World of Ham Radio 1997

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Text File | 1997-02-01 | 47KB | 835 lines

HELP.TXT 7.5b APRS HELP DOCUMENT FOR A SUMMARY INDEX OF ALL APRS README FILES, SEE README.1st NOTE: There are now a few special versions of APRS floating around: These were derived from APRS74 APRSdr.exe Has a dead reckoning path following mode. See DR.txt APRSmin.exe A minimized version 316K vice 373K (without DX & WX) APRtrak.exe A version for SPACE donated to AMSAT. See SPACE.txt Most APRS commands are single keys which are active from all display pages. The first Help page (F1-HELP), defines all command characters. Some keys bring up additional command sub-menu's on the bottom of the screen. Just hit the first letter of any command listed in the prompt. In most prompts, the ENTER key will select the default choice or complete the prompt with no action. If a mouse driver is loaded, the mouse can be used to move the cursor. The following section summarizes all of the TOP-LEVEL APRS command characters (shown with F1-HELP). First are the nine major display screens accessed by their first letter: SCREENS DESCRIPTION L-LATEST - Latest Beacon or broadcast STATUS message from all stations B-BULLETINS - Bulletins posted by other stations P-POSITIONS - Position packets and comments from all stations and Objs H-HEARD LOG - Number of packets per hour per station R-READ MSGS - Displays your incomming and outgoing messages T-TRAFFIC - The last 23 lines of traffic heard between other stations D-DIGIs USED - Digipeater paths used by all stations (or DX message list) A-ALL BCNS - Chronological log of all beacons, messages (or all DX spots) V-VIEW - Scrolling screen of all packets on frequency alt-T - TELEMETRY screen for the MIM module (see TELEMTRY.txt) SPACE BAR - MAP - For showing the positions of all stations and objects Y-Yaxis - A quasi-3D view of the map MENUS DESCRIPTION F1-HELP - HELP Menu with several screens C-CONTROLS - For switching on/off many APRS control functions F-FILE MENU - For loading, saving, and/or replaying files I-INPUT MENU - For inputing your POSIT, OBJECTS and DF bearings M-MAP MENU - For most MAP functinos O-OPERATIONS - Various commands involved in communications and keyboard ops W-WEATHER - All commands dealing with entering and displaying weather MESSAGE COMMANDS R-READ MSGS - Displays all incomming and outgoing messages E-ERASE (TO) - Erase outgoing messages TO other stations K-KILL (FROM)- Kill incomming lines FROM other stations S-SEND - Send a message line T-TRAFFIC - Display the latest 23 lines monitored between other stations F2-REPLY - Reply to the last incoming message OTHER COMMAND KEYS G-GOTO ME/TRK- Moves cursor immediately to your stn or to the TRACKED stn J-JUST ONE - Will clear the map and only display Just one type of station N-NEXT WX - Will move cursor to the next WX stn and display condx Q-QUIT - Quit APRS. Your POSIT will remain in your TNC beacon U-UNPROTO - Used to set your UNPROTO path V-VIEW SCREEN- A conventional scrolling display for monitoring packets X-XMT PKTS - Transmits all or some of your outstanding packets CURSOR AND MAP COMMANDS SPACE bar - Redraws current map Arrows - Moves cursor. SHIFT Arrows (white) moves 5 times faster Home - Homes the screen to the cursor location PgDn/Up - ZOOMs the display in/out. CTRL-PgUp/Dn zooms by 8 End - Moves map to your default location 1,3,5,7,9 - 1 gets default map. 3-9 reload maps saved in 3-9 keys ENTER or +/- - Hook/Unhook (select) a station. +/- cycle through all stns Use < and > to cycle through only the stations on the screen (actually, use the "," and"." keys to avoid holding SHIFT.) SPECIAL FUNCTIONS TAB - Displays status of most CONTROLS and SETUP items F1 - Help Menu with several screens F2 - Reply to message. Pre-loads CALL from last message received F3/4- More or Fewer Lables on maps. Also works with MAPS-BORDERS F5 - Mark a FADE point during the Fade-circle DF technique F6 - ZERO out your SPEED, so when you QRT, others will not DR you. F7 - Toggle between 25 and 43 line text mode F8 - In GPS/HSP mode will get and plot an immediate fix F9 - Center map and scale to show ALL stations F10 - DOZ mode. Disables all screen writes so works better in WINDOWS ALTERNATE KEYS alt-A - All Callsign prefixes (zzom to whole world to see) alt-B - Alter BEACON text alt-F - In DX mode, will change filters for HF, VHF, or certain freqs alt-S - SETUP menu and configuration save commands alt-T - Telemetry screen. See TELEMTRY.txt MOUSE: The nouse only moves the cursor on the MAP and L/Plists. See MOUSE.txt for details. DISPLAY SCREENS: Each display page can have up to 5 pages (80 stations) with new stations added on the last page. Each new station beyond 80 bumps off the oldest station on the top of page 1. Use the PgUp and PgDn keys to cycle through multiple pages. On both the P and L lists, you can move the cursor to select a single station. A prompt then allows you to display the object on the map, see a chronological list of all previous beacons from that station, delete the entry, insert a position for a BEACON only station, etc. L - LATEST DISPLAY shows the latest BEACON packet from each station. This screen is like a one-line broadcast message display. In