[aprssig] FW: Montreal APRS Activity

[Robert Bruninga]

> The Montreal.. has far more than 15 mobiles a  
> day. Many of them are only TinyTrak clones...
> Over the last three years I have seen a good  
> number of these 'dumb trackers' getting replaced 
> by D7's and D700's.

Maybe, but Don't be fooled.  All of the Tiny-Track3's made by
Byonics use the same Mic-E manufacturer's TYPE byte as the D700.
So it is impossible to tell what is a one-way TinyTrack3 tracker
and a 2-way D700 message capable mobile.  I have asked Byonics
to change their TYPE byte to a unique byte for Byonics.  The
spec for the Mic-E TYPE byte has been updated to include the
Byonics and Yaesu devices.  There is a link to it on the APRS1.2
web page:

www.aprs.org/aprs12.html

> A good number of these guys were of the old 
> 'set em and forget em' mentality, so the 
> new paradigm and other initiatives were 
> slow coming.  
> 
> However, thanks to the nearly constant efforts 
> of a half dozen or so guys it has all come around.

Thanks!  We need that kind of effort everywhere.  APRS must
become 2-way active if it is going to be useful to ham radio and
not be stagnant as a cute fad with the lights on and nobody
home.

Bob, WB4APR
> 
> On Sep 9, 2008, at 7:33 PM, Robert Bruninga wrote:
> 
> > Ah, another  Tracker-City...
> > This report sent to me from Canada...
> >
> >> I am vacationing ...[near montreal].. With my D710...
> >> On my AVMAP-G5 map... I am amazed at the number
> >> of APRS mobiles... in Montreal, an average of 15
> >> on any one day.  ; In... Philadelphia I never see
> >> this many mobiles...>
> >>
> >> I have been here for 10 days and have tried numerous
> >> APRS stations to engage in a text message conversation
> >> to no avail.  I get good ... acks for messages sent....
> >> It is like they setup the APRS station then walk away...
> >> [not even any... Voice Alert setups...
> >
> > Shows how far APRS Tracker mentality has gotten APRS away
from
> > the tactical real-time communiations between humans.
Everyone
> > needs to get APRS back on track or it will die of boredom:
> >
> > 1) Put your mobile on Voice Alert (VA) and monitor...
> > 2) Chat with other APRS users when heard direct on VA
> > 3) Include your Voice Freq in your packets
> > 4) Make sure all digis are putting out their Voice Freqs
> >
> > See www.aprs/localinfo.html
> >
> > Lets communicate (2-way)... That is what Ham radio is all
about
> > and it is the only way to get more people incvolved in
APRS...
> > That is, have something to help them communiate, anywhere,
> > anytime...
> >
> > See what your own beacon looks like to other mobiles on the
> > oaprs web page.  It shows a D7 screen on the left side.
> >
> > See www.oaprs.net
> >
> > Bob, Wb4APR
> > < 
> > Montreal2mi 
> > .JPG 
> > > 
> > < 
> > Montreal5mi 
> > 
>
.JPG><Montreal10mi.JPG>_________________________________________
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