[aprssig] motorcycle mobile tracker

[bob evinger]

I completed a 3,860 mile ride about a week ago. Had a pockettracker in the 
trunk of my goldwing feeding a 5/8 antenna. I am seriously thinking I need 
to upgrade to something with more oomph.

I was on the road 8 days, was able to check my findu status with my cell 
phone and with the power out of the pocket tracker it just didnt get it.
I have an igate at home so I had some reports within my first 10-20 miles. 
I went south from Marshall, IL using state highways to Cairo. Interstate 
south to memphis down to just north of New Orleans then west on I-10 to El 
Paso. up through the Gila national forest, by the VLA near magdalena, NM. 
Into Socorro to Chama across some 10K foot passes into colorado and then 
picked up I-70 east and home.

ON that trip the only obvious places I seem to report were. while at home, 
next one I can verify was Baton Rouge, then I think I showed up  in El 
Paso, TX, then Socorro, nm next one I had anybody spot me at was Hays, KS, 
then I think ST. Louis area and when I got back home.

Are the digis that sparse along my route or do I just need a few more 
watts? If power is an issue, anybody else running m/c mobile with aprs, or 
anyone with opinions on what the ideal output power would be.  I had run a 
tiny tracker with external radio in my car at one point and always had 
good luck with that until I had equipment failure.

I ride the m/c a lot and if I am going to bother to haul a GPS and aprs 
gear on it, I want to at least get a little bit better chance at being 
heard.

Not planning any more big rides for this year but even my sometimes 200 
mile round trips from marshall to indianapolis leaves lots of big holes( 
as in received through my igate, then kb9qjm-10 at cloverdale indiana and 
once in a great while I get relayed to the outside world on the east side 
of Indy.

Woa, this got longer than I had intended. I just need to do something to 
improve the signal but not take up a lot of space, or just pull the aprs 
gear out altogether.

Suggestions???
bob   m/c aprs  wd9eka-9


Bob Evinger EMT-I  WD9EKA/AAR5MG(Army MARS operator)
The public highway system is not Daytona, and you are not Jeff Gordon.