>APRS atands for:
>
>We Want Our Own 2m Channel, damn any other mode....
>
>We Don't Want to Use Active Networking (IE: NO tcp/ip)...
>
>We Don't Care About Band Plans Or Efficient Spectrum Use...
>
>We Don't Care About Technical Issues, Just As Long As We Get Our Way.
>
Geez, with this much hostility, I'm forced to believe an APRSer stole his
wife! On behalf of all the APRS-studs out there I apologize to James. To
all the less hostile members of this list, I apologize for the off-topic
post, but I feel I must defend APRS...
First, let me introduce myself. I am Steve Dimse, K4HG, I have been
active in APRS for perhaps 6 years. I write the software (APRServe) for
the internet portion of the APRS system and manage the central servers.
Let me address the points one by one...
>We Want Our Own 2m Channel, damn any other mode....
>
By this I assume that KG7FU is referring to the APRS QSY to 144.39. I
could write a few pages on this, and I won't bore you with the messy
details (I was the co-chair of the TAPR committee on this issue, more
info at: http://www.tapr.org/aprsqsy/index.html). The reality is APRS had
a very functional and almost universal channel on 145.79. We were asked
to move in order to facilitate a world-wide frequency of 145.800 for the
International Space Station. This move was endorsed by the ARRL, AMSAT,
and TAPR. The voluntary QSY of thousands of hams for the benfit of
another group is unprecedented in ham radio, and demonstrates the highest
ideals of the Amateur Radio Service.
Do we deserve a dedicated channel? Well, in the last 8 hours APRServe has
seen 1642 stations (2534 in 24 hours). These are hams active today,
occupying a single frequency. Compare that to the hundreds of repeater
frequencies assigned, most of which are unused at any given time, and
each pair, when in use, supports a few simultaneous users. Which is
better utilization of spectrum?
>We Don't Want to Use Active Networking (IE: NO tcp/ip)...
>
Pure ignorance. APRServe links together APRS local networks into a
seamless whole, with two way directed messaging, and is entirely TCP/IP
based. As I write this, there are 18 full time internet gateways, (6
feeding via ham RF TCP/IP links!), and 137 users receiving the data feed,
many also sending their local RF data to the internet servers. Each day
the two linked APRServe machines feed 2 - 3 Gigabytes of data to clients.
Any APRS user can be located by typing a URL like this one (obviously
replacing the call and SSID as needed):
http://map.aprs.net/k4hg-5
This site gets 500 or 600 hits every day.
I have a Java version of APRS that can display the data in any browser,
see: http://www.aprs.net
The reason I'm lurking on this list is I am developing a new server,
XMLserve, that will run under Linux, and serve as a database and generic
data interface serving the data as XML.
I admit I'm biased, but this sure seems like people in APRS are embracing
TCP in a big way!
>We Don't Care About Band Plans Or Efficient Spectrum Use...
>
Band plan? 144.39 used to be in a reserved satellite band, but was
reliquished because it could not be made into a world-wide allocation,
and as such is worthless as a satellite band. 144.39 is coordinated in
most areas for APRS use, and in no case has APRS taken the frequency
without consideration of other users. Many areas delayed their QSY for
coordination and relocation of other users. The most significant examples
are Southern California and the Southeast within a few hundred miles of
Atlanta.
Efficient? First, re-read the second paragraph in response to the first
point. Second, while most packet radio is point to point, or one-to-one,
APRS is one-to-many. A single transmission results in a position report,
weather report, or message being received by hundreds of users. That is
efficient. APRS uses a different paradigm than other packet radio...that
doesn't make it less valid, or deserving of sarcastic remarks.
>We Don't Care About Technical Issues, Just As Long As We Get Our Way.
>
I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions on this one...
Again, I appologize for the off-topic post, but some things needed to be
said. Any other comments should be sent direct to me or on one of the
APRS mailing lists.
Steve K4HG
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=- Steve Dimse Amateur Radio Station K4HG =-
-= [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.aprs.net/steve.html -=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-= See tracking and weather data in real time! -=
=- Automatic Position Reporting System =-
-= -=
=- http://www.aprs.net/ =-
-= Where am I? http://map.aprs.net/steve -=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
