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What is the percentage of the population who can access APRS at this moment? 1%? Anyone who has a smartphone or a PC can access Twitter which is almost like 99%

What is the percentage of the population who can access APRS at this moment? 1%? Anyone who has a smartphone or a PC can access Twitter which is almost like 99% of people (in US) these days. Twitter can reach everyone on the Internet worldwide and APRS not so much... APRS is a system that has good uses but the Internet is revolutionary.

deleted 12y ago
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XorNot 12y ago
If we had smartphones with HF radio capability (or someone figured out how to reprogram the baseband to support it) then we'd be talking. EDIT: Though I suspect this isn't really practical. Are there any amateur bands near the GSM/CDMA bands?
- dunmalg 12y ago
  GSM-450 is pretty much right there at the top end of the 70cm, and GSM-950 is right in the middle of 33cm, but here in the US at least the FCC is pretty nuts about insisting that stuff sold here is locked out of other devices' yards. They'd flip out if you tried to import an HT that could hit GSM freqs.
  - tlrobinson 12y ago
    > They'd flip out if you tried to import an HT that could hit GSM freqs. How did Chris Paget's IMSI catcher demo at Defcon a few years ago work then? http://blog.marinetelecom.net/2010/08/01/ham-radio-operator-chris-paget-kj6gcg-spoofs-as-900mhz-gsm-tower-and-15-phones-in-defcon-hacker-convention-log-onto-his-network/ http://blog.marinetelecom.net/2010/08/01/ham-radio-operator-...
    - madengr 12y ago
      He is not using ham transceivers (i.e push a button and talk), rather test equipment (a Universal Software Radio Peripheral with Open BTS firmware). The FCC does not regulate test equipment since it's not laymen's use.
    - dunmalg 12y ago
      >How did Chris Paget's IMSI catcher demo at Defcon a few years ago work then? Oh, it's actually not too difficult to modify transceivers to work outside their regional prescribed bands. There are usually internal jumpers or, more recently, firmware modifications to expand their tuning ranges to include bands normally only allowed in other regions. Some of the software defined radios are surprisingly malleable. I was actually mostly just thinking about the possibility of getting a GSM phone to hit an amateur band freq or vice-versa without a lot of hacking.
VLM 12y ago
Minor technical correction that twitter can only reach people in areas with internet access, via phone, etc. APRS especially using HF is, quite literally, worldwide without existing infrastructure. This is why the emcom guys do ham radio instead of just packing a backup smart phone. Your point still stands that only about 0.3% of the US population have a ham radio license and less have gear stet up for this peculiar mode.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

XorNot 12y ago

If we had smartphones with HF radio capability (or someone figured out how to reprogram the baseband to support it) then we'd be talking. EDIT: Though I suspect this isn't really practical. Are there any amateur bands near the GSM/CDMA bands?

dunmalg 12y ago
GSM-450 is pretty much right there at the top end of the 70cm, and GSM-950 is right in the middle of 33cm, but here in the US at least the FCC is pretty nuts about insisting that stuff sold here is locked out of other devices' yards. They'd flip out if you tried to import an HT that could hit GSM freqs.
- tlrobinson 12y ago
  > They'd flip out if you tried to import an HT that could hit GSM freqs. How did Chris Paget's IMSI catcher demo at Defcon a few years ago work then? http://blog.marinetelecom.net/2010/08/01/ham-radio-operator-chris-paget-kj6gcg-spoofs-as-900mhz-gsm-tower-and-15-phones-in-defcon-hacker-convention-log-onto-his-network/ http://blog.marinetelecom.net/2010/08/01/ham-radio-operator-...
  - madengr 12y ago
    He is not using ham transceivers (i.e push a button and talk), rather test equipment (a Universal Software Radio Peripheral with Open BTS firmware). The FCC does not regulate test equipment since it's not laymen's use.
  - dunmalg 12y ago
    >How did Chris Paget's IMSI catcher demo at Defcon a few years ago work then? Oh, it's actually not too difficult to modify transceivers to work outside their regional prescribed bands. There are usually internal jumpers or, more recently, firmware modifications to expand their tuning ranges to include bands normally only allowed in other regions. Some of the software defined radios are surprisingly malleable. I was actually mostly just thinking about the possibility of getting a GSM phone to hit an amateur band freq or vice-versa without a lot of hacking.

VLM 12y ago

Minor technical correction that twitter can only reach people in areas with internet access, via phone, etc. APRS especially using HF is, quite literally, worldwide without existing infrastructure. This is why the emcom guys do ham radio instead of just packing a backup smart phone. Your point still stands that only about 0.3% of the US population have a ham radio license and less have gear stet up for this peculiar mode.