APRS - Automated Position Reporting System

This page last updated 05/08/2008  

  Byonics Comes Out with New Tiny Trak 

Byonics has come out with a new APRS tracker module.  This is similar to the previous Tiny Trak, Tiny Trak 2, and Tiny Trak 3 that many of us use in our APRS trackers, however this new tracker (Tiny Trak 4) is supposed to also decode packets using the KISS mode.  If anyone has tried this new unit, I would like to hear about your experience with it and how well (or not) it worked.  You can email me at n9mea[at]wvraclub[dot]org.  You can check out this new unit by clicking on this link.

  TNCs for APRS Digipeaters Needed 

If you have any old TNCs lying around the ham shack that you are not using, consider donating them for use as a digipeater.  We are primarily looking for MFJ 1270 series, Kantronics 3 and 3plus, and Vectronics TNCs.  If you are considering donating your TNC or have questions about APRS digipeaters in general, contact Mark N9MEA by emailing him at n9mea[at]wvraclub[dot]org.

   Radios donated to WVRA  

The WVRA has received a donation of some used radios to be used for APRS, Packet, or Winlink 2000.  These radios are GE/ Ericsson MDX radios.  The club will be selling these 16 channel, 40 watt radios for $50.00 each.  These radios do not come with mounting brackets or microphones.  If you are interested in one of these radios, please contact Mark, N9MEA.  These radios work very well for APRS.  We currently have some in operation as the digis in Wittenberg, Abbotsford, and Sayner and also Lisa, KC9DOS has one as a tracker and they are all are working wonderfully.  Joel, K9MLD in Ironwood, MI has also said these radios work great and has some working as digis.

Article as posted in
Badger State Smoke Signals

What’s all this excitement about APRS?  Well, different things about APRS excite everybody differently. To one it might be a reason to buy a new rig. To another it is a good reason to resurrect some equipment that has been on the shelf collecting dust. To me it was the impressive sight to watch a Ham friend of mine track across my computer screen on a street level map and actually track him into the city parking lot where he parked his car in addition to all of the above. 

APRS or the Automated Position Reporting System has seen increased  activity in the Wausau and surrounding area. As we got started, we used the local repeater while testing and setting up our computers and the software. We also used the repeater to talk to the hams that we were tracking on our computer screens. This did a lot to spark interest in other hams, as I’m sure they were wondering what the heck these guys are talking about. How are they seeing the speed and direction of the mobile unit?  What is all of this talk about Wide coverage digi’s, unproto paths, unconnected packets, mobile units with tnc’s built in, sending GPS information to other stations and on and  on.  We were having a good time and the other guys knew it!  

The following best describes APRS, the Automated Position Reporting System. It [APRS] is a tactical information network that sends position information and short messages over the airwaves. This information can be displayed in real time on a map using the appropriate computer software. APRS is a one to many protocol, so the information is received by all users capable of receiving it. APRS is an excellent protocol for sharing location and short message information during public service events, storm spotting, or EOC operations. 

So how did we get started?  It took the excitement of a relatively new ham, Mike Martens (KB9VBR) to keep mentioning the new modes such as PSK31 and ultimately APRS. Mike knew quite a bit about it and we followed his lead. We found a lot of good information on the web sites of hams in southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois where they had elaborate networks already up and running. We asked questions of those that were experienced and determined that if we were to have a successful APRS network in the central Wisconsin area we needed to form an APRS Steering committee. 

The purpose of the APRS steering committee is to basically design, implement and maintain a network of APRS home and mobile stations. To insure that those interested in operating APRS were guided as to the correct way to set up a station so as to keep QRM to a minimum on the single simplex frequency. To offer assistance in setting up the computer software and tnc’s that may at one time been used strictly for packet now are going to be used a little differently to allow APRS data to flow to the computer screen. 

The group started meeting on a regular basis and we invited any and all hams to come and learn more about APRS. We started an email discussion list and a web page to share information, and we put all the APRS software we could find on some CDRs so that others could easily install the software. 

