2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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APRS SYMBOL OVERLAY and EXTENSION TABLES in APRS 1.2 29 Oct 2015
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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BACKGROUND: This file addresses new additions proposals (OVERLAYS)
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to the APRS symbol set after 1 October 2007. The master symbol
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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document remains on the www.aprs.org/symbols/symbolsX.txt page, but
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only has one line per symbol character. Since each of the symbols
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can have up to 36 overlays, this gives us thousands of symbols codes.
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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Update 29 Oct 2015: Reorgainized list to Alphabetical Order.
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+ Added many new Balloons (due to lost DoD radar Blimp yesterday)
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+ Confirmed D^ for Drones was already in there since 2014
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+ Added R^ type aircraft for remotely piloted
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+ Added S^ Solar Powered Aircraft
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2016-02-27 20:37:45 +00:00
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+ Noticed all new category \= is availalbe. Had been shown ast
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APRStt, but that was changed in 2009 to overlay BOX symbols.
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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UPDATES/REVISIONS/CORRECTIONS:
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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28 Aug 14 Added numerous OpenAPRS symbols see "(new Aug 2014)"
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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20 May 14 Changed Da to DSTAR (2700 of them) from Dutch Ares
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19 May 14 Added Submarine&torpedo to ships and lots of Aircraft
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search for "(new may 2014)"
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07 Oct 13 Added new overlays to ships such as Jet Ski, Js
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Added Ham Club symbol as a C overlay on House, C-
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19 Sep 11 Added T and 2 overlays for TX 1 and 2 hop IGates
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Added overlays to (;) portable, to show event types
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23 Mar 11 Added Radiation Detector (RH)
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20 Apr 10 Byonics requested (BY)
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04 Jan 10 added #A to the table (correcting earlier omission)
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12 Oct 09 Added W0 for Yaesu WIRES nodes
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09 Apr 09 Changed APRStt symbol to overlayed BOX (#A)
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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21 Aug 08 Added RFID R=, Babystroller B], Radio#Y, skull&Xbones XH
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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25 Mar 08 Modified these Alternate Symbol codes for expanded Overlays.
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Prior to this, each Alternate Table basic symbol had a unique defini-
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tion, but this was every restrictive. SO the following alternate
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base symbols were redefined so that the basic symbol could take on
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dozens of unique overlay definitions:
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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2016-02-27 20:37:45 +00:00
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\= - Had been undefined
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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\0 - Several overlays for the numbered Circle
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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\A - (BOX symbol) APRStt(DTMF), RFID users, XO (OLPC)
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\' - Was Crash Site. Now expanded to be INCIDENT sites
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\% - is an overlayed Powerplant. See definitions below
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\H - \H is HAZE but other H overlays are HAZARDs. WH is "H.Waste"
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\Y - Overlays for Radios and other APRS devices
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\k - Overlay Special vehicles. A = ATV for example
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\u - Overlay Trucks. "Tu" is a tanker. "Gu" is a gas truck, etc
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\< - Advisories may now have overlays
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\8 - Nodes with overlays. "G8" would be 802.11G
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\[ - \[ is wall cloud, but overlays are humans. S[ is a skier.
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\h - Buildings. \h is a Ham store, "Hh" is Home Depot, etc.
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Previous edition was 4 Oct 2007.
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In April 2007, a proposal to expand the use of overlay bytes for
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the extension of the APRS symbol set was added to the draft APRS1.2
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addendum web page. The following document addresses that proposal:
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www.aprs.org/symbols/symbols-overlays.txt
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For details on Upgrading your symbol set, please see the background
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information on Symbols prepared by Stephen Smith, WA8LMF:
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www.aprs.org/symbols/symbols-background.txt
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CONSISTANCY: Since the objective of APRS is consistent, reliable
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communications at the local level, there has been a hesitance to
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making significant changes to the APRS symbol set. The Integrity
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of APRS depends on everyone seeing the same information at the
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same time. Frequent changes to the symbol sets can actually
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undermine that integrity and operational utility of APRS and end up
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with worse outcomes due to miss-communications than the lack of any
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particular symbol might suggest.
