On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:39:25 GMT, Bruce in Alaska
wrote:

of ShineMicro about AIS. He is really big into this new (to me) Position
Reporting System now being mandated for ships of 65Ft in the US.

You don't need much money. Look at this ham radio operator over near
Atlanta:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?KD4YDC-9
I picked him at random from an APRS list on findu.com. The webpage
showed him as:

Position of KD4YDC-9

5.8 miles southeast of Griffin, GA Status: 311236zRobert's Van -
Course: 234.0 Speed: 58.7 MPH Report received 1
minutes 59 seconds ago Raw packet:
/
051*GA Skywarn* georgiaskywarn.com {UIV32N}

(copied from the webpage of his mobile while I was replying to your
message.)

I see his course is 234 at 58.7 MPH, probably speeding..(c; His GPS
reports 33/14.32N 084/10.04W at the instant of his last automatic APRS
report less than 2 minutes before I clicked the webpage up.

APRS needs either an APRS active radio with its own APRS-programmed
modem and a cheap GPS receiver or a regular radio, external packet TNC
($100) and cheap GPS receiver.

Every boat should be on APRS on both HF and VHF through assigned VHF
and HF channels. Every packet APRS station can be a repeater for ever
other APRS station, far extending the range of the individual
stations. Some stations are connected through the internet to the
national APRS servers hams have setup, including www.findu.com. It's
all voluntary, of course, in true ham radio tradition.

For the marine application of APRS, visit Bob Bruninga, APRS'
inventor, at the Naval Academy website:
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html
He tracks the Academy's boat fleet with APRS on them. I fixed one of
the APRS stations on an Academy yacht when it was in Charleston a few
years ago to put it back online with APRS on VHF and HF. It keeps our
Midshipmen from being too lost...(c;

I see our boy is still on-the-road:
Position of KD4YDC-9

3.7 miles southeast of Griffin, GA Status: 311236zRobert's Van -
Course: 275.0 Speed: 56.4 MPH Report received 3
minutes 6 seconds ago Raw packet:
/
049*GA Skywarn* georgiaskywarn.com {UIV32N}
and is reporting through a series of "Wide" repeaters into the
internet port in Atlanta. He's slowed down some....



Larry W4CSC

No, no, Scotty! I said, "Beam me a wrench.", not a WENCH!
Kirk Out.....