Radio > UHF/VHF

APRS - Who is using it

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bryanthegoon:
For a number of reasons I have an interest in APRS, have done some research into the newer Yaesu and Kenwood, mobiles and HTs which have native support (and in some cases builtin GPS). 

For those that are not familiar with it APRS stands for Automatic Packet Reporting System.  What it allows (among other things) is for relaying of position information (gps) between stations (and via gateways the information can be uploaded to websites).  it can also be used for text messaging between stations and various other uses.  APRS makes use of Digipeaters which are digital repeaters and work alittle differently than standard voice repeaters (these allow for relaying of information from repeater to repeater in some cases). 

There are a number of potential uses for this system, but to give you an example from another ham that I met (this is similar to what I want to be able to do)...  He has a Yaesu vx-8dr with a gps, this sends out a beacon with his coordinates on a regular basis (how often changes depending on various factors), he has a yaesu FTM-350AR in his truck which also has a built in GPS, but while he is out and about he sets it up for one-way cross band repeat this way it repeats his beacon signal out to a digipeater, but doesn't bring it back in creating a loop.  Then the signal gets repeated to a gateway and the beacon location information logged to the internet.  What this allows is that while he is out hiking or riding his quad his wife can log in to a website and know exactly where he is, he can also go back later and review the paths he took.  Also if he is out with someone else they can navigate to eachother using the beacons....  This is just one example of how this can be used.  Of course he has over a grand invested between the 2 radios and necessary accessories

So here are my questions.

1. Anyone with experience with APRS can you share how you use it, what it does for you, and any info on what equipment you use.  I am curious of how people are really using this (in addition to the scenario I outlined above)

2. Is anyone on here doing APRS with a more "custom" setup, ie not one of the newer, pricier radios that has built in support, if so how are you doing it, what are you using?

3. I am having a hard time finding a list/search specifically of digipeaters.  In order for this to be worth the investment to me I want to be able to use it in some remote locations and want to see what kind of digipeater access there is in specific areas.  Anyone have any links they can share?

Thanks,
Bryan

BTPost:
As a Prep'er, and a Comm Guy, I just can't see the practical, use for APRS in the Preping Community. Sure for SAR Work, Public Safety, and Industrial Applications, You Bet.... but in the Survival and Prep'en World, OpSec/CommSec says, transmitting your location is a Giant NoNo.
Granted the technology has a "Cool Factor", but what is the advantage it gives, when compared to the disadvantage of Blowing your OpSec/CommSec Identity. APRS was developed at the Naval Academy, to keep track of Midshipman in their 20Ft Sailing Punts, out in the Bay, so that when they got themselves in Deep Dodo, the Rescue Vessel  knew where to look for them. Just Say'en.... YMMV.....

bryanthegoon:
While I agree that posting a beacon with your location in a survival/prep situation would in most cases not be the best move....
I can think of a number of somewhat practical reasons to have the equipment and know how to use it, especially given the fact that it is currently used by a number of individuals/organizations.

1. Not everyone is going to be worried about posting their location out there, if there is equipment/protocol available that can potentially tell me where other individuals are in my area why would I not want that.  I do not have to broadcast a beacon to receive beacons from other individuals.  Also depending on hardware involved it would be conceivable to write software which could alert me of a beacon approaching my location (again without having to send a beacon myself)

2. No matter how prepared you are there is always the possibility of getting in a situation where your life depends on someone else finding and helping you, in other words most anything that would lead to a survival/prepper situation could also easily lead to a SAR situation at some point.

3. With an understanding of the technology and protocols it theoretically would be possible to use some level of encryption or obfuscation (you could skew the coordinates by a certain value) to make use of this technology within a trusted group. (I understand using encryption in this way is against FCC regulations but in a true SHTF situation a situation from the FCC is the least of my worries)

4. If there are "emergency services" individuals making use of aprs then I may want to be able to monitor their locations, whether to find them for some reason or to avoid them, either way.

5. In a true "world as we know it has changed" scenario there may be reason to set up meeting spots for trading or whatever (this may not be overly practical)

6. In a scenario where supplies are of vital importance, a system could be setup, for example in a radio in a supply cache somewhere, or in your vehicle, so that if the location of that cache or vehicle changed ( without you changing a setting first) that it would then start putting out a beacon, allowing you to track your stolen stuff.

Some of these might be a little far fetched, but I would rather have the equipment and the know-how than not.  Keep in mind that just because you have the capability does not mean that you have to transmit a beacon with your location.  Also you can actually send out a beacon that has whatever location you want, ie you can draw an individual to a certain location, send someone on a wild goose chase, any number of things.....

All this being said I can think of some current uses for this technology, I spend alot of time in back country, and emergencies do happen. 

Also if I have the ability to relay my travels back to my computer I may be able to later use that information to create maps that may be useful to me in a SHTF situation (Yes I know there are other ways to do this, but if I can just carry my radio in the woods and it does it all for me, as opposed to also having a separate GPS with limited memory and I have to remember to copy my track off before it overwrites and ... ... ..)

Anyway that is my 2 cents based on what I understand of the technology at the moment, would still love to hear from anyone that is making use of APRS in any way, or has any plans for it beyond what I listed ( or comments on any of this ).

16bravolima:
Bryan,

I use APRS all the time.  I have a transmitter in my airplane.  It is my primary safety equipment in the event of an emergency as it pinpoints my location, altitude, speed and direction of flight to within a few meters in near real time. 

I live in a very mountainous area so I even set up an i-Gate in my home to provide additional coverage.  You can check out my latest flight http://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FN16BL&timerange=3600.

I bought my aprs transmitter, antenna and gps puck for around $200 from www.byonics.com.  It is the FT-8000 and transmits 10 watts on 144.39MHz.

bryanthegoon:
16bravolima,

the Byonics stuff looks interesting, I will have to do some more research on the different offerings that they have available.  If I am reading this right what you have is a fully contained unit that just transmits an aprs beacon, but doesn't have receive capability, is this correct?  This could be useful for a number of the situations I had outlined and makes perfect sense for your use in an airplane.

Like I said will be looking a little more at the other options they have available with additional functionality.

If you don't mind my asking, what are you using (hardware and software) for the i-Gate setup at your home?

Thanks,
Bryan

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