[aprssig] Did an airplane crash in Martinsburg WV?

[Cap Pennell]

I too agree with Boyd that hams need to act with maturity and
professionalism to be taken seriously by our served agencies.  It's also
important hams be _routinely_ familiar with operating their unique
communications assets.

I fondly recall our local "paintball wars" using APRSdos some time back,
where we would train on APRS use with symbols and other map features, at the
keyboard.  We'd hook and change users's houses into slow sailboats heading
for Hawaii, and Bomb and strafe stations with Jets triangulating on their
positions (with "tracer fire" showing on the map too).  A hit might produce
a big Fire.  The trick was often to "duck" by quickly shifting your home QTH
target just out of reach in the nick of time.  The earthquake symbol
overlaid on someone's QTH made a fine big "target" symbol.  The atomic blast
(large colored "areas") was an ultimate weapon.  Fun!  And the experience
taught us a lot about how to use APRS and how useful it could be.  I only
hope everybody considering APRS for emergencies is as familiar with it's
capabilities.  Folks who haven't used the keyboard for manipulating APRS map
Objects routinely probably won't be much help trying it during a emergency
either.

I believe about anything, including odd symbols and excessive digipaths, is
okay _while_ the operator is at the keyboard, watching the packets scroll
by.  At least then they can receive messages on RF (realtime feedback) from
other users, and clear the air should a emergency arise.

Have you checked your digipath and transmission interval today?  How about
your map symbol and the comment text in your Position packets and in your
Status packets?  Yesterday?
Hint: Those using a digipath of WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2 or WIDE3-3 for more than a
few hours probably haven't been paying attention anytime recently.  Don't
count on them for help with APRS in emergencies either.
http://web.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs/APRSpaths.gif

73, Cap KE6AFE