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

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> kc2mmi at verizon.net 01/05/06 3:49 PM >>>
>>Obsolete to me means something that has
>>been replaced with something better.>>

>Look it up, Bob. That might be a common misperception, 
>but there is a difference between saying "The kenwoods
> have been obsoleted by cell phones" and saying they 
>are obsolete per se. 

Yes, and I never said that.  We are talking about Ham 
Radio, and in that hobby, to me, the Kenwood is not
obsolete until there is another HAM radio to replace it.

>Obsolete doesn't mean something has been replaced--
>just that it is not up to the times, or more formally 
>"it is no longer in use". 

Yep, and I'd say that the fact that 28% of all APRS users
have one actually on the air speaks highly of their not
being obsolete.  And the fact that 85% of all APRS
users that view APRS while mobile use them also speaks
to their continued utility.

>And speaking of NAVITRA and...Kenwood to tag on 
>APRS to that equipment...Yes, look at what Japan is 
>up to now. Look at cell phones, SMS, GPS,...

But this is Ham radio.  And although Japan has an
amateur radio population that is over 3 times the
size of the USA, it sill only has NAVITRA in the
HAM market (though they did upgrade to APRS
a few years ago).

Sorry, but HAM radio and APRS is never going to keep
up with what the $100 billion phone industry can do
with their resources and market.  If you expect that,
then I fear you are always going to be disappointed.

>Now tell us, what can a D700 do with APRS, that a 
>newer gizmo selling at 1/4 the price can't do better, 
>faster, more flexibly?   Obsolete is the right word, 
>even if it still is the best of its kind out there.

Yes, the cell phone industry has passed us in the
last 20 years.  But the one thing we have is a common
shared channel that always works at the local tactical
level anywhere on earth.   We need to focus on what
we ham radio first responders can do better with that
than any cell phoone junkie who shows up with all his
toys and no connectivity.  (cant talk to they guy
1 mile away)...

>My car can't find its own way home without me. A 
>buggy horse can. Nevertheless, the horse and 
>buggy have been obsolete for a hundred years.

But they still work fine.  And don't run on Iraq oil.
Some people (though rare) prefer them by far.

>Many of us love the Kenwoods, love APRS, but 
>find it is simply no longer state of the art, or 
>anything close to what other systems are offering. 

What else do you think we can do on a shared
1200 baud channel with a few other hams that
show up with APRS at a ham radio support event?

>We's rather see improvements that allow for 
>"new and better" to gracefully supercede the
>old, than see it all turned off and scrapped.

Tell me what is new and better that cant be done
within the spec and be backwards compatible?  If
you just tell me what these "new and better" things
are, then lets see if we can do them...

de Wb4APR, Bob