APRS - today tracking on the Sierras

[CindyB[_2_]]

Many contests in the US have offered flight real time tracking using
SPOT.
We like amateur radio APRS tracking better.

If you would like to see why we have a preference, use this web site

www.aprs.fi

and enter the following four call signs.

Track Call Signs:

KI6RFR-7, KI6RFQ-7, KM6TS-7, KG6UNS-7


RFR-7 is Marty in 11W, his AS-W 27
RFQ is Milan P in Discus B '17'
6TS is Paul Quick in his SZD - 55
6UNS is Jim Staniforth in his AS-W 27

These pilots are all using two-meter amateur radio transmitters and
the
APRS packet reporting system.

You can expand or reduce the displayed flight time period, you can
slide the map around
with the hand tool, and change scale of map display, or delete or
include 'other or All' call signs.
There is a history function under the year display, select month and
date.

Have fun watching, as it looks like a ripping day.
We will likely have several folks flying tomorrow too.

Cindy
the tow pilot/crew

www.caracole-soaring.com

[cfinn]

I'm curious about which radios and antennas you are using. I agree
that APRS beats Spot unless you happen to be in one of the few places
where you can't reach a repeater. Then Spot's satellite radio comes
into play. The updates, display, and information is way above Spot
maps and of course it is free.

Charlie

[CindyB[_2_]]

On Jul 6, 2:37*pm, cfinn > wrote:
> I'm curious about which radios and antennas you are using. I agree
> that APRS beats Spot unless you happen to be in one of the few places
> where you can't reach a repeater. Then Spot's satellite radio comes
> into play. The updates, display, and information is way above Spot
> maps and of course it is free.
>
> Charlie


Tiny Tracker 3 is the transmitter, 10 watts out, with a stubby duckie
antenna.
A local pilot here will make them for people who already have an
amateur call sign,
and will pre-program them with Smart Beaconing ( no signal while
thermalling) and the
reporting interval you like. We choose three minutes for good
continuity and perhaps
search response to a smaller area late in the day. Handy Hams can
reprogram
through the serial port as needed.

The US repeater coverage is very good, even in the remote, wild wooly
west.

Email me privately if interested, and I can pass through a reference.

Cindy B
www.caracole-soaring.com

[betwys1]

On 7/6/2010 7:12 PM, CindyB wrote:
> On Jul 6, 2:37 pm, > wrote:
>> I'm curious about which radios and antennas you are using. I agree
>> that APRS beats Spot unless you happen to be in one of the few places
>> where you can't reach a repeater. Then Spot's satellite radio comes
>> into play. The updates, display, and information is way above Spot
>> maps and of course it is free.
>>
>> Charlie
>
>
> Tiny Tracker 3 is the transmitter, 10 watts out, with a stubby duckie
> antenna.
> A local pilot here will make them for people who already have an
> amateur call sign,
> and will pre-program them with Smart Beaconing ( no signal while
> thermalling) and the
> reporting interval you like. We choose three minutes for good
> continuity and perhaps
> search response to a smaller area late in the day. Handy Hams can
> reprogram
> through the serial port as needed.
>
> The US repeater coverage is very good, even in the remote, wild wooly
> west.
>
> Email me privately if interested, and I can pass through a reference.
>
> Cindy B
> www.caracole-soaring.com
>
If this seems like a worthwhile gadget to you, I suggest you need not be
offput by the ham license requirement.
These days, a ham test does NOT include morse, and the technical level
is not beyond what you might review online in a week or two prior to a
local test.

Brian W

[cfinn]

On Jul 6, 8:22*pm, betwys1 > wrote:
> On 7/6/2010 7:12 PM, CindyB wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Jul 6, 2:37 pm, > *wrote:
> >> I'm curious about which radios and antennas you are using. I agree
> >> that APRS beats Spot unless you happen to be in one of the few places
> >> where you can't reach a repeater. Then Spot's satellite radio comes
> >> into play. The updates, display, and information is way above Spot
> >> maps and of course it is free.
>
> >> Charlie
>
> > Tiny Tracker 3 is the transmitter, 10 watts out, with a stubby duckie
> > antenna.
> > A local pilot here will make them for people who already have an
> > amateur call sign,
> > and will pre-program them with Smart Beaconing ( no signal while
> > thermalling) and the
> > reporting interval you like. *We choose three minutes for good
> > continuity and perhaps
> > search response to a smaller area late in the day. *Handy Hams can
> > reprogram
> > through the serial port as needed.
>
> > The US repeater coverage is very good, even in the remote, wild wooly
> > west.
>
> > Email me privately if interested, and I can pass through a reference.
>
> > Cindy B
> >www.caracole-soaring.com
>
> If this seems like a worthwhile gadget to you, I suggest you need not be
> offput by the ham license requirement.
> These days, a ham test does NOT include morse, and the technical level
> is not beyond what you might review online in a week or two prior to a
> local test.
>
> Brian W- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

No problem Brian. You're correct, it isn't difficult to get. I got my
Novice license in '58 and have held an Advanced ticket for 40 years.