DX mode, this screen lists the latest command from all stations on your local cluster. B - BULLETINS DISPLAY shows the latest 22 APRS BULLETINS, very useful for distributing useful net-wide information about special events or instructions. See the SEND command. P - POSITIONS DISPLAY shows the latest POSITION packet from each station. You may select (HOOK) any station or object in this list for additional commands shown below. See the section on OBJects. Also the JUST ONE command will display JUST one type of station at a time. Uplink - Uplink or quit uplinking that object Move - Move it anywhere else on the map HOME - Center the map on the object Delete - Deletes the object from your list Follow - Forces an OBJ to follow a purple path (APRSdr.exe only) Kill - Kills your uplinked object on EVERYONE's screens! Track - Will keep the map centered on the TRACKED station Alarm - Will cause alarms if the marked station moves Special- Marks the station for isolated display using JUST-SPECIAL H - HEARD LIST shows statistics of the number of packets heard from each station per hour for the last 24 hours. It is useful for observing station activity and on HF for observing propagation changes. T - TRAFFIC screen shows the last 23 messages heard between other stns. In DX mode, also collects TALK messages between DX cluster users. D - DIGIPEATER PAGE shows the raw packet headers including the digi- peaters of stations on your LATEST list. Proper use of digis is very important for minimizing QRM on APRS nets. A * in the left column show stations heard DIRECT (maybe only once!). In DX mode, the D screen accumulates the list of all ACTIVE DXcluster MESSAGES. A - ALL PACKETS display shows a chronological history of all packets including your own incoming and outgoing message lines. Since messages do not have a time of receipt appended to them, this display is useful for seeing approximately when a message line was received. In DX mode, this screen accumulates all DX/WX/WWV spots and announcements. F1- HELP gives a menu of several different pages of HELP including reading any of the README files. Other HELP screens: DIGIS - one screen on how to use APRS DIGIPEATERS FILES - Read the README files on line (lots of them!) HELP - List of all APRS Commands INFO - Additional helpful info NEW - New-user simplified help screen On-SCRN - Scroll through the commands without losing the current screen SYMBOLS - Shows all APRS symbols VALID - How to validate your copy of APRS MAP SYMBOL COLORS: Several colors are useto differentiate the status of each station or object on the MAP display: WHITE - Active APRS stations on line GRAY - TNC-only posit with no APRS message capability YELLOW - Objects that you are reporting (uplinking) VIOLET - Objects uplinked by other stations DARK - Positions older than 2 hours GREEN - WIDE-RELAY digipeaters BLUE - Weather stations CYAN - Dead Reckoned positions MAP COMMANDS AND FUNCTIONS: SPACE - Re-displays the current map and resets all display defaults. JUST - Can be used to select subsets of symbols to be displayed. JUST SPECIAL displays only the objects marked special on the P-list. JUST CALLS displays all objects but only the calls of those marked SPECIAL. ESC - Escapes the cursor from never-never land to the screen center 1,3,5,9- Map memories for saving particular maps of interest to you. Use the MAP-SAVE command and just hit one of these keys to recall any saved map. The 1 key always has the USA map. Save a CONFIG file to make these permanent. F9 - CENTER ALL CONTACTS. Chooses a map to display ALL objects. HOOK - Hook is a Navy term for selecting an object on a radar screen. Use ENTER to hook an object at the cursor. To step through all stations, use the +/- keys. All info about a hooked station is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Move the hooked station by moving the cursor to the new location and hitting the INSERT key or it can be removed using the DELETE key. To prevent inadvertent movement of objects, a second ENTER key UNHOOKS. Use the <> keys to cycle through all stations on the current map. INSERT - Relocates a HOOKED object on the screen. DEAD RECKONING: For moving stations, APRS draws a small gray anchor circle at the last posit, and then dead-reckons the light blue symbol ahead to the estimated position. Defeat this with CONTROLS-DR. To hook a dead reckoned station, hook the anchor circle, not the symbol itself. There is also a separate program called APRSdr.exe which can dead reckon objects around a known course. This is very useful for tracking the LEAD, PACK and TAIL runners in a marathon. See DR.txt. If DR'ing is messing up, then your PC clock is not sync'ed to GPS time. Hit alt-S-GPS-TIME command and your PC MINUTES will be sync'ed to the next raw GPS posit that comes in... MAP MENU COMMANDS: The following commands pertain to special functions regarding the map display. C - CHANGE-MAPLIST: This is the most important map command for a new user. It allows you to chose the MAPLIST.xxx for your area. APRS uses this list to select each map based on your cursor location. Currently APRS is distributed as EAST, SEAST, MIDWEST, CENTRAL,WEST and EUROPEan versions. The default MAPLIST.USA only points to the major US and