[aprssig] APRS Coverage in Key West

[Joel Maslak]

On Apr 29, 2007, at 4:09 PM, Steve Dimse wrote:

> And once more, it isn't there to be nice to visitors. It is there  
> to provide EOC managers with accurate weather information during  
> hurricanes. If it is useful to the NWS and hams during hurricanes  
> and the rest of the time, so much the better, but the county is not  
> going to compromise the primary purpose to match the settings of  
> other places, nor should they.


How would switching to WIDEN-n (assuming equipment supports it) or  
using WIDE1-1 as a digi alias on all the digis (and  
WIDE1-1,WIDE1-1,WIDE1-1,WIDE1-1 on the WX station(s)) compromise the  
primary purpose?  The other benefit is that mobiles using the  
recommended WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 would get out at least one hop without a  
reconfig).  Depending on the device, you might not even need to  
remove WIDE and may be able to add WIDEN-n without problems.

I doubt that the stations in question are violating any rules.  That  
said, I will play devil's advocate for a bit...

That said, the rules do specify that you can't get paid for operating  
(although setup is not specified), nor can a station usually transmit  
communication on the behalf of an employer.  So the control operator  
probably should be someone who doesn't work at the county.  (97.113.a. 
2-3)

In addition, one of the prohibited forms of communication is  
(97.113.a.5): "Communications, on a regular basis, which could  
reasonably be furnished alternatively through other radio services."   
If the whole purpose of the system is to link weather to the EOC, and  
nothing else is part of it, I'd think that the county should license  
this as others may have mentioned it.  If this is only one of the  
purposes (and the other, for instance, is to let hams in the area  
know the weather), then it probably couldn't be reasonably furnished  
another way.

Once again I doubt the people in the Keys are breaking the rules and  
I am not in favor of losing amateur operators because of an overly  
strict application of the rules when no damage is being done.   
Transmitting on 144.39 using the old paradigm is hardly doing any  
damage in this area, and there are plenty of places doing the same  
type of things.  I also agree that the hams in the keys have no  
obligation to make sure my car shows up on Findu when I drive through  
there, even if it would be a nice thing for them to do.  :)