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GPS Tracking for boats
Hi I am interested to hear any comments about the GPS Tracking (track
your boat via PC) for boat owners small and large alike. Would this technolgy benefit owners? Does anyone already have experience of GPS Tracking? All comments welcome. I own a tracking company based in Perth WA and want to get honest views. |
GPS Tracking for boats
On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:08:21 -0700, "
wrote: Does anyone already have experience of GPS Tracking? There are systems available for tracking sailboats in a race that seem to work well. The technology is pretty much "off the shelf" so I'd expect some competition in the market place. |
GPS Tracking for boats
On 2007-10-15 23:08:21 -0400, "
said: Hi I am interested to hear any comments about the GPS Tracking (track your boat via PC) for boat owners small and large alike. Would this technolgy benefit owners? Does anyone already have experience of GPS Tracking? All comments welcome. I own a tracking company based in Perth WA and want to get honest views. There must be half a dozen ways to do that now. Search around, see how people are doing it, and go for it: build a better mousetrap. -- Jere Lull Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/ Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/ |
GPS Tracking for boats
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GPS Tracking for boats
" paul.delaney@affinity-
one.com.au wrote in news:1192504101.344339.124940 @t8g2000prg.googlegroups.com: Hi I am interested to hear any comments about the GPS Tracking (track your boat via PC) for boat owners small and large alike. Would this technolgy benefit owners? Does anyone already have experience of GPS Tracking? All comments welcome. I own a tracking company based in Perth WA and want to get honest views. We ham radio operators have been using vehicle tracking for years. We have tracking equipment on runners at local footraces, bike races, high altitude balloons, boats, cars, etc. Ours was invented by Bob Bruninga at the US Naval Academy, WB4APR is his ham call, hence the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) name. You can monitor packet radio activity across the planet on our little APRS system at: http://www.findu.com/ The APRS system has been expanded to also include weather station data at hams' homes, Citizen Weather Observer Program, messaging, and other data collection and distribution uses you'll read about on the pointers from the page. Boats could easily be tracked by having an HF-licensed ham aboard and broadcasting the HF packets using LSB on the upper limit of the 10.5 Mhz ham band. APRS uses 10.151 LSB so its two FSK sidebands are barely inside the band allotted. This band has very wide coverage 24/7. There is also and extensive relay network findu is connected with on the 2 meter VHF FM ham band. Google APRS to find more sights. K4HG-8 (the -8 is so we can have up to 15 unique calls on APRS from 15 unique stations per ham) is his mobile in the Florida Keys. He's one of the guys who run findu.com. The map on that page shows you his vehicle's current position. Boaters don't have to pay-pay-pay for this service anyone can track their boats with. All they need do is buy the HF/VHF ham equipment which is really cheap, a packet modem and download the free APRS software. Some ham radios are made specifically to support APRS. All you do is feed them GPS data (RMC will do) from any NMEA network and the radio will broadcast APRS, itself. Findu is free for anyone. You can even filter it to show only boats broadcasting. A huge network of findu ham-to-internet relay stations feeds it. We have one in Charleston run by the Charleston Amateur Radio Society (CARS), who also run a VHF packet relay station to expand its range. 73 DE W4CSC/MM Larry -- You can tell there's extremely intelligent life in the universe because they have never called Earth. |
GPS Tracking for boats
Great service and free. Not much of that left.
"Larry" wrote in message ... " paul.delaney@affinity- one.com.au wrote in news:1192504101.344339.124940 @t8g2000prg.googlegroups.com: Hi I am interested to hear any comments about the GPS Tracking (track your boat via PC) for boat owners small and large alike. Would this technolgy benefit owners? Does anyone already have experience of GPS Tracking? All comments welcome. I own a tracking company based in Perth WA and want to get honest views. We ham radio operators have been using vehicle tracking for years. We have tracking equipment on runners at local footraces, bike races, high altitude balloons, boats, cars, etc. Ours was invented by Bob Bruninga at the US Naval Academy, WB4APR is his ham call, hence the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) name. You can monitor packet radio activity across the planet on our little APRS system at: http://www.findu.com/ The APRS system has been expanded to also include weather station data at hams' homes, Citizen Weather Observer Program, messaging, and other data collection and distribution uses you'll read about on the pointers from the page. Boats could easily be tracked by having an HF-licensed ham aboard and broadcasting the HF packets using LSB on the upper limit of the 10.5 Mhz ham band. APRS uses 10.151 LSB so its two FSK sidebands are barely inside the band allotted. This band has very wide coverage 24/7. There is also and extensive relay network findu is connected with on the 2 meter VHF FM ham band. Google APRS to find more sights. K4HG-8 (the -8 is so we can have up to 15 unique calls on APRS from 15 unique stations per ham) is his mobile in the Florida Keys. He's one of the guys who run findu.com. The map on that page shows you his vehicle's current position. Boaters don't have to pay-pay-pay for this service anyone can track their boats with. All they need do is buy the HF/VHF ham equipment which is really cheap, a packet modem and download the free APRS software. Some ham radios are made specifically to support APRS. All you do is feed them GPS data (RMC will do) from any NMEA network and the radio will broadcast APRS, itself. Findu is free for anyone. You can even filter it to show only boats broadcasting. A huge network of findu ham-to-internet relay stations feeds it. We have one in Charleston run by the Charleston Amateur Radio Society (CARS), who also run a VHF packet relay station to expand its range. 73 DE W4CSC/MM Larry -- You can tell there's extremely intelligent life in the universe because they have never called Earth. |