regional maps. NOTE: Each time you use this command, the cursor will move to the center of the selected MAPLIST.xxx area. If you want to return the cursor to your current map screen, use the ESC key which always returns the cursor to the center of the current display. A - ALTmap: Displays the map UNDER the current map. Since APRS always uses the latest map in the MAPLIST.xxx file that meets the current screen conditions, areas where maps overlap may sometime be obscured. This command displays the next higher map in the list. B - Borders: Shows borders of all MAPS in the MAPLIST.xxx file. You must use F3 and F4 to select the size maps to display. If a map border appears, but the map does not come up as you zooom into it, then the MAP file is listed too early in the MAPLIST and a later map overlaps its area. If the map is missing, APRS will BEEP. If the Map file exists but its border does not show up, then the file is not listed in the MAPLIST.xxx file. F - Toggle Features on/off such as Boundaries, Headings, Roads, Calls, Waterways, etc. ALL features can also be turned on/off at once. This is useful for slow 8088 PCs where turning off all features still shows the relative positions of stations but without taking the 20 seconds required to draw all the map features. H - Hierarchy: This is an improvement on the BORDERS command since it colors in the maps in the same sequence as they are listed in the MAPLIST.xxx file. The overlapping colors show the effect of the sequence of this list. Look carefully and you can figure out overlap and out-of-order problems. L - Locks the current map to defeat the normal APRS auto-map selection. Useful to avoid interrupting your current map if your cursor gets over on another map during a special event. P - PLOTS. Select from a number of different plots: CAP - Overlays Civil Air Patrol search-and-rescue grids GdSquare - Displays Maidenhead grid squares DF - Displays Signal strength rings around stations reporting signal strength on a fox/jammer. Stronger signals are brighter red and null reports are black circles. POWER - Displays range rings around stations showing an estimate of their radio horizon based on their transmitter power, height above average terrain, antenna gain and favored direction. Defaults for non reporting stations are 10 watts, 20 feet, and 3dB gain, omni. RANGE - Displays Range Rings at 1, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 of the given range scale. The great circle range and bearing from the center to the position of the cursor is also shown. HEARD - Displays only those DF stations reporting a signal strength on a hidden transmitter. See NOT-HEARD NOT-HEARD- Displays all DF stations reporting NO signal on the fox. Separate HEARD and NOT-HEARD commands are needed on B/W displays where color cannot be used to distinguish the two mutually exclusive types of DF plots. MESSAGES: There are three types of messages in APRS. The first is simply your one-line status BEACON. New BEACONS (changed) are highlighted in green at the bottom of all screens to show a change in status and are added to the ALL and LATEST lists. These beacons are perfect for alerting the net to your current status. Secondly, APRS implements a one line message capability between operators. Each line is ACKed when received by the other station. Multiple lines can be buffered up for eventual delivery. Finally, any station can sent a multi-line BULLETIN to all stations. See BULLETINS page and the SEND command. MESSAGE COMMANDS: B - Displays accumulated bulletins. To erase old bulletins, use the alt-E key. Currently active bulletins will be re-accumulated if a station is still transmitting them. R - READ MESSAGES - Displays the status of your incomming and outgoing messages. Whenever there is any change, such as an incoming message line or an ACK to one of your outgoing lines, the screen will appear. K - KILL incoming message lines. K key kills one line at a time. E - ERASE outgoing lines. E key erases one outgoing line at a time. First it erases *ACKed* messages, and then erases other lines. Finally it will erase outgoing BLN lines. T - TRAFFIC - Displays the last 23 lines of message traffic monitored between other stations. S - SEND MESSAGE - Pre-loads the call of the last station you sent to. Enter a new call for a new station. To abort, just hit ENTER. If you have hooked a station, then that stations CALL will be pre-loaded. F2- For REPLYING. F2 pre-loads the callsign of the last msg received. COPY - For single key ops while mobile, you may copy a previous message to a new station by entering a single digit line number instead of message text. The nth outgoing message will be copied to this new station. To allow you to load "canned" messages you may send mesages to MSG, and they will NOT be transmitted, but are available for copying to new messages. THese combined features make it easy to reply to messages while mobile with only 3 key strokes; F2, then the message number, then ENTER... VIA - You can separately route a message via a different digi path than your normal APRS UNPROTO path by placing a /XX on the end of the TO call. APRS will then attempt to use that two letter DIGIpath for that message line. See OPS-DIGI command. This