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OK..... tell me more. What class ham license do I need?

John Severyn
KLVK Livermore, Ca.


Just a technician license, which is entry level. (novice no longer
exists for new licenses). If you are knowledgeable about radio
communications you could even possibly pass the test cold turkey. But
there are enough specific knowledge items there that most of the time
you will need to study a bit to pass.

Morse Code is no longer required to obtain a Tech license

Lets not kid ourselves here. What we are essentially doing is using APRS
as an equivalent to "flight following" in the commercial (as opposed to
ATC sense). Another party is able to track your progress and if you are
overdue, able to use your last known position as the starting point to
initiate a search or report you missing.

APRS (automated packet/position reporting system) is nice for this
purpose, and when the digipeaters are networked onto the net, the data
is accessible to all. for free.

Its not perfect. There IS a limit to the amount of traffic it can carry,
and these limits are reached quite often because of the way individuals
configure their own APRS beacons. This results in lost data and less
than continuous tracking. Its not perfect. As few as 100 users in a
region can saturate the system. The issue is a result of indiscriminate
"repeating" of messages 2 or 3 or more times when one will suffice.
There is no regulatory guidance on this issue, so you are at the mercy
of your peers. BUT.. even if only one out of every 3-4 burst goes
through, thats better than nothing, with regards to a starting point.

If you are flying in a straight line, its pretty easy to look at the
track and know where to look for someone.

One limiting factor is that there is usually but ONE frequency available
for APRS use, and if I am not mistaken this is not necessarily uniform
across the country. So you have to know, and keep up with any frequency
changes in order to enable this flight following.

I'm new to HAM radio.. got my ticket this spring, and obtained it for
one purpose - to be in communication as a motorcycle marshal escort for
charity bike rides. Our rides go into the country, cell phones are
spotty, but Amatuer bands enable communications continuity, and dont
need to rent public safety/business band radios. APRS allows us to track
key vehicles and marshals. I dont rag chew. I dont do any of the field
days. Dont belong to the ham club. I do HAM on the motorcycle during
rides only.

If your radio is not APRS-ready out of the box (look for the term TNC as
part of installed equipment), you will need an external TNC (terminal
node controller). Tiny Trak is about the size of a pager, and hugely
capable. Kingwood has 2 packet-ready (tnc installed radios), the TM-D700
which is a dash mount and there is a handheld that I believe is a TH-D7
or something like that. Give it an NMEA gps data stream and you are in
business.


Dave