APRS Death

[C2]

With aps like FirePin and others that use our commercial cellular network, would it seem that applications that APRS provide are now reasonably accomodated via commercial means?

 

[W5LZ]

"reasonably accomodated via commercial means?"
I'm sorry, but what has that got to do with anything? Is there anything that hobby radio does that isn't possible to do through some other commercial means? Using APRS I put together a means of doing the same thing that 'Delorme's 'Street Atlas' does. 'Delorme's thingy was sure cheaper, but I feel good about being able to put something like that together that does almost exactly the same thing. It does what I want to do, and ~I~ did it. Not that anyone else can't do the same thing if they want to. Makes for a very nice sense of accomplishment. Besides, I think it's fun.
I don't think I'm going to sell all my radio stuff just because a cell phone will do the same things. 'They' are copying 'us', not the other way around.
- 'Doc

 

[C2]

I'm just sayin...

I'm sure that your thing, whatever it does, does something that Delorme's street atlas doesn't, and I'm more certain that Delorme's street atlas does quite a bit more than what your thing does.

In another context (mostly non-amateur radio), we were discussing APRS and it's tracking capabilities with aprs.fi and someone injected firepin and asked why bother? So the dosen or so leads flushed the amateur radio idea for a commercial service that is a lot easier to get into.

I don;t always remember everything that can be done with a particular technology, but thought I might get some interesting conversation going to relay...

 

[Moleculo]

That Firepin app looks interesting. It looks to me like you will need to have a phone with an internet data plan to make it work. That can be a problem in some locations. Of course, APRS coverage an be spotty, too.

One thing that APRS can do is keep location and messaging services available between two radios without the help of a digipeater. There are certainly a few applications where you might want to do that without having to rely on the cell networks.