The APRS

What is the APRS 

Automatic Position Reporting System

The APRS system was invented and introduced by Bob Bruninga, an amateur radio operator 
  

WB4APR   USA 
Robert.E.Bruninga
115Old.FarmCt
Glen.Burnie.MD21060
USA.









                                       Officially, APRS is the abbreviation for Automatic Position Reporting System

                                                               Some feel APRS should be the abbreviation for Automatic Packet Reporting System. Originally the system only reported positional information. However, in recent years, APRS has become more than a standard for reporting the simple location of an object. It is now used for

APRS Features

Station Status
Station Positions
Messages
Bulletins
Stations Heard
Station Tracking
APRS Satellites
DX Clusters
Internet and Igates
Frequency Coordination
Protocol
Reporting weather
Digital Advance Fox Hunting   E.g. Click   
Internet Access

 Locations of objects that have no actual APRS systems aboard, like starting locations for races, check points for those races, etc.
Basically, an APRS system requires a location sensor (GPS, but sometimes just a person with a map), a Packet radio transmission system on one end and a packet radio receiver and a computer on the other end of the system.
The first system collects its current location and encodes it in a standardized format as a string of text and transmits that information as a beacon. The transmission is NOT directed at any one station but rather beaconed out for all listening stations to hear and interpret.
A second system receives the information using APRS software and then decodes the packet and, typically, places an icon on a map showing the transmitting station's location.
This page is only meant to provide this snapshot overview of APRS. Visit the links below to get more detailed information on this technology.
APRS is a real-time tactical digital communications protocol for exchanging information between a large number of stations covering a large (local) area. As a multi-user data network, it is quite different from conventional packet radio.



APRS Tracking Example


What's a Tracker? 
A tracker is the means by which a mobile station can be tracked. It may consist of a radio, antenna, TNC and GPS but since most of the time the mobile just transmits unconnected UI frames, the receiver part of the TNC is redundant. Therefore more and more stations are using small-dedicated tracker units instead of full-featured TNCs. These trackers can have various operating abilities. The simplest will just transmit a UI packet indicating their position every few minutes, others have more functions





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