Chapter 2
Requirements and Installation
#Device requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Android version | Android 8.0 (API 26) or later. The app targets Android 16 (API 36). |
| Screen | Phone or tablet, portrait or landscape. |
| Internet | Needed for APRS-IS, map tiles, address search, ISS data, propagation, DX cluster and email. |
| GPS | Optional. Needed for GPS beaconing, the track log and SmartBeaconing. |
| Bluetooth | Classic Bluetooth for SPP TNCs; Bluetooth LE for BLE TNCs. |
| USB host (OTG) | Needed for USB serial TNCs such as the KV4P HT. |
| Microphone / audio | Needed for the Audio DSP TNC. |
| Android Auto | Car App API level 2 or later for the car screens; level 7 or later for the drawn map. |
#Installing
Install the app from the Google Play Store. While it is in testing, apply for the beta test at www.g7jjf.com/aprs/; you will receive an invitation at your Google account's e-mail address with a link that lets you install it from Play. Updates then arrive through Play like any other app, and your settings and data are kept.
Note. If you had a copy installed earlier from an APK file, Play may refuse to update it because the two are signed differently. Make a backup first (Menu → Backup → Backup All Data), uninstall the old copy, install from Play, then restore the backup.
#Permissions
The app asks for the permissions it needs when it first starts, or when you first use a feature that needs them. You can refuse any of them; the related feature simply will not work until you grant it in Android Settings → Apps → G7JJF APRS Client → Permissions.
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Location (precise) | GPS beaconing, SmartBeaconing, track log, map GPS button, filter centre from GPS. |
| Notifications (Android 13+) | Message, bulletin, weather, geo-fence and watch list alerts, and the ongoing service notification. Without it, alerts are silently skipped. |
| Nearby devices / Bluetooth | Scanning for and connecting to Bluetooth and BLE TNCs. |
| Microphone | Receiving with the Audio DSP TNC. |
| USB device access | Asked by Android each time a USB serial TNC is connected. |
| Ignore battery optimisation | Keeps the APRS service alive with the screen off. The app asks on every launch until it is granted — strongly recommended. |
| Foreground service, wake lock, boot completed, exact alarms | Running in the background, the 9-minute connection watchdog and reconnecting after a reboot. |
Tip. For reliable background operation also exclude the app from any manufacturer battery saver (Samsung Sleeping apps, Xiaomi Autostart, Huawei App launch and similar). See the chapter on background operation.
#What you need to transmit
- An amateur radio licence and your callsign.
- For APRS-IS: nothing else — the app calculates the standard APRS-IS passcode from your callsign automatically. You can still type a passcode if you prefer.
- For RF: a radio and a TNC of some kind (hardware KISS TNC, Direwolf, a Bluetooth/BLE TNC such as a Mobilinkd, a radio with a built-in TNC that speaks KISS over Bluetooth, a KV4P HT, or an audio interface cable for the Audio DSP TNC).