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OVERLAY HISTORY: When the overlay symbol set was first defined for
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the original APRS back in 1995, it had the potential to expand the
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APRS symbol set from the 94 original primary symbols to a secondary
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set that could each have as many as 36 diffeernt overlays on each of
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those secondary symbols up to almost 3500 combinations. But some
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authors then could not easily implement these overlays, except by
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one-by-one exceptions to their code.
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For this reason, a compromise was made with those authors and then
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eventually written into the APRS spec to limit overlays to only a
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small subset of alternate symbols. Those original overlayable
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alternate symbols were labeled with a "#" and called "numbered"
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symbols. (UIview requires "No." in the symbols.ini file)
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STATUS OF OVERLAYS 1 OCTOBER 2007: the APRS symbol set only had a
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few remaining unused symbol codes that had not yet been defined:
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OF THE 94 Primary Symbols. The following were available:
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10 symbols (/0 - /9) that mostly look like billiard balls now
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4 symbols /D, /J, /Q, /z were undefined or TBD
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2 were reserved
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OF THE 94 Alternate Symbols. The following were available:
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3 undefined series \=, \Y, \Z which could do 36 overlays
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8 series \1 through \8 that can support 36 overlays each
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3 reserved series.
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ADDITIONAL OVERLAY PROPOSAL: But any of the other 79 alternate
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symbols could all have multiple (36) overlays if they can make sense
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with the existing underlying basic symbol that we have been using for
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that basic alternate symbol. That is, any new definition of a
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previously unused overlay character will have undefined results on all
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prior APRS systems and should be used with caution. But the symbol
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set is extensible with these cautions. (See the Proposal that would
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expand the APRS symbol set to over 3200 at the bottom of this
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document.)
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SYMBOL OVERLAY TABLES: This document will keep track of all
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definitions of overlays on all ALTERNATE symbols. Although these
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overlays were originally intended to just overlay a displayable
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single character on a basic symbol, there is no prohibition against
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taking the combination of a symbol and specific overlay, and then
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letting that define a new graphic just for that combination.
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The following tables will attempt to keep track of these and
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any other useful generic applications of overlay characters.
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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AMPLIFIED some existing ALTERNATE SYMBOL Overlays: (new Aug 2014)
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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change Flooding #W to include Avalanche, Mudslide/Landslide
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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Update #' name to crash & incident sites
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Update \D (was available) to DEPOT family
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change overlayed car to generic Vehicle with (1-9 overlays)
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ADVISORIES: #< (new expansion possibilities)
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/< = motorcycle
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\< = Advisory (single gale flag)
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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AIRCRAFT
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/^ = LARGE Aircraft
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\^ = top-view originally intended to point in direction of flight
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A^ = Autonomous (2015)
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D^ = Drone (new may 2014)
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E^ = Electric aircraft (2015)
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H^ = Hovercraft (new may 2014)
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J^ = JET (new may 2014)
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M^ = Missle (new may 2014)
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P^ = Prop (new Aug 2014)
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R^ = Remotely Piloted (new 2015)
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S^ = Solar Powered (new 2015)
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V^ = Vertical takeoff (new may 2014)
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X^ = Experimental (new Aug 2014)
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ATM Machine or CURRENCY: #$
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/$ = original primary Phone
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\$ = Bank or ATM (generic)
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U$ = US dollars
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L$ = Brittish Pound
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Y$ = Japanese Yen
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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ARRL or DIAMOND: #a
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/a = Ambulance
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Aa = ARES
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Da = DSTAR (had been ARES Dutch)
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Ga = RSGB Radio Society of Great Brittan
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Ra = RACES
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Sa = SATERN Salvation Army
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Wa = WinLink
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BALLOONS and lighter than air #O (All new Oct 2015)
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/O = Original Balloon (think Ham balloon)
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\O = ROCKET (amateur)(2007)
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BO = Blimp (2015)
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MO = Manned Balloon (2015)
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TO = Teathered (2015)
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CO = Constant Pressure - Long duration (2015)
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RO = Rocket bearing Balloon (Rockoon) (2015)
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BOX SYMBOL: #A (and other system inputted symbols)
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/A = Aid station
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\A = numbered box
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9A = Mobile DTMF user
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7A = HT DTMF user
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HA = House DTMF user
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EA = Echolink DTMF report
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IA = IRLP DTMF report
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RA = RFID report
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AA = AllStar DTMF report
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DA = D-Star report
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XA = OLPC Laptop XO
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etc
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BUILDINGS: #h
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/h = Hospital
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\h = Ham Store ** <= now used for HAMFESTS
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Fh = HamFest (new Aug 2014)
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Hh = Home Dept etc..
