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Monster Media 1993 #2
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README.1ST
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1993-07-07
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WELCOME NEW REGISTERED USER!
ERRATA AND SPECIAL NOTES: There has been a good response to the QST article.
I have received almost a dozen responses and sure enough, everyone of them is
from a different state. So my objective to build "starter" state maps for the
first new user in each state is behind schedule. Over 4th of July weekend I
built some simple maps to cover IL, NC, TX, WA, OR, AR, MI, LA. Sorry for the
delay in responding to your letter, but I wanted to be sure you at least had a
"starter" state map before sending you the disk. APRS was also discussed in
the April and July issues of AMSAT journal.
OTHER REGISTERED APRS USERS IN YOUR STATE: _________________________________
Get in touch with him and see which one of you is going to be the first to
tackle a map of your area!
RV AND MOBILE HF NET: I want to start a nation wide RV and APRS position
reporting net on HF. W4NMK has suggested 7085 KHz LSB. I was thinking more
in terms of 30 meters for best nationwide coverage. It should be an even KHz
for military compatibility, and should have no other BBS's or other full time
systems on it. Any suggestions? Feel free to tune in the Naval Academy
APRS net which tracks the Academy boats from June through 12 August on a Navy
freq of 6260 KHz USB.
BBS ADDRESS: My BBS address is WB4APR @ WB3V.MD. I am a terrible mail reader
and often take weeks to get to download my mail, so do not expect a quick
response via packet, but do feel free to send me any comments or suggestions.
Similarly, I would like to add your return BBS address to my database in case
I have to send out any erratta info on the APRS program.
START HERE!!!: First thing you should do is to read all about APRS and its
applications. The following README files are on the distribution disk:
README.1st - This file
README.APR - General description and overview of APRS
README.QIK - A quick summary of demonstrations and replays to give you
a feel for what APRS can do.
README.SAT - Suggested use of APRS for plotting satellite packet stationns
README.MAP - Detailed information on how to build your own maps
README.DF - Information on using APRS for triangulating beam headings
README.DUM - Info on using DUMb terminals and TNCs in an APRS network
also describes the basic APRS formats
README.RPT - A discussion on ways to use digipeaters to extend an APRS net
README.BBS - Suggestions to BBS's how to use APRS
README.WX - Info on using APRS for displaying weather information
README.GPS - Tells how to interface the Magellian GPS to your TNC for
mobile automatic vehicle tracking
The next thing you should do is to customize your version of APRS to auto-
matically come up centered on your favorite map screen. If you are a
registered user, first use the V command to validate your callsign. Once
this is done, the yellow control panel will show the VALID box. Now set up
the map to your center of activity. Rather than centering on your home QTH,
you might consider centering on the biggest digipeater which will probably
define the center of activity on any given frequency. Next set your desired
digipeater path using the Ctrl-V VIA command. Finally, use Ctrl-C to save
your configuration. From then on, your program will always come up ready to
go on the proper map area.
If you are not a registered user, you can still force APRS to at least
default to your favorite map area and scale. Simply use a DOS text editor
to set the Latitude/Longitude and Range in the first three lines of the
MAPLIST.MAP file to your selected area. Then the program will start on your
chosen map area and all you have to do is place your station location with
the insert key, and you are ready to operate. Of course save the original
center USA coordinates so that when you give out copies of APRS to other
users, they will have the whole US map to start with.
MAPS! - Finally, I will make every effort to at least generate a "starter"
map for every state from which I receive a registration. These "starter"
maps will give you the initial structure for building a more detail map.
They will have a rough state outline and maybe an interstate or two, just
to give you a starting point. Believe it or not, it is really
easy to draw a map. Using just a state Highway map, it should only take
you one evening to enter all of the interstate roads. Another evening to
enter most of the four lane highways that are important, and another
evening if you have to do a lot of detail coast line or rivers. At least
once someone has done this work, everyone in the state can use the results
of your efforts! I find that with just the interstate highways and the
important four-lane roads, you have a perfectly useable map for most VHF
packet operations. You only need to draw more detail maps for special
events or applications.
FINALLY: The last thing to do, is to slowly encourage all BBS's, NODES,
Servers, and stations in your area, to start placing their LAT/LONG in their
beacon text using the format: BT !DDMM.xxN/DDDMM.xxW/....comments. If all
packet stations get in that habit, then APRS will automatically plot you a
map of packet activity on any frequency!