VHFRadioBuff wrote:
If you have a lot of time, then cobble stuff together.
Otherwise, write a check and buy an APRS-integrated radio
like a Kenwood TM-D700A. Just remember it's not suitable for
ordinary connected-mode packet cause of a blatant bug, but it's
a fine APRS radio.



Hmm.. just looked at that.. $520?

Yeah. Figure the price of a 1200/9600 baud TNC and a dual-band
mobile and it's not a bad deal. Never mind the fact it's
pre-assembled and functional when you get it. You only really
have to make the cable from the GPS receiver to the TM-D700A.

Alternatively, the TH-D7 might be just the ticket.

That's a bit more than I wanted to spend. I
already have a KPC-3. I figured I could use that and buy a used 2m radio,
probably for less than $100. The interface for a stand alone GPS unit is too
complicated?

Not really. It's just kinda cool not to have a bunch of stuff cobbled
together in the car, the reliability is probably much better for the
more integrated unit. You can use the D700 while it's also running
APRS and so on.

A TH-D7 is an HT version and might be a better deal if you just
want to broadcast your location and speed all the time.

Dana K6JQ

Yeah. Figure the price of a 1200/9600 baud TNC and a dual-band
mobile and it's not a bad deal. Never mind the fact it's
pre-assembled and functional when you get it. You only really
have to make the cable from the GPS receiver to the TM-D700A.

Let's look at used prices:

Old 2m mobile (Don't need a dualbander!): $50

KPC-3+: $125

$175+/- total vs $520 new for a dualband radio with built in TNC. Maybe if it
had an integrated GPS, the $520 price tag would be worth it, or if it was my
primary mobile rig.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73! de Andy KC2SSB (ex: KF4KHC/HL9HCT)
Beachwood, NJ USA! Grid FM29vw
http://vhfradiobuff.tripod.com
Fight Spam! http://spamcop.net
National "Do Not Call" Registry: http://donotcall.gov

Yeah. Figure the price of a 1200/9600 baud TNC and a dual-band
mobile and it's not a bad deal. Never mind the fact it's
pre-assembled and functional when you get it. You only really
have to make the cable from the GPS receiver to the TM-D700A.

Let's look at used prices:

Old 2m mobile (Don't need a dualbander!): $50

KPC-3+: $125

$175+/- total vs $520 new for a dualband radio with built in TNC. Maybe if it
had an integrated GPS, the $520 price tag would be worth it, or if it was my
primary mobile rig.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73! de Andy KC2SSB (ex: KF4KHC/HL9HCT)
Beachwood, NJ USA! Grid FM29vw
http://vhfradiobuff.tripod.com
Fight Spam! http://spamcop.net
National "Do Not Call" Registry: http://donotcall.gov

snicker Thank you! I was wondering if someone would ask me about
that. Think 'Firesign Theater.' More specifically, their latest album 'All
Things Firesign.' There's a track on there called "Everything You Know Is
Wrong!" You'll need to listen to it to understand where I came up with Anton
Squeegee.

As for the Latin: That's simply a quote from 'The Red Green
Show,' a bit of Canadian comedy. Think of Red (aka Steve Smith) as the Canadian
version of Tim Taylor, but with a beard and graying hair.

Ah, yes....I'll have to check that out...ah, for the days when people actually
USED their brains....and verbal spars and parries were witty, not profane. I
have always agreed with Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain) when he said that
profanity was the last refuge of the weak mind.

And will check out the Red Green show next time I'm at our Montreal
office....but I really don't watch much TV. As for the Palm/APRS solution,
post here and I'll try to pull the details together to post, if one is
interested.

Cheers!
Andrew
KG4GSC

And my favourite...

"...if one tolerates bad manners, they grow worse. I must find the oaf who did
this thing, explain to him his offense, give him a chance to apologise, then
kill him." (R.A. Heinlein, "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls")

snicker Thank you! I was wondering if someone would ask me about
that. Think 'Firesign Theater.' More specifically, their latest album 'All
Things Firesign.' There's a track on there called "Everything You Know Is
Wrong!" You'll need to listen to it to understand where I came up with Anton
Squeegee.

As for the Latin: That's simply a quote from 'The Red Green
Show,' a bit of Canadian comedy. Think of Red (aka Steve Smith) as the Canadian
version of Tim Taylor, but with a beard and graying hair.