GPS Tracking for boats
"jlrogers" wrote in news:sFpRi.5737
: Great service and free. Not much of that left. All services on ham radio are voluntary and always free. It's what we do best. Ask any of these cruisers who have used the message services of the 14.300 Mhz Maritime Mobile Service Net over the past decades. We are not allowed, by FCC regulations in the USA, to accept any gratuities for services rendered over ham radio. We hams wouldn't have it any other way. The phone company fought tooth and nail for decades with their FCC minions to prevent hams from making phone patches for third party persons. Some countries still have laws preventing hams from making free phone calls over their ham radio stations for 3rd parties. In times of dire emergencies, like hurricanes or earthquakes, ham radio is always the communications system that comes out of the pile.....since as far back as young ham David Sarnoff reported the SOS he heard on his ham radio from "Titanic" in 1912. Larry -- 73 DE W4CSC |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
In article ,
Larry wrote: All services on ham radio are voluntary and always free. It's what we do best. Ask any of these cruisers who have used the message services of the 14.300 Mhz Maritime Mobile Service Net over the past decades. Can you point me to a good overview list of such services in the ham community (for beginners). I never came around to do the licence, but am starting boating again. As an MSEE it is quite easy to get the ham licence - so as I do not have any plans on building tranceivers myself, I should get started quite easily. And with a Macintosh computer running OS X I do understand that quite a few services can run on it when connected to a ham radio. (If you have pointers for such sofware too :-) TIA Marc -- Switzerland/Europe http://www.heusser.com remove CHEERS and from MERCIAL to get valid e-mail |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
In article , Marc Heusser wrote:
And with a Macintosh computer running OS X I do understand that quite a few services can run on it when connected to a ham radio. (If you have pointers for such sofware too :-) I'm not a ham, but as a Linux and OS X user this is of vague interest to me (of course, this tech. applied to sailing is also of interest). Anyway, here's a link to a list of stuff that you should be able to get to work (how useful (any of) it is I can't say): http://packages.debian.org/stable/hamradio/ In case the "Debian GNU Linux" throws you, OS X is built on Unix, Linux is Unix (more or less - enough that it won't make a difference for your purposes).... but Linux != OS X (just is case you were adding two and two and making 5). Justin. -- Justin C, by the sea. |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:18:42 +0200, Marc Heusser
alid wrote: In article , Larry wrote: All services on ham radio are voluntary and always free. It's what we do best. Ask any of these cruisers who have used the message services of the 14.300 Mhz Maritime Mobile Service Net over the past decades. Can you point me to a good overview list of such services in the ham community (for beginners). I never came around to do the licence, but am starting boating again. As an MSEE it is quite easy to get the ham licence - so as I do not have any plans on building tranceivers myself, I should get started quite easily. And with a Macintosh computer running OS X I do understand that quite a few services can run on it when connected to a ham radio. (If you have pointers for such sofware too :-) Here are a few starting points: http://www.findu.com/ http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs.html http://www.winlink.org/ http://www.winlink.org/Client.htm#AirmailBookMARK |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
Marc Heusser
alid wrote in : Can you point me to a good overview list of such services in the ham community (for beginners). I never came around to do the licence, but am starting boating again. As an MSEE it is quite easy to get the ham licence - so as I do not have any plans on building tranceivers myself, I should get started quite easily. And with a Macintosh computer running OS X I do understand that quite a few services can run on it when connected to a ham radio. (If you have pointers for such sofware too :-) TIA Marc Sure, Marc. Start at www.qrz.com where there is lots of free information. I've no idea what the Swiss testing and licensing is, however. Your national prefix is HB9 and I have many Swiss friends because of a Swiss friend, Werner AA4IX who lives here. He's 83, from Steffisburg/Thun on the Thunersee in Berner Oberland. I'm sure you can find a local Swiss ham radio club to help you get into the hobby. On your boat, I highly recommend the Icom M802 marine SSB because you simply hold down a couple of buttons and turn it on to open it up for all frequencies, including ham radio use. Many boaters use ham equipment they're not supposed to for marine HF, here, because ham rigs are much cheaper. Who's going to arrest you in the middle of the Atlantic?...(c; I found this website with MAC software for ham radio: http://machamradio.com/HamsAndX.html Swiss ham radio goes way back: http://www.oneillselectronicmuseum.c...histsec_1.html Here's some more websites: http://www.eham.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._organizations I think the Swiss national ham radio organisation can help you: http://www.uska.ch/ http://www.w4mnr.com/w4mnrlinks.htm http://www.hb9drv.ch/ http://forums.ham-radio.ch/index.php? s=cf25a2958ac3f9529f331160d60dadf0 http://forums.ham-radio.ch/member.php?u=3 Best of luck to you! Ham radio means you're not alone out there. Larry -- 73 DE W4CSC Charleston, South Carolina USA http://www.qrz.com/callsign put w4csc into the callsign box...(c; |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
Justin C wrote in
: http://packages.debian.org/stable/hamradio/ Thanks for the pointer, Justin! I want to try a few of these on my new Nokia N800 Linux internet tablet....(c; Larry -- You can tell there's extremely intelligent life in the universe because they have never called Earth. |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
Thank you both, Larry and Wayne. That should get me started.
