[VHFcontesting] Quick APRS comment

[Rogers, Ron]

Hey folks,

I'm somewhat surprised at a few of the APRS comments coming from
"forward thinking" representatives involved with an area our hobby that
typically demands a higher technical comprehension of the frequency
spectrum we play in.  But then again, maybe there are a number of VHF
contesters out there that don't know a lot about APRS.

When it comes to discussions about a "waste" of spectrum, I'd like to
know of another single North American frequency  in the amateur service
that uses a blend of technologies and methods that has proven invaluable
in certain situations, and on one frequency (and I mean only one, narrow
band FM frequency, 144.39 MHz) that thousands of hams are sharing daily
at the same time. 

On that one frequency, fixed and mobile GPS data, home weather station
telemetry, portable weather station and flood monitoring telemetry, and
actual text messaging are all taking place under Part 97 "automatic
control" rules.

If you want to discuss "under utilization" of spectrum it would most
likely be in the FM repeater sub bands in the 144, 222, and 440 bands
where thousands of repeaters, each occupying 2 assigned frequencies at a
minimum, spread across 3 ham bands eating up a bandwidth of 15 MHz, sit
idle most of the time. And those same frequencies cannot be re-used
unless there is a 70 mile separation between repeaters (rule of thumb).

Sure, with every new emerging "hot topic" that surfaces with amateur
radio you have a spike of people quickly trying out the new mode to see
if it interests them.  And yes, with ARPS you do have a few people
setting up APRS equipment from their home QTH,  "beaconing" where they
are located.....or other guys driving around beaconing and watching
their laptops to see where other APRS guys are roaming around. If this
is all they use APRS for, then they are limited in their vision. 

Now, I'm not an evangelist of APRS, but I have seen what it can be used
for. After I discovered Motorola Oncore GPS receiver boards ($40), Tiny
Traker TNC kits ($30), and surplus GE Phoenix VHF radios ($20-30), I
have equipped myself and my "family fleet" for APRS at minimal cost. 

It has even been handy for some personal benefit, such as using the
"path tracking" feature on one of the APRS websites to observe the route
my teenager took, speeds, etc. when he borrows one of the family
vehicles.

But other, rather powerful  APRS applications I have observed include >

** Having the National Weather Service watching in "real-time" the GPS
positions of your deployed storm spotters as they report weather
conditions not visible on radar.

** Watching a map for the progress and positions of your deployed ground
troops carrying backpack APRS systems as they do "search and rescue"
for a missing child in the Georgia mountains

** Telemetry, tracking, and GPS recovery for amateur balloon recovery. 

** Observing map positions of communications personnel while handling
bicycle race progress reports along a 200 mile path of the state.

Just a sampling.........


Now.......back to contesting

Ron 
WW8RR