Ah, yes....I'll have to check that out...ah, for the days when people actually
USED their brains....and verbal spars and parries were witty, not profane. I
have always agreed with Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain) when he said that
profanity was the last refuge of the weak mind.

And will check out the Red Green show next time I'm at our Montreal
office....but I really don't watch much TV. As for the Palm/APRS solution,
post here and I'll try to pull the details together to post, if one is
interested.

Cheers!
Andrew
KG4GSC

And my favourite...

"...if one tolerates bad manners, they grow worse. I must find the oaf who did
this thing, explain to him his offense, give him a chance to apologise, then
kill him." (R.A. Heinlein, "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls")

Yes, available from Kantronics. But they will give you the latest and
greatest version which is 8.3, which does have GPS/APRS support.

"VHFRadioBuff" wrote in message
...
If your Kantronics is V6 or higher, read the manual about connecting a
GPS to
it. It will 'share' a port on the TNC.

Looking at the manual, it says it's version 5.0. When I use the "version"
command, I get this:

KPC3-54CF3230-5.1

I am guessing this is version 5.1? Is there a firmware update to bring it
to
6.0?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73! de Andy KC2SSB (ex: KF4KHC/HL9HCT)
Beachwood, NJ USA! Grid FM29vw
http://vhfradiobuff.tripod.com
Fight Spam! http://spamcop.net
National "Do Not Call" Registry: http://donotcall.gov

Yes, available from Kantronics. But they will give you the latest and
greatest version which is 8.3, which does have GPS/APRS support.

"VHFRadioBuff" wrote in message
...
If your Kantronics is V6 or higher, read the manual about connecting a
GPS to
it. It will 'share' a port on the TNC.

Looking at the manual, it says it's version 5.0. When I use the "version"
command, I get this:

KPC3-54CF3230-5.1

I am guessing this is version 5.1? Is there a firmware update to bring it
to
6.0?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
73! de Andy KC2SSB (ex: KF4KHC/HL9HCT)
Beachwood, NJ USA! Grid FM29vw
http://vhfradiobuff.tripod.com
Fight Spam! http://spamcop.net
National "Do Not Call" Registry: http://donotcall.gov

Nosko S. wrote:
Dana,
I don't need to know, but what's the bug just for my information?

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...com%26rnum%3D1

Basically, the D700A TNC never sends an ack to an I-frame unless
the I-frame has the Poll bit set. What this means is that the
vast majority of other TNCs (as far as I can tell) will consistently
send MAXFRAME number of frames to the D700, then time-out waiting
for an ack, re-send the frames and set the Poll bit. It positively
kills performance when using the D700 in connected mode to most
BBSes and such.

The problem does not appear when talkign to other D7/D700s, since
the D700 *always* sets the Poll bit on every frame and does not
implement a deferred ack timer at all. This is less than optimal
as well.

Of course, if you run in KISS mode and use a host-implemented
AX.25 stack, this problem is avoided.

Since the D700 is really focused on APRS which is implemented
using UI frames (datagrams), it's apparently not a critical issue.

Dana Myers K6JQ wrote in message
s.com...

... Just remember it's not suitable for
ordinary connected-mode packet cause of a blatant bug, but it's
a fine APRS radio.

Dana K6JQ

Nosko S. wrote:
Dana,
I don't need to know, but what's the bug just for my information?

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...com%26rnum%3D1

Basically, the D700A TNC never sends an ack to an I-frame unless
the I-frame has the Poll bit set. What this means is that the
vast majority of other TNCs (as far as I can tell) will consistently
send MAXFRAME number of frames to the D700, then time-out waiting
for an ack, re-send the frames and set the Poll bit. It positively
kills performance when using the D700 in connected mode to most
BBSes and such.

The problem does not appear when talkign to other D7/D700s, since
the D700 *always* sets the Poll bit on every frame and does not
implement a deferred ack timer at all. This is less than optimal
as well.

Of course, if you run in KISS mode and use a host-implemented
AX.25 stack, this problem is avoided.

Since the D700 is really focused on APRS which is implemented
using UI frames (datagrams), it's apparently not a critical issue.

Dana Myers K6JQ wrote in message
s.com...

... Just remember it's not suitable for
ordinary connected-mode packet cause of a blatant bug, but it's
a fine APRS radio.

Dana K6JQ