TEMP Digipeating for SAR and other Activities

Bottom line - your D700 or D710 mobile should have TEMP configured as one of the digipeater aliases.

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Yes position reporting is perfect for SAR, but what most Hams are not training for is text messaging too. APRS text messaging provides the ability to do AD-HOC comms ANYWHERE and beyond simplex range.

You can extend the range of any APRS HT (for text comms and positions) as far as you want with mobile D700/D710 radios. (I was suprised to see that the FTM-350 does not appear to digipeat?). AD-HOC Rnage extension of packet is far easier than setting up an AD-HOC voice repeater for wilderness coverage.

Yes, a mobile D700/D710 can also serve as a voice cross band repeater, but only one hop. With DIGIPEATING, the range can be extended indefinately by additional mobiles. AND ALL D700/D710 mobile should already be fully configured for always-on digipeating via TEMPn-N, so as long as there are D700's at the event, text messaging should work as far as they travel.

If every D700/710 you know of is not configured this way, why not!??? Who will help make it happen if not you. (I think the D710 digipeater defaults to TEMPn-N enabled.

All SAR teams have to do is use the path TEMP3-3 or so to go three hops back to HQ via ANY availalbe D700/710. Try it next time you are simplex-near a D710...

SAR teams and other Ham response groups should include text messaging (and TEMPn-N mobile digis) as a routine COMMS RANGE EXTENDER in wilderness terrain and practice its use!. See www.aprs.org/TEMPn-N.html

Bob, WB4APR