[aprssig] APRS Email from Space! (ET Phone Home)

[Robert Bruninga]

Pete,

An APRS Email is not spam when it is a point-to-point email from our
satellite to me reporting its status.  A vital function.

There is nothing in the APRS protocol or FCC rules that prohibits inanimate
amateur satellites from transmitting packets.

Further, there is nothing that requires bi-directional APRS Message packets.
The protocol was designed to allow APRS messages *without* line numbers so
that bi-directional acks were not required.  This was to declutter the
channel when the path was unreliable.

And the satellite code was finished more than a year ago when the satellite
was finished, and began space qualification testing.  Once it passed all
vibration and other space quals and final performance checks,  one *cannot*
change the code or it invalidates all the space qualification testing.

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

-----Original Message-----
From: Pete Loveall AE5PL Lists via aprssig
Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2019 11:59 PM
Subject: Re: [aprssig] APRS Email from Space! (ET Phone Home)

No, it is properly formatted.  It did not happen because that server is
apparently off the air.

Pity you wouldn't listen that those servers are -communications- servers
which rely on the bidirectional aspects of APRS messaging and you are trying
to brute force an email being -broadcast- from a satellite with no benefit
other than making you feel good that you are breaking your own protocol.

There is nothing exciting about demoing SPAM generation from an inanimate
computer in space.  There is plenty of that done right hear on earth every
day.

There are a large number of hams, however, that use the email/APRS servers
to benefit amateur radio by providing communications between their stations
and recipients on the Internet.  That is exciting and has been in place for
many, many years.

I was hoping you had given up on this piece of PSAT2 but, as usual, you went
ahead without thought.  Fortunately, that server was off the air when you
made this attempt.

73,

Pete Loveall AE5PL
pete at ae5pl dot net

-----Original Message-----
From: aprssig <aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org> On Behalf Of Robert Bruninga
Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2019 8:24 PM
To: TAPR APRS Mailing List <aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
Subject: [aprssig] APRS Email from Space! (ET Phone Home)

Yesterday I received the first amateur email from space.  PSAT2 is
programmed to send me an Email via APRS about once a day reporting its
health.  This email was captured by VK6HAM ground station in Australia and
forwarded to me:

It did not happen automatically because it looks like we didn’t put enough
spaces to pad out the callsign to the required 9 character callsign field.
ARGH!

This is an exciting capability to demonstrate for Ham radio and amateur
satellites.  I’d like to see it work.
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