Radio

[AzGnome]

Ham radio 2.0
On YouTube has a class that will prep you for your Exam. It’s great
Get the Technician Exam Prep app to take practice test
You’ll know when you’re ready when you consistently pass practice test

 

[Ubiety]

Why are you surprised, the features imbedded in APRS goes right along with Overlanding. I’m surprised more overlanders don’t have their technicians license just for APRS and WSPR modes. I’m still learning WSPR, but my understanding so far is it’s a low powered beacon signal contains your gps coordinates along with a small message... so I’m thinking (still researching the mode) it could be used as a week signal SoS beacon. I have put out a beacon on 7.045 MHz @ 2 watts and was heard as far away as Spain and Japan, but most importantly it was also picked up within 70 miles of my QTH. Now I only sent out a signal with my gps data as a beacon without any message attached other than calling CQ.

My understanding is that WSPR only beacons your current Maidenhead grid square which is a pretty large area compared to GPS provided lat/lon (even with the error inherent to GPS). Please tell me that I am wrong :)

 

[Ubiety]

Just surprised because not everyone has a ham license and I just expected even less to discover and then explore APRS
But I totally agree APRS and overlanding seems like a perfect match

Just be careful not to count on APRS as you "emergency goto". I have been to a lot of places where I could not get digi'ed or igated. I have been traipsing all over WA/ID/MT/WY/NV/OR with APRS for the last 20 years and there are a lot of dead zones. But it is absolutely invaluable as an aid to family - just give them a pre-formated URL to aprs.fi and they can check in on you.

 

[Ubiety]

There are the HT radios that have the ARPS also - the yaesu FT3DR is about 350.00 and does it- great for when you are hiking or on a motorcycle. still tracks and locates - and sometimes you are nowhere anyone would look unless they had your GPS location and a note saying "help". The battery will run down pretty fast when the gps and beacon are on - so turn off when not using and carry an extra battery or two! Youtube has some great instructional videos on how to set up and use APRS and sending text messages to phones - My buddy was out wheeling and one of the group rolled off a cliff - the aprs and ham radio got an air lift team there much faster that driving and looking for cell service would have. Just one of those things that shows it's worth when you least expect it.

Getting a license is pretty easy for the tech class- they have on line Video testing.
Even if you do not have a ham license- you can still have the radio in the car and it is legal to use in an emergency. For those that don't use ham - it is worthless unless you learn how to use it first -and program in repeaters and frequencies. I have area's I frequent and set up the repeaters in different banks in the radio - imperial valley - death valley - my local area - etc. then just set the radio to the area I am going -

I am greatly interested in HF APRS as it would seem that it has a much larger reach. Not something I'd imagine running all the time - more of a thing to do at camp when I could stretch an antenna out.

What band(s) are the most "productive" for HF APRS?

 

[Kirk M.]

I am greatly interested in HF APRS as it would seem that it has a much larger reach. Not something I'd imagine running all the time - more of a thing to do at camp when I could stretch an antenna out.

What band(s) are the most "productive" for HF APRS?

I was saying "HT" as in the hand held units.
HF sounds like a great addition and there is a lot of info on it, (which I have never tried any of,) on you tube and it definitely looks very interesting - longer range for sure. I do lose my location on aprs when I am out of the repeater range in Death Valley. -I did set up to hit the space station should it come into range and send off that but I don't think the timing was right. Now I am interested in finding out more about the HF APRS too!

 

[Ubiety]

I was saying "HT" as in the hand held units.
HF sounds like a great addition and there is a lot of info on it, (which I have never tried any of,) on you tube and it definitely looks very interesting - longer range for sure. I do lose my location on aprs when I am out of the repeater range in Death Valley. -I did set up to hit the space station should it come into range and send off that but I don't think the timing was right. Now I am interested in finding out more about the HF APRS too!

Hahahaha, totally read that as HF and not HT :) I guess you see what you want to see!

I have managed to bounce a few packets off of ISS and had them gated in far off locales - recall one from my location near Seattle that was gated in Denver. Did not account for Doppler shift and used an omni antenna - so it can be done bumbling around ;)

Any HF APRS users paying attention? How does it compare to WSPR?

 

[M Rose]

My understanding is that WSPR only beacons your current Maidenhead grid square which is a pretty large area compared to GPS provided lat/lon (even with the error inherent to GPS). Please tell me that I am wrong :)

WSPR requires a GPS signal to JS8CAL if running JS8CAL in WSPR mode it transmits full 3D GPS data.

 

[M Rose]

I was saying "HT" as in the hand held units.
HF sounds like a great addition and there is a lot of info on it, (which I have never tried any of,) on you tube and it definitely looks very interesting - longer range for sure. I do lose my location on aprs when I am out of the repeater range in Death Valley. -I did set up to hit the space station should it come into range and send off that but I don't think the timing was right. Now I am interested in finding out more about the HF APRS too!

Don’t forget you can use store and forward on satalites as well, that way you only have to wait apx 10 minutes between transmissions

 

[Ubiety]

if running JS8CAL in WSPR mode it transmits full 3D GPS data.

That was the missing piece for me - JS8CALL. WSPR on its own is less accurate in position as it TXs Maidenhead grid location rather than Lat/Lon. It takes operating with JS8CALL to get your Lat/Lon in there.

http://www.va3rom.com/docs/ATD039.pdf