[adjuvantjfoster]

With all the buzz about VHF AIS receivers, there is also a mature, longer range HF as well as VHF, technology for position recording, the Ham radio APRS.

APRS is an abbreviation for Automatic Packet Reporting System, and it is a graphical method of broadcasting positioning information in "real time" from packet radio-equipped stations. It was originally designed by Bob Bruninga WB4APR in the early 90's, but it has seen explosive growth in the last few years due to excellent software for Mac Linux and Windows.

For a primer about APRS look at

http://www.arrl.org/search/?exp=1&q=aprs&x=10&y=12

My question is this: Anybody out there using MacENC have any interest in adding APRS capability to MacENC to extend the range of AIS position reporting?

Look at a site such as http://machamradio.com/HamsAndX.html , (where I wish Mac ENC was listed) for some choices of APRS software. Look at Paketograph, a universal binary, for example

Let us read if you think it should be included in Mac ENC, or if Mac ENC should be simply linked to an existing Mac OS X APRS package.

John

[adjuvantjfoster]

Ahh but there is more....(grin)....

http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2007/03/26/2/

Xastir runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Lindows and possibly other operating systems. The development of Xastir is a collaborative effort of programmers from around the world. New versions appear on a regular basis.

You will find everything you need regarding Xastir at the XASTIR Web site. In addition to providing facilities for downloading the program, you can access and view Xastir news, screen shots, documentation, frequently asked questions (FAQ), forums, user mailing list, developer mailing list, as well as a log of program changes.

http://www.xastir.org/

XASTIR
X Amateur Tracking and Information System

Xastir is program for receiving and plotting APRS™ position packets. Development is a collaborative effort of programmers and amateur radio enthusiasts from around the world. Xastir supports many map formats and is highly customizable. Check out the "Screen Shots" link to see just a few of the ways that Xastir can be used.

Xastir runs on Windows/MacOSX/Linux/FreeBSD/Solaris/Lindows, with many more possible. It supports 125 map formats, several types of TNC's and weather stations, Festival speech synthesizer, AX.25 networking (Soundmodem/Baycom/SCC!) and seven languages!. On Unix-like operating systems, you can run your weather station or global positioning system (GPS) on a separate computer as well, which is good for those hams who are already short on serial ports.

Xastir is FREE! under the GPL license and comes with all source code.

Of course if you want the Swiss Army Knife, McGyver Model, of APRS software, check out

http://www.dogparksoftware.com/MacLoggerDX.html