[aprssig] D710 Whack-A-Mole!

[Alex Carver]

> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 14:39:16 -0400
> From: "Robert Bruninga" <
> Subject: [aprssig] D710 Whack-A-Mole!
> 
> D710 Frequency Whack a Mole:
> 
> We need everyone with a D710 to help mentor their fellow
> hams!
> 
> After driving 1000 miles with 20,000 mobiles to/from
> Dayton
> during the busiest APRS mobile days of the year, it is
> frustrating to see MOST of the D710 mobiles on the front
> panel
> and only 1 or 2 actually transmitting their voice frequency
> of
> their Band-B!   This auto-identification
> of  your voice
> monitoring channel is the number 1 new feature of APRS
> this
> decade, and somehow the point just is not getting
> across.  The
> point of APRS is to facilitate communications for the
> traveler,
> this voice frequency annunciation and auto-tune is
> fundamental
> to this initiative.  Im glad to see the Yaesu
> FTM-35o's starting
> to transmit their frequencies now too...
> 
> Further, after passing DOZENS of D700, or D710's and
> completely
> unable to contact them without HONKING THE HORN AT THEM, it
> is
> equally frustrating not to be able to raise them on Voice
> Alert.
> Unless they are looking right at you when you pass and see
> you
> waving the mic and flashing 52 (or other appendage), they
> are
> basically unreachable.


First, if I saw someone waving frantically at me and flashing my lights I would be very much inclined to drive away quickly.

That said, while the idea of having the radio send out the frequency on the other VFO is different, some may find it useful and others are not.  I fall into the latter category, sorry.  When I'm using my radio, more often than not I have it scanning multiple repeaters in the given area.  I don't park on one frequency because I want to be able to hear anything else going on around me.  I know a repeater will come into use sooner or later but there's no guarantee that people will be on APRS to see my status compared with the great numbers that have just a plain radio.

So, if I'm scanning around, the radio isn't going to know what to send.  If it sends 146.52 at one moment, a few seconds later it will have already switched to another frequency.

I do happen to have 146.52 programmed into a memory slot so that it gets scanned along with other repeaters but it's just not fun or useful to me to park myself on one frequency and hope someone finds me.  Instead I scan and see what happens to pop up elsewhere and talk to whomever I hear on the repeaters.

In the three large cities that I've lived in, a very small fraction of amateur operators have APRS so that feature is lost on the general amateur population.  If I used your APRS frequency reporting scheme I'd practically never talk to anyone.  At least if I scan around on the various repeaters I'm more likely to find someone on the air.

I also agree with the other message about having to pay attention to driving.  I can listen for voices very easily when the radio stops on an active repeater.  It's only a matter of clicking the PTT or some other button once to stop the scan and I never have to look at the screen to start talking.  Using the APRS method I have to notice the message on the screen and then press a specific button to autotune, then make sure I autotuned and then I can start talking.  Three extra steps and eyes off the road to perform at least one of them, that doesn't work.

It's a nice idea but it doesn't fit my communication style because there just aren't that many APRS users compared to general users.  If 100% of operators had APRS then I could very quickly find someone who is on the air and tune right into them.  Even then it also has to be safe to do.  Until then I scan around the repeaters listening for voice activity.

PS:  Yes I do have the Voice Alert tone programmed but to date I have never heard a nearby station using it so either I can't hear other users directly or there just aren't that many of them in the first place.