# Fun with APRS
*Entered: emacs on daily driver* 
*Date: 20231105*
*Soundtrack: X - Los Angeles*

## APRS
Automatic Packet Reporting System, originally developed by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR(SK)
at USNA as an HF position reporting system for Nayv ships, quickly evolved in the 1990s 
to the pervasive 2m mesh network we see today. If you are an amateur radio operator, 
and old enough to have used gophernet when it was first implemented, you are probably 
on/were on APRS or at least versed in it. Unlike packet radio, APRS is connectionless. 
Don't let the name fool you, APRS still allows for two way communication regardless, 
and with it's forwarding capability, it is the largest mesh-type amateur radio network 
in North America. It is common to think of APRS as just a way to track your car or HT, 
but with an APRS-capable radio, or any radio with a modem (or soundcard and soundmodem) 
there are a ton of useful features available.
 
#Direct Messaging
You can just send and receive a message direct to another station's call on APRS. I use 
this to check into an APRS net 200mi away with a 5w HT every week.

#Group Messaging
ANSRVR will allow you to join or create a group. Every station in that group will 
receive every message sent to that group for up to 12 hours from the user's last sent 
message. Hams on the 'Gram (HOTG), do this every Thursday with a message to ANSRVR 
starting with CQ HOTG. The implications for clubs and ARES/RACES are obvious; create 
your group on ANSRVR and have everyone join it during the event or activation.

#Email and Winlink
EMAIL-2 will allow you to send and receive one line email, starting with the email 
address. http://www.aprs-is.net/Email.aspx
WLNK-1 will allow you to send and receive Winlink emails.
Both will allow you to create shortcuts (alias) for email addresses to save space.
 https://winlink.org/APRSLink

#Texting
WTSAPP will allow you to send a one line WhatsApp text to any number. You can also 
create shortcuts (alias) for phone numbers to save space. Recipients can reply up to an 
hour from the last message. https://github.com/ralphv/aprs-wtsapp#how-to-use-it

SMS is the current gateway for sending SMS texts. Currently there is no shortcut 
service available, AND you do need to add any number to their "opt-in" online before 
you send to it. Recipients can reply and even send new SMS later by starting the 
message to the gateway with @URCALL. http://theconnectdesk.com/SMS/howto.html

#Radiogram thru NTS
very recently, the NTSGTE came online to recieve Radiograms thru APRS. Each line of the 
Radiogram is sent and acknowledged to complete. Check out the new NTS newsletter on 
ARRL for details. https://nts2.arrl.org/ntsgte-an-aprs-nts-gateway/

#Social Media
MSTDN allows you to send one line to Mastodon.
TWITR allows you to send one line to X(Twitter), and WA1GOV-10 will also gate to 
X(Twitter)

#Local/Regional Information
Sending N 3 to REPEAT will give you the 3 closest repeaters to you; call, freq, tone, 
distance and direction.
Sending Today, Tomorrow or Full to WXBOT or WXYO will give you the applicable weather 
report. If you are not beaconing your position, you will need to include zip code.
Sending a callsign to WHO-IS will return call, name and address if available in QRZ.
SOTA or APRS2SOTA accepts and broadcasts info about your SOTA activation.
APSPOT can be used for self-spotting for POTA.
Beacons and Bulletins are also just a handy way to blast out info about your club's
/ARES/RACES nets, meetings, events, activations, etc. 

#Summary
It's easy to just look at the aprs.fi map and think "it's just position reporting."
But if you look at the message page, change it to show 1,000, and put in any of these 
gateways, you can see how any of these features can be useful, and you'll probably even 
find a few more.

#Gear
if you have an APRS-capable radio, you can set up the APRS menu and try any or all of 
these now. If your radio doesn't have APRS, any 2m radio plus a computer/phone/tablet 
and a modem or sound modem/sound interface and free APRS software (Pinpoint, YAAC, 
Pulsemodem, APRSdroid, etc) will get you there.