Standalone APRS Tracker?

[BlairB]

Well I was curious what everyones thoughts were on a standalone APRS? I purchased a starter radio on Craigslist for very little, which of course does not have APRS. Instead of upgrading the radio, what about adding a system like the Byonics Microtalk RTG?

http://www.byonics.com/microtrak/mt-rtg.php

It comes "preloaded" with your call sign and you just plug it in/wire it up and people are able to track you. The one issue I see is it works one way, TX but not RX. Of course I could use an iPad/Droid app to show other APRS signals on a map, but are there any systems similar to the Microtalk that you could perhaps hook up to a GPS to show peoples positions on a map?

[BlairB]

And I am pretty sure Vegas Runner had a unit from this same company. When I talked to him about it some time ago he really liked it ( or so I remember haha ).

[MCL68]

You're right Blair.

I think before Ed got his Kenwood D710 w/APRS, he ran a Byonics tinytrak4 with some other radio.

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1658

[cruiserlarry]

If you want 2-way APRS capability (which allows you to take advantage of many other features designed into the APRS system - see www.aprs.org), you can get a basic 2 meter radio, a simple GPS with NMEA output, and a Kamtronics or other brand TNC (terminal node controller). The TNC interfaces with the VHF radio and the GPS to create a full-function APRS system...