4 ms·

Do you hike? Even around the most popular areas in the USA (Yosemite, YellowStone, Tahoe, and many other national parks) it's pretty easy to get out of cell ra

by sliken 5y ago

Do you hike? Even around the most popular areas in the USA (Yosemite, YellowStone, Tahoe, and many other national parks) it's pretty easy to get out of cell range. Similar with major highways, 5 in california is pretty good, but it's easy to not have a signal on 80 or 70 as you cross the country. I lost my dog and decided to track her, and all the systems I could find (up to $1,000) were either cellular or pretty much line of site. Ham APRS was AMAZINGLY better than anything commercial I could find. It does direct connections for decent range, but also there's surprisingly good APRS coverage using existing repeaters in the areas I hike in. http://aprs.fi http://aprs.fi allows global tracking if an APRS widget world wide, and trackers that fit in a dog collar are common and don't carry a monthly subscription fee.

silisili 5y ago
Can you elaborate on these trackers, how they work, and where to purchase? I've been looking for the past couple years for something like this I think.
- sliken 5y ago
  Here's one: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/wmo-picoaprs https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/wmo-picoaprs You can buy similar in board form, popular among the high altitude balloon communities. I use one on my dog's collar and my 2m radio will show me an arrow and distance to the dog. As a bonus I can call family/friend and have them check the world wide APRS map to see if the dog has gone near a repeater. It's also handy to check the weather, there's quite a few weather stations about and in the mountains the local forecast can be unreliable and a weather station that's MUCH closer than the nearest city can provide handy info on quickly changing weather conditions.
tinus_hn 5y ago
Satellite connectivity is probably going to make that problem a thing of the past in the very near future.
mmaunder 5y ago
I do. And I live on Orcas Island, so lets use that as an example. We have repeaters on Mt Constitution which is 2300 ft. I live right next to it and I'm in shadow for repeater coverage. When we hike the lakes in the area, we also can't see the repeater, or each other thanks to topography. HF gear is too bulky to take with - even the QRP gear, and who has time to throw an antenna over a tree. Trust me, I want to believe. But the only practical use that my wife (KF1J) and me (WT1J) have for our ham gear is in the rare case where I'm on the boat far away from her and out of cell coverage and need to check in via the HF bands. I'm almost never away from cell coverage. For transoceanic stuff, that is still a common case, but it will soon be better served by portable global internet.
GekkePrutser 5y ago
I'm a Ham radio operator and when I hike I bring a Garmin InReach Mini. I might bring a portable too but just for fun, not with any expectations in terms of emergencies. It's a much better tool for the job. And unlike personal locator beacons it can also handle short personal messages. And it's far from $1000 (around $300 and the service from $15 monthly) and really portable. For real emergencies a PLB is arguably better (and doesn't require a paid subscription) but you have to be conscious to activate it. The Garmin can send regular breadcrumbs without triggering an emergency so they will at least know where you were headed. If you are conscious it also allows you to communicate with the rescue operators. Ham radio is great but not meant to be reliable. It's about experimentation with technology and the sport of making long distance connections. It's not about a reliable rescue service even though it is very useful in emergencies.
- sliken 5y ago
  Heh, sure, but are you going to teach your dog how to use the InReach Mini? I had a previous Garmin, worked reasonably ... if there was a cell signal. The battery died, Garmin wouldn't sell me a new one, and the replacement unit increased the monthly cost by 3x. With APRS I can find my dog, no monthly, and in large outdoor areas APRS has MUCH better coverage than cell.
linsomniac 5y ago
Yeah, but I hike with people who aren't HAMs. So, a GMRS/FRS set of HT radios is sooooo easy. Even has worked surprisingly well between cars in canyons along I-70 with no line of sight.
- sliken 5y ago
  Heh, try a 2M radio with a mag mount antenna on the roof. Even without repeaters I've been impressed with the range. The amateur radio tech license is really easy, I'd say about half is common sense along the lines of do no harm, just an evening or two of studying to get enough of the 30 ish multiple choice questions to pass.

by sliken 5y ago

silisili 5y ago

Can you elaborate on these trackers, how they work, and where to purchase? I've been looking for the past couple years for something like this I think.

sliken 5y ago
Here's one: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/wmo-picoaprs https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/wmo-picoaprs You can buy similar in board form, popular among the high altitude balloon communities. I use one on my dog's collar and my 2m radio will show me an arrow and distance to the dog. As a bonus I can call family/friend and have them check the world wide APRS map to see if the dog has gone near a repeater. It's also handy to check the weather, there's quite a few weather stations about and in the mountains the local forecast can be unreliable and a weather station that's MUCH closer than the nearest city can provide handy info on quickly changing weather conditions.

tinus_hn 5y ago

Satellite connectivity is probably going to make that problem a thing of the past in the very near future.

mmaunder 5y ago

I do. And I live on Orcas Island, so lets use that as an example. We have repeaters on Mt Constitution which is 2300 ft. I live right next to it and I'm in shadow for repeater coverage. When we hike the lakes in the area, we also can't see the repeater, or each other thanks to topography. HF gear is too bulky to take with - even the QRP gear, and who has time to throw an antenna over a tree. Trust me, I want to believe. But the only practical use that my wife (KF1J) and me (WT1J) have for our ham gear is in the rare case where I'm on the boat far away from her and out of cell coverage and need to check in via the HF bands. I'm almost never away from cell coverage. For transoceanic stuff, that is still a common case, but it will soon be better served by portable global internet.

GekkePrutser 5y ago

I'm a Ham radio operator and when I hike I bring a Garmin InReach Mini. I might bring a portable too but just for fun, not with any expectations in terms of emergencies. It's a much better tool for the job. And unlike personal locator beacons it can also handle short personal messages. And it's far from $1000 (around $300 and the service from $15 monthly) and really portable. For real emergencies a PLB is arguably better (and doesn't require a paid subscription) but you have to be conscious to activate it. The Garmin can send regular breadcrumbs without triggering an emergency so they will at least know where you were headed. If you are conscious it also allows you to communicate with the rescue operators. Ham radio is great but not meant to be reliable. It's about experimentation with technology and the sport of making long distance connections. It's not about a reliable rescue service even though it is very useful in emergencies.

sliken 5y ago
Heh, sure, but are you going to teach your dog how to use the InReach Mini? I had a previous Garmin, worked reasonably ... if there was a cell signal. The battery died, Garmin wouldn't sell me a new one, and the replacement unit increased the monthly cost by 3x. With APRS I can find my dog, no monthly, and in large outdoor areas APRS has MUCH better coverage than cell.

linsomniac 5y ago

Yeah, but I hike with people who aren't HAMs. So, a GMRS/FRS set of HT radios is sooooo easy. Even has worked surprisingly well between cars in canyons along I-70 with no line of sight.

sliken 5y ago
Heh, try a 2M radio with a mag mount antenna on the roof. Even without repeaters I've been impressed with the range. The amateur radio tech license is really easy, I'd say about half is common sense along the lines of do no harm, just an evening or two of studying to get enough of the 30 ish multiple choice questions to pass.