APRS Operating

[DaveK]

Not an exclusive group by any means. All are welcome. My thought was that we define our group and then give everyone a chance to get whatever they need with some help from our tech savvy guys. At that point, we could plan for a get together. Game?

What I need help with is figuring out what I need to get So, I was hoping for a get together to educate me on the equipment required to work with my current configuration (if possible)...

Now that we have this moving forward, with the help of some of our tech guys, (Hector, Frank, and any others) perhaps its possible to make some recommendations on the forum that we each can research for the purpose of making a purchase or to download software. As you can see from my journey, there is much to research, check out and settle on. I think that the same will be true for most of us as we get closer to a functional APRS system.

If getting together is more helpful, lets make it happen!

Frankly, there is so much to this subject that its hard to just jump in and instantly have a solution. The only simple solution seems to be the purchase of Kenwood transceiver that has all the APRS stuff (well, most of it) built in to the unit. As much as I like toys, that's not an option here.

[DaveK]

I was leaning toward AGW over MixW. I understand that they both accomplish the same thing. Your thoughts?

I was confused by the documentation in AGW. Perhaps either will work.

What little I could get from the AGW website was confusing to me as well. To be truthful however, the MixW website wasn't much better. MixW appears to originate from somewhere in Russia while the AGW stuff is USA or the UK.

For what its worth, the AGW Packet engine products received a 5/5 rating from the e-ham product reviews while the MixW received a 4.6/5 rating.

Do you have any knowledge about the performance of either product?

[NotAMog]

Has anyone built up any UI-View maps for Parashant? If so, it would be great if they could be posted. It would be one less thing that the rest of us would need to do to get ready for the trip.

[cruiserlarry]

Frankly, there is so much to this subject that its hard to just jump in and instantly have a solution. The only simple solution seems to be the purchase of Kenwood transceiver that has all the APRS stuff (well, most of it) built in to the unit. As much as I like toys, that's not an option here.

Not an option here, either.

APRS was around a long time before the integrated APRS Kenwood receivers came around, so I'm confident, with proper guidance from our tech wizards, we can create functional mobile APRS stations without new radios. I do have a VX8R with a built in TNC for APRS, but it's only 5 watts...so I'm looking forward to learning about the stuff required to make a functional APRS system utilizing components I already have, if possible...

[hmfigueroa]

Wow, OK lets get something going.

Dave,
Tigertronics is a very good option it will open many doors in the digital modes ie. psk-31, APRS, and SSTV.

Larry,
You are well on your way, the equipment you have on board will do most of what you need.

Frank,
Mixw is not something I have explored, not that it is bad , just others are more mainstream. and AGW is Polish, not US/ British.

I was very busy today, but I am glad there is such interest. I am free this weekend Saturday Morning, or Sunday after noon, Monday is a holiday that I have off, I was planning a trip this weekend, but found out the trails, areas were closed. So this would be a great way to salvage the weekend.

Saturday or Monday would be best for me. Beware Saturday is Valentines Day, My Birthday, but I have a birthday meal set for Sunday with my family.

[DaveK]

Early indications are that the new stuff you will need is not very costly, certainly compared to what you have already spent. Stay tuned for final results. Much of it is shareware, freeware or hamware which is free or cheap.

[DaveK]

I was very busy today, but I am glad there is such interest. I am free this weekend Saturday Morning, or Sunday after noon, Monday is a holiday that I have off, I was planning a trip this weekend, but found out the trails, areas were closed. So this would be a great way to salvage the weekend.

Saturday or Monday would be best for me. Beware Saturday is Valentines Day, My Birthday, but I have a birthday meal set for Sunday with my family.

Lets all agree (those married at least) that Saturday is out.

So..........Monday is a holiday, eh. What now! Oh yes, presidents day. In it's generic form, I guess that we get to pick the president we wish to celebrate. What a great time we live in!

If Monday works out, what's the plan?

[hmfigueroa]

Well I say lets plan to meet at a mutually acceptable spot.

I am in Covina of Course, I know Dave is in Torrance. It would be nice to have a place with a table and power and Intenet access. We could discuss different options and solutions to get people up and running.

Honestly we could meet in a park, or restaurant, or a parking lot for that matter.

[DaveK]

Has anyone built up any UI-View maps for Parashant? If so, it would be great if they could be posted. It would be one less thing that the rest of us would need to do to get ready for the trip.

Part of the difficulty in getting my APRS set up is the dizzying assortment of things that can be used. In my quest to research a decent mapping program, I recently discovered a product called dmapper. From their website (http://www.roadfacts.com/software/dmapp ... rchase.htm ):

Do you have a favorite mapping program that you would like to plot radio transmitted gps positions to?
ISSUE: UNTIL DMAPPER... software written for mapping packet GPS data from a radio just didn't have the detail and options needed for many Life and Death tracking operations. It is also unfortunate that many of the "detailed" mapping programs don't have the ability to take GPS data from a radio and display it to their maps.

DMAPPER was written specifically to connect the radio GPS tracking technology to the higher quality mapping programs, so you can now get automatic position plotting/tracking of your Search & Rescue, Fire, or other personnel using the mapping software you prefer or are already using.

Recommended Mapping Software to use with Dmapper: ** MapTech Terrain Navigator or National Geographic's (Topo! or Back Roads) **

DMAPPER sits as the translator/interface between today's GPS units hooked to a packet radio modem AND your favorite mapping programs.

The cost is $20.00. It sounds great. The ability to view the APRS participants on a USGS Topo map is terrific.

Does anyone have any input on this product.

[hmfigueroa]

Upon a cursory review of the website, It appears to require a true Terminal Node Controller.

We can demo it at our meet and see how it works. It definitely sounds like an interesting package.