[aprssig] APRS Coverage in Key West

[Steve Dimse]

On Apr 29, 2007, at 4:20 PM, Paul Zawada wrote:
>
> In a previous message (on Friday) you stated the stations were owned
> and operated by the county.

Yes, there is nothing that keeps a government from installing and  
maintaining ham radio gear, even from paying a ham to maintain it  
(though that is not the case here, KQ4AZ is a volunteer).

> In another message you also said there
> were no other local RF users.

That is true, other than the occasional tourist, or if I turn on my  
D700 while driving. There is nothing forcing this, it is the simple  
reality of a small, very long town with very few hams.

> If you add these two factors together,
> it at least appears on the surface that the only entity benefitting
> from the system is the county.

Again, there is nothing in the rules that say a government entity  
cannot benefit from amateur radio.
>
>> There is absolutely nothing
>> in the FCC rules that says that APRS equipment must operate in
>> exactly the manner Bob Bruninga dictates! Just because Bob issues an
>> edict does not make it the only legal way to operate.
>
> I didn't say that the only way way to comply with the FCC rules was to
> listens to Bob's edicts.  (But  clearly Bob isn't the only one who
> thinks the new paradigm is good operating practice.)

If you are trying to use the good amateur practice, remember that  
this is never defined in the rules, and therefore unenforceable. I  
also thing it does not apply in this case, because for something to  
be good amateur practice, I think it must be universal. The "New  
Paradigm" does not work in all situations, including here in the  
Keys, and therefore should not count as good amateur practice  
anywhere, but certainly not here in the Keys.

> Again, I was
> trying to point out that when the county's needs as opposed to hams'
> needs (especially when I was lead to believe there were no local hams)
> are the rationale for why a certain system is built a certain way, it
> *sounds* like a border-line case regulations-wise.

Again, you are way over-reading. The weather system as implemented  
(and by the way this was a pioneering system it has been in APRS  
longer than most of the people on this list) does not conflict in any  
way with any of the hams here in the Keys. I do not see how you could  
have read that in any of the dicsussion of it.

Steve K4HG