[aprssig] Please, standardize UTF-8 for APRS (was: Future Concept for APRS)

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> Which means a 256 character message 
>>> could take 256 bytes in ASCII, 256, 
>>> 512, 768, or 1024 bytes in UTF-8 
>>> (1 to 4 bytes per char).
>> 
>> No, because the longest text string in APRS 
>> is 67 characters... Which with 4 bytes per, 
>> means 256...  It fits...
> 
> BoB:  You should really admit to yourself 
> that original specification means "67 bytes" 
> when it says "67 characters".

Nope.  It was characters, because as I said before, it gave
designers a target for display window size.

> Now do you mean that it is OK to make LOOONG 
> packet transmissions in order to send messages, 
> and everything else should use minimal
> size transmissions?

Never said any such thing.  No fool would try to send long
packets on a completely contention based channel.  In fact, for
HF, the recommendation was to keep transmissions to 40 bytes or
less because that was about the statistcal optimum.  It makes no
sense on APRS to attemp to send long packets on VHF beccause
there are 350 other user packets flying around and most of them
are blind transmitters that coiuld care less what they collide
with.

Anyone wanting to send very verbose character messages should
conssider reducing the "number of characters per line" to
compensate to get the samee performance on the network.

Bob, Wb4APR