[aprssig] APRS, Dayton, Golden Packet and toys!

[Robert Bruninga]

Last night APRS news was coming in great from all over!

* Wife finally gave me a kitchen pass to go to Dayton this year,
and I got on the web and got my same parking place behind North
Hall.  I'll have enough solar power (500W) there to run the AC
in the car this year... Or sell power to adjacent spaces..
(ha!) Solar power is fun when it brings electricity to where you
don't have any, but even 500W is only worth 5 cents an hour if
you can plug in somewhere else...
www.aprs.org/FD-Prius-Power.html

* Got a phone call.  Someone is working on APRStt and so you
will be able to keep track of your non-APRS friends if they will
simply pre-program their callsign into their HT's DTMF memory.
As they go from room to room in the Dayton Buildings, they can
simply send out that memory, and APRStt will put them on the map
in that room or in general areas in the flea market.  Maybe we
will use 146.58?  See www.aprs.org/aprstt.html

* Got word from a team forming to assault Roan Mountain
(Cloudland) for the Appalachian Trail APRS Golden Packet attempt
this summer (26 July).  Other teams are also forming and as the
weather improves, going out to check their links all along the
2000 mile AT.  See
www.aprs.org/at-golden-packet.html

* Finished testing the Byonics MT-TT4 APRS all-in-one 500mw
TNC/Radio combo and am very happy with it as a 2-way APRS
device.  I am now waiting to get its LCD display, so I can also
see packets...  And also we will be using this 3.5" square card
as the basis for our next satellite and places where we need a
quick digi.  Scott at Opentrack also now makes excellent two-way
systems.

* Also last night got some feedback from a major player in Ham
Radio on-air software to help cross connect more Ham radio text
messaging systems into a seamless, universal Ham Radio Text
Messaging System.  Lets hope it flourishes...  See:
www.aprs.org/aprs-messaging.html

AND I see that lots of APRS related authors and builders and
suppliers are working on new toys to introduce at Dayton.

Bob, WB4APR