[aprssig] WB4APR SK

[Steve Dimse]

> On Feb 9, 2022, at 1:55 PM, Brian Webster <info at wirelessmapping.com> wrote:
> 
> Bob,
> 	I will respectfully have to disagree with you. APRS have continued
> to evolve and new and fun things have happened over the years. Software
> developers are still actively creating software, other digital modes such as
> software defined modems like Direwolf are still being actively improved as
> open source projects and those are used in APRS extensively. Linux and the
> AX.25 tools on the kernel just received a grant from the ARDC to fund coders
> to fix this issues.

If you were around during the period when APRS exploded, roughly 1995 to 2000, you would better understand the difference. There were huge changes every year. Dayton and DCC were the two events where new features were shown, and there were always a number of jaw-dropping new things. In 96 I showed javAPRS, in 97 I showed the beginnings of the APRS IS, in 98 I added messaging, in 99 there was APRServ, and in 2000 I released findU. It wasn't that I am a genius programmer, I was just working in an unplowed field. I'm sure the same features would have happened had I not been involved.  One could draw the same sort of feature growth with the Sprouls in Mac/WinAPRS, Brent with APRS+SA. Mike with PalmAPRS, Kenwood, and of course Bob. 

But there just has not been the same kind of growth in features, and without that there hasn't been the same excitement. If that is ever going to be rekindled it needs to be now.

Steve K4HG