From vk3xci at gmail.com Tue Apr 6 11:17:37 2021 From: vk3xci at gmail.com (Norm McMillan) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2021 11:17:37 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] Mildura iGate Message-ID: G'day all, VK3XCI-10 tx/rx iGate is back in service after replacing a USB - Serial cable. Led me a merry chase! de Norm VK3XCI Website: https://vk3xci.wordpress.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From carlos.peco at gmail.com Sun Apr 18 14:41:32 2021 From: carlos.peco at gmail.com (Carlos PECO BERROCAL) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:41:32 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? Message-ID: Hi, I have tried APRSdroid in a tablet and found that the icons are really small to be seen while driving (I'm not inclined to take the eyes from the road for more than a second). It works really well here on the couch, though. What do you use while on the move? Ideally, I'm after something that displays other station's locations and their tracks, in a chunky, large and easy to see format, fed with waypoints from the radio (for out of the grid operation). I have both Android and Windows10 tablets. Many thanks in advance, Carlos VK1EA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lenniethelemming at gmail.com Sun Apr 18 16:11:11 2021 From: lenniethelemming at gmail.com (Mark Jessop) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2021 15:41:11 +0930 Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I'm interested in this too... I haven't found a solution either. For balloon chasing (radiosondes as well as amateur balloon launches) I ended up writing my own mapping system - chasemapper: https://github.com/projecthorus/chasemapper I've toyed with the idea of adding APRS support to it... but that's a heck of a lot of work that I don't really have time for. 73 Mark VK5QI On Sun, Apr 18, 2021 at 2:11 PM Carlos PECO BERROCAL wrote: > Hi, > > I have tried APRSdroid in a tablet and found that the icons are really > small to be seen while driving (I'm not inclined to take the eyes from the > road for more than a second). > It works really well here on the couch, though. > > What do you use while on the move? > Ideally, I'm after something that displays other station's locations and > their tracks, in a chunky, large and easy to see format, fed with waypoints > from the radio (for out of the grid operation). > > I have both Android and Windows10 tablets. > > Many thanks in advance, > Carlos VK1EA > > > _______________________________________________ > OZAPRS mailing list > OZAPRS at aprs.net.au > http://lists.aprs.net.au/mailman/listinfo/ozaprs > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From liz at billiau.net Sun Apr 18 16:28:23 2021 From: liz at billiau.net (Liz) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2021 16:28:23 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20210418162823.43d721c0@billiau.net> On Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:41:32 +1000 Carlos PECO BERROCAL wrote: > Hi, > > I have tried APRSdroid in a tablet and found that the icons are really > small to be seen while driving (I'm not inclined to take the eyes > from the road for more than a second). > It works really well here on the couch, though. > > What do you use while on the move? > Ideally, I'm after something that displays other station's locations > and their tracks, in a chunky, large and easy to see format, fed with > waypoints from the radio (for out of the grid operation). > > I have both Android and Windows10 tablets. > > Many thanks in advance, > Carlos VK1EA I did use Xastir on an original Eeepc but found the entire system more complex than worthwhile between computer, radio, 3G connection. There were many points of failure. I could of course use any maps I liked and converted Geoscience Australia files to display. Like any program which has many options, it is very tedious to set up exactly how you want it to work. My current desire is to get the Leaf to send its data out to the home server via 4G and the home server to supply the data to the iGate. Even this has become more complex as I have started accumulating the hardware. The incredibly cheap mediatek tablet does have a GPS but it won't work without rooting the device. I also was making sure that it didn't understand "send all data to Google" and this has not been easy. Currently it doesn't send any, because it doesn't have a SIM card :) Liz VK2XSE From gordon at thetaylorclub.com Sun Apr 18 19:00:55 2021 From: gordon at thetaylorclub.com (gordon at thetaylorclub.com) Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2021 19:00:55 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <03b301d73431$59196f80$0b4c4e80$@thetaylorclub.com> I have a tablet in the car when I go away and it is hot spotted to my phone and I use APRS.FI. Ok if you have internet. Regards Gordo VK4VP From: OZAPRS On Behalf Of Carlos PECO BERROCAL Sent: Sunday, 18 April 2021 14:42 To: Australian APRS Users Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? Hi, I have tried APRSdroid in a tablet and found that the icons are really small to be seen while driving (I'm not inclined to take the eyes from the road for more than a second). It works really well here on the couch, though. What do you use while on the move? Ideally, I'm after something that displays other station's locations and their tracks, in a chunky, large and easy to see format, fed with waypoints from the radio (for out of the grid operation). I have both Android and Windows10 