[Xastir-dev] N/S and E/W bit

[Bob Bruninga]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004, Curt, WE7U wrote:

> I have no major problems with this.
>
> However, what breaks if we take the opposite tack, taking the few
> that are case-insensitive and make them case-sensitive?...Again, what
> breaks?
>
> I assume we're seeing packets out there with the wrong case.  Who's
> generating them and how do we make them stop?

That has nothing to do with my reason for bringing this up.  I want case
insensitivity so that we can use the CASE of N/S and E/W to be able to
include two more optional BITS of information in a standard APRS position
report.

If everyone is case insensitive, then in the future, we can convey
information within the case of those two bytes.  RIght now, we cannot,
becuase a lower case n,s,e,w is an invalid packet in some code.
Fortunately I had the Kenwoods (the bigest non-changeable parser) be case
insensitive, like APRSdos for such future use...  I had intended that the
SPEC require UCASE on transmit, but never intended it to be exclusive on
receive... so that I had these bits in reserve...

If we can all get to the state of case insensitivity, then we gain two
cheap bits in the code..

My idea was to use one bit to indicate "human operator activity in the
last 10 minutes) and the other to indicate "priority versus routine"
packets.

Bob