The Wisconsin Valley Radio Association (WVRA) used it for Badger State Winter Games and Wisconsin Special Olympics Winter Games. Several Hams had HT’s and GPS units out on the Cross Country Ski course and were transmitting their locations to the command center were they appeared on the computer screen. This allowed the computer operator to visually determine where on the course the last skier was located. The same principal can be applied to parades where hams with APRS units are located at the beginning and end of the parade. We are planning to use it for storm spotting where we can use current weather maps to position APRS tracker units in the most strategic position to monitor the severity of the approaching storm. 

WVRA used APRS for Dream Flight Wausau: the Space and Science Program in the Wausau School District. The focal point of the program is a specially outfitted school bus modified to look like a NASA space shuttle. The WVRA provides amateur radio voice and packet communications between mission control, the schools, and shuttle. The fifth graders in the program that take on Mission Control roles will also be able to monitor the location of the space shuttle, named Apollo Condor, via APRS as it travels from school to school during the program. 

The really exciting thing about this is that we will have an Internet Gateway in Wausau that will allow the transmitted location packets for the Shuttle to be relayed to an APRS server on the Internet. Anyone that has Internet access will be able to monitor the location of the Shuttle from his or her office, classroom or home.  Hams across the world, knowing the call sign of the Shuttle, via the Internet could send simple APRS text messages to the Amateur operator on the Shuttle. Are we excited?  You bet!  

APRS is a fusion of amateur radio, Internet, and GPS technology. We’ve attracted quite a few Tech class hams that have otherwise fallen away from the hobby. APRS is an exciting mode for younger, active hams that like to go outdoors or travel with their GPS units. Local law enforcement agencies are also very interested in the capabilities of APRS for EOC and storm spotting applications. There’s more to tell and more to learn. All you need to be part of the excitement is a 2 meter transceiver, a 1200 baud tnc and a 486 or better computer. 

Kim Kunze (N9SDL) 
Mike Martens (KB9VBR)  

How to Get APRS up and running in your area

APRS is very well served in the Southern 3/4s of Wisconsin, but the rest of the state has a general lack of coverage. Anybody with a packet radio equipment can run APRS with the addition of some software. Here are some tips to get started.

1.      Get the ARRL book VHF Digital Handbook, by Steve Ford, WB9IMY. This is the best getting started guide there is. It has lots of information on the software available and setting up a station.

2.      If you have an unused packet station, turn it into an APRS fill-in station. Since APRS is an unconnected protocol, fill-in stations and digipeaters are necessary to propagate the packets.

3.      Do an APRS presentation at your club meeting or ARES meeting. Several PowerPoint presentations are available on the web for your use, or contact the Wisconsin Valley Radio Association to do a presentation for you.

4.      Use your local repeater to discuss APRS and to invite more hams to use the mode.

5.      Join APRS discussion lists on the Internet such as APRSSIG at www.tapr.org or the WVRA’s APRS list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvraaprs/.  The members of these lists are more than willing to answer your questions.

6.      Create an APRS steering committee for your area. Have regular meetings and invite anyone interested to come and discuss the mode with others.  

7.       If you want to learn more about GPSs and how the Global Positioning System works, you can also check out the ARRL book GPS in Amateur Radio, by Walter Fields W4WCF.

Getting started in APRS can be fairly inexpensive, but as most hams know there are always bigger, better and more expensive toys to add to the mix.  APRS was originally designed to make use of your old packet equipment that maybe collecting dust.  To this day, it’s still the norm to use a radio and TNC to get  your APRS station on the air.  A number of radio manufacturers are now making radios with built in TNCs. But improvements have been made, now you can use various different pieces of equipment like computers, GPS units (NMEA compatible),  tiny trackers.  Unless you have the equipment, you will need to make some purchases, we recommend using these products only because it is what members of WVRA use and what we are familiar with, others may work just as well or not at all.

