For indepth information on APRS, visit the website www.aprs.org.
UPDATE: We found an IOS app that works properly on the APRS servers. It is APRS TX. Check it out at the app store.
APRS is a digital communications information channel for Ham radio. As a single national channel ( 144.390 Mhz for USA ), it gives the mobile ham a place to monitor for 10 to 30 minutes in any area, at any time to capture what is happening in ham radio in the surrounding area. Announcements, Bulletins, Messages, Alerts, Weather, and of course a map of all this activity. The APRS network has grown to most countries with strong Amateur Radio populations.
OVERVIEW: The Automatic Packet Reporting System was designed to support rapid, reliable exchange of information for local, tactical real-time information, events or nets. The concept is that all relevant information is transmitted immediately to everyone in the net and every station captures that information for consistent and standard display to all participants. See the original at APRS.TXT.
THE GOAL IS COMMUNICATIONS and LOCAL INFO UPDATE, -NOT- JUST VEHICLE TRACKING! APRS was never intended to be just a vehicle tracking system (GPS was added in the early1990's when GPS became affordable). APRS is much more.
APRS provides situational awareness to all operators of everything that is going on in his local area, whether it be weather reporting, traveler info, direction finding or emergency response and more. APRS can also provide instantaneous operator-to-operator keyboard messaging capability for special events. There is even an APRS interface to the WinLINK system called APRSlink, so that mobiles can send and receive Email without a PC. Think of APRS as a signalling channel to reveal ALL amateur radio resources and live activities that are in range of the operator at any moment in time.
MORE LINKS (These links will open in a new tab or window.)
APRS.FI: This link will open the APRS.FI page centered on Peru In. APRS.FI is a great website to monitor APRS activity, and it also will show APRS stations that are using the IOS APRS.FI app.
(NOTE): Users of the APRS.FI app on Apple devices will NOT be seen on the true APRS system, but only on the APRS.FI website.
APRSDirect: This site also uses Google maps and shows station DIRECTLY from the APRS servers. This site does NOT show stations using the IOS app from APRS.FI.
FindU: FindU is a database archiving weather, position, telemetry, and message data. The primary source of data is an amateur radio system called APRS, some weather data comes from an internet based system called the Citizen Weather Observer Program. This large (58 GB) database is hosted on two servers using data replication techniques. the data is constantly updated (about 20 new reports come in every second), and is accessed via a number of dynamic web pages.
