIH
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:36:26 -0400
From: "Robert Bruninga" <bruninga_at_usna.edu>
Subject: [aprssig] ANDE and RAFT in view at the same time
ANDE and RAFT are coming over at the same time tonight. Lots of time to
play packet and maybe packet-to-voice on 145.825.
http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/ande-raft-ops.html
Good luck
WB4APR
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Message: 11
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:48:05 -0700
From: "Keith VE7GDH" <ve7gdh_at_rac.ca>
Subject: [aprssig] Garmin 276C
Can anyone comment on the suitability of the Garmin 276C for APRS use? In
particular, can waypoints from a HamHUD, D700 etc. be sent to the 276C?
Thanks in advance...
73 es cul - Keith VE7GDH
--
"I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:47:38 -0600
From: Joel Maslak <jmaslak-aprs_at_antelope.net>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Why APRS mobile?
On Apr 12, 2007, at 8:32 AM, Robert Bruninga wrote:
>>How come you want to run a TNC mobile ?
>>Why not just use a tinytrack or opentracker ?
>
>Because the essence of ham radio is two-way communications.
>
>Because the essence of APRS is situational awareness. Having a
>channel that is the be-all-end-all of information on all ham
>radio activities going on in the immediate area.
>
>Trackers are great assets at public service events where the
>hams need to track all kinds of vehicles that often do not have
>a HAM on board. These devices are able to be quickly installed
>at the start of the event and collected afterwords. I have
>nothing against trackers at all. There are many many
>applications for them and everyone should have a few...
I would think they are good when there are Hams in the vehicle too. After
all, most events have decent voice coverage and that's far more efficient
than trying to use a D7 or D700 keypad to enter a message, and if my
position shows up at Net Control, that very well be all that's needed.
Sure, I prefer being able to see a graphical presentation of the other
stations - that can save everyone time. And there are times where there is
APRS but not voice coverage.
But, in most events, I'm not sure everyone needs to know where everyone
else is. Certainly most of us don't need to one-line message each other
most of the time. We need key people to know where everyone is, however.
That's the use of a tracker. Having good quality tracker installations
inside personal vehicles is *definitely* a good thing in my mind (around
here many events use personal vehicles - I understand different areas do
things differently). Your ancient laptop plugged into an inverter (so it
lasts for the whole event) using an external monitor (because the internal
one is fried) running DOS in the bright sunlight is...well, less than
useful as a mobile station. It's fragile. Duct tape and bailing wire is
not a good thing for emergency communications! So I'll take a permanent
tracker installation to track where the HAMs are over a poorly cobbled
together pile of electronic junk, or even decent electronic junk with 15
different connections, all of which have to work perfectly for the thing to
run right. But there is more chance for the duct tape to work when it's
permanently installed instead of moved around.
That's the value of the "dumb" tracker. It's cheap, so it's widely
deployed. Once it's permanently installed, it's nearly foolproof. And,
people know it works because they can see their station on Findu. So they
are ready for emergency communication. Granted, not with the capabilities
of a graphical display and messaging capability, but some people can't
afford or don't have the technical skill to do a quality mobile APRS setup.
I'd rather have them as dumb trackers than not at all. And I'd rather have
them *reliable*. I've read far too many posts about balloons, special
vehicles, searchers, etc, equipped with portable trackers that didn't work.
In fact, I think that's far more common than reading about ones that *did*
work. So having people build a reliable station - even if it is only one
way - is a start to fixing this problem.
But, yes, I agree Ham radio is about communication and two-way capabilities
should be pursued. I also think it's about technical craftmanship, so
people should be encouraged to build low cost stations that have high
reliability and don't look like a pile of junk when talking to some agency
sponsor.
Okay, I'll yield the soapbox to someone else. :)
------------------------------
Message: 13
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:21:16 -0400
From: Eric Christensen <eric_at_christensenplace.us>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Why APRS mobile?
Joel,
I'll have to respectfully disagree with you and say that trackers AREN'T
good for emergencies. As you point out, there are places where voice
coverage isn't as good as APRS coverage. For this exact reason using the
digital text messaging feature of APRS is critical for communicating with
other stations. While I won't condone the use of this while mobile, it can
be easily used when in the vehicle (I, and others, do so daily).
If everyone is just transmitting their positions then who is actually
RECEIVING these signals? Sure, it is nice to have a full APRS station at
the EOC or command post, but then you aren't aware of your surroundings and
certainly aren't utilizing the full capabilities of this mode. During
emergencies you should be prepared to use any and all modes of
communications as you never know what will be up and functioning.
I like Bob's "Situational Awareness" image. Here in Northeastern NC we
transmit out weather bulletins, voice repeater information, and utilize
text messaging every day. We know it works because we use it everyday. We
don't have any "duct tape and bailing wire" in any of our setups. Most of
us use D700s for the mobiles, D7As for portable operations, and full blown
setups at home. Do I ever use a laptop in my vehicle? Yep, sure do.
Particularly when we are having an event. Are trackers useful then?
Absolutely. But it makes it so much easier to disseminate information via
APRS and it makes it so difficult when I'm working with users that only
have a tracker.
Do trackers have a place in the whole picture? Absolutely! During
Hurricane Isabel I could have used a bunch of trackers to put on National
Guard vehicles that were out dispersing logistics around the county. Would
it be helpful to know where fire trucks and helicopters are during a wild
fire? Absolutely!
Don't cripple yourself and the emergency operation by limiting yourself to
one-way transmissions.
73s,
Eric W4OTN
------------------------------
Message: 14
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:21:55 -0400
From: "Wes Johnston, AI4PX" <wes_at_kd4rdb.com>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Garmin 276C
I really like this GPS unit.. super fast refreshes on the screen, I don't
have to limit the number of miles around my d700 to keep from overflowing
the waypoint memory, navigation is good.... The bad? they seem to have
more trouble with firmware than most units. They seem to fix one thing and
break another. Right now I have the unit set to power itself off when the
cigarette lighter power goes away. If I turn the key on for a moment (ie
to roll up windows) and right back off again, the unit is supposed to power
off... but if it does get a fix before it powers off during the 30second
grace period, the unit will stay on all day instead of going ahead and
powering down.
It has two serial ports, but they can't be in the same mode at the same
time... I had hoped to use one serial port for d700 and one for laptop
(both in NMEA mode), but instead I use one in NMEA and one in Garmin Host
mode. Net stumbler works with garmin text mode but not garmin host mode.
Also, Scott Miller's open trac won't work with garmin host mode. You see,
he sends a command to the GPS to make it send GPS data every second or so.
This unit seems to ignore that command and never publishes the data. It
does work with the opentrac in NEMA mode... it'd be nice if it worked with
OT in garmin mode b/c Scott sends the station icons in that mode.
So it's a very very good display gps... it's really fantastic to use, but
has a few rough edges. Given that most of garmin's product line of
automotive gps units don't even have a serial port anymore, it's a good
choice regardless. I think my 2nd choice would be the GPS76map but it is
not as easy to use in a car.
Wes
On 4/12/07, Keith VE7GDH <ve7gdh_at_rac.ca> wrote:
>
>Can anyone comment on the suitability of the Garmin 276C for APRS use? In
>particular, can waypoints from a HamHUD, D700 etc. be sent to the 276C?
>Thanks in advance...
--
In theory there is no difference between practice and theory.
------------------------------
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