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CARS: #> (Vehicles)
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/> = normal car (side view)
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\> = Top view and symbol POINTS in direction of travel
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#> = Reserve overlays 1-9 for numbered cars (new Aug 2014)
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E> = Electric
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H> = Hybrid
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S> = Solar powered
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V> = GM Volt
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CIVIL DEFENSE or TRIANGLE: #c
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/c = Incident Command Post
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\c = Civil Defense
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Dc = Decontamination (new Aug 2014)
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Rc = RACES
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Sc = SATERN mobile canteen
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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DEPOT
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/D = was originally undefined
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\D = was drizzle (moved to ' ovlyD)
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AD = Airport (new Aug 2014)
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FD = Ferry Landing (new Aug 2014)
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HD = Heloport (new Aug 2014)
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RD = Rail Depot (new Aug 2014)
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BD = Bus Depot (new Aug 2014)
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LD = LIght Rail or Subway (new Aug 2014)
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SD = Seaport Depot (new Aug 2014)
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EMERGENCY: #!
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/! = Police/Sheriff, etc
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\! = Emergency!
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E! = ELT or EPIRB (new Aug 2014)
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V! = Volcanic Eruption or Lava (new Aug 2014)
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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EYEBALL (EVENT) and VISIBILITY #E
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/E = Eyeball for special live events
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\E = (existing smoke) the symbol with no overlay
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HE = (H overlay) Haze
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SE = (S overlay) Smoke
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BE = (B overlay) Blowing Snow was \B
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DE = (D overlay) blowing Dust or sand was \b
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FE = (F overlay) Fog was \{
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GATEWAYS: #&
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/& = HF Gateway <= the original primary table definition
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I& = Igate Generic (please use more specific overlay)
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R& = Receive only IGate (do not send msgs back to RF)
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T& = TX igate with path set to 1 hop only)
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2& = TX igate with path set to 2 hops (not generally good idea)
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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GPS devices: #\
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/\ = Triangle DF primary symbol
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\\ = was undefined alternate symbol
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A\ = Avmap G5 * <= Recommend special symbol
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HAZARDS: #H
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/H = hotel
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\H = Haze
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RH = Radiation detector (new mar 2011)
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WH = Hazardous Waste
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XH = Skull&Crossbones
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HUMAN SYMBOL: #[
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/[ = Human
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\[ = Wall Cloud (the original definition)
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B[ = Baby on board (stroller, pram etc)
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S[ = Skier * <= Recommend Special Symbol
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R[ = Runner
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H[ = Hiker
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HOUSE: #-
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/- = House
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\- = (was HF)
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5- = 50 Hz mains power
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6- = 60 Hz mains power
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B- = Backup Battery Power
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C- = Club, as in Ham club
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E- = Emergency power
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G- = Geothermal
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H- = Hydro powered
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O- = Operator Present
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S- = Solar Powered
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W- = Wind powered
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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INCIDENT SITES: #'
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/' = Small Aircraft (original primary symbol)
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\' = Airplane Crash Site <= the original alternate deifinition
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A' = Automobile crash site
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H' = Hazardous incident
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M' = Multi-Vehicle crash site
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P' = Pileup
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T' = Truck wreck
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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NUMBERED CIRCLES: #0
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E0 = Echolink Node (E0)
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I0 = IRLP repeater (I0)
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S0 = Staging Area (S0)
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W0 = WIRES (Yaesu VOIP)
