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Liz,
Lots of people use APRS for tracking races. Very few that I know of track the runners, just the support vehicles, bicycles, SAG Wagons, and emergency vehicles.?
Most APRS trackers that would be suitable for tracking a person are going to be a bit of an irritant to a runner. Although we ( Byonics) make a number of very small, low powered transmitters/transceivers, my experience leads me to believe that in most cases, trackers with less than two Watts output are not going to prove especially effective on terrestrial targets ( runners) Our most popular tracker for pedestrian use is our MT-AIO, a self contained tracker with 14 Watts output ( with Lipo batteries) and weighs about 10 ounces.
If you have enough time, you can get by with very low powered trackers by seeding the course with portable or mobile digipeaters in areas that you have determined do not have adequate coverage. Our MTT4BT transmitters are popular as plug & Play mobile digipeaters, and most Ham clubs have a few people with Kenwood, Yaesu, etc APRS mobile and handhelds that will do a good job.?
If the off-trail safety of your runners is of primary importance ( We would not want them to be injured by the wild, poisonous Kangaroos or deadly Drop Bears) You may want to use Iridium-system based tracking transmitters, some of which are quite small and light.
73,
Allen AF6OF
-----Original Message-----
From: Liz <liz@...> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, Nov 20, 2021 3:55 pm Subject: [TinyTrak] APRS tracking of runners Has anyone any suggestions for tracking of runners using APRS where
light weight is a priority?
Our amateur radio club provides long distance communications for an
ultramarathon through rugged country, where the track is impassable to
mountain bikes over some sections.
100 mile participants have been carrying Spot satellite trackers in
past events.
Has anyone had any experience with MicroTrak trackers for this purpose?
Liz VK2XSE
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