APRS in the news !

But for one Canadian ham it became more of the thrill of the chase. Newsline's Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, has more: When Bill Guthrie, 

VE6OLD of Bentley, Alberta, Canada woke up to find his van missing from his driveway, he did one thing before he called the police. 

Bill ran down to the computer, and had a quick peek. Almost instantly, the APRS beacon in his car told Bill's computer that his vehicle 

was enjoying a leisurely drive around the town of Red Deer. Then, calmly, Bill picked up the phone and called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He reported the stolen van, adding that they could recover it and catch the thieves if they sent someone the red to the Red Deer location. 

They did, and the arresting officers got even more than they were looking for. It seems some young teens needed a vehicle to haul their

loot from a recent spate of break and enter robberies. Not only did the alleged thieves get caught red handed for grand theft auto, 

but the stolen goodies in the van tied them to those other crime scenes as well. But that's not all. Obviously, the Royal Canadian 

Mounted Police wanted to know how the owner of a stolen vehicle could possibly know where it was. That was an opening for VE6OLD 

to begin explaining the magic of Amateur Radio's Automatic Position Reporting System. 

He also invited some of the officers to his house to demonstrate how APRS works. 

The mounties were impressed. 

From Lima, Ohio, Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, reporting for Newsline.