alt-path will get your message out, but remember that any incomming messages TO YOU will only get ACKS via your normal UNPROTO defalt path. See TROUBLE.txt under NO-ACKS. NOTE: The channel effeciency of APRS TALK messages are no better than normal connected packets since they also require ACK's. Intense real-time rag-chews on a busy APRS frequency should be done without digipeaters or with only the exact path specified; See the OPS-DIGI command below, for a shortcut for rapidly changing your digi path. The more effecient way to keyboard is to just use the OPS-COMM command and use your TNC to connect to the other station using normal packet over the most direct path. The other operator MUST be at his keyboard, though, because APRS will time-out, erase his screen, and dump him back into APRS after 3 minutes of inactivity. ACKS: When your MSG is acknowledged, the word *ACK* will be over printed on the outgoing MSG line. Unlike normal packet, APRS does not compute the return path for an ACK. Each station must set his outgoing VIA path so that his packets (including ACKs) get back to all stations in the net. On the 2nd DUPE of an incoming message, APRS will warn you that the other station is probably not getting your ACKS! APRS will then wait 30 seconds and repeat the latest ACK once to provide a better throughput on poor (HF and multi-digipeater) paths. S - SEND BULLETIN. This is the same as the SEND command, but you simply send the message to BLN# instead of a callsign. The # indicates which line of the bulletin it is (1 to 9). All APRS stations will grab and sort these Bulletins onto their BULLETINS page. Since no one ACKS these messages, they are transmitted at the normal APRS decaying perodicity, but unlike normal APRS beacons which settle out at once every 20 minutes, these BULLETINS will continue to decay forever. To send a bulletin that will stop decaying and settle out to about every 20 minutes, use a letter character instead of a Numeral for the BLN#. You can update or change lines, just be sending a new one with the same BLN number. ERASE the old one tho, or you will be sending both! FILES MENU: This menu has all commands dealing with files. A - APPEND - This will permit you to load a BACKUP file without losing all the stations that are already in your P and L lists. If the same calls are in the appended file as are already in memory, there will be numerous dupes that should be manually deleted. Also, APPEND does not append any LOG or WHEN-HEARD data. D - DOS Shell - You must be in the APRS directory before you EXIT back. L - LOADs a backup file. The file named BACKUP which is saved every time you quit APRS, can be reloaded with just the initial B. I save a different file for each packet frequency that I monitor. O - ORDER (SORT) THE L and P LISTs - Moves older stations towards page 1 of each list, and the most recent stations to the end. This is useful when the lists begin to fill, so that older stations will be scrolled off to make room for new stations at the end. S - SAVE the current situation in a file. If any filename other than the BACKUP default is entered, then APRS will also automatically save a LOG and Track HIStory file. If you select NONE as a file name, then nothing will be saved. This keeps you from writing a new BACKUP file over an older one if needed. R - REPLAY. Allows you to replay track history files of past events or any of the automatically saved track histories after they have been saved from memory. See details under TRACK HISTOREIS in this file, or in the overall APRS.DOC file. ALthough only .HST files are shown, you can also replay .BK files from the BAKS directory by just adding the .BK extension. OPERATIONS MENU: C - COMMS - This commmand allows you to disable APRS and talk straight through to your TNC or GPS/WX/DF COMM port. Use it to establish a direct CONNECTION. This is useful for connecting to another APRS station's internal TNC mailbox to leave a message if he is not on line with APRS. Do NOT use this for sending traffic, because if there is no operator present at the receiving station, it will time out in 3 minutes, and all the packets that you sent him will disappear as APRS re-takes control. Also permits you to monitor your other COM port hooked up to GPS or WX. The F8 key will toggle your HSP switch for looking at the output of your GPS. D - DIGIPEATER PATHS - You can save up to 12 different paths for rapid recall. Either enter a two letter path abbreviation, or choose one of the four other single letter comands. S-Save will allow you to enter a TWO letter path name followed by VIA and a list of digipeaters to use for that path. The L key will display a list of already saved paths. The A-ALTernate command will allow you to set up an alternate path for all your posits and beacons as some percentage of your normal UNPROTO path. The ALTpath and percentage are shown on the CONTROLS status line (TAB). All of these options allow you to tailor your path for your immediatel operational needs. When you are in QSO with one station in particular, use OPS-DIGI-xx to choose the minimum path (xx) to that station to minimize QRM on the channel. Also these path names can be used to specificaly route individual SEND message lines. Use