[aprssig] Wide-Area APRS Call-up Channel

[Robert Bruninga]

Wide-Area APRS Call-up Channel:

This system allows for instant back-channel contact to all APRS
operators no matter what they are doing with Band B.  Band A of
coruse is doing APRS and is monitoring Voice Alert.

If you live in a wide area, where most APRS folks are not all in
the same club and are not all monitoring the same general
repeaters, you can set up a Wide-Area APRS Call-up channel for
instant call-up throughout the region.  

Simply put up a tall central cross band repeater that listens on
an unused UHF channel (PL 100)and cross bands to APRS Voice
Alert on 144.39 (PL100).  In effect this extends the range of
Voice Alert from Simplex to wide area.  Of course this must not
be abused, and only used for brief contact (emergency call-up,
then QSY).  

It may meet your area emergency response needs and may be worth
doing.  But if two guys use it everyday to make contact, it
might be detrimental, since it will cause people to turn down
their VoiecAlert and then that system is disfunctional.

Anyway, it you need a means for wide-area-call-up of all APRS
mobiles (that are running Voice-Alert), it is pretty easy to do,
and requires no change in routine by the APRS operators.

Bob, WB4APR