[aprssig] D710 Whack-A-Mole!

[Alex Carver]

> Message: 16
> From: "Robert Bruninga"

> >> ... it is frustrating to see MOST of the D710 
> >> mobiles [and] only 1 or 2 actually transmitting 
> >> their voice frequency of their Band-B! 
> >> ...[using STATUS #5]...
> 
> > some may find it useful and others are not. ...
> > if I'm scanning around, the radio isn't going 
> > to know what to send.  
> 
> It will send "scanning".  Yes, currently the D710 does
> not do
> that, but I consider that to be a bug that will get fixed
> in the
> next software version.  But when you do stop on a
> frequency for
> a QSO, then others can see where you stopped.

Ok, if that was a bug then I'll buy into the idea a little more.  It seemed senseless to force me to abandon scanning because the radio couldn't report that status.

> 
> > I do happen to have 146.52 programmed into a memory
> slot so 
> > that it gets scanned along with other repeaters...
> 
> Yes, it will pickup a QSO in progress, but it will most
> likely
> never pick up a random call.  AND no one is driving
> around
> calling CQ 52 every single minute like APRS Voice Alert
> does on
> 144.39.  Its like a free proximity detector...

I disagree because I've actually managed more random contacts on 146.52 than I have via voice alert.  When I'm scanning it only takes about two or three seconds to cycle all the way back to any given memory slot.  So 146.52 gets scanned every three seconds or less in my typical set up.  That means I can very easily catch a random operator (and have done so).

I once was on a drive from Georgia to North Carolina and saw plenty of nearby stations on the APRS station log (traffic was at a stand still so I could actually watch the screen).  But I got two contacts on 146.52 even though I was scanning because it was very fast.  In both cases I caught the tail end of a call but it was enough to be able to stop the radio and toss out my own call to catch the person.  It's not really as hard as you make it out to be.

> 
> > ... 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 don't see the connection.  Activating the frequency
> reporting
> so that one's voice channel is included in his beacons has
> nothing to do with what he listens to or how he
> scans.  But if
> he does stop on a channel and has a QSO, then at least
> others
> can see where he is and join him if they want.

The connection is that there are more amateurs without APRS than there are with APRS.  If I used only Voice Alert and had to camp out on one frequency I'd make far fewer contacts than I would if I scanned the repeaters and made contact with the non-APRS people there.

> 
> > I also agree... about having to pay attention to 
> > driving.  I can listen for voices very easily
> ...
> > 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.  
> 
> Again, these issues have little to do with you
> per-se.  They
> have to do with others who might want to or might need to
> contact you.  You do not have to do a thing to receive
> such a
> call.  We are not asking you to do anything while
> driving.  We
> are asking people to consider setting up their radios to
> let us
> know where they are listening in case someone wants/needs
> to
> contact them.
> 
> > 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.
> 
> The ringer on a telephone is similar.  It is rarely
> used.
> Especially if your area rarely uses telephones, but it has
> to be
> there if in the rare occasion, someone wants to call you.
> Automatically including your operating frequency in your
> position beacons is like making sure your cellphone is not
> set
> to SILENT and sitting under something in the back seat.

I don't think that analogy matches.  If I'm scanning multiple local repeaters I will likely catch someone trying to reach me on one of them.  The person doesn't have to have APRS to find me that way since there is more than one way to reach me over the air.

> 
> > 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.
> 
> That's when one needs it most.  So that one doesn't
> miss the
> opportunity to hear when a fellow APRS affectionado drives
> by in
> simplex range looking for a QSO.

My point here is that I haven't heard any in simplex range since I added the 100Hz tone to the radio.  It's been programmed in since you conceived the idea and I just haven't heard a single station.

> 
> The problem is that there were hundreds of APRS mobiles
> enroute
> to Dayton, and 95% of them did not have voice alert
> activated so
> others could raise them as they drove by!  I just
> don't
> understand why someone would have a ham radio on, during
> the
> prime-ham-driving day of the year if he was not interested
> in
> being able to hear someone call him.

I can think of three reasons.  One is that they were trying to drive in traffic and just couldn't play with the radio at that moment.  Two, they are using the radio to talk to a select group of people (perhaps a caravan) and weren't entirely interested in random QSOs at that moment.  Three, they were using APRS so friends and family at home could monitor their progress but weren't interested in random QSOs.

Everybody uses radio to their benefit but that means that not everyone is going to use it exactly the way someone else does.

> 
> Anyway, my thoughts.
> Bob, WB4aPR
>