this feature with discretion, since APRS must allow at least 5 seconds to change the path each time it transmits... F - FIND - This command allows you to find a callsign or a gridsquare. If you enter the first character as a [, then APRS will asume the entry is for a grid square. This command works on the MAP, and P and L lists. Q - QUERY - This command sends out an APRS query packet (in about 5 secs) asking all stations to respond with all of their BEACONS, POSITS, OBJECTS, and MESSAGES sometime in the next 2 minutes. This command is AUTOMATICALLY sent when a NEWUSER starts up APRS. It is not sent for registered users with a CONFIG file. This helps cut down un- necessary Queries and the resulting QRM. The QUERY command includes a RANGE around the location of your cursor, so you can query a specific area of interest without querying the whole net. You can Query a single APRS station by so indicating at the QUERY prompt. P - PING - Sends out a ping packet. If the packet is digipeated by your selected VIA path, you will see it monitored on the bottom line of your display. This lets you know that your station is transmitting and that the digipeater in your selected VIA path responded. U - UNPROTO Used to set up your outgoing digipeater path. (IMPORTANT!) If you have not selected a digipeater that covers your APRS net, then your packets and acks will never get to the other stations on freq even though you see them fine. YOU MUST SET YOUR VIA PATH TO COVER your intended APRS AREA by selecting an appropriate digipeater path! APRS will warn you if another station does not appear to be getting your message ACKs. Use the OPS-DIGI command to save favorite, frequently used paths. INPUTS MENU: Lets you ADD objects to the map, or input data on your station. Any station may ADD an object on the map for display at all stations. Once on the screen, the object is listed in the P-list with a (+) symbol. This means it will be transmitted by your station. You can stop UPLINKING each object by hooking it on the P-list and toggle the U key. Un validated users are limited to uplinking only one object. If you delete the object from your screen, or toggled off the UPLINK, it still remains on all screens in the network until each individual operator deletes it. To remove it from all screens, you can kill an OBJECT instead of deleting it. Your station will continue to transmit the object, but with a special KILL mark on it. It will disappear from all maps, but it will REMAIN in everyone's PList. If an object has not been updated in over two hours, it fades to a dark gray color. In some of these commands, you are prompted for the LAT/LONG of the object. APRS pre-loads this prompt with the LAT/LONG of the cursor. If that position is correct, just hit ENTER. TO change these values, just type in a new value using as few characters as are needed to give the resolution you need. But you MUST always type the required LEADING ZEROS in longitudes below 100 deg. A - ADD a new object to the screen at the current cursor location. You are prompted for all pertinent information. There are over 50 symbols that can be used to display the object. Use the F1-SYMBOLS command to see the symbols available. D - DIRECTION FINDING: This command allows you to enter a beam heading or a signal strength report for your own station during direction finding events. A zero (0) bearing indicates a signal strength report. Use 360 degrees for North. M - MyPOSIT: Selects the current cursor position for your location. This makes it easy for you to manually update your position to the net. (you only need GPS if you are lost! P - POWER: Used to enter your transmitter power, height above average terain, antenna gain, and directivity for plotting your radio range. S - SAVE: This command saves a copy of your present posit as an OBJect. This is useful for marking special locations while you drive such as DF fixes. U - UPLINK: Identical to the SAVE command, but the object is marked for uplinking to the net. CONTROLS: The C command displays the control panel at the bottom of the screen. This two line panel shows the status of both the SETUP and the CONTROLS. The CONTROLS functions toggle on/off various functions, and show your validation status and your VIA path. Items in lower case are OFF and upper case are ON. Use the TAB key to get this display: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VAL | TNC | Scrnsvr | 15 | GFL| JUNK | 30/600 |dgps| RELAY |XX50| USA |BEEP| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- XMT | LOG | UP | DR | cw | PFL| BCNS | VHF |FADE| VIA DIGI-1,DIGI-2 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B - BANDS. Select HF, VHF or 2-port for KAM's. In 2 port mode, the VHF or HF is still the primary band, but a duplicate of all transmissions is made on the other band. For non-dual port TNC's, this command still sets up the proper HF or VHF unproto paths and timing. For KAM's the ALIAS is set to ECHO/RELAY (or ECHO/WIDE if WIDE is selected) D - Dead Reckoning ON/OFF F = FILTERS. Toggle on/off various filters on the data: BCNS - Normaly APRS only monitors UI BEACONS OTHER - With OTHER set on, then APRS looks at ALL packets FADE - on/off the fade-to-gray for contacts over 2 hours