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

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> ve7gdh at rac.ca 06/17/06 10:18 PM >>>
>Bob Said:
>> I have several D7's and almost NEVER use a GPS, for
>> routine operations, because it is just too big a hassle.
>> But I DO message frequently from the D7.  And if I visit
>> a new area, I ... manually enter a posit or it will not
>> transmit.
>
>We must think differently. To me it would be more of a 
>hassle to key in the ambiguous position than it would be 
>to connect a GPS receiver to the D7.

In an airport?  At the convention center?  On the subway?
My D7 fits in my shirt pocket (with slim-line battery).  A GPS 
does not work indoors, and the wire is a cumbersome entrapment.
Yes, you and I do use APRS quite diffrently.  But APRS must
accomodate ALL  users, not just favorite modes.  Hence
it must allow for users without GPS.  

>I also don't stand still in one spot very long. If I was beaconing 
>a position, I would want it to be accurate and current.

If you depend on GPS to do that, then I fear that 
in many travel situations (besides a car) you are
probably often beaconing the *wrong* precise (last
aquired) position.  I prefer to enter a manual
posit with an ambiguity covering the area where
I am wondering (including indoors) so that somone
can see where I am generally, and not be incorrectly
lead to a past precise position where I am not.

>I don't have a D7, but about the only time I can think 
>of that I would manually key in a position would be if 
>I absolutely had to send a message and I was indoors 
>and the GPS couldn't acquire a fix.

I can visualize you now, a GPS on your head with a wire
hanging down to a D7 clipped to your belt and a
full size whip dangling off to one side... (chuckle)...

> Of course, whether I was indoors or outdoors, I would 
>have a laptop with me and a TCPIP connection with 
>me 99% of the time. 

Well, I like to travel light, with my D7 in my breast pocket
whenever I am traveling through airports and public
transportation.  I can whip it out at anytime to send a 
message back to the wife on delays, re-routes, and travel
changes.  I would find it a big inconvenience to have to 
carry a laptop and a GPS just to send an email message 
from my HT.

>The only time I'm without the laptop is when I'm on the 
>bike. No, I still don't have APRS running on the bike 
>yet, but there is always a GPS mounted on the handlebars 
>and running continuously. 
>..."I may be lost, but I know exactly where I am!" 

We are quite different.  To me, APRS is a communications
system.  When I travel it is for communicating not only
back home but also with other local APRS users nearby.
Although precise positioning is a capability of APRS, I
simply do not get so dependent on a GPS and precision
that it gets in the way of just doing what I am doing
and communicating.

APRS was designed to cover as many different ways
of operating as possible including manual positioning
and position ambiguity.  Each individual may only use
a few capabilities, but that does not mean that the
other capabilities should be denied or ignored in
software clients.  Especially if ignoring these 
fundamentals leads receipents to false, incorrect,
missleading displays of a sender's intent.

de Wb4APR, Bob