Bill Frovik, that is the SainSonic AVRT5 that I'm referring to. Several folks I've talked to in the field appreciate the fact that it is a simple, purpose built device that they can set to digipeat fairly easily. The team I'm on looked hard at it but just couldn't pull the trigger for 1 watt.
It's also called the AP510. It's an impressive unit. Granted it's 1 watt, but in central california (very flat) I can hit digipeaters 60 miles to the east AND 60 miles to the west. It's made by Sainsmart, but often the brand name isn't mentioned in listing. There's a similar newer unit called the PicoAPRS which is similar, smaller, but more expensive. The other product mentioned are the Kenwood TH-D72A and the Yaesu FT2DR. There's also a newer Kenwood TH-D74A which looks promising.
Great presentation. Sometimes in search and rescue we are fortunate to have volunteers who are not licensed amateurs. The Garmin Rino’s are a great GMRS radio with built in GPS mapping. You are correct, up until now their greatest drawback was the very poor fixed antenna. Now that the FCC forbids GMRS 5 watt radios to be combined with FRS we hope that Garmin moves to a better removable antenna for field operations and base operations. Attached to a laptop Garmin uses a program called Base Camp which plots their radios on a full sized map in real time. With a good antenna in the field and at base this is a very robust system for the 2-5 mile range.
Another option that I am really liking that doesn't require an amateur radio license is the program Team Awareness Kit. If you are beyond the reach of cellular, each smartphone can be paired with a goTenna Pro X running on VHF or UHF frequencies.
Dallas, let me give you a perspective of a search manager. I have not found that I need "real time" locations of the teams that I send out. I know where they should be based on the areas that they were assigned. True, that if they leave this area, I won't know that until they get back and their GPS tracks are downloaded. But it is common for areas to be researched because of information acquired during the course of a search or different assets being used. So it is not clear that APRS would eliminate the need to research an area. If you are working with a trained searcher, someone trained on the use of reading and using a GPS and reading and using a topo map, this issues of a team leaving their assigned area is reduced. APRS also adds to another piece of equipment to the mix. Now the search team not only needs to carry a GPS, a radio for SAR comms, and the rest of their SAR gear, but they also need a APRS device. There is also an added cost to purchase the APRS units, and having a reasonable number of them to be of any use on a search. It also seems like APRS is too dependent on the internet to view the map with all the various APRS icons on it. Internet access is not always something you have on a search, especially in remote parts of the country, where a lot of searches take place. You mentioned redirecting a team in progress to go to another location. We do this now without APRS. We radio the team closest to the place we want to search and tell them to relocate to a given location. Typically on a search the number of people in incident command is extremely limited. Usually those that are in IC have to wear multiple hats. Using APRS would now need someone to monitor a screen to watch the icons of the various teams. In the portion that goes over the importance of the antenna and the power output, you talk about the need for an external antenna and higher power output. How would you achieve this with a hand held radio? A larger antenna can be attached to a handheld but how do you boost the power output? I can see that you have put a lot of effort into this presentation and I can see all of the positives that you mentioned. There just seems like a lot of moving parts. What are your thoughts on this? Is this something that you are using in search and rescue where you live? If so, what has your experience been so far?
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Outstanding presentation. Please update as you see fit. This is an excellent video to train new users of ARPS and SAR folks.
Fantastic presentation. Lots of great information.
Very detailed and informative. Thanks.
Thank you for the informing video, Can you please give information how to send emails and SMS using APRS.
73
Ian
You knocked this one out of the park! Great presentation! Thanks for sharing.
Vy good. 73 de DL7BCU
Just was able to make SARtrack operational with my system. Impressive system for SAR.
Can one use the Yaesu F2DR handheld for SAR
Wayne McCourt, yes, but keep in mind that a HT won't go more than 1-2 miles in the woods if a digipeater at height isn't employed.
Dallas Clements thank you I am so New , I don’t know where to begin
Good stuff. Thanks
excellent thank you, could you spell out some of name s of the last few units you were talking about, somethin sonic...?
Bill Frovik, that is the SainSonic AVRT5 that I'm referring to. Several folks I've talked to in the field appreciate the fact that it is a simple, purpose built device that they can set to digipeat fairly easily. The team I'm on looked hard at it but just couldn't pull the trigger for 1 watt.
It's also called the AP510. It's an impressive unit. Granted it's 1 watt, but in central california (very flat) I can hit digipeaters 60 miles to the east AND 60 miles to the west. It's made by Sainsmart, but often the brand name isn't mentioned in listing. There's a similar newer unit called the PicoAPRS which is similar, smaller, but more expensive. The other product mentioned are the Kenwood TH-D72A and the Yaesu FT2DR. There's also a newer Kenwood TH-D74A which looks promising.
Great presentation. Sometimes in search and rescue we are fortunate to have volunteers who are not licensed amateurs. The Garmin Rino’s are a great GMRS radio with built in GPS mapping. You are correct, up until now their greatest drawback was the very poor fixed antenna. Now that the FCC forbids GMRS 5 watt radios to be combined with FRS we hope that Garmin moves to a better removable antenna for field operations and base operations. Attached to a laptop Garmin uses a program called Base Camp which plots their radios on a full sized map in real time. With a good antenna in the field and at base this is a very robust system for the 2-5 mile range.
Another option that I am really liking that doesn't require an amateur radio license is the program Team Awareness Kit. If you are beyond the reach of cellular, each smartphone can be paired with a goTenna Pro X running on VHF or UHF frequencies.
Thanks
...well done, thanks a lot for this information!
Excellent video....thanks
Very informative, thank you.
Thanks for your work.
Dallas, let me give you a perspective of a search manager. I have not found that I need "real time" locations of the teams that I send out. I know where they should be based on the areas that they were assigned. True, that if they leave this area, I won't know that until they get back and their GPS tracks are downloaded. But it is common for areas to be researched because of information acquired during the course of a search or different assets being used. So it is not clear that APRS would eliminate the need to research an area. If you are working with a trained searcher, someone trained on the use of reading and using a GPS and reading and using a topo map, this issues of a team leaving their assigned area is reduced. APRS also adds to another piece of equipment to the mix. Now the search team not only needs to carry a GPS, a radio for SAR comms, and the rest of their SAR gear, but they also need a APRS device. There is also an added cost to purchase the APRS units, and having a reasonable number of them to be of any use on a search. It also seems like APRS is too dependent on the internet to view the map with all the various APRS icons on it. Internet access is not always something you have on a search, especially in remote parts of the country, where a lot of searches take place. You mentioned redirecting a team in progress to go to another location. We do this now without APRS. We radio the team closest to the place we want to search and tell them to relocate to a given location. Typically on a search the number of people in incident command is extremely limited. Usually those that are in IC have to wear multiple hats. Using APRS would now need someone to monitor a screen to watch the icons of the various teams. In the portion that goes over the importance of the antenna and the power output, you talk about the need for an external antenna and higher power output. How would you achieve this with a hand held radio? A larger antenna can be attached to a handheld but how do you boost the power output? I can see that you have put a lot of effort into this presentation and I can see all of the positives that you mentioned. There just seems like a lot of moving parts. What are your thoughts on this? Is this something that you are using in search and rescue where you live? If so, what has your experience been so far?
APRS does not need the internet for ANYTHING outside of getting the application and the map in the first place.