1. APRSISCE@groups.io
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Re: Weather stations

ae5pl <pete@...>
 

I was asked to weigh in on this regarding what those stations are and why they don't show up on APRS-IS. Considering it is because of my software they don't show up, I guess that is a reasonable qualification.

The CWOP (Citizens Weather Observation Program) is a volunteer weather reporting system implemented a little over 10 years ago using APRS-IS as its reporting network. This was done because it was born out of ham stations already reporting on APRS (and therefore APRS-IS) and promoted by Steve Dimse (findU owner/operator) and a few people in NOAA (the US national weather service).

About 3 years ago (I think), we moved the CWOP stations (CW or DW followed by 4 numbers) to their own network because of some poor programming techiques that caused massive spikes on the core servers and connected downstream servers. They have operated on their own network since then and have grown from about 3700 stations to over 5000 stations.

Now the beauty of this is that while their reports don't show up on APRS-IS (separate network), our weather reports show up on their servers. This is accomplished by a read-only server that takes feeds from APRS-IS and the CWOP servers. It is this feed that aprs.fi is using to populate its database. There is not bidirectional operation here; this is unidirectional to the read-only server and then database applications like findU and aprs.fi can pull their information from there or from APRS-IS (or both).

Hope this helps explain what you are seeing and why it won't affect your everyday operation. Basically, APRS-IS and CWOP go to a read-only server which can only be accessed by a database server or other server software that doesn't feed back into either network. Even if the CWOP traffic was fed back in, it would be blocked at the core servers as they do not use validated logins.

73,

Pete AE5PL
Re: Weather stations

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

g4ilo wrote:

Crikey! You don't just get great software on this group but also an APRS degree education. :)

Yep, my motto is to learn one new thing each day. And once I accomplish that, I can go back to bed saving the rest of the learning for tomorrow!

Lynn, thanks for the answer and explanation. However if I understand correctly, if I do that my visibility on other networks will suffer and also by ability to send/receive APRS messages. I'm very keen on APRS messaging so it would not be worth sacrificing that just for the sake of receiving the weather stations.
Precisely my understanding and much better said than my dissertation! And it's only the additional CWOP stations. Ham-operated stations are still on the APRS-IS servers.

Oh, and you can run TWO instances of ARPSIS32 if you want. Just start them in different directories, give them different -SSIDs, different filters, and even different APRS-IS server specs. You can even leave the Password as -1 and have a read-only viewer of the CWOP server! But you'll need to use an explicit lat/lon range filter rather that the default Me filter because the server won't know where Me is with a -1 password.

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ
Re: Weather stations

g4ilo
 

--- In aprsisce@yahoogroups.com, "Lynn W. Deffenbaugh" <kj4erj@...> wrote:

If you want the CWOP data, just change <APRSServer> to one of the
servers listed at the first link above. Please either save a copy of
your original .XML file or at least write down what the setting was
before changing it. If all else fails, just delete the .XML file and
restart the client. A new one will be created automatically with
default values.
Crikey! You don't just get great software on this group but also an APRS degree education. :)

Lynn, thanks for the answer and explanation. However if I understand correctly, if I do that my visibility on other networks will suffer and also by ability to send/receive APRS messages. I'm very keen on APRS messaging so it would not be worth sacrificing that just for the sake of receiving the weather stations.

Julian, G4ILO
Re: Weather stations

David Shrum
 

Thanks Lynn,
I noticed it got re-written that's why I ask.

Dave N8PU

-----Original Message-----
From: aprsisce@yahoogroups.com [mailto:aprsisce@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Lynn W. Deffenbaugh
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 10:27 AM
To: aprsisce@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [aprsisce] Weather stations

Dave,

Yes and No. XML supports comments in the form:

<!-- This is a comment and can have anything inside it -->

but if you want to knock out a tag, I think you do something like this:

<!-- <APRSServer>rotate.aprs2.net</APRSServer> -->

That's the Yes part. The No part is a resounding NO because currently
my client simply re-writes the XML file whenever parameters are changed
within the program and especially when the program ends. The XML file
is not modified, but is parsed into a binary form when the program
starts and is completely recreated from scratch with only the
program-aware tags re-written.

