Anybody have any experience with APRS along the AlCan Highway?
Is it worth upgrading my equipment?
Is my Tech license good in Canada?
Is it worth upgrading my equipment?
Is my Tech license good in Canada?
APRS in Western Canada
- Thread starter javelinadave
- Start date
The_Vermonster
Well-known member
Not sure about APRS, I'm just getting into that myself.
As for your license, you can transmit just like if you were in a different part of the country. You just do *callsign*/*provincial prefix* Looks like that area is VE7, VA7 or VY1. You are also supposed to transmit your physical location during the communication. Just be aware of the band restrictions around the "Lines" I don't know all of the restrictions, but I know 70cm is restricted around Line A. https://web.archive.org/web/20091215034049/http://www.fcc.gov/oet/info/maps/canline/canline.html
I pretty much gave up on APRS. Coverage was just too scarce where I go. It works fine in places with line of sight to the digipeaters on mountaintops but not in the canyons. Bought a SPOT tracker and didn't look back. It's a good emergency backup, too; however, if I was out of the US or driving in places where failures have a life-or-death penalty, I would get an EPIRB, too.
Still, APRS is fun. I will probably hook mine up. I rigged a temperature probe to log outside temps too, which was fun. I could add EGT temp broadcasting, too.
Still, APRS is fun. I will probably hook mine up. I rigged a temperature probe to log outside temps too, which was fun. I could add EGT temp broadcasting, too.
Stumbled on this thread. It's funny how things change. Spot tracker turned into a total fail when they hit me with some insane renewal fee for like 2 or 300 dollars. Now I'm back on APRS. I bought a nice integrated tracker/radio/GPS that I mounted on the bulkhead behind my seat, with a Diamond antenna on the wing. Works pretty well.