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APRS is designed for scenarios you're describing John. APRS is a way for a HAM radio to relay GPS coordinates tied to your call sign so people can track your position.
This site is an overlay of that data onto Google Maps. Check it out, pretty neat:
Google Maps APRS
APRS is designed for scenarios you're describing John. APRS is a way for a HAM radio to relay GPS coordinates tied to your call sign so people can track your position.
This site is an overlay of that data onto Google Maps. Check it out, pretty neat:
Google Maps APRS
Does the map show active hams in real time who are running APRS's equipped radios and have that feature turned on or whatever.."active"? That what it looks like but wanted to confirm.
APRS is designed for scenarios you're describing John. APRS is a way for a HAM radio to relay GPS coordinates tied to your call sign so people can track your position.
This site is an overlay of that data onto Google Maps. Check it out, pretty neat:
Google Maps APRS
this. hands down. you can even text someone from radios like the ft-400 - it's very cool. I texted my wife from no-where's-ville NM, no cell service.
Now that is cool, I did not know texting was possible! What's that feature called? I need to look it up on my FTM-350
So APRS only works on HAM radios with either a GPS chip or GPS transmitter linked to it? I tried to read up on it but got lost really fast.
So APRS only works on HAM radios with either a GPS chip or GPS transmitter linked to it? I tried to read up on it but got lost really fast.
I liked the SPOT Connect features but it looks like that product might be on its way out (based on the way the website looks). The Gen3 loses the ability to connect to your phone but has easier tracking on/off. At least that's what my easily confused brain understands. I'd like to know if the Gen3 still works if it's contained in a pack or pocket (i.e. out of direct line of sight of the sky).
The wife is trying out an Iridium sat phone rental this weekend. Obviously good for comm, not for tracking, but it'll be good to see what happens with it. She's going out with strangers on foot into a known large dead spot of cell coverage. Yeah...I know.
Thanks again to everybody who has offered up thoughts and advice here.
It's not a GPS chip or GPS transmitter you need to link to your Ham radio, it is either:
a) a Ham radio with built in APRS hardware - there are some units that have this all built in - they cost more of course...
or
b) an APRS unit connected to your Ham radio. The APRS unit contains a GPS receiver and the hardware/software to take the GPS fix and turn it into an APRS packet and then send it to Ham radio and key the transmitter on.
For the case of b) above google for APRS TNC to find what the units look like. There's also a neat little unit that uses your cell phone (via bluetooth) to provide the GPS data and APRS packet encoding and the little unit then connects to the Ham radio to transmit the packet (see Mobilinkd | Highly mobile packet radio).
Either way you need to be in range of a digipeater/igate etc that can RECEIVE your aprs packet and forward it on to the internet. Your Ham radio also needs to be on the APRS frequency (obviously).
For your wife's use, the sat phone is likely the best option.
cheers,
george.