[aprssig] APRS on 6m

[Stephen H. Smith]

pagreen at gmail.com wrote:

> Hi All,
>
>   Is this being done?  Is there an APRS channel on 6m?  I think that 
> running mobile on 6m would be better than 2m?  Is the noise too high 
> on this band?
>
> 73 de Pat --- KA9SCF.




Actually the noise level IS greater on 6M than on 2.  Many automotive 
ignition systems and computer electronics systems have peak noise output 
in the 25-50MHz region.   [Many earlier generations of commercial 
Motorola radios had actual IF noise blankers in the low-band (30-50 MHz) 
versions but not in the VHF or UHF versions because of the much higher 
noise level at low band. ]

Added to this is the difficulty of mounting any antenna larger than a 
1/4-wave unity-gain whip on a vehicle on this band; i.e. the  classic 
splitball-and-spring  fender-mounted 4.5-foot whips of old highway 
patrol cars.  

On the other hand, the multipath-induced mobile  flutter and fade on 
this band is much less than on higher bands, and seems to damage data 
less frequently.  

I suppose that if you run a dumb tracker and don't care about RECEIVING 
in the noisy mobile environment, 6M would work quite well.





Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
EchoLink Node:      14400    [Think bottom of the 2M band]
Home Page:          http://wa8lmf.com

"APRS 101"  Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating
  http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/DigiPaths

Updated APRS Symbol Chart
  http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/miscinfo/APRS_Symbol_Chart.pdf   

New/Updated "Rev G" APRS     http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/aprs
Symbols Set for UI-View,
UIpoint and APRSplus: