[aprssig] APRS RF and Smart Phone Feeds

[WD8ARZ]

Frequently on long haul mobile trips, I found that running Both the 
TM-D700AG APRS and the Smart Phone U2APRS or APRSdroid apps, 
complimented each other very well. The Smart phone provided an internet 
link as well as ran the APRS app. As long as it was possible to make a 
voice phone call, that same signal was good enough to provide the 
internet feed. That phone link also provided the internet to my laptop 
that fed data during the trip to a map site online as well (Geiger 
Counter Data - do a google of WD8ARZ for more info)

When the RF side was not finding other hams aprs relay stations feeding 
my APRS stream to the internet, my cell phone app frequently were. Also 
when there was no cell phone signal for that side to function, there was 
frequently a ham side that was getting my APRS data out to the internet 
world.

NEITHER method was one hundred percent coverage. At times, neither had a 
path to function with for the 'internet' ... but dont forget that there 
are still local hams that can copy your signal whither your know it or not.

Dont forget that we can also do HF APRS operation in North America on 
10.1 MHz with 300 baud 200-hertz-shift with hf packet.

Then there was good ol hf, vhf and uhf voice. Had many an enjoyable chat 
with other hams, and some of those chats were triggered by the other 
hams calling me on 146.52 because they copied my APRS transmission that 
included my text 'Monitoring 146.52 100HZ PL'. I would do the same when 
another APRS mobile station moved with in my rf line of sight copy as 
seen on my G5 Navigation system. That G5 provided the GPS signal to the 
TM-D700AG, and also displayed the APRS signals heard on the radio to the 
display of the Avmap Geosat 5 navigation unit.

Make sure to use and  listen with Voice Alert. Read about that system 
directly from Bob as copied below.

Plus there were times that the WX Data fed by so many APRS stations was 
so important to me and my family for very Local information. Even the 
alerts some provide gave additional situational awareness while 
traveling. Have even received text messages from friends in other states 
via APRS. The TM-D700AG was configured to read out the text message in 
voice using the voice module option. When those came in, it was some 
times surprising and my wife and I would be looking around for 'who was 
that?" expressions on our faces.... hi hi

For those that dont do APRS because of concerns about security for their 
home when they are not there, they should know that they dont have to 
have their home address available to the public when their call sign is 
looked up.

FCC 605 Form Application available at: 
http://transition.fcc.gov/Forms/Form605/605.html
Notice that Line 15 asks for your address as a post office box address. 
Line 16 is the street address location. My last updating I did have 
information in both line 15 and 16. If you look at my call sign on QRZ, 
you will note that only my post office box number is listed, not my 
street address. On my license form, one side has the pob, the other side 
has the street address. The FCC provides your line 15 data to the public 
side, and uses the line 16 data for its usage.

73 from Bill - WD8ARZ
WD8ARZ-7    HT TH-D7AG
WD8ARZ-9    Mobile TM-D700AG
WD8ARZ-10  Android Smart Phone - APRSdroid  and U2APRS
APRS Viewer on Android for displaying APRS stations only, no beacon / 
transmitting.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[aprssig] Voice Alert while traveling!
Date: 	Tue, 26 Nov 2013 18:09:40 -0500
From: 	Robert Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu>
Reply-To: 	TAPR APRS Mailing List <aprssig at tapr.org>
To: 	aprssig at tapr.org, aprs at yahoogroups.com

Don’t forget to use and  listen with Voice Alert.

This simply means running CTCSS100 on your APRS radio’s band (144.39 in 
USA).  You will hear any other APRS station in simplex range and he will 
hear you if you make a quick Voice Call on 144.39 and suggest QSY to 
“52”.  But with CTCSS you wont hear anything else.

Its like a free radar detector for nearby APRS mobiles in simplex 
range.  Why waste a perfectly good always-on-channel by having the 
volume turned down!  Set CTCSS100 and be available for a local call.

The best way to operate APRS is to program several APRS channels in your 
radio:

1)  “APRS raw” – 144.39 simplex no tone squelch

2)  “APRS VA”  - 144.39 simplex CTCSS 100 normal operations with Voice Alert

3)  “APRS mute” – 144.39 simplex CTCSS xxx when you want quiet & another 
VA is nearby

4)  APRS event” – 144.99TX, 144.39RX  for special events with an ALT-DIGI

5)  APRS ALT” -144.39TX, 144.99RX  when acting as an ALT digi

This way you can change between all of these modes without ever having 
to touch a menu.  Just change channels on the APRS band of the radio.

The point is to never turn the volume down on the APRSband.  Why waste a 
perfectly good radio channel that you are monitoring 100% of the time 
anyway.

APRS Voice Alert is an order of magnitude better than monitoring “52” 
while mobile, because unless you are calling CQ on 52 every minute, and 
so is everyone else, you wont even hear each other in a crossing 
situation.  In contrast, APRS Voice Alert is “calling  CQ” every minute 
for you.

That’s why I like proportional pathing.  Im calling CQ on Voice Alert 
every minute, but only beaconing via the local digi once every 2 minutes 
and only via 2 hops once every 4 minutes.  But at the 1 minute local 
rate, crossing drivers get good warning of the others presence.

See: http://aprs.org/VoiceAlert3.html

Bob, WB4APR
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.tapr.org/pipermail/aprssig_lists.tapr.org/attachments/20140711/8f897a05/attachment.html>