[aprssig] Dead Reckoning in APRS

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> ve7gdh at rac.ca 06/18/06 6:03 PM >>>
>... "I"...  I use tools that satisfy my needs. You use tools 
>that satisfy your needs.

I think the difference here is that you are only concerned with
how you use APRS.  Whereas I am concerned with how everyone
uses APRS and that everyone gets the tools they need to do
the job...

>> APRS was designed for emergency use to facilitate
>> communications and maintaining the local tactical
>> situation to all viewers. ...
>
>It just goes to show you that no matter how good those 
>systems are, things can fall apart with mis-communication 
>or lack of communication. The systems may work, but 
>human error or decisions can degrade the decisions made 
>as a result of the technology that is available, but we are 
>digressing from APRS.

Not at all!  And you nailed it on the head.  It is my remaining
mission in life to try to get rid of the "mis-communications"
that we see in APRS everyday because of incomplete and 
inconsistent implementations that allow recepients to see
something DIFFERENT than the sender intended!  The whole
reason for having an APRS standard was to make sure these
mis-communications do not occur.

>I think you are confusing APRS with the kind of systems 
>you developed for 20 years in the military. There, one 
>person might ultimately decide which hardware and 
>software will be used. In APRS, we have lots of choices.

Yes, and it is my job to make sure that users are reminded
of problems that are allowing users of some software not
to see correctly the data transmitted by senders.  We simply
cannot sweep these inconsistencies in APRS under the 
rug.  We need to address them and fix them.  APRS is used
in life and death situations, not just arm-chair internet
gaming.  When we uncover inconsistancies that cause 
mis-interpretation, we need to fix it or make everyone aware
of the problem so they can work around it.

So I am not trying to tell you how to use APRS, and you are
welcome to use it they way you like.  But I do take interest
when I see inconsistancies and hope we can all work 
together to fix them.

thanks
Bob WB4APR