Mal, VK8MT is the lucky owner of the (recently) new Icom IC-705 as well as some other lovely radios. Here Mal tells us about his recent road adventures and APRS. Microphone to you Mal.
For the uninitiated APRS stands for Automatic Packet Reporting System. One of the most common uses for APRS is position reporting. It is great for tracking your vehicles or using a suitably equipped handheld you can go pedestrian mobile. The main band is 2m and on 145.175MHz. Many radios now come equipped with the GPS and modem built in, so you can run APRS easily. In my case I use a separate GPS connected to a packet modem, which is designed for the purpose, and then this is connected to the radio (audio in and out and PTT). Though my handheld (Kenwood TH- D72A) has APRS built in.
If you want to see your position on Google maps (aprs.fi) you do need to be within range of an iGate. An iGate is a radio connected to a modem and then to a computer which is connected to the internet. So, in case you haven’t worked it out, iGate is short for ‘Internet Gateway’.
You can also run APRS on the HF bands, 30m and 40m are the most popular in Australia. Whilst the 2m system is at 1200 baud FM, HF is run at 300 baud SSB.
From the 19th June through to the 12th August this year (2022) Chris and I undertook a road trip. We left Darwin and headed towards VK6, following the coast when we could. In the past I have used my IC-7100 to send APRS beacons out on 30m. This radio was moved on to make way for an IC-705 QRP rig. So instead of running maybe 50 to 60 watts on APRS on this trip I was only putting out about 10 watts (Max) using the IC-705. It was interesting to see if I would be received by iGate stations in the south. Out of all the packets received VK5ARG-3 was by far the best iGate. There were times where my packets were not making it to the iGates. But as the image below shows. It wasn’t that bad.
If you are planning such a trip and would like family and friends to know where you are this why not give it a try.
Note: I do run an iGate in the northern suburbs on 2m, but its antenna placement isn’t that great. This is a work in progress! Also, If you would like to setup an iGate, all it takes is a Raspberry Pi and an RTL-SDR. If we had three of four scattered around the place, we could have the greater Darwin area covered.
I’m up for a chat if you are interested.