DSTAR and/or APRS Upgrade Questions

[Glenn Dixon]

So I have a new car, and I left my old Larsen antenna mount/cable in the old one I just sold. I'm thinking about upgrading by either adding equipment to my existing radio (Yaesu FT7800) or getting a new radio. I'd like to get other chaser's thoughts on which features would be useful vs. frivolous.

DSTAR - I guess this is the first main decision point. My local county amateur association is active, growing, and has a buttload of DSTAR repeater equipment up and running. But I guess I still can't wrap my mind around what I'd use it for. Are there any advantages to chasers?

APRS - while putting my own location out there has obvious benefit when I spot, I'm not so sure about when I chase. Just so other chasers at home can see me on a map? Is there any way for us chasers to see each other, and would this require cellular tethering and my laptop?

I guess those are my main questions for now. Any help is appreciated.

 

[John Wetter]

First on D-Star, if there is a large local following, then I guess it might be nice, but that's really a personal decision. I don't know of any chase-related reason to have it. There are some local people starting to do some D-Star stuff, but I still can't find a real reason to use it from a chasing or Skywarn perspective.

As far as APRS, again, probably not a lot of chase need. It would be all for the position reporting, which if you will have internet, can just as easily be done with the SN client. This is how chasers see each other if they want to be seen.

I'll say, I have a data card, and on the ham side, I've never thought 'oh, only if I had gotten a D-Star radio' or, 'oh, I wish I had APRS right now'...

 

[Steve Polley]

I tend to agree with John on the aspect "wishing" you had DStar or APRS while chasing. As far as DStar is concerned, it is very overpriced, mostly sparcely utilized and limited to a couple of manufacturers. DStar to my knowledge is a digital mode so there would be advantages there. I would stick with analog equipment that is still widely used to have as backup communications to interent reports. Also, APRS is a nice to have not a need to have item. The local skywarn group here uses APRS extensively during severe weather events. Also, Kansas has a nice network of digipeaters that utilize the APRS network. I guess if I had to have just one of the modes, it would be APRS.

Just my thoughts

 

[Glenn Dixon]

So mostly for spotting or local work, not so much for chasing. OK, that's kinda what I've been thinking but I really appreciate the confirmation!

 

[Benjamin Rock]

i have a Icom 2820h and 92AD both D-Star and DPRS/APRS. Now the advantage on D-Star is it's digital and offers more clarity over a farther distance than conventional analog radios. However, it has that cell phone sound to it. That distorted gonna lose the call sound when you get further away from a repeater or other radio. It's nice to have, but during a chase or spotting, most communties are on VHF/UHF. Digital is pointless for that as it is unintelligible on analog. If you are with a group that has D-Star radios, you could operate on simplex with each other to a greater distance than analog.
VHF/UHF will get you about 15-20miles line of sight and D-Star about 30. Not too impressive overrall. Basically, it falls under the "nice to have if needed category"

As for APRS/DPRS, this is great for when you want to track other and have them track you. Otherwise, falls under the same category as above..

I have used both regularly and enjoyed them, but in the real world, neither are necessary, but are nice to have if you want and can afford them.. Hope that helps.

 

[Jesse Risley]

I currently run mobile APRS on a Kenwood TM-D700, but digipeater coverage is sparse in many areas. If other hams/chasers are running APRS, you can see their location and send and receive messages. With modern communications methods, it's becoming less useful for the masses save for a data outage. It's something that few other chasers actually use as far as I can tell. However, you can use APRS to track your Spotter Network position, but it will not relay SVR reports.

D-STAR is up and coming but most folks are not using it (yet). I've not heard of anyone using it while chasing, unless they are wanting more privacy on simplex. As far as I know, there are few, if any, SKYWARN nets that use D-STAR capabilities as of right now. I look for this to be an up and coming mode of communication, and it will likely become more widespread amongst the ham community in the coming decade.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Don't worry about D-STAR. It's 'cool' but not very practical yet.

Seriously, the best rig you can get for a mobile spotting/chasing purposes right now is the Kenwood TM-D710A with the byonics GPS2 and the kenwood kit. It'll cost you $100 for the GPS/APRS setup, and about 550-590 for the radio.

 

[Glenn Dixon]

As a follow-up, picked up a used D700 with Deluo GPS and all cables at the Irving Hamfest on Saturday ($475) - have APRS running on Band A, talking on B, tracking on the usual web sites. I'm a happy camper!

Plus - been reading on a lot of extra APRS uses/features. Most are not practical except in cases of big emergencies, but fun to play with nonetheless.

 

[John Wetter]

Sounds like a good start Glenn! APRS has plenty of things to play with before you get in to any other modes. My main worry right now is that with D-Star, people are still trying to figure out how exactly areas are going to implement it and what the network purpose will really be. In many cases it's a very closed network for emergency preparedness. There have also already been a couple generations of the equipment so at this point from an investment perspective, I'd hate to buy one and then 5 years from now you'd get an 'oh, you have that older one, so you can't use feature X, Y, or Z."

APRS networks are fairly well built out in many areas and almost all of them are in range of an iGate now, so getting the data on the net is easy which opens up even more applications.

A dual band radio is also a good move. I went that route and haven't looked back.

 

[Glenn Dixon]

Thanks John. I think the final straw was the price of an iCom 2820h with the UT-123 option which has built-in APRS - $850 used, and you lose APRS if you aren't near a DSTAR repeater. I'm not ready to spend more for niche features that DSTAR brings.

I'm also pumped about a lot of stuff this guy talks about:

AJ3U

 

[Jesse Risley]

I have to plug APRS again. I traveled from W. Illinois to Phoenix over the weekend. While I was quite frequently within range of a digipeater, and the TM-D700 worked flawlessly, I never heard a soul on any of the calling frequencies during the entire trip.