Charlie

[betwys1]

On 7/6/2010 7:38 PM, cfinn wrote:
/snip/
> On Jul 6, 8:22 pm, > wrote:
>> On 7/6/2010 7:12 PM, CindyB wrote:
>>
>>

>>> The US repeater coverage is very good, even in the remote, wild wooly
>>> west.
>>
>>> Email me privately if interested, and I can pass through a reference.
>>
>>> Cindy B
>>> www.caracole-soaring.com
>>
>> If this seems like a worthwhile gadget to you, I suggest you need not be
>> offput by the ham license requirement.
>> These days, a ham test does NOT include morse, and the technical level
>> is not beyond what you might review online in a week or two prior to a
>> local test.
>>
>> Brian W- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> No problem Brian. You're correct, it isn't difficult to get. I got my
> Novice license in '58 and have held an Advanced ticket for 40 years.
>
> Charlie


Hey Charlie,
I received a private note intimating that a ham license obtained or used
for this purpose might run counter to some FCC rule or other.

I don't see it. Do you?

Brian W

[cfinn]

> Hey Charlie,
> I received a private note intimating that a ham license obtained or used
> for this purpose might run counter to some FCC rule or other.
>
> I don't see it. Do you?
>
> Brian W- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I don't see how as long as the pilot is the holder of the radio
license and is in control of the transmitter.

Charlie

[Jack Hamilton]

On Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:46:36 -0500, betwys1 >
wrote:

>On 7/6/2010 7:38 PM, cfinn wrote:
>/snip/
>> On Jul 6, 8:22 pm, > wrote:
>>> On 7/6/2010 7:12 PM, CindyB wrote:
>>>
>>>
>
>>>> The US repeater coverage is very good, even in the remote, wild wooly
>>>> west.
>>>
>>>> Email me privately if interested, and I can pass through a reference.
>>>
>>>> Cindy B
>>>> www.caracole-soaring.com
>>>
>>> If this seems like a worthwhile gadget to you, I suggest you need not be
>>> offput by the ham license requirement.
>>> These days, a ham test does NOT include morse, and the technical level
>>> is not beyond what you might review online in a week or two prior to a
>>> local test.
>>>
>>> Brian W- Hide quoted text -
>>>
>>> - Show quoted text -
>>
>> No problem Brian. You're correct, it isn't difficult to get. I got my
>> Novice license in '58 and have held an Advanced ticket for 40 years.
>>
>> Charlie
>
>
>Hey Charlie,
>I received a private note intimating that a ham license obtained or used
>for this purpose might run counter to some FCC rule or other.
>
>I don't see it. Do you?

The rule that amateur radio operators might run into is the prohibition
against commercial use. Professional glider pilots can't use amateur
radio as part of their job, any more than commercial airline pilots can.
That might apply if to amateur pilots if there's prize money involved. A
gliderport, even a non-profit club, might not be able to set up a radio
repeater for use by its customers, because it could potentially result
in income or compensation.

I'm not an expert on this - I just know what I read in QST - and I
suspect that if you asked three different real experts you'd get three
different answers about what's OK and what's not. But if the on-air use
of the amateur radio results in income, it's arguably a violation.

It doesn't sound to me like the use described earlier falls into this
category, but if there's money (or non-monetary compensation) involved,
you should be careful.

[Chris Reed[_2_]]

Jack Hamilton wrote:
>
> The rule that amateur radio operators might run into is the prohibition
> against commercial use. <snip>
> That might apply if to amateur pilots if there's prize money involved.

If you can identify the winner of a gliding competition who didn't make
a substantial loss, we should all club together and erect a statue to
that person!

[CindyB[_2_]]

>
> The rule that amateur radio operators might run into is the prohibition
> against commercial use.
snip
> I suspect that if you asked three different real experts you'd get three
> different answers about what's OK and what's not. *But if the on-air use
> of the amateur radio results in income, it's arguably a violation.
>
> It doesn't sound to me like the use described earlier falls into this
> category, but if there's money (or non-monetary compensation) involved,
> you should be careful. *

Good grief.

We use these radios to entertain ourselves, engage our crews, and to
provide
some flight safety/emergency response at very low cost, with
information
available to the people most motivated to respond in an emergency.
(That would be our fellow pilots . . . . )

Think what this could have meant in shortening location time in
Slovenia
this week. Terrain and forest meant the folks overhead couldn't find
an airframe.
Had an APRS-radio continued to do it's job, folks would have been able
to
respond to the location immediately by GPS coordinates.

I wish folks weren't in such a hurry to rush out with 'prohibitions
and
cautions', when the intention was simply to provide exposure to
another useful tool for pilots who choose to be licensed radio
operators. It turns out that there are many folks in US soaring who
are also licensed amateur radio operators.

You can choose to watch a given geographic area, and see
ALL the active transmitters, whether sailboats, hikers, cars/trucks or
aircraft through the web site. I simply provided a list of
preselected
radio call signs, to watch some call-signs on the move.

Technology and software currently exists to have mapping displays
in the 'cabin' to display APRS data, like ATC displays transponder
returns, like FLARM displays relative targets. Is this useful?
I don't know.

I'm not trying to make a buck off this. I'm just spreading
information.
Folks with more radio and technology savvy than I have might
take something from this and make a more useful product.

Hoping to fly with my KI6RFR-7 tomorrow.

Cindy
www.caracole-soaring.com