old. When reloading backup files of past events, FADE is turned OFF, but after 2 hours, FADE will automatically come back on. GDinTO- Parses all packets for possible GridSq in the TO address This filter is always set in MScat, SPACE and GdSq modes HF - Ignores all packets from HF with GATE in their unproto path JUNK - Will not display any packet on the 25th line that has embedded control characters. THis keeps the map from scrolling on junk from BBS's and NODES. But it slows processging, since every single character must be checked. POSITIONS - This filter is normally ON to ignore the random 100 yd error introduced by GPS. Any posit within +/- of .04 minutes is NOT saved to the log file. If the filter is OFF, then all new posits are logged except for EXACT dupes. ALSO when the 80 yard filter is off, this ENABLES the automatic saves of all WX and DF reports to the HST files which is useful for later trend analysis. G - LOG toggles on and off the automatic logging of track histories to file. Default is OFF to keep from filling up your LOGS directory. When ON, and after 150 position reports, a file is automatically saved and memory is cleared for further accumulation. If off, the 150 reports are retained in memory until you QUIT. K - Km/M. This command toggles between MAP ranges in Nautical miles or Kilometers. (the MAPS-PLOTS-RANGE command displays in STATUTE miles) U - UPLINK ENABLE - When on, your objects marked for uplinking, will be uplinked to all stations in the net. X - XMT ON/OFF - disables routine transmitting from your station. This is good for stations monitoring an event, but not actively participating. It keeps their routine beacons off the frequency. Even if XMT is off, the X key will still force a one time transmission of your BCN, POS, OBJ, and MSG packets and your station will still ACK incoming messages. W - CW - In normal mode, if CW is on, then ALL NEW BEACONS will be sent to you in CW. In DX mode, CW is always on, although it can be silenced by using the SETUP menu to turn BEEPS off. If FREQS is turned on, then the operating frequency as well as the callsign will be sounded out in DX mode. Other CW functions: E - Enable D - Disable F - FREQs on S - Set speed T - Test Lines to you are sounded out in CW if you are not near your CRT. Also permits changing speed and selecting Full calls in DX mode. The value of 15 on the SETUP CONTROLS panel shows the default CW speed. ALTERNATE SETUP MENU: The SETUP menu (alt-S) has several commands plus three major sub-menus, GPS, MODES, and OTHER. The status of many of the SETUP options are displayed as the top line of the CONTROLS panel: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VAL | TNC | Scrnsvr | 15 | GFL| JUNK | 30/600 |dgps| MYA RELAY | APR |BEEP| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- XMT | LOG | UP | DR | cw | PFL| BCNS | VHF |FADE| VIA DIGI-1,DIGI-2 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- P - POSrate - This command is used to set both the on-screen and on-air periodicity for WX, DF and GPS reports. The Refresh rate sets how often the interface is sampled just to update the data on your screen, and the POSrate value determines how often it is transmitted. S - SAVE CONFIG FILE - Saves the current map size and location as well as the state of HF/VHF, and your digipeater path. You will be prompted for your Validation number the first time you do a CONFIG file save. If you have chosen any of the GPS, DF or WX options, you will also be prompted for your auxilliary registration number as well. You can save each CFIG file with an optional 3 character file extension so that you can call them up quickly for different applications at the DOS prompt. You invoke the optional files with a /EXT switch when you give DOS the APRSxxx command. IE: C:> APRS406/MOB would load the CFIG406.MOB file which you saved when you operated MOBile. etc T - TNCsetup - sends out TNC commands to setup the TNC for APRS. Usually initialized when you start, but can be done at any time, if your TNC loses power, or needs to be reset to APRS defaults. These commands may be customized for your TNC in the InitTAPR.TNC or InitAEA.TNC SYSTEM files. When you QUIT APRS, it restores any custom commands that you might list in RESTORE.TNC file. W - WIDE Permits an APRS station to override the normal APRS default ALIAS of RELAY and set it to the generic WIDE area alias so he can serve as a temporary WIDE digi. Do this only with the concurrence of others on Frequency. SETUP-GPS MENU ARNAV - Configures HSP or SPM mode for ARNAV aircraft data format or for receiving ARNAV reports over the air. SPM - Single Port Mode (See GPS.txt) HSP - Hardware single port mode (see GPS.txt) DFSP - DF Single Port mode is IN THE OTHER MENU. No room for it hr KLYNAS - Sets up APRS to work with STREETS-ON-DISK (Klynas Engineering) NMEA - Toggles on the saving of all NMEA data to a LOGS\NMEAxxx file OFFGPS - Used to toggle off SPM or HSP without having to restart APRS. TIME-SYNC - Sync's PC clock to the next GPS report received. This command only sync's to the MINUTE. Hours are not matched. Be careful, since stand-alone PACCOMM TNC trackers first store the GPS data and then later transmit it based on an internal timer, the actual