[aprssig] APRS

[Robert Bruninga]

>Although "APRS" is most commonly used for position 
>reporting it actually stands for Automatic Packet 
>Reporting System.

True.  Actually it can be both.  APRS was originally 
Automatic  Packet Reporting System.  The APRS concept 
was  developed long before GPS became a viable
amateur radio device.  APRS was designed to facilitate
immediate and efficient transfer of digital data 
between EVERYONE at an event or situation without
the need for the cumberson one-to-one packet-ACK
system currently in use in the 1980's.

APRS was designed to update everyone (N stations)
from ONE packet, instead of 2 * N which was standard
packet at the time.  When GPS became a product for the 
agverage HAM below $500 in the early 90's, I began to 
let "P" also stand for POSITION.

I wish I hadn't.  Now too many people see APRS
as just a map based Position tracking system and ignore 
its features for everything else it was designed to do.

de Wb4APR, Bob