MRTG Packet graph of 96UHF channel - almost the first week

... and onward!

What GPS for a Kenwood D710?

Legacy serial output from the GPS is required to feed the Kenwood TM-D710.

Options:

• Get the new D710G - it has a built in GPS
• GREEN Light LABS D710 GPS sticks on the back of a D710 control head. Buy at HRO. - Ken KQ4KK
• The old standard Garmin GPS-12PC
• The Garmin Montana has RS-232 NMEA I/O, a large color touchscreen, and can do on-street routing.  Most (but not all) of Garmin's Outdoor models (Montana, Oregon, Rino, GPSMAP 62/64) are NMEA 0183 I/O capable and will interface to a D7/D72/D700/D710 with the appropriate data cable. - Jerome, W0JRT
• WA8LMF:  Today, nearly ALL small faceless "puck" type GPS units, and consumer display-type GPS units now have USB interfaces rather than serial. Two of the few that still have the RS-232 serial interface that you MUST have for use with the Kenwoods or common trackers are:
• The Argent Data ADM-GM1 - $45.00
• The Byonics Byonics GPS5 - $69
• On Amazon.com  GlobalSat 07-BR-355-S4 GPS Receiver - $38.18
• Note that this unit has a mini-DIN plug on the end of it's cable. You will have to make up another cable to separate the serial data out and the 5 VDC power in.

What's New in APRS Nov-6-2013

Updated 11/11/2013:

One interesting item I missed on the last What's New posting was the presence of the local HamWan nodes on the APRS-IS.

  http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?hamwan*

HamWAN, a high speed data network in the Puget Sound region, continues to make good progress - check it out:

  web page:  http://www.hamwan.org

  discussion:  http://mail.hamwan.org/mailman/listinfo/psdr_hamwan.org

It only costs $200 out of pocket to finance a client node and it's a good education in networking, microwaves and RF engineering.

---
On Sun, Sep 8, 2013 at 11:00 PM, Bill Vodall wrote:
> The question of what's new in APRS came up at our discussion today at the Summer Gathering...   It's an interesting subject.

It's been a couple months.  Not much new in APRS to report...

DCC was a great time.   You missed out if you missed out...

UZ7HO website is back after a brief missing in action with a new URL address:  http://uz7.ho.ua/modem_beta/history.txt.   Version .57 of the soundmodem TNC is now available.

UZ7HO SCM v0.57b changes:
- Reduced CPU load.
- Added option that disable waterfall in minimized state.
- Added option of the application priority that improves the work of the modem
  during peaks of CPU load (decreased gaps and stuttering sound during
transmission).

A full installer is available at the WA8LMF website:  http://wa8lmf.net/miscinfo  - Scroll about two thirds of the way down the page of download links, and look for "UZ7HO".

The NET14 APRS channel project has been terminated due to QRM. http://net14.org.uk/

Some of the activity has moved to 30 meters and some of that is now running as Robust Packet (RP).  It's been fascinating following the RP reports of N1ZZZ and his travels around the world.

A new 9k6 (and better) low priced radio/tracker is available for pre-order:   https://www.argentdata.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=171
   Original posting: http://www.tapr.org/pipermail/aprssig/2013-October/042430.html

The APRS authors are cleaning up the symbol handling and automating it.  This will be a good thing. https://github.com/hessu/aprs-deviceid/blob/master/README.md  Original posting: http://www.tapr.org/pipermail/aprssig/2013-October/042435.html

Thanks to Tom and crew for making the BALDI packet logs available. Very interesting and useful but that's another post: http://northwest.aprs2.net/BALDI/

I can't think of anything else now - it's been quiet.  Too busy playing with the NW-MESH servers to do much on packet but that's changing soon.

Bill, WA7NWP

What's New in APRS - Sept 2013

What's new in APRS - here's a quick list as of September, 2013.

• Robust Packet APRS on HF with the SCS Tracker TNC
• Improved sound card packet decoding and bad bit correction with:
• Dier Wolf
• UZ7HO modems
• APRSISCE new features
• shrieks
• APRSC IS server
• APRX (http://wiki.ham.fi/Aprx.en) digipeater and IGate.  It runs on the Rpi just fine and does the viscous digipeating for fill-ins.  It doesn't have quite the path munging capabilities of DIGINED yet, but it appears to be heading that direction.  APRX also runs great on OpenWRT boxes.  APRX is even in the OpenWRT package feeds if you don't feel like compiling it. (ZPO)
• Viscous digipeating for fill-in digipeaters
• Beta build #26 of YAAC (Yet Another APRS Client)
• Release 1.2.3 of APRSDroid - new features and bug fixes - ttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.aprsdroid.app
• Cut Bank, MT has a fill in digipeater  (YEAH!!!!!) - http://map.findu.com/w7dpk
• A new version of the Kenwood D710, the D710g, has been announced. It will have a built in GPS.
• APRStt seems to be evolving - http://aprs.org/aprstt.html
• Dedicated TNC (http://www.tnc-x.com/TNCPi.htm)  for the Raspberry PI (N8GNJ)
• Dedicated digipeaters for the TNC-X.. Not so new but interesting anyway.
• http://tnc-x.com/XDigi.htm
• http://www.usmartdigi.com/
• Microsat WX3INI - http://www.rpc-electronics.com/microsat-wx3in1.php
• YagTracker - http://www.rpc-electronics.com/yagtracker.php
• BPQAPRS which now runs on Linux (Raspberry PI, etc), LINBPQ, and has a good start on a WEB GUI.  http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Documents/InstallingLINBPQ.htm

Summer Gathering 2013 - Sept 6 through Sept 8

Details here soon on the Northwest APRS Summer Gathering...

Also coming soon in our region:

• 9/20-22/2013 - Digital Communications Convention at Cedarbrook Lodge - http://tapr.org/dcc.html
• 9/28/2013 - Spokane Hamfest - http://spokanehamfest.com/
• 10/12-13/2013 - Pacific Northwest VHF Society conference - http://pnwvhfs.org/

Re-sending invitations to the new NWAPRS Google Group

A significant number of members of the old NWAPRS mailing list group never responded to the first round of invites to join to the new mailing list.  I'm working through them now with a 'second' invite.

73
Bill, WA7NWP
 

Please Stop any PCSAT Transmissions

Please QRT all transmissions to PCsat to save power for COMMANDing.

PCSAT (W3ADO-1) is entering its 3 day RECOVERY window this year starting 31 Jan.

Today we got logged on for commanding twice, but both times user packets killed the bird.

At best PCSAT can usually only save up enough power for 2 or 3 solid packets per pass  and we need 3  successfully for command and recover.  One user packet in the middle of that and we lose it for the pass.

MY fault for not making this announcement earlier.  Not their fault.  But if you see this email and you are transmitting to PCsat, please QRT for the next several days.

Commanding is being done from the East and West coast of the USA and over Germany.

WB4APR, Bob
USNA Command Station