02/09/2022

The creator of the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS[1]), Bob Bruninga,
WB4APR, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, died on February 7. An ARRL Life Member,
Bruninga was 73. According to his daughter, Bruninga succumbed to cancer and
the effects of COVID-19. Bruninga had announced his cancer diagnosis in 2020.
Over the years, he readily shared his broad knowledge of and experience with
APRS, among other topics in the amateur radio and electronics fields.

While best known for APRS, Bruninga was also a retired US Naval Academy (USNA)
senior research engineer who had an abiding interest in alternative power
sources, such as solar power. In 2018, he authored Energy Choices for the Radio
Amateur, published by ARRL, which explores developing changes in the area of
power and energy, and examines the choices radio amateurs and others can make
regarding home solar power, heat pumps, and hybrid and electric vehicles.
Bruninga drove an all-electric car and had experimented with a variety of
electric-powered vehicles over the years.

APRS originated in 1982, when Bruninga wrote his first data map program that
plotted the positions of US Navy ships for the Apple II platform. A couple of
years later, he developed what he called the Connectionless Emergency Traffic
System (CETS) on the VIC-20 and C64 platforms for digital packet communications
to support an endurance race. The program was ported to the IBM PC platform in
1988, and was renamed APRS in 1992. The recognized North American APRS
frequency is 144.39 MHz, and APRS is globally linked via the internet. Bruninga
founded the Appalachian Trail Golden Packet (ATPG) event, which fields APRS
nodes from Stone Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine each July.

ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, remembered Bruninga this way: "Bob
kept pushing APRS beyond its origins as a position reporting system. He
developed and helped implement numerous other uses of APRS in support of what
has become the 'Ham Radio of Things,' with great potential for future amateur
radio applications. Bob's far-reaching vision and imagination were as good as
it gets."

Bruninga mentored USNA midshipmen in building and launching amateur radio
satellites and CubeSats, beginning with PCsat in 2001. PCsat was the first
satellite to directly report its precise position to users via its onboard GPS
module. Subsequent USNA spacecraft included PSK31 capability (HF to UHF) and
other innovations.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) ARRL liaison Rosalie
White, K1STO, recalled that Bruninga attended many ARISS-International meetings
and contributed "enormously" to ARISS APRS activities, leading a team in
developing protocols and software for rapid message exchange via a packet
"robot."

White said APRS remains a key staple in the new ARISS InterOperable Radio
System (IORS) that's now on board the ISS. She added that Bruninga offered
input for future NASA Lunar and Gateway opportunities in which ARISS hopes to
take part.

Last year, ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, on behalf of ARRL, honored Bruninga
with a brick in the ARRL Diamond Club Terrace at ARRL Headquarters. ARRL sent
him a letter of appreciation along with a replica of the brick.

Bruninga held a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech
(Georgia Institute of Technology) and a master's degree in electrical
engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Bruninga was a 20-year US Navy
veteran. Dayton Hamvention¿ honored him in 1998 with its Technical Excellence
Award.

Bruninga authored and co-authored numerous academic papers over the years, and
was frequently in demand as a speaker and presenter at amateur radio
gatherings.

Survivors include his wife, Elise Albert; daughter, Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar,
WE4APR, and son A.J. Bruninga, WA4APR. Arrangements are pending, although his
daughter said that a celebratory memorial service will be held this summer in
Annapolis, Maryland.

[1] http://www.aprs.org/

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■ Synchronet ■ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS

Re: APRS Developer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, SK
By: ARRL de WD1CKS to QST on Wed Feb 09 2022 07:13 pm

> The creator of the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS[1]), Bob
> Bruninga, WB4APR, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, died on February 7. An ARRL Life
> Member, Bruninga was 73. According to his daughter, Bruninga succumbed to

Oh my gosh, RIP Bob. Such an awesome guy and did so much for ham radio.

73,

KN6Q

________________________________________________________________
Sysop of Desert Rats Sanctuary --- https://bbs.kn6q.org

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■ Synchronet ■ Desert Rats Sanctuary --- https://bbs.kn6q.org

> The creator of the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS[1]), Bob
> Bruninga, WB4APR, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, died on February 7. An ARRL Life
> Member, Bruninga was 73. According to his daughter, Bruninga succumbed to

Xe> Oh my gosh, RIP Bob. Such an awesome guy and did so much for ham
Xe> radio.

I used to have the shareware program he did for MS-DOS on my system, and
I had registered it. Now, there are various APRS apps for smartphones, etc.

He will be sorely missed...the story is in this week's Amateur Radio
Newsline (released Feb. 11, 2022).

Daryl, WX4QZ

.... What if someone's real name is a psuedonym??
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