[aprssig] "Smart" vs. "dumb" trackers

[Stephen H. Smith]

On 6/23/2014 9:40 AM, Andrew Pavlin wrote:
> Greetings, all.
>
> After dealing with some issues this weekend at a public service event with constantly having to reset "dumb" trackers and not being able to reliably see mixed "dumb" trackers and full-function APRS radios (Kenwood D710), I was wondering:
>
> Does anyone know of a reasonably priced and reasonable performance "smart" tracker? That would be a tracker with a receiver (so it doesn't depend solely on timeslotting to avoid packet collisions)? Having some minimal UI on the tracker so messages could be sent back to it from the Net Control Station position would be a plus.
>

You've just described a Kenwood D7 or D72 or a Yaesu VX8......

> Tying up a Kenwood D72 is kind of overkill (especially on price). Anyone have any ideas in this area?
>



By the time you:


-     take a basic RX/TX "data radio" something like this

     <https://www.argentdata.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=110>

-    add a full send & receive    modem/TNC    such as a TinyTrack 4 or Tracker 3,

-    add a keyboard & display, a tablet, or a small laptop for a send/receive 
user interface

-    and finally add a GPS receiver


you have basically re-invented the Kenwood or Yaesu APRS handheld -- probably 
in a much bulkier package.


_______________________________________________________


--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
Skype:        WA8LMF
EchoLink:  Node #  14400  [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]
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  Long-Range APRS on 30 Meters HF
     http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm

High Performance Sound Systems for Soundcard Apps
    http://wa8lmf.net/ham/imic.htm
    http://wa8lmf.net/ham/uca202.htm

"APRS 101"  Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating
   http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths