Couple of quickie questions regarding the post left below for context:

First is, especially in light of your stories about the captain whose radio
was locked out in order to maintain legality of license, what are the
niceties of licensing of such a rig?

Second is related to the usual discussion of installation and costs. It
seems that such an installation would be neither easy nor cheap. Of course,
in relation to a million dollar boat, a few grand is a rounding error.
However, for the rest of us, an incremental installation of a ham rig is
scarcely insignificant.

Did I misunderstand your post, or is there, perhaps, something like an EPIRB
which doesn't involve all that licensing and cost, but which can be active
all the time as you suggest?

Regardless of the cost, this concept appeals for allaying the fears of our
various relatives. If it's still sending, it's still above water! :{))

So, as a non-ham (yet) and therefore ignorant, is the APRS-GPS cited a
product name or a ham specification? If the former, how does one acquire
such a beauty?? If the latter, I presume one must first be a ham, and
second, be aboard, to legally use this device? And, if so, how does this
compute in terms of a theft, when the licensee is obviously not aboard?

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--
"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin
"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
Sorta wants to make ya hook those blasting caps to the starter
solenoid, doesn't it?

Of course, we COULD hide an APRS-GPS 50 watt 2 meter ham rig aboard in
an inconspicuous place leaving it running 24/7 with its burst
transmissions on the national APRS frequency linked to the
internet.....

Then, it would be a matter of accessing:
http://www.wulfden.org/APRSQuery.shtml

and entering the ham callsign into the query page to see if any of the
thousands of APRS-equipped hams and their nodes had heard its lat/long
beacon. Try entering out station out at the Charleston Weather Bureau
Office into the callsign box:
Enter WX4CHS
It'll bring up a map that will place the transmitter within 3 meters
of its exact location on many maps, right online. Any ham's APRS
transmitter is THAT easy to find, right on the net. A moving mobile
even tells you his course and speed...(c;

Click on "Click here to find nearby stations" for the last 240 hours
during daylight hours to see if any of the mobiles are moving around.
They'll track on the map displays in near-realtime if they are.....

I'd be easy to find this Beneteau if it had a couple hundred dollars
in ham equipment socked away under a drawer......any place in the
country.....or maybe the world.



On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 20:56:52 GMT, wrote:


FYI, sadly: The Sailnet Beneteau and Catalina Lists have been abuzz
with perplexed postings from and consoling advice to the owner of a
brand new Beneteau 57, the only one so far delivered in the U.S., just
purchased last week, and which, during commissioning, vanished from
the dealer's dock [sic!].

It is said that the Coast Guard, the insurer, and other police
agenies, and marinas have been alerted and are of course looking but
so far to no avail.

For more besides the cited List postings, see
www.yachtsalvage.com/Listings/57Beneteau03.html