Talk:Automatic Packet Reporting System

What does APRS stand for?

What does APRS stand for? The article seems to indicate that it is merely a derivative of Bob Bruninga's callsign, but I've heard that it stands for Automatic Position Reporting System, or (less frequently) Automatic Packet Reporting System. Are these just backronyms or are they the real name? either way the article should be changed to reflect this. -Lommer 03:54, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Per an email from Bob Bruninga 3/4/05, the idea to name it APRS was derived from his call letters. The idea occurred to him "...in early 1992". The official name is "Automatic Position Reporting System," per Bob's web page at the USNA. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stringbean (talk • contribs) 15:16, 4 March 2005 (UTC)

While "APRS" was in fact derivative from Bob Bruninga's callsign, in his (Bob's) original documentation he called it "Automatic Position Reporting System". It stayed that way for many years until he decided to "expand the concept" (i.e., muck with it) beyond positioning and AVL (automatic vehicle location) applications. At that time "Automatic Packet Reporting System" started showing-up in his docs. In 2003 (...I think...) several of us cornered Bob and confronted him with the ambiguity this created, and he relented, changing it back to "Position". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.140.248.89 (talk • contribs) 06:25, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Then the article should be renamed with Position, not Packet, right? -- Grantbow (talk) 09:52, 16 October 2023 (UTC)

Expert?

Why is this tagged with an expert attention needed tag? It seems fairly concise and straightforward. There are a few minor grammatical errors that I may address later, but I don't see where it "needs the attention of an expert". I will check back later for anyone's comments prior to removal but I intend to remove the tag in 7 days barring any non-consensus.Radiooperator 15:37, 16 July 2007 (UTC) Update* I take it back, I went back through the changes history and found that the tag was added, seemingly randomly, by 68.65.49.185 on June 6, 2006. I think that enough editors have contributed to the overall scope of the article that the expert tag can be removed without further discussion. Any gripes, please post them here before reverting. Radiooperator 16:02, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Why is it useful?

After reading this, could someone add to the main page a laymen's explanation of what it is used for?

It is useful to radio amateurs participating in group activities, like public service in support of sport events, emergency response activities etc., especially when involving mobile stations (cars equipped with amateur radio).

Sv1xv (talk) 20:01, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

APRS is also quite heavily used for high-altitude balloon projects, and other projects where real-time and/or historical positioning data is needed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jgw (talk • contribs) 16:52, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Also, outside amateur radio, systems based on the same concept are used for vehicle fleet management, they are installed on ships (AIS), on aircraft (collision avoidance system) etc. Sv1xv (talk) 18:29, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Just to be clear: APRS is not able to determine a position itself, but it is used to 'broadcast' known position and object information locally? Stefan. 81.1.92.241 (talk) 19:53, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

100-mile endurance run

Which race was this? Was this race the Tevin Cup or whatever? Is there a citation/reference?

The race seems to have been, “The Old Dominion.” https://tapr.org/pdf/CNC1984-RacingProblemPacketSolution-WB4APR.pdf RPellessier | Talk 18:25, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

Rewrite

This article needs some serious attention. Much of it is written by well-meaning amateur radio operators who have little experience with Wikipedia and citing sources. As a ham myself, I appreciate the effort they've put into writing this article but it sticks out a little as needing a re-write or at least some overhaul. It desperately needs some better sources, and these should be added inline where needed. Also, the tone of the article is quite technical, and as someone else mentioned here on the talk page, the article doesn't sufficiently answer the questions 'Why?' 'What?' and 'How is it used?'. Though technical information is good, we have to remember that this is an encyclopedia, and not a HAMpedia, so those who know little to nothing about amateur radio should be able to read the article and understand the basics without having to do a lot of additional research.

Also, a note to new members, remember to sign your comments on talk pages by typing four tildes (~~~~). Air ♠ Combat _What's^{up, dog?} 00:29, 6 February 2016 (UTC)

Rewriting this article will likely involve pulling material from printed sources that are not available online or have an electronic format. This article is about the same grade as the other amateur radio articles. It's not unlike mathematical or other science articles that assume too much knowledge on behalf of the reader (perhaps a new template should be made for that?). Though things appear to get better over time. Also, why is there not an "Amateur Radio Portal" like there are for countless other articles on Wikipedia? Nodekeeper (talk) 17:45, 24 October 2017 (UTC)

'Nother ham here. Second the rewrite motion; after reading the article, even I don't really get what this system does, and/or why. And non-hams aren't going to understand the technology as currently described. Can we get a direct, uncluttered lede that answers all of these questions in succinct language? Avoid over-precision; ledes don't have to be unassailable. (And in fact, probably don't serve if they are.) Laodah 22:09, 8 October 2018 (UTC)

"EMAIL" not "email"

In the section "Email," the article says, "A special case message can be sent to email where these messages..." This is not correct; the messages are sent to "EMAIL," all caps, which is a "call sign" used in the APRS system. The usage in this sentence is not just the word "email." I tried to fix this, but my edit was reverted. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Automatic_Packet_Reporting_System&diff=prev&oldid=1161607949 Can someone please put the correct capitalization back? @Ohnoitsjamie 206.204.236.108 (talk) 15:07, 4 July 2023 (UTC)