[aprssig] HT/mic DTMF standards

[Robert Bruninga]

Just in:

> Anyone that wants to add to the table? 
>  
> THD7   has 16 with 1=qz   encoding is multi-press
> D700   has 16 with 1=qz   encoding is multi-press
> FT470  has ?? with 7=PQRS any encoding?
> FT-51R has 16 wiht 1=QZ   any encoding?
> TH-79a has 16             No Alpha at all. 
> VX-7R  has 16 with 7=PQRS any encoding?
> VX-8R  has ?? With 7=PQRS encoding is multipress 
* Cell Phones are    7=pqrs encoding is multipress
* Echolink...   With 1=QZ   encoding two-digit-fixed
* APRStt wants to find the best of this

Whats new is the VX8R and some comments from EchoLink.

K1RFD (author of EchoLink) seems willing to consider possibly
supporting both encoding methods at some time in the future to
come more in line with cell phone use... So it looks to me like
the APRStt standard should be:

 APRStt:   Multi-press (lower case first) with 7=pqrs

Although EchoLink has 10 times the users as APRS, 98% of them
never use DTMF spelling... But one can also say (apparently)
that 95% of APRS users also have never used the global text
messaging or email functions we have had for the last 10 years
either..

But in any case, moving together with multi-press and 7=pqrs
cell phone common usage will be better for all of us..  See the
APRStt web page www.aprs.org/aprstt.html  It is evolving, so
some sections are out of date as we nail these issues down...

And for ABBREVIATED CALLSIGNS, once the system has received your
pre-loaded DTMF fully spelled callsign, then F5SMZ suggests that
using the SUFFIX is the least complex way of hashing a shorter
call as long as it does not conflict with anyone else on that
same APRStt frequency.

IE, "APR" (27A777) instead of "WB4APR" (922444427A777).  Where
the "A" key is used as the LETTER separator if adjacent letters
are on the same key.  (or the "C" key.. I have no idea why
Kenwood changed from the "A" key on the D7 and D700 to the "C"
key on the D710.  If anyone knows why, let us know.  The meaning
being "shift-right"...

Bob, WB4APR