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NETWORK NODES: #8
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88 = 802.11 network node (88)
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G8 = 802.11G (G8)
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PORTABLE SYMBOL: #;
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/; = Portable operation (tent)
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\; = Park or Picnic
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F; = Field Day
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I; = Islands on the air
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S; = Summits on the air
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W; = WOTA
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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POWER or ENERGY: #%
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/% = DX cluster <= the original primary table definition
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C% = Coal
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E% = Emergency (new Aug 2014)
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G% = Geothermal
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H% = Hydroelectric
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N% = Nuclear
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P% = Portable (new Aug 2014)
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S% = Solar
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T% = Turbine
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W% = Wind
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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RESTAURANTS: #R
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\R = Restaurant (generic)
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7R = 7/11
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KR = KFC
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MR = McDonalds
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TR = Taco Bell
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RADIOS and APRS DEVICES: #Y
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/Y = Yacht <= the original primary symbol
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\Y = <= the original alternate was undefined
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AY = Alinco
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BY = Byonics
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IY = Icom
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KY = Kenwood * <= Recommend special symbol
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YY = Yaesu/Standard* <= Recommend special symbol
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SPECIAL VEHICLES: #k
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/k = truck
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\k = SUV
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4k = 4x4
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Ak = ATV (all terrain vehicle)
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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SHELTERS: #z
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/z = was available
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\z = overlayed shelter
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Cz = Clinic (new Aug 2014)
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Gz = Government building (new Aug 2014)
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Mz = Morgue (new Aug 2014)
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Tz = Triage (new Aug 2014)
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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SHIPS: #s
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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/s = Power boat (ship) side view
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\s = Overlay Boat (Top view)
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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6s = Shipwreck ("deep6") (new Aug 2014)
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Bs = Pleasure Boat
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Cs = Cargo
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Ds = Diving
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Es = Emergency or Medical transport
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Fs = Fishing
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Hs = High-speed Craft
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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Js = Jet Ski
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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Ls = Law enforcement
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Ms = Miltary
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Os = Oil Rig
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Ps = Pilot Boat (new Aug 2014)
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Qs = Torpedo
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Ss = Search and Rescue
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Ts = Tug (new Aug 2014)
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Us = Underwater ops or submarine
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Ws = Wing-in-Ground effect (or Hovercraft)
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Xs = Passenger (paX)(ferry)
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Ys = Sailing (large ship)
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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TRUCKS: #u
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/u = Truck (18 wheeler)
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\u = truck with overlay
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2015-11-08 01:57:02 +00:00
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Bu = Buldozer/construction/Backhoe (new Aug 2014)
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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Gu = Gas
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2015-07-27 01:05:48 +00:00
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Pu = Plow or SnowPlow (new Aug 2014)
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2015-07-27 00:35:07 +00:00
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Tu = Tanker
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Cu = Chlorine Tanker
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Hu = Hazardous
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Anyone can use any overlay on any of the overlayable symbols for any
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special purpose. We are not trying to document all possible such
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overlays. The purpose of this document is to help keep a list of
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more common such definitions that have more universal use and for
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which multiple definitions would lead to confusion.