So, you can feel free to put comments in the file but it's like an ant
trying to move a rubber tree plant, it'll have no effect as they'll just
disappear the next time the client is executed.

I'm not even sure the xml parser even shows the comments to my program,
but I'll see if I can do some experimentation in that regard.

In the meantime, just make a copy of the .XML file, play with it, and if
you don't like the results, just copy the original file back in to the
proper name. At least it's better than the "new" Windows programs that
store everything in the registry where it's hard to see, change, and
certainly save/restore a set of parameters!

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ

David Shrum wrote:
Lynn,
Do you know if there is a way to 'remark' (REM) out a line in the .XML
file
so we could experiment with different filters or stuff like that without
having to remember what was changed? In olden' days when batch files were
the thing you could 'rem' out a line without deleting it so if you didn't
like the changes or whatever you could un-rem the line and everything back
to the way it was.

Inquiring minds want to know, :)

Dave N8PU



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Re: Weather stations

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

Dave,

Yes and No. XML supports comments in the form:

<!-- This is a comment and can have anything inside it -->

but if you want to knock out a tag, I think you do something like this:

<!-- <APRSServer>rotate.aprs2.net</APRSServer> -->

That's the Yes part. The No part is a resounding NO because currently
my client simply re-writes the XML file whenever parameters are changed
within the program and especially when the program ends. The XML file
is not modified, but is parsed into a binary form when the program
starts and is completely recreated from scratch with only the
program-aware tags re-written.

So, you can feel free to put comments in the file but it's like an ant
trying to move a rubber tree plant, it'll have no effect as they'll just
disappear the next time the client is executed.

I'm not even sure the xml parser even shows the comments to my program,
but I'll see if I can do some experimentation in that regard.

In the meantime, just make a copy of the .XML file, play with it, and if
you don't like the results, just copy the original file back in to the
proper name. At least it's better than the "new" Windows programs that
store everything in the registry where it's hard to see, change, and
certainly save/restore a set of parameters!

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ

David Shrum wrote:

Lynn,
Do you know if there is a way to 'remark' (REM) out a line in the .XML file
so we could experiment with different filters or stuff like that without
having to remember what was changed? In olden' days when batch files were
the thing you could 'rem' out a line without deleting it so if you didn't
like the changes or whatever you could un-rem the line and everything back
to the way it was.

Inquiring minds want to know, :)

Dave N8PU
Re: Weather stations

David Shrum
 

Lynn,
Do you know if there is a way to 'remark' (REM) out a line in the .XML file
so we could experiment with different filters or stuff like that without
having to remember what was changed? In olden' days when batch files were
the thing you could 'rem' out a line without deleting it so if you didn't
like the changes or whatever you could un-rem the line and everything back
to the way it was.

Inquiring minds want to know, :)

Dave N8PU

-----Original Message-----
From: aprsisce@yahoogroups.com [mailto:aprsisce@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Lynn W. Deffenbaugh
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 9:45 AM
To: aprsisce@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [aprsisce] Weather stations

Lynn W. Deffenbaugh wrote:
http://www.wxqa.com/activecwd.html - CWOP servers

http://www.aprs2.net/#regional - Tier 2 Regional Servers

If you want the CWOP data, just change <APRSServer> to one of the
servers listed at the first link above. Please either save a copy of
your original .XML file or at least write down what the setting was
before changing it. If all else fails, just delete the .XML file and
restart the client. A new one will be created automatically with
default values.