The software used to run the street level maps has also expanded, and is available for PCs, windows, DOS, Linux formats, and MAC formats as well as Palm Pilots.  Some of the software can be run on older computers (486) running Windows 3.1 or DOS 6.0 as well as new computers and operating systems.  The software has developed to the point that it allows for linking to the internet with out anything other then your computer via modem.  Of course if you want to be at the top of the game you’ll find a laptop to mount in the vehicle so you can watch yourself and other hams track across the screen as well as send text messages back and forth.  One of the most popular software packages is UI-View using Precision Maps.

The applications for using APRS seems to be endless.  While traveling you can utilize the GPS, computer and street level mapping to find your way through unfamiliar areas.  If you're in areas linked to an internet gateway you can send a text message to someone in your town while you drive through Chicago or send someone email, there is also satellite APRS.

There are many different ways that you can set up an APRS station.  You can just have a tracker unit that will transmit out you position at preprogrammed intervals.  You can also have a mobile station that has a computer attached so that you can receive everyone else's position, send and receive short text messages, and receive severe weather information.  You can also set up a home station to do the same.  Also at your home station, if you have hi speed internet available, you can overlay weather radar data with mapping program.  Depending on your setup, you can also transmit real time weather data from your location with the correct weather station.  If you home station has high speed internet, you can also setup up your station as an I-Gate to transfer received data to an internet steam, or take data from the internet stream and output it to the local RF network.  The equipment that you will need will depend on what type of APRS system you want to run.    

The Wisconsin Valley Radio Association is committed to creating a state wide APRS network.  As part of this commitment, WVRA has developed a PowerPoint presentation to be shown to ham clubs and others interested in learning more about APRS.  A demonstration of a working APRS system is also available from WVRA members.  If you are interested in the presentation or demonstration please contact the WVRA to make arraignments.  

In developing our local APRS network, WVRA established a steering committee.  This committee was to over see the technical aspect of setting up the local APRS network.  During the course of working through problems they developed a list of suggestions for those in the local area wishing to join the APRS network.  If you are going to be using WINAPRS (this is a MS Word document) software, they suggest the setting at this WINAPRS link.  Are you trying to find out what to use for your SSID (this is a MS Word document) follow the link to the list of them.  Trying to understand all the unproto path stuff, to help eliminate QRM the committee suggests using these settings.

	For home stations in the Wausau area; W9SM-10 (or KC9NW-10), wide2-2
	For trackers only; wide1-1, wide2-2
	For home stations in the Northern Lincoln County area (Harrison Hills); N9MEA-10, wide2-2
	For home stations in the Langlade County area (Lily); N9MEA-8, wide2-2
	For home stations in Vilas County (Sayner); N9MEA-12, wide2-2
	For home stations in Wood County; KB9RWX-10 (Arpin) or KB9RWX-11(Wi Rapids), wide2-2
	For home stations in Portage County (Stevens Point); N9MEA-11, wide2-2
	For home stations in the Iola area; N9MEA-13,wide2-2
	For home stations in the Wittenberg area; K9AEG-10, wide2-2
	For home stations in the Park Falls area: K9MLD-12, wide2-2
	For home stations in the Abbotsford area; KA9BAB-11, wide2-2

Look for digipeaters coming soon to western Oneida county, the city of Shawano, and possibly southern Clark county.

Remember that "RELAY" is no longer used in the unproto path.  Use "WIDE1-1" in place of "RELAY".

Remember that these are suggestions.  The number and placement of digipeaters is always changing.  So watch the map and see if there is a digi closer to you that would work better in your path

APRS digipeaters in Wisconsin as of 1/2/08.

APRS activity around the Marathon County area as of 1/2/08.

We now have some 40 watt, 16 channel dash mount Ericsson/ GE radios.  Currently we are selling these radios for $50.00 each.  The nice part about these radios is that they are multi channel, so you can have the APRS frequency in one channel and if you want to work some PACKET or Winlink 2000, you can switch to a different channel.  You can not run APRS and PACKET / Winlink 2000 at the same time.  If you would like to get one of these radios and you also want PACKET frequencies in it, please specify the frequencies you would like in addition to the APRS channel.    

