The Automated Packet Reporting System…

• Was developed by Bob Bruniga, WB4APR beginning in 1984
• Is a packet format for the exchange telemetry, messages, and position over amateur radio
• Uses primarily AFSK (“packet radio”) on 2m (144.390 MHz in the US)
• Is widely used for tactical work in public service

What can you do?

• Share position information with other stations
• Obtain local weather conditions
• Short text messaging between stations or to SMS or email
• Satellite operations through the ISS or cubesats

Then…

DOS APRS

And now!

Pin Point APRS on Windows 10

Some portable stations then & now

Stations Then and Now

In the field

ARES Deployment

Mobile

Mobile

Satellite

Satellite Operations

The APRS network

The APRS Network Today

A word about the internet…

aprs.fi

Getting on the air

What you need

• Software for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android
• A PC, tablet, or cell phone (portable is fun!)
• A 2m radio
• TNC or soft modem cable for your radio
• (Optional) GPS receiver

Terminology

• Callsign - Your callsign
• SSID - A unique integer from 1-15 to identify your station
• Icon - An icon identifying your station on the map
• Digipeater - A station that repeats (digipeats) packets
• IGate - A station configured to route packets to (and possibly from) the Internet

Frequencies & APRSIS hostnames

• 144.390 MHz - National Simplex APRS Frequency
• 145.825 MHz - Satellite uplink / downlink
• rotate.aprs2.net - Picks an appropriate APRSIS server
• noam.aprs2.net - APRSIS server for North America
• euro.aprs2.net - APRSIS server for Europe

Software

• APRSIS32 - Windows, very full featured
• PinPoint APRS - Windows, good UI, best for monitoring
• YAAC - Java, all platforms, a bit fiddly
• APRSdroid - Android
• PocketPacket - iOS & Mac OS
• aprs.fi (iOS, not the web site)

Older software

You’ll see these, don’t bother trying with them!

• UIView-32
• MacAPRS & WinAPRS
• javAPRS (for embedding in a Web browser)

Radios

• Kenwood TH-D7A, TH-D72A (GPS), TH-D74A (GPS, D-STAR, & Bluetooth)
• Kenwood TH-D700, TH-D710
• Yaesu VX-8DR, FT1DR, FT2DR, FT3DR
• PicoAPRS mini-APRS Transceiver
• MicroTrak tracker from Byonics
• Any other 2m radio connected to a Mobilinkd Bluetooth TNC

Connecting to the network

• Bluetooth
• USB (and USB-to-serial)
• Sound modem
• TCP/IP

Bluetooth

• Low-power, wireless protocol for audio and serial
• Bluetooth Serial replaces RS-232 or USB serial
• Works with some KISS TNCs (Mobilinkd, Kenwood TH-D74A/E)
• Great choice for portable with Android smartphones
• Can work with Windows, but expect weird problems.
• On iOS, only the Mobilinkd v3 works, and only with the aprs.fi app

USB

• Serial connections for the new millennium
• Some TNCs and radios have USB
• Others will require a USB-RS232 adapter
• Drivers for USB-RS232 can be fussy!
• Works with Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android (maybe)

Sound modem

• Uses the sound card in your computer or an external adapter like a TigerTronics SignaLink.
• PC, Mac and Linux need software (Direwolf, AGWPE, others)
• Can be tricky to set up (not all APRS apps work with all sound modem apps)

Sound modems and cell phones

• APRSdroid and PocketPacket include sound card modem software!
• Just hold your phone next to your radio…
• …or make a cable and use VOX

TCP/IP

• Used as backhaul to APRSIS
• Most APRS clients support this today
• Generally does not transmit your telemetry to the RF network.
• A great choice for learning on your cell phone!

Setting up

• Call sign and SSID
• Icon (funky codes abound!)
• Digipeater path (stick with WIDE1-1)

It sounds complicated…

But it isn’t.

Most apps have a setup wizard. Know your callsign, SSID, passcode, and TNC port before you begin.

Setting up for APRSIS access

• You need a callsign and a passcode to transmit on APRSIS.
• The passcode is generated from your callsign. It’s semi-secret.
• You can get the passcode from any APRS software author, or some hams.

Setting up internet gating

• You’ll need your callsign and passcode (you’re accessing APRSIS after all!)
• Most APRS applications support Internet Gating; check the settings.
• Do not blindly transmit the APRSIS feed to the RF network. You’ll swamp the channel!

Messaging

• Address a message to a callsign and send it.
• Messages are short - 60 characters or so.
• Messages are retried a handful of times with exponential backoff.

Special message recipients

• SMSGTE 8885551212 Here’s a text message
• EMAIL2 kf6gpe@arrl.net Hi via APRS & email!
• WXBOT

Call to action

• Install APRS on your cell phone!
• Reach out to me for a passcode.

APRS software links

• tinyurl.com/get-aprs
• APRSdroid, APRSdroid on the Play Store
• APRS.fi on iOS
• APRS.fi on the Web
• APRSIS32
• PocketPacket iOS, Pocket Packet on the App Store
• PocketPacket Mac OS, Pocket Packet on the Mac App Store
• PinPoint APRS
• YAAC
• Xastir

Sound card modem links

• AGWPE Resources
• Packet Engine Pro
• UZ7HO

Protocol & implementation links

• APRS Protocol Specification
• APRS Internet Service
• Python APRS Module (one of many!)
• pyaprs-stationservice Python Web service to monitor APRSIS feed and provide REST interface to report station positions.
• tasker-aprs-updater Android Tasker routine to update APRSIS periodically.