Oh, and if you DO switch to a CWOP server, your station's beacons will
probably continue to appear on aprs.fi, but I don't think they'll show
up on other APRS-IS server and mostly like will also not be available
for gating back to RF should you be in a position to get that done by an
IGate operator somewhere. Remember, APRS-IS data flows INTO CWOP, but
my understanding is that only messages flow from CWOP back to APRS-IS.

(Pete, if you're on this list, can you decloak to confirm or correct my
understanding of the APRS-IS/CWOP separation?)

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 9.0.725 / Virus Database: 270.14.127/2603 - Release Date: 01/06/10
02:35:00
Re: Weather stations

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

Lynn W. Deffenbaugh wrote:
http://www.wxqa.com/activecwd.html - CWOP servers

http://www.aprs2.net/#regional - Tier 2 Regional Servers

If you want the CWOP data, just change <APRSServer> to one of the servers listed at the first link above. Please either save a copy of your original .XML file or at least write down what the setting was before changing it. If all else fails, just delete the .XML file and restart the client. A new one will be created automatically with default values.

Oh, and if you DO switch to a CWOP server, your station's beacons will probably continue to appear on aprs.fi, but I don't think they'll show up on other APRS-IS server and mostly like will also not be available for gating back to RF should you be in a position to get that done by an IGate operator somewhere. Remember, APRS-IS data flows INTO CWOP, but my understanding is that only messages flow from CWOP back to APRS-IS.

(Pete, if you're on this list, can you decloak to confirm or correct my understanding of the APRS-IS/CWOP separation?)

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ
Re: Weather stations

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

Julian,

Short answer: No.

More helpful answer: These are not amateur radio weather stations, but are part of the "CWOP" or Citizens Weather Observer Program (http://www.wxqa.com/). These stations directly send their weather updates to the Internet using the APRS protocol. Way back when (before I was into APRS), these stations were separated from the main APRS-IS servers after what was known as "the great blue flood" (or something like that). CWOP now runs its own set of APRS-IS-like core server which accepts a full feed from the amateur radio APRS-IS servers, but doesn't feed anything back to those servers (except messaging which, by some reports, isn't working very well recently).

aprs.fi recently (http://oh7lzb.blogspot.com/2009/12/cwop-traffic-view-and-service-status.html) added the CWOP stations to their maps causing some discussion and fears on some mailing lists that the "blue flood" is coming back. Others really like the CWOP information to the point that they're switching their (hopefully view-only) feeds over to the CWOP server.

Personally, I'm concerned that some of the CWOP data will find alternate routes back into APRS-IS and subsequently out to RF in areas which can cause channel degradation. I'm also concerned for the CWOP server(s) as well because if bunches of viewers switch over to them, they could quickly be overwhelmed (which, if I understand it correctly, was one of the reasons for the segregation, the (non-amateur radio) CWOP traffic was a significant percentage of the whole APRS-IS traffic causing stresses on the -IS backbone at points).

With that all being said, the APRS-IS server to which APRSISCE/32 connects is configurable in the XML file. You can see what you're currently configured to use by bringing up "Me"'s Info box. The APRS-IS server is shown near the bottom (sneak preview: the next release will also show the ACTUAL IP address currently connected).

To change the APRS-IS server from which your feed is coming, you need to close the client and edit the APRSIS32.XML (or APRSISCE.XML) configuration file. You're looking for the <APRSPort> and <APRSServer>. If you're not familiar with APRS-IS connections, leave the port at 14580. This is the default filtered port and is offered by nearly all APRS-IS servers. The <APRSServer> can be changed to whatever server you'd like. For ideas on values for <APRSServer>, see the following URLs:

http://www.wxqa.com/activecwd.html - CWOP servers

http://www.aprs2.net/#regional - Tier 2 Regional Servers

http://www.aprs2.net/ - The whole APRS-IS Tier 2 server list

http://www.aprs-is.net/APRSServers.aspx - Core APRS-IS servers

http://www.aprs-is.net/Connecting.aspx - Programmer's APRS-IS perspective

The default server for APRSISCE/32 is rotate.aprs2.net which automatically selects a random server from the Tier 2 network. This works well as a general solution. However, you might see a slight improvement in network response if you use one of the regional rotate server names as described in the second link above. As always, your mileage may vary.

