As I wrote here previously, I’ve been exploring the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) Ham Radio system. I noted that while I had the Kenwood TH-D72 radio configured correctly, it was not reliably getting its packets to the nearest digipeater to be ingested into the APRS/APRS-IS world. I suspected it was an antenna issue, as I was using the “rubber duck” that came with the radio. I replaced that with a Diamond SRH77CA and that’s made a huge difference. I’ve used it to have a “chat” with another local APRS user several miles away, though via the digipeaters, it’s possible to have a digital chat with an APRS user much further away (depending on mutual routing settings). Additionally, I noted that when the radio was inside a vehicle, it was unlikely to successfully send a packet unless the digipeater was just a couple miles away. So, I also got a Diamond MR73S, a small magnetic-mount external antenna with an SMA connector. With that on top of my truck, the APRS “smart beaconing” works perfectly, sending status packets with information that reliably shows position and turns. Interesting stuff.