[aprssig] weigh your toilet paper

[Bob Bruninga]

>> The chances of a thru hiker carrying an aprs 
>> are zero. ... the more likely scenario is 
>> friends of the trail allowing the hikers to check
>> in some how...  a time clock type of system 
>> to allow the hikers to use the system, but 
>> not carry it.

Yes, the carry-aprs are the day hikers for fun.  Or the SAR groups for serious.  And I agree completely about the thru hikers.  

My idea originally was a little check-point gizmo with a 2 line LCD display and keypad at each shelter or so, where the hiker enters his initials or trail name and it just dead-reckons him along the trail.  THen around 2003, I re-wrote it to just be a copy of APRSdos running on an old $10 hamfest laptop...  Its probably time to go back to the post-mounted keypad using a PIC and simple TIny-Track kind of XCVR.

FIndu would follow the dead reckoned track of the hikers generated by the fixed devices.

The details are on the page www.aprs.org/ham-trails.html

Bob, WB4APR