You'll also see a recommendation for using rotate.aprs.net. This is a random selection of one of the CORE APRS-IS servers which have limited connections available. I actually do NOT recommend this connection for most clients. If you're running an IGate in a busy area, yes, this might be suitable. But for most of us mostly watching and possibly beaconing a station or two, the Tier 2 network provides more than ample response and capability. In actual fact, you won't notice the difference.

If you want the CWOP data, just change <APRSServer> to one of the servers listed at the first link above. Please either save a copy of your original .XML file or at least write down what the setting was before changing it. If all else fails, just delete the .XML file and restart the client. A new one will be created automatically with default values.

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ - Author of APRSISCE for Windows Mobile and Win32


g4ilo wrote:

I noticed a couple of weather stations near me on aprs.fi which don't appear in APRSISCE. The only thing I note about them is that they don't have ham callsigns, their IDs are like CW1234. Is there something I can put in the filter box to get them to show up?

Julian, G4ILO
Weather stations

g4ilo
 

I noticed a couple of weather stations near me on aprs.fi which don't appear in APRSISCE. The only thing I note about them is that they don't have ham callsigns, their IDs are like CW1234. Is there something I can put in the filter box to get them to show up?

Julian, G4ILO
Re: Maps

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

james_jolin wrote:
I am new to this program, so be gentle. I installed aprsisce for Windows 32. I entered my validation number and all I get is the stations and a big circle with n, s, e, and w. Is there supposed to me a map or somthing. I looked for some documentation, but now appears that is not available yet?? Jim wa9arb
It sounds like you have increased the transparency of the maps until
they've disappeared completely. Try hitting a bunch of right arrows.
Right arrow decreases the transparency (makes the maps darker) and left
arrow increases the transparency. When the transparency gets to zero,
the program quits doing Mercator Projections of the stations and goes to
a simple distance and bearing from the screen center. Makes an
interesting effect to see how the Mercator Projection warps where things
really are.

If that isn't the case, then you may have configured the maps to be
stored where they cannot be written by the program. If you double-click
inside the circle, do you get a pop-up and what does it say?

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ - Author of APRSIS32
Maps

james_jolin <jjolin@...>
 

I am new to this program, so be gentle. I installed aprsisce for Windows 32. I entered my validation number and all I get is the stations and a big circle with n, s, e, and w. Is there supposed to me a map or somthing. I looked for some documentation, but now appears that is not available yet??
Jim wa9arb
Re: Wishlist

g4ilo
 

--- In aprsisce@yahoogroups.com, "Lynn W. Deffenbaugh" <kj4erj@...> wrote:
I'll see if I can find code to
convert lat/lon to grid locator and put it in there somewhere.
I have got code that will do the conversion but it is in Pascal, because that's the programming language I'm familiar with. If it would be useful, drop me an email and I'll put it in an attachment.

Julian, G4ILO
Re: GPX logging

g4ilo
 

OK. There are conversion utilities that can convert track files between various formats like CSV, GPX etc. I don't know whether they would work with your particular CSV format. If not, it isn't a big problem, as I can probably write a program to convert the files myself. But obviously direct support of GPX would be nice, as would the ability to enter a comment.

Julian, G4ILO

--- In aprsisce@yahoogroups.com, "Lynn W. Deffenbaugh" <kj4erj@...> wrote:

g4ilo wrote:
I am expecting delivery of an HTC Touch Pro so hopefully will be trying out APRSISCE real soon.

