You may not need a HAM license

[4kids49]

I'm rusty on my HAM rules, but I'm not sure it's even legal for some one to possess a transmitter without a license? And reputable dealers will only sell to buyers that show proof they're licensed.

So a licensed HAM could provide still provide the transmitter for use in a non-HAM's rocket, and supervise the use of the equipment... but the non-HAM wouldn't be legally able to supply their own tx.

Also remember that certain frequencies are available for HAM use only as "secondary" operators. And of course the equipment has to be IC approved (which I know the BeeLine 70cm unit is - I checked).

A very rusty VE9KD

Don't need a license to buy or own, only to transmit.

 

[ksaves2]

Don't need a license to buy or own, only to transmit.

Yes, that's true. I bought and T90A 6 months before I tested and received my General ticket. Simply told the dealer my status and they
were O.K. with that. I actually discovered in the manual that the PTT switch can be locked out and set it that way. Unlocked it when my
callsign was assigned in the FCC database. Kurt

 

[grouch]

Just get the license. I am as dumb as a bag of cut hair and I had no trouble getting it. My tracker is set up to beep out my call sign every 10 minutes, it doesn't beep out anyone else's but mine.

 

[troj]

The reality is that anyone who can pass a Level 2 written test can pass a Ham license exam.

-Kevin

 

[ksaves2]

The reality is that anyone who can pass a Level 2 written test can pass a Ham license exam.

-Kevin

That is very true. A Beeline GPS rocket tracker is a top of the line unit and an APRS receiving station doesn't "have to" be that pricey anymore.

Sure, one can spend the money on a Kenwood D72A, Yaesu FT1DR or a used VX8GR. These units can be interfaced with a few Garmin handheld mapping GPS devices with a single cable. A used monochrome Legend, 60Cs or 60CsX will work as will a 78 series GPS with the round serial socket available. Any "modern" Garmin with the round serial socket can work. There's a limited number of Garmin units now and I suspect the 78 series might be the only one left.
Advantage with the Garmin handhelds is that they can be read in the sunlight much more easily then some cell phones and Android devices. The disadvantage
is the price.

Bit of advice. I don't recommend a used Kenwood D7A or D7A(g). I have two D7A(g)'s and the 70cm side ,420-450 Mhz, has gone out of tune. These units are pretty old and I don't know if they would stay in spec if I paid to have them worked on. I get 1 block range with the Beeline trackers which makes them useless.
They are out of tune and that's why I don't get the range. The trackers are fine with my D72A and other receiving stations.

A workable portable APRS receive station can be had more cheaply if one already has a Bluetooth capable Android device, phone or otherwise. Simply load APRSDROID into one's phone/device: https://aprsdroid.org/, get a Moblinkd bluetooth TNC: https://www.mobilinkd.com/ and a ham can use just about any handi-talkie.

With APRSDroid, one can get offline maps for their area and load them into the device. Simply pair the Mobilinkd TNC with their B/T capable phone/Android device.
Then set APRSDroid to use a B/T TNC. One will need to get an APRSIS password that is a 5 digit number but that can be had with an online password generator based on one's callsign. This stuff is easy enough to play around with by tuning to the national APRS frequency and see the stations being plotted to your APRS Droid map. Soooooooo, for the roughly $74.95 cost of a Mobilinkd one can have a portable APRS ground tracking station if they already have a ham H/T and an Android device. Not necessary to have a dedicated APRS HandiTalkie/Garmin mapping GPS. It's nice, but the cheaper option I outline is very usable.

The only problem with tracking using APRSDroid/Mobilinkd TNC/Handitalkie is in order to display one's position, they have to transmit a new packet via Rf.
For instance, I'm going after a rocket's last known position on the APRSDroid map and I start walking. The icon that shows MY current position will just "sit there"
until I manually transmit a position packet! It's stupid but that's the way the program is setup. It's easy enough to do though periodically while going to the rocket.
That's the current tradeoff for APRSDroid. Only other problem with the Mobilinkd is one has to set the speaker volume control to optimize the APRS packet decoding. You want to make sure you do not accidentally hit that control on your H/T or you'll lose the ability to decode packets until you set it back.

Now Lynn Deffenbaugh, the author of APRSISCE and APRSIS32 has started working on APRSISMO an Android version of his tracking program.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/APRSISDR/conversations/topics/780

For now, it only works when connected to the internet but he plans to work on B/T connectivity which would make the program workable with Rf in the future.
I've downloaded maptiles and driven around with my Nexus 7 Flo. (It's not a cell phone so it doesn't have network access when driving around) My position icon changes position automatically without trouble. It would be an alternative in the future. Kurt