Digital Skywriting, Ham Radio Reddit Community Feedback
Adam Curry describes a digital skywriting project performed by following a GPS track and reporting it to ground stations via APRS. The flight path was visible live on the web and shared with a ham radio Reddit group. Feedback from the online community was mixed, with some users comparing it unfavorably to a man who walked across Japan to create a GPS proposal.
adam curry· gps tracking· aprs· ham radio· reddit· skywriting
00:00 These guys are in a bubble. Adam Curry, John C. DeVora. And Sunday March 27th 2016 time once again via Gitmo Nation Media Assassination Episode 811! This is no agenda Still wearing our parka as the US political hell freezes over and broadcasting live from the capital of the drone star state here in FEMA Region 6 In the morning everybody I'm Adam Curry And from Northern Silicon Valley where I'm not cold, I'm John C. Dvorak. Have to look up this I have to look at the schedules now as a certified foamer You are a foamer. It's true just in case and forgot you're a foamer this truffle well welcome to the only podcast that Writes its name in the sky Yes, I saw that you posted that on the down the Twitter. I did yeah what to explain? What happened oh
01:13 We decided to do some digital skywriting by following a GPS track and reporting that back to the ground stations where everyone could watch it being drawn live on the web. And it's still there today. I'll bet you packed them in for that one! You know, but a lot of people liked it John. In fact, a lot of people sent me letters... I liked it, It was just- I'm definitely not gonna be watching it live action. What were you doing Saturday? Bing! Instead of watching- I was watching Grass Grow. Instead of watching your colleague promote the show... A little more excited. I was watching paint dry. What what? That's interesting, you know when the paint dries it kind of lightens up You are such... Never mind And now i see why the ITMS looks... Because you did like you could do it all in one thing Yes. You should do it again in script
02:15 What was cool about it is that I took along my my ham radio, my digital you know My hand thing. Wait let's get that preface again Yeah what was cool? It was cool about it Was that I brought my my handheld and I was beaconing every 30 seconds on APRS down to just ham radio ground stations, digipeters and that showed up on APRS.fi so you could see our track on multiple platforms. Holy crap! You're so disingenuous it's showing
02:53 Well, a lot of people liked it. I'm sure there were four or five people some old guys old geezers As you like to call them that just thought it was great? I thought it was the creative thing and it was posted on Twitter so thousands of people saw it in that form yeah Wondering what the hell is this? I wanted to read a comment to you because i also posted it in like a ham radio reddit group. A ham radio Reddit group! Wow Let me see if I can find this because you'll crack up here we go so I put it kind of... Here it is This is so bad all right
03:38 So I posted my little blog to the Reddit amateur radio group and here's the guy first response. What were you going for? That drawing looks like nothing! Also, this guy in Japan made a proposal by walking the entire islands of Japan with his GPS much more epic than having someone fly you around for an hour. Oh welcome to the internet. These are ham radio guys yeah It infects everybody. Unbelievable, unbelievable! Anyway so that was just a little distraction
04:22 Liked it. I like I enjoy to be seriously, I thought it was I thought it was on some level cool Yeah, that's all we were going for some level That's about the extent of what we can do here John is just We're not really good at some level where somehow we're kind. I'm not quite sure how but we may be cool. Yeah gonna work on it Nobody else did it? That's what I'm saying boy anyway okay well I've been just reading Dutch stuff and You've been reading, doing a lot of reading? Yeah. Just seeing what I can catch more from Brussels and understand it a little bit more. Before we go on let's start with a little light... you know this guy Mike Morrell? Yeah of course he was the deputy chief, the CIA guy. He is on a lot of stuff. He is trying to become like a normal guy or your regular Catherine Herridge type. Now I think what happened, do you recall Mike left and then he was going to have this big Silicon Valley funded venture where he would have all these great