One question I have: is it possible for two applications to access the GPS at the same time? Reason I ask is that the street mapping of my home town in OpenStreetMap is somewhat lacking, and so I'd like to use my position reports to create a GPX file that I can then use to update the maps. I've been told by people on aprs.fi that the APRS network is not intended to be used for this, so I would need to log the reports locally, and I presume that APRSISCE won't do this by itself?
You're currently correct that APRSISCE won't do OpenStreetMap.org GPX
files. However, if you look in your My Documents folder, you'll notice
a bunch of .CSV files with yyyymmdd-hhmm.csv looking names. These
contain the timestamp, coordinate, and altitude of each beacon sent by
APRSISCE. When you click Transmit, not only is a beacon sent (assuming
it has been at least the minimum seconds), but a row is added to this
file. I need to a) put this in GPX format, b) give the user a way to
turn on/off/restart this file, and c) give the user a way to put a
coordinate in the GPX file with an entered comment.

Right now, to do b) (restart a new file), either close/re-open the
client (ugly) or toggle Enable/GPS Enabled off and back on. Lucky for
me, Windows Mobile doesn't actually turn off the GPS immediately, so you
probably won't lose your fix if you do the off/on toggle in 15-30
seconds. After 30 seconds, the GPS may do a warm start.

For c)...I did one excursion attempting to collect points for
OpenStreetMap.org. I was on my bicycle and stopped at each corner to
send a message to my home station with the street names and hit Transmit
to have a closely-timed coordinate. However, when I finally got back
home after mapping 3 or 4 neighborhoods in about 3 hours, I got busy
with other things and never grabbed the data. There is still a "hole in
the donut" in southern Palm Bay that OpenStreetMap.org doesn't know
actually has streets!

Add b/KJ4ERJ* to your filter, wait for a beacon from me, center on it
and then drag the map south. You can't miss the hole. Yes, it was
literally known as the "donut hole" at city council long before it was
developed!

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ
Re: Some questions

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

DonM wrote:
I have aprsis32 installed on my laptop. My laptop is set to do nothing when I close the lid. aprsis32 stays up but it stops sending and receiving data. Is this something that can be fixed? Also is there a button that will send a beacon when pushed?
Hm, I also have my laptop set to do nothing when I close the lid, but I
only close the lid when I'm carrying it through the house. I leave it
open all night with the Power Options turning the screen off. I'll have
to see what might be going on here. There's nothing that know of in the
code that should cause this unless Windows freezes time somehow. I'll
add this to my "investigate" list.

stops sending and receiving data. Is this something that can be fixed? Also is there a button that will send a beacon when pushed?
The APRSISCE (Windows Mobile) version has a Transmit button. I recently
enabled it on my Win32 version with GPS and KISS support and was
actually going to disable it when no GPS was configured. However, given
your recent excursion into changing coordinates, maybe I'll
re-consider. However, now that I type that, I'm also considering a way
to (re)set the current location to the center of the map which
would/could also trigger a beacon. If you center on self (double-click
the smaller 3 dashes windows) and then do the (yet to be implemented)
"Set My Coordinates", a new beacon will be sent. "Set My Coordinates"
again would beacon again allowing a time-spanned overcoming of aprs.fi's
speed limiting. The Transmit button still seems like something that you
would only really want if running a real GPS.

To make this worth reading for others, if you double-click the small
three dashes windows (or the compass heading in a GPS-enabled (APRSISCE)
version), the map will center on your current location. If you
double-click on the scale number below the +/- zoom slider, it will
return to your most recently set "Preferred" view (see
View/Preferred/Save). This works just like View/Preferred/Restore.

Oh, and the circle that appears on the map is roughly the scale distance
in miles in radius. In other words, from the center of the map to the
edge of the circle is the scale in miles. As any mapping purist knows,
lat/lon aren't linear on our (oblately) spherical planet Earth, so I
average the N/S and E/W distances to give a single scale number. For
most habitable ranges of Earth, this is probably sufficient. I've
considered actually moving the N/S points to make an ellipse at the
actual scale, but haven't really determined how to easily do that yet!
Any programmers have a suggestion?

with all that said I think aprsis32 is a well written program and is a pleasure to work. Thank you Lynn!