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Future APRS code writers should be aware of where we are going:
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********************************************************************
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PROPOSAL TO ASSIGN MANY MORE BLOCKS OF SYMBOL SETS April 2007
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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www.aprs.org/symbols/symbols-overlays.txt
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In the initiative to upgrade APRS symbols, we are wasting some
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very valuable OVERLAYABLE symbol subgroups with a few nailed
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down legacy weather symbols. We are proposing to consolidate
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some of these Weather symbols to open up much more space. Since
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this is the first time we have considered actually CHANGING some
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symbol definitions, this can cause problems out there for some
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users of some legacy systems.
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That is why I am posting this plan to the APRS community. If we
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do this, XASTIR and UIVIEW will be able to download new symbol
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definitions. But some legacy clients that do not operate from
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external symbol files will show the wrong symbols for these. If
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users of those systems forsee some serious problems with the
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re-arrangement of these symbols, let us know the specific impact
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and your ideas for a workaround..
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The symbols that would be impacted are as follows:
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First, consolidate all of the visibility symbols into the old
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SMOKE symbol and change its meaning to "VISIBILITY", and then
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differentiate them with the overlay characters.
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"\E" (existing smoke) the symbol with no overlay
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"HE" (an H overlay) will mean Haze
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"SE" (an S overlay) will mean Smoke
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"BE" (a B overlay) will mean Blowing Snow was \B
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"DE" (a D overlay) will mean blowing Dust or sand was \b
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"FE" (an F overlay) will mean Fog was \{
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Another category is to expand the RAIN symbol to make it kinda
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like lots of angled dots coming from the sky, but with an open
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center so that we can use overlays for a number of common
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PRECIPITATIONS. The consolidations would be:
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"\`" (existing Rain) would be the symbol with no overlay
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"R`" (an R overlay) would mean Rain
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"F`" (an F overlay) would mean Freezing Rain was \F
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"H`" (an H overlay) would mean Hail was\:
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"D`" (an D overlay) would mean Drizzle was \D
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"E`" (an E overlay) would mean slEEt was \e
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"S`" (an S overlay) would mean Snow was \*
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Etc. and other particulates coming from the sky
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Next, I propose expanding the existing RAIN SHOWER "\I" symbol
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to look like some kind of cloud symbol with specks in it that
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can be overlayed. (It needs to look different from the next
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CLOUD symbol). It can then consolidate these symbols:
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"RI" (an R overlay) would mean Rain Shower
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"SI" (an S overlay) would mean Snow shower was \G
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"LI" (an L overlay) would mean Lightening was \J
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Etc. and other things related to clouds
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Next, I propose expanding the existing CLOUD symbol to allow
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definition of any number of different types of cloud. This
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needs to also look like a cloud but a different shape and allow
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for overlays (Maybe this cloud is clear):
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"\(" is the existing cloud symbol (would have no overlay)
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"P(" with P overlay would mean partly cloudy was \p
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"W(" with W overlay would be a wall cloud was \[
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"F(" would be Funnel cloud, but the original "\f" will also be
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retained for now
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All of these initiative will free up a lot of overlayable symbol
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GROUPS each of which can suport up to 36 different overlays in
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each group for the future:
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#H for 36 new Hazards (was only Hail)
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#[ for 36 new human symbols (was only Wall Cloud)
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#\ for 36 new GPS or navigation equipment
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#B TBD. \B was only blowing snow now is BE
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#b TBD. \b was only blowing dust/sand now is DE
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#{ TBD. \{ was only fog now is FE
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#* TBD. \* was snow only now is S`
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#: TBD. \: was hail only now is H`
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#D TBD. \D was drizzle only now is D`
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#F TBD. \F was freezing rain only now is F`
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#e TBD. \e was sleet only now is E`
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#G TBD. \G was only Snow shower now is SI
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#J TBD. \J was only Lightening now is LI
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#p TBD. \p was only partly cloudy now is P(
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Of course future code can fully draw each of these overlays as
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distinct special symbols in any way they want.
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I especially want to hear from Dale Hugley who
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is a resource for weather, and Stephen Smith who will have to
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draw them for Uiview. And others with a stake in this...
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Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
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