G7JJF APRS Client · Manual App home PDF

Chapter 3

Quick Start

From installation to your first beacon in a few minutes.

In this chapter

This chapter gets you from a fresh install to seeing stations on the map and sending your first beacon. Each step is explained in more detail later in the manual.

#The setup wizard

On first start the app opens a short setup wizard: your callsign and what the phone is used for (which sets the SSID: -9 car, -7 handheld, none for home, -10 internet only), your home position as a locator or latitude and longitude (or the current GPS fix), how you reach APRS (internet only, a Bluetooth LE radio, a Bluetooth TNC, a USB TNC, Direwolf on a PC or the phone's audio), and beaconing (off, every 30 minutes, or SmartBeaconing). Finish saves it all, connects to APRS-IS if you chose to, and opens the window for connecting your radio. Skip leaves everything as it is. Run it again at any time from Menu → Tools → Setup Wizard; the steps below do the same by hand.

#1. Enter your callsign

  1. Tap the Settings tab at the bottom of the screen.
  2. In STATION, type your callsign in Callsign — letters and digits only, up to six characters, without an SSID.
  3. Choose an SSID if you want one (for example 9 for a car, 7 or 11 for a handheld or phone; 0 means no SSID). See the SSID appendix for the usual conventions.
  4. Leave Passcode blank: the app works it out from the callsign. (A typed passcode is used as-is.)

#2. Set your home position

  1. Scroll to FILTER. Enter your home latitude and longitude in decimal degrees (north and east positive, south and west negative), or tap Get QTH from GPS to fill them from the current fix.
  2. Pick a range with the quick buttons — Local 50, County 100, Region 200 or Wide 500 km — or type a value. This is the radius the APRS-IS server will send you traffic for.
Note. The position in FILTER is your QTH. It is the centre of the APRS-IS range filter, the reference point for distances and bearings, the home marker on the map, and the position used for beacons when GPS is not in use.

#3. Save and connect

  1. Scroll to the bottom and tap SAVE SETTINGS.
  2. Tap the status text at the top of the screen (it reads Disconnected). It changes to Connecting to euro.aprs2.net… and then to a green connected message. The coloured dot next to it turns green once packets are flowing.
  3. Tap the Map tab. Stations appear within a few seconds.

#4. Send a beacon

  1. In Settings → BEACONING, enter a comment (up to 43 characters including any battery and altitude extras) and choose a symbol.
  2. Choose Fixed and set an interval in seconds (for a fixed station 1800 s, i.e. 30 minutes, is considerate), or choose Smart for SmartBeaconing when mobile. 0 means no automatic beacons.
  3. Choose the position source: GPS or QTH.
  4. Save, then press TX on the map toolbar to send a beacon straight away. Your home marker moves to the beaconed position.

#5. Add a radio (optional)

Open Menu → APRS Connections and pick the interface that matches your hardware — for example Bluetooth TNC for a paired Mobilinkd or a radio with a Bluetooth KISS TNC, or KISS TNC TCP/IP for Direwolf. Once connected, packets heard on RF appear alongside the internet traffic, tagged with their source. Your beacons now go out on RF as well, using the RF path set in Settings.

#6. Send a message

Tap Messages → My Messages → New Message, type a callsign and tap Open, then type your text and tap the send arrow. The bubble shows an hourglass while waiting, two ticks when the other station acknowledges, or a cross if no acknowledgement arrives after the retries.

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