[aprssig] APRS Voice Alert

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> dave at emv.co.uk 09/06/05 11:58 AM >>>
> but 90% + of the APRS community out there do 
>not subscribe to this email lists, so will not know 
>about it, or how to use it "correctly"...

Yes, hence the need for spreading the word and
helping to educate the community.

>Most would just keep chatting on the APRS 
>frequency...

Doesnt follow.  If they haven't heard about it,
then they wont think about talking on a data
channel.  If they have heard about it, it is our
duty to inform them of the proper way to use
it.   I can't imagine a ham being so clueless as
to try to QSO on such a national data channel.

>We have enough trouble here with fixed phone 
>stations who though they can hear each other 
>quite well simplex, insist on chatting for extended
>periods on a repeater, refusing to even leave a 
>pause for any mobiles.

Ah, which is one of the advantages of voice alert.
Without one word of voice, the "radar" feature of
it lets you know if the other person is in simplex range.
Give him a call to QSY to a favorite simplex channel
and QSO.  Dont bother with the busy wide-area 
repeater.   Many repeater QSO's take place simply
beacuse the users are not aware they are in range
of each other.  With Voice-alert, two APRS mobiles
will be aware of their simplex range even without
ever transmiting a spoken word and at no expense
to APRS.

>People like that would just use APRS as a sort 
>of pager, not a lot else, to the detriment of the 
>rest of the local network, such as it is.

APRS is for tactical real-time local communications.
The enabling of what I call "Voice Alert" in no way
detracts from that mission.  In fact, it facilitates
that mission far more efficiently than expecting
a driver to use his laptop or keypad to key in a
"please call me on 146.52" message...

To get in immediate contact with another APRS
mobile operator, it is far simpler on the D700 to 
do two things:
1) Press the band A button
2) Press PTT and say "call me on 52"...

Remember, my promotion of "voice alert" is
not a promotion to start chatting on the APRS
frequency, it is simply a receommendation to
enable it so that if someone NEEDS to get in
touch with you, then you are listening.

Why drive around with a perfectly good radio
with a speaker attached on a Nationallly
known channel on which you are advertising your
presence, but then have the volumne turned
down?

The only thing the "Voice Alert" concept is about is
to simply not turn the volume to zero on your APRS 
radio, but squelch it instead with CTCSS 100
(123 in Europe)...

No one asks you to use it.  Just be ready to hear
a call if someone has to get in touch with you and
has no idea what other voice channel you may
be listening too.

I guess the alternative is to start calling on every
repeater in the area, then call on all the simplex
channels to see if you can raise him?  That is
extremely inefficient when the goal of HAM radio
is to be able to establish communications.  Since
he has a radio, and we KNOW that he is on the
APRS channel, then why not have a PL on that
channel so you can un-mute his speaker for 4
seconds and call him?

Bob, WB4APR


> -----Original Message-----
> From: aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org 
> [mailto:aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org] On Behalf Of Robert Bruninga
> Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 2:50 PM
> To: aprssig at lists.tapr.org 
> Subject: [aprssig] APRS Voice Alert
> 
> Dave,
> I think you are missinterpreting what Voice Alert actually 
> is.  It is for making a "CALL", *not* for talking.  One makes 
> the call as "XXXXXX this is YYYYYY call me on ZZZ.ZZ".  Nothing more.
> 
> It takes 4 seconds.  And even in the Washington DC area which 
> is the most saturated APRS system in the world, now that we 
> have the New-N in place, the channel is often clear for 5 to 
> 10 seconds most of the time.

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