Tactical Value? [was: VX-8R Symbol/SSID (Was Re: [aprssig]YaesuVX-8R)]

[K7FTP]

Personally, I like the brand icons.  I think that the whole codes/ciphers 
and pecuniary interest discussion relating to that is garbage.

If you keep up on the radios - and people use them as they should (Kenwood 
icon being used on a native APRS radio (D7A, D700, D710) for example), it 
makes it clear what capabilities they have.  If someone is "spoofing" one to 
intentionally cause problems, then are they really qualified to hold an 
Amateur license?  I thought we were all adults of some minimum level of 
moral fiber.

The only other way I can see denoting capabilities would be an icon for an 
HT, and then the same icon with a modifier of some sort to denote two-way 
capability, and then another to denote voice-alert in use, and then another 
icon for a mobile, and another modifier for that one....  The way I see it, 
advertising the brand - when the operator uses the icon appropriately - is a 
more efficient method of identifying capabilities at this point.  I may be 
wrong on that, but it sure looks like we would need a whole series of icons 
to denote what could be done with just a couple now.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Curt, WE7U" <archer at eskimo.com>
>> I think you don't understand the difference between a radio having an RF 
>> modem
>> and being cable of injecting and receiving AX.25 vs being able to provide 
>> the
>> functionalities that include decoding and encoding packets, displaying
>> information from those packets etc.
>
> Naw, not me.  They're on my APRS Client Capabilities Chart.  ;-)
>
> I'm in the camp that'd rather see capabilities advertised on the air
> than brands/models.
>