Ed
Yes it would spot you on the frequency you use for CW. You can decide whether to call CQ on your SSB frequency.
As for sending the CW CQ, there are many ways. You could use any memory keyer to play a pre recorded message. Or you could hook up an arduino based player to do it. Or use a morse key.
All would be lighter than the 7300.
I think this would become something you could be renowned for: using CW for self spotting for SSB. You’d just need to include some suitable instructions like “when spotted on CW, look for my SSB CQ”.
In fact I will test this out, once the rain stops.
The band plans allow CW on most portions of the bands, so you usually may call CW on your SSB frequency. But bear in mind that, by default, RBN skimmers only scan the dedicated CW portion of the bands, so your call is no likely to be picked up if you call on an SSB frequency.
I treated myseld to an APRS capable handheld transceiver a few months ago, and take it with me on most of my activations since then, with the idea to send my position when on the summits together with the “QSY” frequency where I am listening (ON6ZQ-7).
Using the original “rubber duck” antenna, my results (covering a very limited number of summits) have been quite disappointing in Belgium, France and Wales. In Germany, the coverage was indeed better.
I was hoping to have a call on my “QSY frequency”, but never heard anyone, even in Germany.
Also the configuration of the APRS comments used for APRS2SOTA spotting is quite annoying (like old SMS interfaces where you need to type three times on ‘a’ to get a ‘c’), so in practice, all I do with APRS is to see where I have been on aprs.fi when back home. Not very exciting.
On places where I had no APRS coverage but data, I used my smartphone as ON6ZQ-5 with APRSDroid. It works, but if you have data, better send an spot directly on sotawatch…
It looks like the technology is there, be we don’t really know how to use it for something useful for SOTA activators and chasers. Maybe one way to encourage the use of APRS would be to have activators reporting their position while progressing to summits, so that the chasers could follow them (if they mention APRS in their alert for example).
I am curious which one. The Kenwood TH-D72 (the one I use currently) or one of the Yaesu HTs? Automatic QSY info is a unique feature of the Kenwood rigs.
One I am up at the summit and I feel my packets are not digipeated, I put a 5/8 lambda telescopic antenna onto the HT. This increases workable range drastically. Of course walking with a 1,25 m antenna is nearly impossible.
To my mind nearly nobody cares about the QSY information. The only way is to send the messages for SOTAWatch.
If you are using the TH-D72 there are some tricks:
You can store some “phrases” to paste into messages.
My preferred technique: I simply recall one of the stored SOTA-Messages I have sent recently and edit it. Normally only small modifications are necessary.
You can use the dial to modify characters. So if you start with an old message according to 2) you can just change single characters with the dial and navigate with the left, right buttons of this 4-direction dial.
So DM/BM-123 7.123 SSB DB7MM/p quite quickly changes into DM/BW-345 14.333 SSB DB7MM/p. The additional digit of 14 is simply inserted by pressing the 1 key several times. The band key deletes single characters.
I wonder if the touch screen of the Yaesu FT-2D eases up the process of entering messages. But with the Kenwood TH-D74 in sight my motivation to buy FT-2D drastically declines.
Definitely. Taking the detour of APRS via mobile internet does not really make sense.
thanks for the hint. This is really handy. You just have to use the dial knob to switch between 0,1 and 2. I change the remaining digits of the frequency exactly this way.
We are talking here about specific techniques for the TH-D72. Anybody using the Yaesu FT-2D for APRS2SOTA? I wonder whether the touch screen eases this up.