tablets. Many thanks in advance, Carlos VK1EA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mm at blackhelicopters.net Mon Apr 19 09:06:38 2021 From: mm at blackhelicopters.net (Mathew Meins) Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2021 09:06:38 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I use ATAK for general mapping, but it's designed as a blue force tracking tool. Open source, developed by US Department of Defence. https://github.com/deptofdefense/AndroidTacticalAssaultKit-CIV Has lots buttons and not much by way of documentation, but it's pretty powerful once you figure out how to use it. It has its own "cursor on target" format for position data, which is spams out via IP multicast by default. A few other people have done work to translate that format to APRS, or at least the subset of functionality that APRS also supports. My plan down the track is to put a box in the car which will share that position data from wifi via LTE Cat-M1 (much slower but ~15dB better link budget than LTE broadband), and radio simultaneously. Mat VK1XT On Sun, 18 Apr 2021, 14:41 Carlos PECO BERROCAL, wrote: > Hi, > > I have tried APRSdroid in a tablet and found that the icons are really > small to be seen while driving (I'm not inclined to take the eyes from the > road for more than a second). > It works really well here on the couch, though. > > What do you use while on the move? > Ideally, I'm after something that displays other station's locations and > their tracks, in a chunky, large and easy to see format, fed with waypoints > from the radio (for out of the grid operation). > > I have both Android and Windows10 tablets. > > Many thanks in advance, > Carlos VK1EA > > > _______________________________________________ > OZAPRS mailing list > OZAPRS at aprs.net.au > http://lists.aprs.net.au/mailman/listinfo/ozaprs > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From carlos.peco at gmail.com Tue Apr 20 17:53:19 2021 From: carlos.peco at gmail.com (Carlos PECO BERROCAL) Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2021 17:53:19 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] What moving map software do you use ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi, I looked at ATAK and OpenTAK, there are some youtube videos. It does a lot of things. It certainly looks like the thing I'm after (once someone develops an API so it takes APRS waypoints/objects from the TNC). 73, Carlos VK1EA On Monday, April 19, 2021, Mathew Meins wrote: > I use ATAK for general mapping, but it's designed as a blue force tracking > tool. > > Open source, developed by US Department of Defence. > > https://github.com/deptofdefense/AndroidTacticalAssaultKit-CIV > > Has lots buttons and not much by way of documentation, but it's pretty > powerful once you figure out how to use it. > > It has its own "cursor on target" format for position data, which is spams > out via IP multicast by default. A few other people have done work to > translate that format to APRS, or at least the subset of functionality that > APRS also supports. > > My plan down the track is to put a box in the car which will share that > position data from wifi via LTE Cat-M1 (much slower but ~15dB better link > budget than LTE broadband), and radio simultaneously. > > Mat > VK1XT > > > On Sun, 18 Apr 2021, 14:41 Carlos PECO BERROCAL, > wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> I have tried APRSdroid in a tablet and found that the icons are really >> small to be seen while driving (I'm not inclined to take the eyes from the >> road for more than a second). >> It works really well here on the couch, though. >> >> What do you use while on the move? >> Ideally, I'm after something that displays other station's locations and >> their tracks, in a chunky, large and easy to see format, fed with waypoints >> from the radio (for out of the grid operation). >> >> I have both Android and Windows10 tablets. >> >> Many thanks in advance, >> Carlos VK1EA >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OZAPRS mailing list >> OZAPRS at aprs.net.au >> http://lists.aprs.net.au/mailman/listinfo/ozaprs >> > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vk2cjb at gmail.com Thu Apr 22 00:27:52 2021 From: vk2cjb at gmail.com (Chris Baird) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:27:52 +1000 Subject: [OZAPRS] QRPBBB - Netnews over APRS/Packet Message-ID: <5e088891-4681-d9fd-7364-0f1379bc999d@gmail.com> It is with great hesitation that I mention a project that's looking for participants: it's called QRPBBB, The QRP Bulletin Board (Bodged). Basically, it distributes Netnews Newsgroups, the 1980s-90s thing, over Radio, in an APRS-compatible format to exploit the Digipeater network to find other sites/stations when local packet activity is nil.