[aprssig] The "portable" problem

[Joel Maslak]

The problem is well known.  User with portable APRS radio (maybe he  
isn't even using a GPS or sending position reports) is hiking in the  
woods or sitting in the coffee shop.  His car is within simplex  
range, and his car can hit the local digi.  But the small handheld  
cannot.

For reporting position, the problem is easy to solve - use a custom  
path or make the car a temporary (while fixed) WIDE1-1.

However, this doesn't allow message traffic as easily (replies that  
use the original message path may be okay, but what about other  
traffic?).  Here's the feature I'd like to see in the next generation  
of embedded APRS stuff...a digi with an "access list" that's semi- 
smart.  You tell it the call of the "portable" station it is the  
"host" for.

So I program in my N7XUC-8 station (my handheld D7A) as a portable  
station.

N7XUC-7 (my car) then acts like a WIDE1-1 for N7XUC-8.  It doesn't  
need to do full WIDEn-n for this as if another digi can hear N7XUC-8,  
it's making it into the network (although it might be nice to repeat  
it anyhow if there is more than one portable station - think special  
event).

When someone sends N7XUC-8 (that's the DESTINATION, not source, call)  
a message, N7XUC-7 will act like a WIDEN-n (possibly fully  
decrementing n to minimize QRM)

N7XUC-7 won't digi any other traffic (except traffic that uses it's  
call explicitly).

So does this exist in a portable package yet?