APRS Information

    APRS is another exciting mode of communication developed by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who is now a Silent Key.  The APRS website is www.aprs.org .  Check it out it is awesome.

NOTE: AS WITH HAM RADIO, YOU MUST HOLD A VALID AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE TO OPERATE APRS.

    What I like about APRS is the ability to track other APRS users WORLDWIDE or local and have the ability send and recieve short text messages. These messages are NOT secure and can be read by anyone. No profanity, sexual references or sensitive material is allowed. Weather stations are also an integrated part of the APRS system.

    The best radio, in my opinion, to run APRS is the Kenwood D700A. I am biased because I have owned a few of them. This radio, like the TMD710GA has a built n Terminal Node Controller (TNC) that operates in packet mode or APRS mode.  The TMD710GA also has a built in GPS whereas the D700A does not. This radio has been discontinued and replaced by the Kenwood D710GA but it has also been discontinued. They are both pricey radios but is well worth the money if you are serious about APRS. There is also an HT model, the Kenwood TH-D74A. This radio also has a built in TNC and can send and recieve shorter messages. Yaesu has also introduced a couple radios with APRS capability such as the FTM-400DR. 

The links for these radios are:

       Kenwood D710GA: https://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/tm-d710ga/  (The D700A is no longer listed on the kenwood site)

         Kenwood TH-D74A: https://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/th-d74a/

    APRS operations can also be accomplished using a home computer with the internet or a home computer with a radio with a built in TNC or a radio and an external TNC.

    Personally I used my Kenwood TS-2000 with the built in TNC which was connected to my home computer via a USB to serial port adapter which was purchased at Radio Shack for about $30. There are various programs that support APRS but I have not tried them yet so I cannot publish something that I know nothing about. Retirement has given me time to do some studying and experimenting with different projects and I am just getting back into APRS.

Our QTH... https://aprs.fi/#!z=11&call=a%2FKD8CAP-10&timerange=3600&tail=3600

The Silverado (if the GPS is turned on: https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FKD8CAP-7&timerange=3600&tail=3600

Once I get my broken Kenwood D700A repaired and a weather station installed it will be lited here. Change of plans. I purchased a Digirig to go between the D700A and the RaspberryPi 4 to make a Digipeater running Direwolf and Xastir. It is an RF/I-Gate Digipeater and so far has been running great.