[*1] The software is a few Python scripts that manage the decomposition of postings into packets and reversing this at the other sites. It most certainly requires a Highly Skilled Human who can manage a Unix system running a Newsserver (INN 1.7.2 and 2.6.3 have been tested), and some means for delivering packets to /var/spool/packet-- KISS TNCs and Direwolf setups are included. But I want to mention the code isn't complicated at all-- it's all very homebrew, and getting others being able to do new things with it is also a goal. Obviously, this isn't about tunneling raw Usenet over APRS. Like past networks like BOFHNet and Usenet-2, this is exclusive from Usenet, with its own newsgroups and distributions, but is otherwise still netnews. And like those two previous networks, it implements automatic filtering to /enforce/ message quality standards to ensure the APRS network isn't spammed with needless traffic (..from users whose Smartphones never told them what a "byte" is..) Old Timer net.etiquette is the go. * Advantages of QRPBBB over existing Packet BBS systems - Greater range by utilizing the digipeater network. ("QRPBBB sees a lack of activity as damage and routes around it." to munge the Gilmore quote..) - QRP/"Baofeng" accessible for most. Not the "100 watts or go home" that was VK2EHQ[*2] and other's experience running PBBS in the 1990s. - Decentralized and distributed. It is less affected by a single site going permanently offline. - Multicasting. All local stations copy content at the same time, making efficient use of the frequency. - Sites don't need to prearrange access with another site to participate. - You can write messages in emacs or vi just like a civilized Unix user, and all the highly capable newsreading software is there. - It is uncomplicated Open Source software. You don't need to understand the Python language to comprehend what's it's doing (*cough* I'm not an experienced Python programmer..) And the QRPBBB scripts themselves don't care how the traffic in /var/spool/packet/ gets there. It could certainly be adapted to be a BBS for D-Star/DMR data messaging, LoRa, pigeons... - Provides facilities for portable operation. Normally a site would schedule its message management once an hour or so, however a /P can send trigger commands for immediate attention. - Activity such as Contests could be conducted through newsgroups. There is an RFC currently being written on how to best implement human and automatic exchanges. (Ross Hull excludes Repeater contacts though, foo. Let's make our own competitions..) - It caters for several level of traffic throughput (APRS, 1200 baud simplex, high-speed simplex) through to the use of the "Distribution" header. You could post large articles like the ~26kB/800 line WIA Text News Broadcast, Images, or even Video, with the appropriate distribution, and those posts won't be sent over the slower links. - The early Usenet worked with conditions not unlike how this operates (if not worse: once-a-night 1200 baud dial-ups, magtapes shipped via post) ...and yet it became a highly productive global community. The store-and-forward process should make it possible to create a decentralized bulletin board system of national scale exclusively with amateur radio. * And why you shouldn't just immediately react negatively to the idea *He's trying to experiment with me APRS network! Where's me gun?!* - The frobs are in there to manage how much and when traffic is transmitted, and there are numerous mandated limitations (line length, etc.) to keep packet sizes small and collisions minimal. - The protocol tries to use as few packets as possible, while preserving plain-text monitoring of the traffic. - The digipeater network is actually the last resort. Operators are expected to use another frequency and go simplex (w/ its better throughput!) to other local stations when they exist. Digipeater path selection is also used to limit packet range to the necessary minimum. Discovery of nearby sites is logged, and commands exist to search for local sites. - This is still an Amateur Radio activity with Humans of considerable technical proficiency (Unix system administrators!) at the control. - Excluding 'unsound' sites, or even being just selective over what traffic your site accepts is in there. - As already mentioned, there's practically a "twit filter". Those who just can't be bothered giving their messages the highest possible SNR get their posting dropped and an email from an angry computer telling them off. - Unix systems perform Seppuku if a Facebook user approaches them. Please figure out what this link is about, and go from there: http://o6veojxrfutdwwsriyxbsgimvrnwyzpezexo2g6q4pknutzvibt3rbqd.onion/index.html I'd like to get QRPBBB started with few old Usenet/Unix veterans, then being gradually more open to prevent the "Eternal September" issue from a flood of new users ignorant of the established net.etiquette. (Throwing 21st Century Netizens at it right away will undoubtedly crash, burn, and get demands for the QRPBBB project to leave the APRS in short order..) Other notes: The APRS network around Sydney & Newcastle sees about 90 packets an hour from 9pm-6am, and peaks at around 200 packets between 9am-5pm. That suggest to me that QRPBBB overs with a WIDE1-1,RFONLY path should be one packet every 120 seconds during on-peak (making it ~30 minutes to broadcast a complete message), and perhaps every 60 seconds at night. That 120s between overs still permits ~45 posts per day distributed across a region. What exactly is the region is decided by the judicious use of WIDE and path routing. I'd imagine there would be one site in an area that broadcasts with a WIDE2-2 path only a few times a day, while the others in the surrounds use WIDE1-1 (if that) more regularly. Currently it's still a very manual process of operation due to being in the development phase, and tests while portable requiring things be done then and there, but being more cron-friendly and automatic is an intention. You can most certainly email me if you're keen to also see this working. I don't do Github or the like. -- Chris,, [1] I live only 45kms from VK2EHQ's PBBS, yet can't ping it or the VK2RAG pdigi because there's a trillion tonnes of mountain in the way... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJMtY979MXQ