[aprssig] The best resolution of position from APRS

[Curt Mills]

On Tue, 3 Jan 2006, Robert Bruninga wrote:

> > Who was involved in the process?
> 
> The APRS working group.

Which means some of those with strong opinions on a few of the
issues in the 1.1 spec weren't allowed to participate in the
decision-making process.


> >I find this deprecation of compressed objects/items 
> >unacceptable.
> 
> Stalemate.  I find the continued use of compressed
> opject/items unacceptible as it leaves 10,000
> APRS users unable to see them.

How could I reach 10,000 Kenwood users:

*) If APRS is supposed to be a local tactical network?

*) If none of those Kenwood radios are linked to the internet?

*) If most of the ones that _could_ receive the packets are too busy
   driving to look at their display?

The way I figure it, I might affect 3 or 4 Kenwood users at any
given time during a SAR operation, none of which are actually
involved in SAR.  More if I extend the paths a bit, which wouldn't
make much sense for a SAR operation.


> Then use the APRS1.2  !DAO! format which gives 
> a resolution to under a foot AND includes the DATUM.
> AND is 100% compatible with everything on the air.

100% compatible as in almost nothing will see the proper position,
but almost all with see a poorly-placed position for that object.
Sometimes that's worse than not seeing the object at all.


> >As compressed objects/items were in the spec from 
> >day one until at least July 2004,
> 
> But not recommened for years.

1.5 years?  I know it's been in Xastir for much longer than that.
It was fully implemented long before you deprecated it in the spec
addendum.


> I cannot see any way to encourage such incompatibilities
> in APRS  when doing so would guarantee on-air confusion 
> and missed information.

Little on-air confusion I would suspect.  Can't be confused about it
if you don't know it's even there.  Definitely missed information,
I'll give you that, but as I iterated earlier it doesn't matter much
to my county's SAR units, as we're not running Kenwoods.  Those on
the outside that want to peek in at what we're doing can use desktop
clients that know how to decode the objects.

-- 
Curt, WE7U.				archer at eskimo dot com
http://www.eskimo.com/~archer
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