[aprssig] APRS System Overiding Fundamentals

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> <maiko at pcs.mb.ca> 3/8/05 3:33:01 PM >>>
>What we have plenty of is TNCS and LAPTOPS !
> What I'm thinking of doing is having a list of waypoints, 
>one for each mile in the marathon. There will be a 
>person in the medical van who will...manually select that 
>mile check point in the software, and have the software 
>broadcast the waypoint information.

Whoa, any APRS software should be able to that (I assume), 
just have the operator move his cursor to the current place 
on the map where he is and hit MY POS.  Done.  This is the
basic reporting by map.

Or in APRSdos is a method where you can enter on a 
Kenwood D7 HT or any other device a position of 
4000.00N by 4000.XXW and the XX will be treated as a 
waypoint number XX from a WAYPOINT table.  This
is exactly what you are talking about.  And its in there
(but I dont think many of the other software includes it)
(But it is mostly for using the D7 as th entry device
without using a GPS)...

But if the operator is going to be looking at a map
anyway, just moving the cursor and updating my
posiion is  much easier...

Bob, WB4APR

and hit
I've had a couple of guys laugh at this, and a few say "that's not a
reasonable thing to do, the person will be too busy to man a laptop",
but besides cancelling the use of APRS because no one wants to provide
us with Trackers, I can't think of any better way to do this.

> We will have the assets use voice to alert us each time they pass
> one of these key points.

Similar ideas here I guess. You guys will have someone on voice, we'll
have someone on a laptop running *this* software.

QUESTION: Is there software out there that can do this ? Ie, provide
me with a list of 10 or 20 checkpoints, I click on the particular
check
point, it broadcasts a position packet, etc. I can write that, that is
so easy to do, but why bother if someone already has done it.

BOB : does APRSdos have this ability ?

Robert Bruninga said:

> SUMMARY:  In summary, I am frustrated that APRS these days is
beoming
> too much of a GPS toy and is actually being used less and less as an
> information management, communications and display tool for events
> and operations.

I agree with Bob, and unfortunately I need to somehow sell my own
ARES group on the concept that GPS is not essential to making the
marathon work. The first thing I hear is "we don't have any tiny
trackers or GPS units, so we probably wont be able to do it".

Thanks for highlighting your past experiences Bob, that information
may wind up being very handy for me to change some mind sets.

Maiko Langelaar / VE4KLM

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