GPS data transmitted may not be real-time. This is true if the GPS loses lock or becomes inoperative, (car parked under a tree) then the TNC continues to send the same "old" fix. If you sync to one of these, you are syncing to "old" time! SETUP-OTHER MENU: B - BEEPS Toggles nuisance BEEPS (and CW in DX mode) on and off. D - DFSP Toggles on and off the DF single port mode M - MAGnetic Variation. Set for your area if you will be using magnetic DF bearings or headings. S - SCREENSAVER toggles on/off Z - ZONE, allows you to change your timezone offset G - GAME mode. For playing chess. Modifies APRS as follows: * all packets are addressed to GAME instead of APRS * Only your LAST object is UPLINKED * The HOOK-INS key bypasses all normal OBJ prompts * The comment field of an uplinked object contains the move # * Parses received GAME objects for a move number * The move number is displayed on the map display SETUP-MODES MENU: N - alt-NET mode. Allows a special function net to operate on the APRS frequency with other stations, but WITHOUT their packets cluttering up everyone elses screens. Anyone can monitor an ALTNET by selecting this mode, OR by using the CONTROLS-FILTERS-OTHER command to enable monitoring of all packets on frequency. The alt- NET command modifies APRS as follows: * Causes APRS to send packets to ALTNET vice APRS * ONLY looks for ALTNET packets on receive D - DX mode - Sets up APRS to display information for DX cluster users. See DX.txt. P - sPecial. Sets up a special event net on a common APRS frequency so that the special event members only see each other without being bothered by other traffic on the channel. All other APRS users, however, DO see all traffic of the special event. This mode modifies APRS as follows: * Sets your transmit address to SPCL vice APRS * Sets your APRS to ignore all packets EXCEPT those to SPCL. * Note, normal APRS always sees APRS AND SPCL packets. M - MASTER. Sets up your PC to NO LONGER ignore its OWN packets. This is needed if several other PC's (SLAVES using the same call) are all hooked up to the same TNC. A very powerful tool for use in a multi-PC environment. See OPS.txt. V - slaVe. Sets up your PC for slave mode so that multiple slave PCs can share a single TNC and radio such as in an EOC. See OPS.txt S - SPACE. Sets up for sending and recording minimum length GdSq position reports via SAREX. See SPACE.txt T - MeTeor scaTTer. Sets up for sending minimum length GdSq reports at a MAXIMUM transmit duty cycle. See METEOR.txt WEATHER COMMANDS: APRS displays weather stations as blue circles with a white line showing the wind speed and direction. Remember that APRS uses 360 degrees for North and assumes that 000 means no direction information is available. Under the CONTROLs menu, the FILTER command allows you to disable the POSITION FILTER so that WX reports will be saved to track history files for trend analysis. Other WX commands under the WEATHER MENU: A - ALARMS - allows the user to set alarm values on Wind, High and Low temps and rain. If a WX report comes in that exceeds these values within the range of your station, the station is marked on the map in RED and the map is re-centered to that location. An alarm BEEPS and the station is also marked with an ALARM on the P-list. To silence the alarm, you can either hook/un-hook the reporting station on the map (ENTER-ENTER), or use the WX-ALARM-CLEAR command. If your station has the automatic U-II WX interface, and your conditions exceed your alarm limits, then your WX reporting period is reset to the minimum POSrate value, for more frequent reporting. E - Enter a manual weather report. The word (manual) will be added at the end of the report (which prevents APRS from its normal updating of the Date-Time each time it is transmitted). G - GET NWS SITES - Loads all National Weather Service sites on the present map display into the P-list. This is so that an hourly WX data file can be loaded for all all NWS sites listed. J - Use the J command to select Just Weather stations for display. L - LOAD WX DATA from a designated file for NWS hourly weather advisories for each NWS station listed in both the data file and already in your P-list. Use the G command to pre-load your P-list with the NWS stations near you. N - NEXT WX STATION - Highlights the next weather station in turn and displays the WX conditions in the weather box at the top of the screen, and circles the station on the map for identification. The Weather box at the top of the screen will automatically be updated everytime the selected WX station sends out a WX report. Q - WEATHER QUERY - Same as QUERY, but only weather stations respond. TRACKING and TRACK HISTORIES - All position reports are saved to memory and eventually to file for subsequent replay. Each new position report is checked against the last position from that unit and the current values. If the POSITION filter is ON (default) then a new position will not be saved to track history unless movement is more than about 80 yards. This is to reduce the number of track points for non-moving stations saved in the file. The 80 yard circle allows for most of the randomness of GPS Selective Availability so that parked vehicles do not generate a lot of