[OZAPRS] Supporting APRS in VK6

[Chris Hill]

Hi All,

This email is primarily of interest to amateurs in VK6...

As you may know, APRS in VK6 has had a relatively slow start, but now
seems
to have reached an early form of "critical mass". 
(http://map.findu.com/vk6* currently shows 12 VK6 callsigns...  compared
to
50 for VK3).  The success so far has largely been due to the efforts of
individual amateurs, such as VK6ZTN and VK6HGR.

Apart from the effort of finding good sites for digipeaters, and supplying
and configuring the equipment, there is also a need to fund the ongoing
license costs, and in some cases, contribute towards the power bill.

To help meet these costs, and develop a long-term sustainable APRS
infrastructure, APRS activities in VK6 really need an organizational
"home".
A while ago, I raised this with the Western Australian VHF Group Inc ("the
VHF Group"), and it was decided that, "Yes, APRS has a home within the VHF
Group". (I'm the treasurer of the group...  they must have been
desperate).

Traditionally, the VHF Group has developed and maintained beacons on 6m,
2m,
70cm, 23cm, 5cm and 3cm (with beacons for 13cm and 24GHz in development).
Indeed, the VHF Group is the largest licensee of amateur beacons in
Australia!  Supporting a VHF service such as APRS is completely within the
Group's aims (even if APRS is primarily FM-based).

With a bit of luck, you should see a new APRS digipeater pop up "somewhere
down south" before Christmas, which, together with VK6KSB-1, should give
reliable coverage all the way from Perth to Busselton...  not bad!

Anyway, if you are an APRS operator in VK6, or thinking about getting
around
to it, please demonstrate your support for the VHF Group's backing of APRS
as a "mode of the future", and:

1.  Get on air and start sending APRS packets!, and

2.  Download the membership form, and send your $20 in...  more members
means more enthusiasm, and confirms that the demand for APRS services is
real, rather than just my personal wish-list!


You can get the membership form at:
http://vhf.wirelessplanet.com.au/Membership/Membership.htm

... or .pdf version at:
http://vhf.wirelessplanet.com.au/Membership/Membership.pdf 



Thanks for your time...  hope to see you on APRS soon!


73,




Chris
vk6kch




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