In article , Larry wrote: I've no idea what the Swiss testing and licensing is, however. Basically the same as in most countries. There is a beginners licence, and a full licence (CEPT). As an MSEE you do not have to pass any technical exam (where there is a difference between beginners and full licence), just 50 pages of regulations, which are the same for both. So in essence it only requires to learn some 100 or 200 items of regulatory rules, that's it. Marc -- Switzerland/Europe http://www.heusser.com remove CHEERS and from MERCIAL to get valid e-mail |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
Marc Heusser
alid wrote in : As an MSEE you do not have to pass any technical exam (where there is a difference between beginners and full licence), just 50 pages of regulations, which are the same for both. So in essence it only requires to learn some 100 or 200 items of regulatory rules, that's it. In the US, they don't care if you have PhDEE, you take the test. At least they've stopped with the stupid Morse testing that's like making you show them you know how to ride a horse before they let you take the driver's test for cars..... Larry -- You can tell there's extremely intelligent life in the universe because they have never called Earth. |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
In article ,
Larry wrote: In the US, they don't care if you have PhDEE, you take the test. Am I glad US and Switzerland seem to recognize each other's licences, should I ever get to US again :-) Marc -- Switzerland/Europe http://www.heusser.com remove CHEERS and from MERCIAL to get valid e-mail |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
If you use AirMail or SailMail you can file position reports generated by
your GPS data automatically. See http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/index.php and/or www.SailMail.com YotReps also has software that will generate correctly formatted reports via other e-mail systems. I've also written my own tracking software which utilizes the same log format as YotReps and displays them on google maps as shown at http://www.geoffschultz.org/Position_Map.php -- Geoff |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
Marc Heusser alid wrote
in : Am I glad US and Switzerland seem to recognize each other's licences, should I ever get to US again :-) Marc Yes, my friend Werner, AA4IX, has many Swiss friends who grace us with their presence during the year from the Thun - Interlaken area. They all get reciprocal licensing when they come over to visit. Sometimes, they even take pity on us ugly Americans and say something in English, not Thuner Country German even my friends from Bonn have trouble understanding...(c; When I first got Werner on the internet, the first email I sent him had some Thun URLs for him to explore back home. Three of them were brothels with webpages!....(c; Larry -- Some of those girls looked pretty good! |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
Geoff Schultz wrote in
: If you use AirMail or SailMail you can file position reports generated by your GPS data automatically. See http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/index.php and/or www.SailMail.com YotReps also has software that will generate correctly formatted reports via other e-mail systems. I've also written my own tracking software which utilizes the same log format as YotReps and displays them on google maps as shown at http://www.geoffschultz.org/Position_Map.php -- Geoff The boat I've been installing new gear into will join the Caribbean 1500 race to Tortola as it passes Charleston, they hope, in the Jeanneau 40 "Dress Parade". They got some kind of position reporting gadget from the race committee that will show their position 6 times a day over the webpage: http://www.carib1500.com/ but I haven't seen it, yet. They're taking an Iridium phone with them that belongs to the bank president down E-dock for calling home. It should be interesting to see how this carib1500.com system works. Larry -- You can tell there's extremely intelligent life in the universe because they have never called Earth. |
GPS Tracking for boats - ham radio
On Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:47:50 +0000, Larry wrote:
The boat I've been installing new gear into will join the Caribbean 1500 race to Tortola as it passes Charleston, they hope, in the Jeanneau 40 "Dress Parade". They got some kind of position reporting gadget from the race committee that will show their position 6 times a day Many of the big time sailing races have started using tracking devices on all boats. The results that I've seen have been impressive. There is another APRS/Airmail/Sailmail/etc. site that I like: www.shiptrak.org It displays a good zoomable graphic of all position reports and gives you a text log at the bottom. I cut and paste our position log into a spreadsheet every now and then to save it. |
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