Getting Started with APRSNow
Getting Started with APRSNow
Getting Started
There are several things about APRSNow that you need to have familiarity with to get started. There are three different configuration pieces that need to be setup. The “Station” button at the top is configuration for your iPad, as an APRS station. You can create an initial configuration by clicking on Station, and then in the popover, selecting the + button to add a new configuration. Note that there is also a + button on the main window in the top left corner. That + button is for filters that we will get to in a bit.
Station Configuration
In the station configuration popover, you can specify your call sign, select “use device location” to track yourself based on what your iPad knows about your location, set a status, and select a symbol for your station. That’s the minimum and a good place to start for now. After you save, you can select that entry to establish your stations id.
The user interface guidelines for the iPad dictate that there can only be one popover active at a time. So, the popover window, will change to a different panel, specific to the action you choose when you select a symbol etc. The sub panels should have save buttons, or X close buttons on them to get back to the previous panel.
If you click outside of the popover, that popover closes and you’ll need to reopen it, in order to continue with your configuration.
Network Packet Data Source
The Second piece of setup that we need to do, is create a server connection to a TNC or APRS-IS data source. The APRSNow application supports connecting to any network accessible stream of packets. The APRS-IS servers, or other hub servers can be a good source of data for many casual uses. The “Connect to ...” button is disabled, until you’ve connected, at least once, to a server. On the right of that button is a detail disclosure button, which will open a popover that has a ‘+’ button on the bar at the top, which you can use to add a new server.
Fill in the blanks with the details of the host and port you want to connect to. If you are connecting to the APRS-IS, you can specify your call sign and the password which, when supported, will allow you to send packets back to the servers. Save your server configuration, and you can select it to open the connection to the selected packet data source.
APRS-IS Filtering
Finally, comes APRS-IS filters. I chose to make this the main “configuration” item, and thus the “standard split screen” features of the iPad system center around the ability to select the station you want to be, open a connection to the APRS-IS (or perhaps another source available through an internet connection) and then pick a filter to establish the area/packet types you want to see.
On the top left of the main window, is a ‘+’ button that you can use to define a new filter if you know all the details of how to do that. Often, you probably will zoom into a region of the planet, and want to see what traffic is coming from that area.
When you want to do this, there is a white ‘i’ or info button on the bottom left size of the map that you can select to bring up a small popover that has two buttons of interest for filter.
One button, labeled “Filter on Viewed Region” will just compose an “Area Filter” command for the APRS-IS servers and send it out, to change the area that you are interested in packets from.
Another button, labeled “Create Filter for View” will create a new filter entry (as the ‘+’ button would) with an “Area Filter” command pre-populated for the currently viewed region. You can pick a name for the filter and save it for later quick selection.
If you have thoughts or comments send them to aprsnow@wonderly.org.
73
Gregg Wonderly
W5GGW
Thursday, April 15, 2010