[Xastir-Dev] giving objects a locally-defined tactical callsign

[Alan Crosswell]

I respectfully disagree.  As an NCS, I know what tools I need.  If you 
don't like the tool, then you are free not to use it.  The whole point 
of tactical calls is they are more useful to all participants than 
callsigns which change when shifts are relieved, etc.  Right now I have 
to keep a list on a whiteboard that says N2YGK-9 is Truck 3.   Non-ham 
members of my served agencies want to look over my shoulder (or on a 
large screen projection in an EOC) and see information that is useful to 
them, not to the ham geeks in the radio room in the back.  I will 
already call it truck 3 when using tactical calls on phone and I will 
know that truck 3's callsign is N2YGK-9.

I can't speak for SAR but I can speak as an  NCS for public service and 
emergency nets where I have a fair amount of experience and this is what 
-- for my style of operating -- works for me.

73 de Alan N2YGK

Henk de Groot wrote:

> At 06:42 10-6-03 -0700, Curt Mills, WE7U wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 10 Jun 2003, Alan Crosswell wrote:
>>
>> > Has any thought been given to the ability to change the name and 
>> symbol of a
>> > displayed station/object *locally*?  For example, I am NCS for a 
>> bike-a-thon and
>> > I know that the Mic-E tracker, N2YGK-9, is actually in Truck 3.  I 
>> would like
>> > Truck 3 to be what shows up on the map display.  Basically a simple 
>> indirection
>>
>> That'd be useful for SAR as well.
>
>
> We have had this discussion on the APRS SIG some time ago. Bob 
> Bruninga was very much against it. The reason is that with local 
> swapping of names not all stations see the same information unless 
> this is very strictly coordinated and all stations use the same 
> translation (but then it is not local anymore). I think he has a good 
> point here. If you change N2YGK-9 to "Truck 3" and start using the 
> name "Truck 3" in your conversations then the others don't have a clue 
> what you are talking about, they can't see any "Truck 3". If you used 
> N2YGK-9 then the others would know where to look at. It can can become 
> quite confusing and I think during a SAR the last thing you want is 
> add confusion.
>
> You have of course to decide yourself but I think I have to agree with 
> Bob that this is a bad idea.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Henk.
>
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