Thanks again for the kind words. I'm looking forward to finding time to
wrap up the next release. Keep the suggestions and comments coming, it
gives me inspiration!

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ
Re: Wishlist

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

g4ilo wrote:
One of the things I really liked about the iBCNU application for iPhone is that it displayed your current grid locator. This would be really useful for portable / rover operation. Is that possible in the future?
Being only a recently licensed (1 year) and even more recently HF
licensed (3 monhts) amateur operator, I only recently even learned what
a "grid locator" IS! There is code in there to "notice" Maidenhead
locators if included in a status (>) packet, but it doesn't even
calculate the lat/lon for it (yet). I'll see if I can find code to
convert lat/lon to grid locator and put it in there somewhere.

The other thing that would be nice would be the ability to create APRS objects.
I purposely had object creation lower on my list than getting some form
of RF interface working. APRS-IS-injected objects don't appear on RF
unless you happen to be friends with (or ARE) the local IGate operator.
Once I put APRSISCE/32 "on the air" with RF, objects become much more
interesting.

In the meantime, you can actually send an object to another APRSISCE/32
user! I support the "Item In Message" format described in
http://www.aprs.org/aprs12/item-in-msg.txt

Basically, send an APRSISCE/32 user an APRS message where the text is
actually a slightly modified Item definition. For instance, if you send
a message in the form

)NAME!DDMM.mmN/DDDMM.mmW$text.....

Where NAME is the object name, DDMM.mmN is the lat, / is the symbol
table, DDDMM.mmW is the lon, $ is the symbol, and text is the
description, the specify symbol under the name and description will
appear on the recipient's APRISCE/32 map. (lat/lon are in decimal
minutes as per standard APRS nomenclature).

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ

PS. Here's a few examples from a recent geo-caching excursion I did
with the stages of a multi-step puzzle cache...

)GC1NA0P-P!2759.10N&#92;08034.39WPJordan's Logic Parking
)GC1NA0P!2758.44N/08033.85W.Jordan's Logic D3.5 T4.5
)GC1NAQ9!2758.87N/08033.73W.After the Fires D1.5 T2.5
)GREEN!2758.43N/08033.87W/Saw Palmeto
)BLACK!2758.41N/08033.87W/Water
)ORANGE!2758.44N/08033.86W/Tree
)BLUE!2758.44N/08033.87W/Saw Palmetto
)RED!2758.42N/08033.85W/Saw Palmeto
)YELLOW!2758.42N/08033.89W/Water
)PURPLE!2758.43N/08033.86W/Sand

)TREE!2758.44N/08033.86W.Tree

PPS. What's cool is that the object will show up on ALL of your
APRSISCE/32 clients EXCEPT the one that sent the message. I really need
to do something about that also, I want to be able to put objects on MY
OWN MAP for geocaching!
Re: GPX logging

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

g4ilo wrote:
I am expecting delivery of an HTC Touch Pro so hopefully will be trying out APRSISCE real soon.

One question I have: is it possible for two applications to access the GPS at the same time? Reason I ask is that the street mapping of my home town in OpenStreetMap is somewhat lacking, and so I'd like to use my position reports to create a GPX file that I can then use to update the maps. I've been told by people on aprs.fi that the APRS network is not intended to be used for this, so I would need to log the reports locally, and I presume that APRSISCE won't do this by itself?
You're currently correct that APRSISCE won't do OpenStreetMap.org GPX
files. However, if you look in your My Documents folder, you'll notice
a bunch of .CSV files with yyyymmdd-hhmm.csv looking names. These
contain the timestamp, coordinate, and altitude of each beacon sent by
APRSISCE. When you click Transmit, not only is a beacon sent (assuming
it has been at least the minimum seconds), but a row is added to this
file. I need to a) put this in GPX format, b) give the user a way to
turn on/off/restart this file, and c) give the user a way to put a
coordinate in the GPX file with an entered comment.

