Outdoor Adventure USA

I have been looking for a way to send APRS messages from my computer without hooking a radio up to it. Sites like http://aprs.fi allow you to track people on APRS and view messaging that has occured but not send messages. Well I have finally found an incredible site that allows you to send and recieve messages while setting at home on your PC. Here is the link to the site...

http://www.openaprs.net/

It doesn't like Internet Explorer very well. It prefers almost any browser but IE. I use Google Chrome when I run it. I was testing it out with DaveK yesterday and it worked very well. You don't need a license to register to the website but you do need a license to use the bonus features like messaging. If you have a license you will also have to be set up for APRS through a radio to gain access to those features. Without a license you can track people on APRS, track satellites (to include the ISS), etc. It has all kinds of bells and whistles and just keepsa growing all the time.

For tose familiar with APRS, this site acts a lot like echolink. APRS through the computer is called APRS IS. APRS through the radio is called APRS RF. When you send a message through your radio it generally hits a Digipeater where, depending on the DP's setup, it travels through the inernet and gets rebroadcast via RF. OpenAPRS grabs the packet and sends it to your computer.

Here's some of it's features and their descriptions:

You can create a Friends List for APRS Messaging?
You can create a friends list on OpenAPRS that works much like popular instant messaging (IM) clients. Create your list of friends under the Tools window, when they are seen online sending APRS messages over RF or APRS-IS they will be displayed as online. Click on your friends name and messaging will pop up automatically and fill in their callsign they are using online in the To field.

Did you know you can create APRS Objects from OpenAPRS?
You can create APRS Objects right from OpenAPRS! APRS Objects created on OpenAPRS are transmitted via APRS-IS only. To create an object you must Signup for an account and then must Verify your license with us. Eventually it may be possible to IGate APRS Objects back to RF and some IGates will do this now.

Did you know you can send email from APRS?
You can send Email from APRS through OpenAPRS! Simply send an APRS text message to "EMAIL" and in the body of the message type in the email address you want to send to and then the message to send. -Now you can send an email from any APRS enabled radio that has messaging support!

This site is awesome... Check it out.

It's a very visually appealing site, for sure.

Since I run the TinyTrak4, I cant (without adding the option display/keyboard) send and receive text messages. I want to do this from my laptop, also connected to my TT4. I believe it is possible, just need to figure out how all the pieces fit together.

I registered today and it proved to be a very quick and painless process. At least at this point, I have not had any problems with Firefox. More to follow

Incidentally, this may prove to be the most efficient, if not the only means to provide FREE 2 way communication between those at home and those on the trail, especially when cell phones are not functional. If you look at Ollie's path in AB, as created by his APRS trail, you can see that there is great coverage of the park, including most areas not served by cell phone companies. Ahhhhhhhhh......technology.


Post script: I received my verification this AM and was up and running in minutes. From my notebook, I was able to send Ollie a message through APRS which he received in his vehicle. Earlier today, I received an e-mail, as seen on my PC, which was sent by Ollie through his APRS setup in his truck.

For those who do this, openaprs recommends Firefox as your browser.

I noticed today that one of the emails I received from OpenAPRS was placed in the junk mail folder for my account. For anyone who will be relying on aprs email messages, it would be a good idea to make sure that your filters don't automatically divert your emails to the wrong place.

DaveK wrote:I noticed today that one of the emails I received from OpenAPRS was placed in the junk mail folder for my account. For anyone who will be relying on aprs email messages, it would be a good idea to make sure that your filters don't automatically divert your emails to the wrong place.

Was that the one from my HT???

How the hell do you send the activation code?

you have to send it as a aprs message via RF

OLLIE wrote:

DaveK wrote:I noticed today that one of the emails I received from OpenAPRS was placed in the junk mail folder for my account. For anyone who will be relying on aprs email messages, it would be a good idea to make sure that your filters don't automatically divert your emails to the wrong place.

Was that the one from my HT???

No. It was one of the ones that I sent on Sunday as tests. By the time yours arrived, I had adjusted the filter.

hmfigueroa wrote:you have to send it as a aprs message via RF

Is "RF" the callsign to send it to ? I thought they were referring to "radio frequency", i.e. sending it by radio, but I couldn't figure out to who....

Do you really have to sent a new activation code every 24 hour period you want to use the OpenAPRS messaging system ? Seems a little cumbersome and time consuming...

cruiserlarry wrote:

hmfigueroa wrote:you have to send it as a aprs message via RF

Is "RF" the callsign to send it to ? I thought they were referring to "radio frequency", i.e. sending it by radio, but I couldn't figure out to who....

Do you really have to sent a new activation code every 24 hour period you want to use the OpenAPRS messaging system ? Seems a little cumbersome and time consuming...

You only need to verify once. If not verified within 24 hours of receiving your key then you need to get a new key. The old one expires.

The process of verification is as follows:
1. Generate a unique key from the Options window (write this key down you'll need it later).

2. Use your generated key to send a message to "N6NAR" from your HAM radio equipment that supports APRS messaging. The key must be the ONLY text in the message or the verification will fail. The key must be transmitted in all uppercase letters.

3. Our system will send back a confirmation APRS message that has the possibility of getting gated back to your equipment. However, the best practice is to login to our website and click Am I Verified? in the Options window.

IMPORTANT: When sending your key it must be in ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS or verification will fail.

Once you are verified you do not need to verify again unless you change your callsign. Once verified you should now have full access to the tools menu and be able to use our APRS messaging inbox as well as our object creation tool.