The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Crispin]

This is a really long shot but, would be possible somehow to do semi reliable communication using HF and packet radio?
It's been years since I have turned a radio on or even paid any attention to how amateur radio has progressed with the advent of the internet so I am pretty out of touch.

Here is what I want to do: Send a tiny amount of data (worst case latitude and longitude) from anywhere to somewhere (a radio / pc at my house)
I remember reading a while back about a form of routable packet radio. I did not pay much attention to it though. My knowledge of packet radio is only rivaled by my knowledge of baked bean processing so I may just be too optimistic.

The idea is that I will be in the middle of no where, somewhere between England and Cape Town, send out a message (simple string of latitude and longitude). Hopefully it is picked up by a node somewhere and relayed until it hits my node. If not, oh well.

I understand that it is of course reliant on there being a node which actually receives it and this in itself is unlikely a lot of the time. Equipment would be basic, with a basic whip for antenna or maybe a long wire slung between two trees in the desert
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Cheers,
Crispin
Have Snorkel, Will Swim

[Google]

[RADIOTWO]

[lucky]

Yep APRS is the thing you want. You will need a TNC (terminal node controller) on your vehicle radio or one with a built in one (like some of the Kenwood units - TM-D700 for instance) and you will also need a GPS connected to your TNC otherwise you would have to enter positions manually.

Once this is up and connected you need to program your call sign into the TNS and then it will automatically broadcast your location. You can see your location on one of the Free sites such as OpenAPRS.
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1999 Land Cruiser Amazon VX Active 4.2TD Auto
Gloucestershire 4x4 Response
Landcruiser-rocks

[Crispin]

ask and ye shall, well, get the answer...

Yes I am a licenced ham. I hold a SA licence but will convert it to a full UK one. I've been told it's just a form to be filled in.

All I am interested in is the ability to send a message. I would write my own program to talk to the TNC and send what I want. I might be over simplifying it slightly or just not understanding all that is needed yet...
Reason I want to DIY it is because of order. The bigger idea is a programme running (written by yours truly) which would send various bits based on available communication. If I am somewhere that has GSM coverage, I can afford to send more than via HF.

Ok, so a quick read on wikipedia and seems good so far. There was not much mention of HF though. It all seemed to be around 2m and 70cm.
Found a few sites that talk about it [being on HF, 30m] but it's mostly in the US and by their own admission, pretty quiet.
Any anyone here used this to this effect? Would be interesting to see.

I do like the iGate interface for it as well. Pretty neat. Once it hits that, life is simple. Only issue, as I understand it, would be that it works well where there is a lot of VHF / UHF infrustructure. Like a "normal" world. My idea is do send a message from the middle of the Sahara Not sure how many folks on 2m there?

Still, worth exploring.
_________________
Cheers,
Crispin
Have Snorkel, Will Swim