How to send Winlink messages through the APRS network
www.winlink.org/aprslink.htm
This Winlink page provides all the information you will need to send short messages between an APRS user and a Winlink user.

APRS info  
http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs.html  
This site provides information on APRS right from the creator of APRS, Bob Bruninga.

More APRS info  
http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/index.html  
This site provides more information right from Bob Bruninga.

Additional APRS info about the new n-N Paradigm  
http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs/fix14439.html  
This site provides more information right from Bob Bruninga including settings for various digipeaters.

FindU.com 
http://www.findu.com/
The place to go if your looking to integrate the internet with APRS.  This page has a tremendous amount of detailed information on it, so be willing to spend some time to sort through it.

Southern Wisconsin APRS -N9QIP UI View Webserver
http://69.179.80.128:1961/
Information about the APRS activity in the southern and central part of Wisconsin

Northern Wisconsin APRS
http://www.aprs.5050ranch.com/index.html
Information about the APRS activity in the northwest and northcentral part of Wisconsin

AA9NV APRS webpage
http://aa9nv.r2i.net/APRS.htm
Information about the AA9NV APRS units and I-Gate

AA9NV UI View Webserver
http://68.191.169.141:1961/
Information about APRS activity in the Waupaca area of Wisconsin

HamHud
http://www.hamhud.net
Heads up display and simple messaging interface.

WA8LMF APRS webpage
www.wa8lmf.net/aprs/index.htm
This website has lots of APRS information and APRS links.

WA8LMF overview of the Garmin Fore Trex GPS
www.wa8lmf.net/ForeTrex/index.htm
Nice write up about the Garmin Fore Trex GPS and using it with the Kenwood TH-D7.

Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR)
www.tapr.org  
This site not only covers packet but APRS as well.  It offers a number of message boards for a variety of different aspects of the hobby.  This is also an excellent place to get the latest APRS software.

APRS+SA Home Page  
http://www.tapr.org/~kh2z/aprsplus/   
This application utilizes the street level mapping program Street Atlas to track APRS Stations.  This application has a lot of menus and appears to be quit extensive.  A Free trail down-load is available.

WIN APRS/ DOS APRS/ MAC APRS  
http://www.winaprs.org  
This site supplies information on all three software packages of APRS.

UI-View APRS  
http://www.ui-view.org  
This application utilizes the street level mapping from Precision Map and also allows use of a bunch of different plug in programs some of which include different weather stuff.

Sound Card Packet  
http://www.qsl.net/soundcardpacket/index.html  
This is an interesting site.  Use your computers sound card instead of a TNC to access APRS or packet networks.  No one I know has tried this yet so let us know if it works for you.

Northern Illinois APRS Network  
http://nian.aprs.org/  

Tri-State APRS Working Group
(Serving Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Southern Michigan, South Eastern Missouri & West Virginia.)  
http://www.tawg.org/  
This appears to be a pretty extensive site offering information on many different APRS software applications including DOS, WINAPRS, MACAPRS, APRS+SA, APRSPoint, PERLAPRS, Pocket APRS, APRS-CE and more.  The site also has a APRS Web Ring at  
http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=aprswebring;action=list  

Packetradio.com
http://www.packetradio.com
Just getting started with APRS it helps to know a little about packet radio.  This site has lots of information that can be applied to APRS.  It also contains radio mods, and project kits.

APRS Virtual Meeting  
http://www.aprs.net/vm/  
While this site appears to be in the process of shutting down it still has a lot of good APRS information.  I wouldn't expect any update to this page or the software linked from this page.

Byonics
http://www.byonics.com
Good site for kit or built APRS trackers.  Also has other kits such as APRS weather beacon (similar to tracker) and foxhunt interfaces.  These trackers work great and they are always coming out with new products.

APRS Digi Power/Height/Gain Calculator
http://www.apritch.myby.co.uk/phgrcalc.htm 
This site will calculate your power/height/gain number for you.  You will need to know your transmit power, antenna gain, and height above surrounding terrain

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