[aprssig] Re: TIGER maps what-s the problem?

[Keith - VE7GDH]

Bob WB4APR wrote...

> 1) Some client programs will ignore a station until it sends a posit.
> 2) The current APRS-Internet Filterning systems (I think)
> will not recognize a message sending station until it sends a posit.
> If this is true, then this is a big problem for D7 users who need
> to send a message from a new location.  Pete can probably
> correct me on this...

This was from UI-View, not from a D7 (which I don't have) but from a 
laptop that normally only has a TCPIP connection, I disconnected from the 
APRS server, changed my callsign to VE7GDH-3 and deleted the position in 
the station setup and then re-connected and sent a message. Checking on 
findu.com, my message showed up there. I then disconnected and put things 
back to normal... VE7GDH-10 and the correct lat/long for the position.

Then I went to my IGate (VE7GDH running UI-View32 of course!) and 
disconnected from the APRS server. I then did the same routine and changed 
the callsign to VE7GDH-3 and deleted the position. After double-checking 
that I was disconnected, I sent a message via RF. Again, I went to 
findu.com and looked at the station that I sent my message to and my 
message was listed there. It would appear that the APRS-IS didn't object 
to a message from VE7GDH-3 sent both via TCPIP and via an RF connection 
and gated by another station. VE7GDH-3 to the best of my recollection has 
never sent a position report by APRS.

UI-View doesn't completely ignore a position-less beacon, but it won't 
place a station on the map without a position and it won't show up on the 
station list. It does however appear to be able to receive a message from 
a station without a position.

I know you have stated it is important to you that stations should be able 
to beacon with an ambiguous position, but how many hams do you know that 
are involved in APRS and both don't have a GPS and couldn't guess within 
one degree what their lat / long was? Just to give an ambiguous position a 
try in UI-View, I tried entering just the degrees and UI-View filled in 
all zeros for the missing digits. I know that you feel that this 
important, but to most people, it's a non issue. Even if a UI-View user 
didn't know with 100% accuracy what his position was, it is as easy as 
hovering over the map to come up with a lat/long to get started with. This 
is assuming that the user has a map of reasonable scale for their 
position, but even with a world map, I was able to come up with a position 
within just a few degrees of my real position. If I ever went this route I 
would certainly consider adding the text "ambiguous position" plus 
whatever else I thought was pertinent to the beacon comment. Besides... 
with at least 10 GPS receivers to choose from, there is usually one pretty 
handy! Make that 9... one didn't like being powered by 12V.

73 es cul - Keith VE7GDH
--
"I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!"