packets. If the filter is OFF, then only a single digit change in a position will generate a new position report. ALso, when the filter is off, ALL WX and DF reports are saved to file. This makes it possible to save a DF event, or to keep historical WX data. There are several commands related to station tracking: T - TRACK - a subcommand on the P-list display which allows you to designate a station for tracking. If TRACK is on, then the map will always re-center on the selected station whenever it approaches a map edge. This re-centering anticipates the station's movements and recenter's the map to give the best next view. A - ALARM - a subcommand on the P-list which allows you to set an alarm on a given station. If that station moves, APRS will beep and will re-center the map to track that station. The same filter as used on the P-list is also used here so that the randomness of Selective Availability does not unnecessarily trigger this alarm. You can silence the beeping by UNHOOKING the station, or by deselecting the ALARM function. Only one ALARM can be set at a time. This alarm is also used as a marker on any WX station reporting conditions exceeding your preset alarm values. But since the WX station does not move, the Alarm will not go off again, unless the WX station moves! M - MOVE - A subcommand on the P list for moving a station. Similar to just hooking it with the ENTER key, but is the only way to move an object or station with 00000/00000 for LAT/LONG. S - SAVE FILES - On the FILES MENU, this command forces a save of a BACKUP a BLxxxxxx,LOG and a TKxxxxxx.HST file. If you are in the field, and may possibly lose power, do a SAVE now and then, to be sure you save all track histories. After the event, you can use a DOS text editor to append all the track history files together for the one event. When you Quit APRS, ONLY a Backup file is saved, the LOG and TRACK data are LOST! If, however, you give the BACKUP file any OTHER name, then a LOG and TK.HST file ARE saved when you quit. REPLAY - Found in both the FILES and OPERATIONS MENUS. Track histories are retained in memory for instant replay up to 150 points. When memory is full, a file is automatically saved and memory cleared for more points. If less than 150 points are in memory, you MUST MANUALLY force a save BEFORE exiting the program or the track history points in memory will be lost! During Replay several commands are useful to center the screen on the moving object, change the speed of replay and zoom in or out, etc. The map will AUTOTRACK a moving station if only one station is indicated in the user response to the TRACK-which-station prompt. DIRECTION FINDING: APRS can instantly traingulate fixes from many reporting packet stations, and even show overlapping signal strength contours from stations with OMNI antennas. This new OMNI feature is a tremendous advantage, since it permits the 95% of HAMs who do not have beams or DF gear to partici- pate in FOX hunts. The traditional beam-heading reports can either be automatic from the N7LUE or DSI Doppler serial interfaces, or manual from other APRS stations. Even stations reporting a beam haeding that are not APRS equipped, can be placed on the map by any APRS station using the INPUT-ADD command and be given a beam heading. APRS assumes that any station or object using the TRIANGLE symbol is a DF station and will plot a line of bearing if given. Note that APRS uses 360 degrees as North and assumes 000 means no direction information available. A quality of 8 indicates an excellent fix. The main DF command is in the OPERATIONS menu. For more info, see DF.txt. SIGNAL STRENGTH - By entering a 0 as a beam heading (APRS uses 360 degrees for due north), APRS will assume the report is a signal strength report and will prompt you for your antenna height above average terrain and antenna gain. To see the overlapping signal strength contours on the map, use the MAP-RINGS-DF command. APRS will plot colored circles around each DF report who's brightness is directly, and who's radius is inversly proportional to signal strength. Note that you MUST UNDERSTAND what HEIGHT-ABOVE-AVERAGE-TERRAIN means, for this to be useful. If you are getting voice reports, be sure the person is giving a true assessment of his HAAT in the general area. Or at least in the general direction where the FOX is suspected. BEARING - If you enter any other bearing, APRS will prompt you for the quality of the fix, and then will plot the bearing from your station. heading for your station. If you are running the WX station option, it will be dissabled while the DF report is operative. You may also specify a Quality factor 1-8. The more dotted the line is, the less its quality. FADE-CIRCLE TECHNIQUE - This is a technique used by pilots for locating emergency beacons. It assumes that for any given mobile receiver, there is a unique circle around the transmitter where the signal fades out. All the mobile station has to do is plot three points anywhere where the transmitter signal just fades in or fades out. These three points define a circle with the transmitter at the center! APRS implements this technique with single keystroke operations. Each time you press F5, a Fade point is entered on the map.