Misko and APRS in Reunion

By Miroslav ‘Misko’ Skoric, YT7MPB

The 7th edition of 2019 IEEE Radio and Antenna Days of the Indian Ocean (IEEE RADIO 2019), the international conference was held in Reunion Island September 23-26, 2019. I had a tutorial on amateur radio communications there, and this time I wanted to include even more practical demo and display than before. In that direction, I obtained a temporary French license for transmitting amateur radio signals and two special call-signs: TO0MPB and TO019IEEE. (TO0MPB was chosen to have a similar suffix as my original call-sign YT7MPB to permit easier communication, while TO019IEEE was chosen to celebrate that IEEE event in 2019.)

As usual, I wanted to announce my presence by using local APRS networks. Therefore my equipment included two groups of transmitting/receiving facilities. The first included a computer showing an APRS map, while the second simulated ‘tracking’ a ham radio vehicle. Having in mind geographical configuration of surrounding terrain (nearby hills and so on), as well as the distance to the other islands in the area, it was not expected that signals sent by my portable VHF/UHF radios would reach many recipients, if any. The HF setup included a radio and antenna, provided by local hams.

The conference performed well, especially the first day when my tutorial session was followed by another ham radio session where local authors from Reunion Island and Mauritius talked about their actualities in that part of Indian Ocean. It was concluded that radio amateurs should take an important role in emergency situations, such as observing weather forecasts when hurricanes approach eastern coastal regions of Africa and nearby islands surrounding Madagascar.

My next conference travel shall happen in December 2019 for a large engineering event in Goa, India, and after that, visiting universities and amateur radio groups in that country.

TAPR and PSR would be welcomed there too!