[OZAPRS] Other uses for Packet (was Re: Melbourne APRS Digipeater Status)

[Richard Murnane]

On 25/03/2011, at 8:59 PM, Andrew Rich wrote:

> Can u think of other uses for packet than exist at the moment ?

I don't know if that question was directed specifically at me or the  
group... but I'll have a go if it will help prompt more discussion.

But I guess if we generalise the notion of packet radio, we have a box  
that can send and receive data over the air, via an attached  
transceiver of course. Bob Bruninga derived APRS from that: if I  
recall, his initial aim was to disseminate telemetry from remote  
locations. Which is one, but obviously not the only, use of packet and  
APRS specifically.

We could ponder what other kinds of data would be useful or  
interesting to send via packet, though APRS covers many of the bases.

I saw an interesting article on eHam.net yesterday: "Run Your Radio as  
WSPR Beacon When Idle" (http://www.eham.net/articles/25593). WSPR is  
the Weak Signal Propagation Report Network: it uses RTTY and PSK.  
Arguably packet might prove more reliable, at least as far as data  
transfer is concerned, though it's not so hot for weak signal work.

As Howard VK4BS has mentioned (while I've been slowly typing my  
reply :-), it can be useful for those rare occasions when the phone  
network is down.

Interestingly, in the wake of the Sendai quake and tsunami, and the  
Christchurch quake, voice networks were down or clogged (possibly  
reverting to emergency-only voice traffic), internet connections were  
still available, so things like Twitter could be used for other  
traffic. If the phone system got really buggered, radio might be the  
only means left, though these days you'd have to be talking some truly  
serious damage to get to that stage. Still, Twitter is just a short  
message service, not entirely unlike packet, where the 1200bps data  
rate demands brevity (that's not an excuse to stay at that low speed,  
mind!)

The other thing that struck me at Sendai was that people were still  
using physical notice boards to post messages about loved ones etc. I  
wonder if there was any formal Disaster Victim Registration in place.  
For that matter, is there any good packet radio DVR software out  
there? Even a smart phone app? I know Google Latitude can help people  
keep track of one another, but it's not the same.

73 Richard VK2SKY