[aprssig] APRS Email (better way)?

[Lynn W. Deffenbaugh (Mr)]

Oh yeah, I had a "duh" moment just as I hit send.  Since APRS messages 
don't contain any position information, in order to do any of the fancy 
stuff, the e-mail servers would need to buffer the most recent position 
for every station on the planet just in case they send an e-mail through 
the server.  Either that, or they'd have to hold off the e-mail hoping 
that a posit comes through to complete the information in the body.

Sites like aprs.fi make it easy to forget that they represent a 
composite, time-accumulated view of APRS backed by a full planetary feed 
and a database of APRS-supplied information for every station.  Like I 
suggested below, a simple, robust, single-function e-mail server would 
be my preference.  If someone wants more data, they can click a link or 
access the information elsewhere.

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ - Author of APRSISCE for Windows Mobile and Win32

On 9/7/2012 4:52 PM, Lynn W. Deffenbaugh (Mr) wrote:
> On 9/7/2012 4:27 PM, Robert Bruninga wrote:
>> I sent an Email via the APRS system today.
>>
>> Here is how it comes into my email box.  Notice there is lots of other
>> useful APRS information that could have also been included such as:
>>
>> --------------------------------------
>> >From Bob Bruninga [from the FCC data base]
>
> APRS, and the EMAIL servers, are used by a whole lot of licensed 
> amateur operators that aren't registered in the FCC database.  QRZ has 
> more, but even that doesn't have everyone.  And to provide such a 
> lookup means that the data being queried has to be refreshed 
> periodically.
>
>> Located 1 mile E of Annapolis [Based on WB4APR-3 position]
>> Heard via WA5VHU-1 located 2 miles west of Glen Burnie [based on 
>> WA5VHU-1
>> position]
>
> I realize that some of the APRS web sites show such information, but 
> reverse geocoding doesn't always come free.   For that matter, I'd 
> just as soon see an embedded map showing the location of the sender in 
> context (not really, see my simplicity comment below). Something like 
> the image at:
>
> http://aprs.fi/static/?call=WB4APR-3&z=13
>
>> And if RS0ISS-4* is in the digi path, it could have taken that special
>> case and said "Via APRS on the International Space Station".
>
> The e-mail servers are just that, e-mail servers.  They're "set and 
> forget" and I'd suggest they not try to keep up with every special 
> detection that's out there.  If someone wants to know they made it 
> through the ISS, there's plenty of ways to find that out via APRS-IS 
> and the various web sites like http://www.ariss.net/
>
> I didn't write nor do I maintain the APRS e-mail servers, but simple 
> is, in many cases, better, especially for servers designed to run 
> robustly and unattended.
>
> At least the EMAIL-2 server puts some helpful links in the body for 
> people that may want to know more.  Here's what I received from that 
> server:
>
> Subject: KJ4ERJ-AP: Test via EMAIL-2
>
> From: KJ4ERJ-AP
> Test via EMAIL-2
>
> DO NOT REPLY
>
> Find KJ4ERJ-AP athttp://www.jfindu.net/find/KJ4ERJ-AP
> Track KJ4ERJ-AP athttp://www.jfindu.net/track/KJ4ERJ-AP
>
> Received from KJ4ERJ-AP via APRS by EMAIL-2
> More info athttp://www.aprs-is.net/email.aspx
>
> And there are instructions at the bottom of that last link that 
> describe how to set up the system so that short responses can be sent 
> via e-mail which will then be delivered to the originator via an APRS 
> message.
>
> Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ - Author of APRSISCE for Windows Mobile and Win32
>
>
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