VHF or HF, the only difference is frequency. If you have a radio capable of doing packet (APRS) it should work just dandy on HF. The only qualification is to stay in the portion of the band allotted for packet use.
If/when I use APRS I'm in one of two places, the truck or in the house. The thingy in the truck is a separate transmitter (no receiver) and is a 'stand-alone'. I don't have to mess with it, pay attention to it, doesn't tie up a radio with APRS. It's only to show where I am and only does that. If I want to send messages, I do that with the raio in the truck. That's a lie, it's too complicated for me so I use a computer with that radio to make things more easy for me, sort of. If I'm at home, or on a base radio, I use a computer to do all the tracking, messaging, etc. Both of those are strictly using RF, directly hearing things off the air. Using the internet is a completely different animal. Nothing wrong with that except it's almost never 'real time', there's always a delay. That delay can be almost anything from seconds to days! For the intended purpose, seconds are manageable, days are totally useless. No idea where the 'usefullness' cut-off point in that 'delay' is, it just depends on what you're doing.
The radio in the truck has a TNC built in, real handy, and why I have that particular radio. There are a number of TNCs that will work fine, some are just 'handier' than others. (That 'stand-alone' thingy has one built in also.) At home, that TNC is a sound card program, since the computer has a sound card and I don't have a TNC. That sound card program is free (there's also a commercial version of it that's easier for me to use, I have both). Free is NICE! That program will do what I want it to, but I'm sure it has limitations too (not as limiting as -my- limitations, so who cares... so far).
None of this is just 'dead' simple (for me anyway). It requires figuring out how to put stuff together and making it work right. It isn't the 'best' way in the world of doing it, but it works for me. And all I can say is that if I can make it work (with some help of course), anybody ought to be able to. And believe me, that is NOT me being modest! From there it's simply a matter of what you can figure out, what you have available, how much you wanna spend, and then just doing it. Being an 'idiot' at times certainly helps, ask me about it. (So does whining/sniveling/crying! But not really as much.)
Have fun. THAT's the biggy!
- 'Doc
