APRS Communicating to Anyone, to Anywhere, at Anytime Vero Beach Amateur Radio Club Digital University November 10, 2018 Prepared by: Jerry/K4WOF, John/KK4SHF, Jim/KM4UFN
Why APRS? Email and Text Anyone (including non Hams) from Anywhere, Anytime Friends and family can find you when their phones are down Supplement voice channels anytime, especially during emergencies or special events Ever pass an antenna strewn vehicle and wonder how you can talk to them?
What is APRS*? Automatic Packet Reporting System Amateur radio based real time communications Developed in 1982 to map HF Navy position reports *APRS is a registered trademark of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
More Capabilities See who is in range as you travel Track an operator s position (via APRS.fi, find.u) Find repeater frequencies, tones, and net times in a new city using Objects Check, receive and send messages in Winlink Send/receive emails to all email systems (gmail, yahoo, aol, hotmail, etc.) Send/receive text messages from/to cell phones Display weather alerts and citizen weather station reports
The APRS Network Information exchange between everyone Aa And to the Internet Gateway Digipeaters Multiple Hops APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 5
Scope of APRS Over 40,000 users worldwide. RELAYS every 20-30 mi called digipeaters. All linked by home station Igates Global links by Amateur Satellites Thousands of Weather stations Telemetry and data everywhere But, only 2% of local ham radio users (a side show) APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 6
Demonstration Text from radio to cell phone Text from cell phone to radio Text from radio to radio Beacon Beacon with Voice Alert
The Global APRS Network
Popular APRS Equipment Choices Cost Low to High 1. Mobilinkd TNC + factory cable + your existing radio + an old Android device + APRSDroid ~ $100 2. Used Kenwood TH-D7A HT + GPS (Out of production but solid radio) 3. Kenwood TH-D72 HT (GPS, True Full Duplex for satellite work) 4. Kenwood TH-D74 HT (Top Dog, GPS, Bluetooth, D-Star) 5. Kenwood TM-D700 used or TM-D710G Mobile GPS (ISS choice)
Popular APRS Equipment Choices Cost Low to High Notes: All Kenwoods have internal TNC; Kenwood is long-time partner with APRS organization and Bob Bruninga Expectations uncertain with some Yaesu experiment with yours! Baofeng will cause many headaches from TX-RC switching latency - Recommendation is to avoid. HTs may give inconsistent results due to low power with stock antenna. Signals must be clean for packet success. WIP - Many Roll-your-Own combos of software and hardware TNCs with numerous radios and displays
Application Review APRS.fi and find.u - Who s Where APRS Texting Global APRS Email APRS to SMS Gateway (2 Way) Local Info - Nets, HamFests APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
APRS.FI (anyone can see APRS) Google for USNA Buoy Select USNA-1 APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 12
VX-8GR APRS Texting Lots a Radios! VX-8R & FTM-350R All now come with GPS BUILT-IN! APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR TH-D72A VX-8DR 13
Global APRS Email! To: EMAIL MSG: wb4apr@amsat.org ET call home! APRS Global Text Messaging since 1993; from HT s since 1998! Send Email from any APRS radio anywhere to anyone on the planet, anywhere LIVE. APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 14
APRS Msgs/Email MSG menu Send/Receive messages or email Anywhere on the planet via APRS satellite Confirmation of Relay => APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 15
New APRS SMS APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 16
Local Info: FREQUENCY OBJECTS and POSITS D72, D710 and FTM-350 all TX their voice Freq and can QSY with one button APRS is a registered trademark Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 17
For More Informaiton APRS.fi and/or find.u APRS.org APRS to Winlink: https://winlink.org/aprslink APRS/SMS Gate: http://smsgte.wixsite.com/smsgte APRS Beginner s Guide - 17 pages, well documented http://www.trinityos.com/ham/aprs/aprs%20beginner%20guide%20- %20K9DCI%20Ver%205-1.pdf Mobilinkd.com WCARES.org: https://wcares.org/special-interests-3/aprs/ Voice Alert: http://www.aprs.org/voicealert3.html