[aprssig] APRS System Overiding Fundamentals

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> ve7gdh at rac.ca 3/8/05 5:00:31 PM >>>
>> SUMMARY:  In summary, I am frustrated that APRS these
>> days is beoming too much of a GPS toy and is actually being 
>> used less and less as an information management, 
>> communications and  display tool for events and operations.
>
>You are probably right that most APRS users use it  
>for tracking vehicles.... About the only way ... is to get 
>rid ...of the vehicles and the trackers.... but a more 
>expensive but more usable D700 or a laptop / TNC 
>[isnt going to haqppen]...

Sorry, I may have confused you.  I did not mean at all
to complain about vehicles and trackers.  I just want to
see more  use of the rest of APRS to support actual
events in the field..

>... are you proposing to do something about it? 
>What can be done about "it"?  
>Run "events" on their own frequency? 
>You can try and "ban" trackers on 144.970 MHz.

Again, I'm sorry to say, tht was not the point at all.
The more trackers and mobiles the better.  My point
was that one can never get everyting tracked and
so we are missing so many opportunities for supporting
events because people are not using APRS for all
the other things it can do and for tracking objects...

>... there is going to be a steady trickle of more and more 
>people getting into APRS. Some of them will view it as 
>a tool for tracking assets at an event or ... emergency.
>Some people use it differently than you envision it. 

Yes, but after 13 years it is clear that in a typical club
we will never have more than a small percent with GPS
trackers or vehiciles and so if we continue to think of
APRS as only being able to track GPS equipped vehicles
we will never be able to support most club ecvents and
APRS remains a sideshow.  My point is that APRS is
and was designed to be a virtual display space for shaing
a common virtual view linked by radio.  We need more
pople to use it that way and not be so restrictive to think
of it as only able to track GPS vehicles...

AND these days ANY LAPTOP can run a version of
APRS without any TNC, so no one in the club with a 
laptop and an HT has any excuse NOT to fire up
APRS and join the event.  It used to be that lack of
a TNC was a limitation.  But NO  MORE.

So my present sermon is just about getting people to
use APRS displays even if they dont want to bother
with a GPS... 

Thanks for your good feedback.
Bob, WB4APR