Right now, to do b) (restart a new file), either close/re-open the
client (ugly) or toggle Enable/GPS Enabled off and back on. Lucky for
me, Windows Mobile doesn't actually turn off the GPS immediately, so you
probably won't lose your fix if you do the off/on toggle in 15-30
seconds. After 30 seconds, the GPS may do a warm start.

For c)...I did one excursion attempting to collect points for
OpenStreetMap.org. I was on my bicycle and stopped at each corner to
send a message to my home station with the street names and hit Transmit
to have a closely-timed coordinate. However, when I finally got back
home after mapping 3 or 4 neighborhoods in about 3 hours, I got busy
with other things and never grabbed the data. There is still a "hole in
the donut" in southern Palm Bay that OpenStreetMap.org doesn't know
actually has streets!

Add b/KJ4ERJ* to your filter, wait for a beacon from me, center on it
and then drag the map south. You can't miss the hole. Yes, it was
literally known as the "donut hole" at city council long before it was
developed!

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ
Re: Start up whoos

Lynn Deffenbaugh
 

g4ilo wrote:

I presume unchecking the "Sound" option disables this. I don't have sound on my shack computer because the sound card is used for digimodes on the radio.

The Enables/Sound option disables certain sounds like the ack received,
GPS fix acquired, and APRS-IS connection acquired. However, anything
that displays a message box will follow Windows's over-all sound
settings as there isn't a programmatic flag (that I can find) to disable
the sound of a MessageBox() call.

The message handling in APRSIS32 is one of the really good features of it. UI-View32 did not handle messaging properly. It did not retry messages with an increasing delay until acknolwledged. So it is good to have a Windows client that does messaging properly.
The decaying retry was actually a fairly recent addition. I really like
it when communicating with local RF clients, it has dramatically
improved the deliverabilty of messages to mobiles. I've got a few
finishing touches to do to it on the KISS side of things (as recommended
by Bob) where I'm not necessarily limited by the 30 second (default)
dupe detection of the APRS-IS. That dupe detection is why the first
retry occurs in 31 seconds (the extra second is to try to avoid having
the first retry suppressed due to slight timing differences between the
client, and APRS-IS server, and the communications path between them).
The only thing I miss is that I can't see how to recall messages that have been received once you have looked at them, if for example you want to reply to them later.

An "already-read" message buffer and dialog is also on the ToDo list.
Right now, I just go back to aprs.fi to see my previous messages when I
accidentally (or sometimes on purpose) read one and say "No" when I
really wanted to reply....

Thanks for the feedback! It helps me adjust priorities to work on
things that people are asking for without having to guess what would be
the most beneficial.

Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ
Some questions

DonM <morrisdon69@...>
 

I have aprsis32 installed on my laptop. My laptop is set to do nothing when I close the lid. aprsis32 stays up but it stops sending and receiving data. Is this something that can be fixed? Also is there a button that will send a beacon when pushed?

with all that said I think aprsis32 is a well written program and is a pleasure to work. Thank you Lynn!

Don K0OZ
Wishlist

g4ilo
 

One of the things I really liked about the iBCNU application for iPhone is that it displayed your current grid locator. This would be really useful for portable / rover operation. Is that possible in the future?

The other thing that would be nice would be the ability to create APRS objects.

Julian, G4ILO
GPX logging

g4ilo
 

I am expecting delivery of an HTC Touch Pro so hopefully will be trying out APRSISCE real soon.

One question I have: is it possible for two applications to access the GPS at the same time? Reason I ask is that the street mapping of my home town in OpenStreetMap is somewhat lacking, and so I'd like to use my position reports to create a GPX file that I can then use to update the maps. I've been told by people on aprs.fi that the APRS network is not intended to be used for this, so I would need to log the reports locally, and I presume that APRSISCE won't do this by itself?

Julian, G4ILO
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