[aprssig] Re: The best resolution of position from APRS

[Robert Bruninga]

>> Ah, but how many USERS are represented by those 25,000 
>> stations?  That means that MORE THAN HALF OF ALL 
>>APRS users use  a KENWOOD.

>>> HamLists at ametx.com 01/04/06 11:29 AM >>>
>Just for the record... there are 4979 unique callsigns
>running Kenwood radios in APRS mode... out of the 17,749 
>unique callsigns...  This means that LESS THAN 28% OF 
>ALL APRS USERS use a KENWOOD.

Pete, thanks for the update on the statistics.  OK, I correct
myself.  ABOUT 1/3rd of APRS users use a kenwood.  This
is still a very large number compared to some of the people
who say that only 1 person in their area, and everyone at
their SAR events do not.

I still cannot understand why XASTIR wants to continue to
purposefully send the depricated/obsolete, broken compressed
object/item format KNOWING that NONE of the 1/3rd of
users can see them at all.  In my experience the kenwood
is one of the most useful APRS users in a field event where 
it can see all objects.

>Gee, why don't you use the same logic for the Kenwoods?  
>Oh yes, you have to save face with them because you are 
>afraid to ask them to fix their firmware...

NO.  Such a comparison is illogical.  My position is based on
simple understanding of HAM radio:

1) The kenwoods cannot be easily upgraded.
2) XASTIR could fix it overnight and everyone could
    have  a downloadable fix the next day
3) Even if Kenwood offered a fix to this 1 foot precision,
    it has been shown that fewer than 10% would upgrade
   and so we would still have 25% of all APRS users who
   could not see XASTIR's obsolete objects

Why cannot people see this?
Why does not XASTIR simply fix the problem rather than
insisting that Kenwood fix it?  And even if they did,
it would not fix the problem because people would not
send their radios back to get them fixed.  I bet 99% of
the kenwods could care less about seeing 1 foot precision,
yet they ALL care about not seeing critical XASTIR
transmitted objects!

TO me the easy fix for all of APRS is for XASTIR to
fix the problem...  They can do it easily.  No, it is not
THEIR problem, but an overall APRS problem, but THEY
are the only ones that can fix it.  We look for that
kind of community spirit in APRS so that we all can
still communicate across all platforms.

Bob