[aprssig] Newbie APRS object question

[Rick Green]

On Thu, 21 May 2009, Fred Eckert wrote:

> Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ wrote:
>
>> One question that no one has asked yet.  Are you AT the Digi?  Or are you 
>> trying to put an object onto APRS-IS (the Internet) and expect that, with 
>> the proper path, some IGate or Digi will pick it up and send it out over 
>> the "local" RF?  If it's the latter, I'm afraid you're out of luck unless 
>> you're close friends with an IGate operator where you'd like the object to 
>> be transmitted.
>
> I am not at the digi. I was hoping to do the latter. I can send APRS messages 
> from my PC to RF. Why can't I send objects? Do I need some sort of 
> authorization to transmit objects to RF from the local IGate operator?
>
> Thanks for the enlightenment.
>
  I think in your first message you said you're using xastir.  Within 
xastir, simply right-click anywhere on the map, and select 'object/item -> 
Create' then fill in the form.
   You don't have to be at the digi to put a digi object out.  In fact, we 
are sometimes entertained by someone with too much time on their hands 
placing an 'array' of objects out in some remote corner of the world in 
such a way as to spell out a message.  An APRS 'easter egg' for those who 
stumble upon it...  A gentleman I met at Dayton last weekend admitted to 
flinging objects into the virtual Nevada desert (area51??) spelling out 
the brand name of his favorite radio manufacturer...
   For a repeater object, refer to Bob's document that you already found 
for naming convention, symbol choice, and comment text format.
   It would also be wise to contact the repeater trustee first.  In some 
areas, repeaters have been vandalized when their exact location becomes 
known, so it may be wise to encode the object with some position 
ambiguity.

-- 
Rick Green, N8BJX

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
                                   -Benjamin Franklin

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our
safety and our ideals."
                                -President Barack Obama 20 Jan 2009