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On 8/27/2010 6:19 AM, Steve_wG0AT wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:3DB36569-A903-42FA-B9D1-5F4B556B3E9C@gmail.com"
type="cite">Did a 1000 mile road from my QTH to Kearney,NB and
back yesterday. (glad I don't do that often!)
<br>
<br>
I was really surprised to find out that there's virtually no APRS
activity in NB along I-80. I saw no stations being heard on the
radio stn list (VX8) and for awhile I thought my radio was broken!
It wasn't until I got back into CO in the range of the mountains
that I started seeing call signs in the calls-heard list again. I
thought I would have heard at least a few trackers on RVs, trucks
or hams in general along I-80 but nothing? </blockquote>
<br>
Bear in mind, that simplex mobile-to-mobile range for packet on flat
ground is only going to be 3-5 miles max. If you and a vehicle going
the other way are both doing 75 MPH, the relative speed is 150 MPH,
You will come into the other car's range, and then leave it again in
only 2 or 3 minutes. If the other party beacons once every three
minutes, you will be lucky to even 1 or 2 beacons. <br>
<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:3DB36569-A903-42FA-B9D1-5F4B556B3E9C@gmail.com"
type="cite">Grand Island was the only object heard/seen. Sure glad
to be back in CO where there's plenty APRS activity! Or so it
appears?
<br>
73, Steve/wG0AT
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
I make a round-trip from my current QTH in Pasasena, CA to my
hometown of East Lansing, MI about once a year, and pass through the
I-70 / I-76 / I-80 UT-CO-NE corridor each time. The APRS
"black hole" on the eastern plains of CO and most of Nebraska has
been true for years! <br>
<br>
It was only about 2 years ago that Grand Island even became
active. Before that you saw and heard NOTHING between Ft Morgan,
CO and Lincoln, NE. Even the vast expanses of the southern Utah
desert have continuous coverage due to digis on 7,000 to 10,000-foot
mountains. <br>
<br>
It's the combination of very low population density -AND- absolutely
flat terrain on the plains that kills you -- no high locations for
WIDE digis. And of course, using an underpowered hand-held as a
mobile -- you need real power (50 watts or more) into a decent
antenna in these places. <br>
<br>
There has been an intermittent digi for the last two or three
years, that was too far away to link to any others, in the
Sterling, CO area. Did you hear it?<br>
<br>
It is in this vast black hole area on the plains that I switch the
HF rig to 30 meters to beacon on both conventional 300 baud AX.25
packet APRS and on the new PSK63-based APRS. On my trip this
last May and June, not only was I heard consistently by igates all
over the country on this band, I actually carried on two-way APRS
messaging with stations on both coasts with a single RF hop. <br>
<br>
Details on HF APRS here on my website:<br>
<br>
Conventional (AX.25 packet) APRS<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm"><http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/HF_APRS_Notes.htm></a><br>
<br>
New PSK63-based HF APRS<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://wa8lmf.net/APRS_PSK63/index.htm"><http://wa8lmf.net/APRS_PSK63/index.htm></a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<hr size="2" width="100%"><br>
--<br>
<br>
Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com <br>
EchoLink Node: WA8LMF or 14400 [Think bottom of the 2M
band]<br>
Skype: WA8LMF<br>
Home Page: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net">http://wa8lmf.net</a><br>
<br>
===== Vista & Win7 Install Issues for UI-View and Precision
Mapping =====<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/UIview_Notes.htm#VistaWin7">http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/UIview_Notes.htm#VistaWin7</a><br>
<br>
*** HF APRS over PSK63 ***<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net/APRS_PSK63/index.htm">http://wa8lmf.net/APRS_PSK63/index.htm</a><br>
<br>
"APRS 101" Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths">http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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