DIXPRS Test Drive

I turned on DIXPRS this morning.    The hardest part was getting the KPC3 TNC out of whatever mode UI-VIew had left it in and responding in the basic KISS that DISPRS expected...   Beyond that it was a simple matter of downloading the .zip archive, editing config-kiss.txt and saving it in DOS format as config.txt and then running the executable.

DIXPRS home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/dixprs/

* It defaults to digipeating WIDE2 and WIDE1 - I had to drop that down to just WIDE1 as my goal is a fill in digi -  we have too many HIGH WIDE's the way it is now but that's another post...

* There is no 'viscous' digipeating..

* The digipeated packet callsign substitution doesn't include the used path element.   For example, "WIDE1-1" becomes "WA7NWP-11*", not "WA7NWP-11*,WIDE1*".   This is a good thing.  James will disagree but I still believe even stronger then ever that all those 'used' elements are just massive clutter in the packet histories.

* The database feature is cool.    https://sites.google.com/site/dixprs/monitoring

This is similar to what I'm doing with P9....  That too is another post.

Bottom line - it's a cool project and I'm going to move it to one of the Linux server boxes to keep it running and gathering data.   It's not a fit as my home APRS station/server where I need viscous fill in digipeating (APRSX), smart cross band digipeating and info generation (DIGI_NED) and a shared TCP downlink port (APRSD)...     The adventure continues -- next step is to get APRSX compiling on Cygwin or MinGW so I can run it on the XP netbook.

73
Bill - WA7NWP

Setting up a JNOS Packet Server

Once again I'm working on a JNOS packet server.   Yes - it's a BBS but it's so much more.   I'll keep notes in this living blog page to save all those little things that I have to learn and relearn when doing this.

Keep an eye on this - it's a work in progress.   Much can be done to make this easier to set up.  Hmmm - is it time for a jnosconfig.py script?   I'm using .py scripts like that for everything else.

* make sure the linux box has the required software development tools
  * sudo apt-get install devel-tools  ncurses5
 * go to maik/JNOS2 site and use git to fetch the current source
 * edit the config file as needed.  I changed:   xxxxx
  * recompile

* Create the files JNOS needs.  I'm still working on the scheme of putting all the configuration files in $JNOS/etc
* Create etc/Domain.txt
* etc/hosts

* AX1 is the only current TNC port

Hook up the TNC and Radio.   New, to me, IC229 from the Country Store at SeaPac 2012.  Today I interfaced it to the KAM TNC via the MFJ Mic/Packet switch box.
* JNOS: param 255 - takes the KAM out of KISS mode
* KAM:  interface kiss : reset - puts the KAM back into KISS mode
* JNOS:  tip ax1 - gives a simple terminal interface to the TNC.  Great for debugging and putting it into kiss mode.
* Simple beacon commands:
  * ax25 bctext "It's good to be back on the air with JNOS"
  * ax25 bcinterval 1800   # one beacon every 30 minutes
  * ax25 route add ID ax1 K7IK  # for the ID packets from the beacon to use the K7IK digipeater

To Do.
Make JNOS put the TNC into Kiss mode itself...
Make JNOS beacon with APRS style beacons.
Verify that the BBS allow logins and guest logins
Set the IP address on the AX1 port to a valid number in the 145.63 LAN
Get AXIP working to the BPQ32 BBS - that will allow BPQ to use the 145.63 port while JNOS can then access all the other ports on the PBQ32 switch.

VOAProp - updated solar data

The source for the solor data has changed.    See the full story at:

  http://blog.g4ilo.com/2011/12/voaprop-and-wwv.html

The summary and magic URL is:

What you need to do is: 

• In VOAProp, click the Solar Data button to open the window that displays the WWV file.
• In the Data URL field, enter the address of the replacement file which is:  http://ok1dub.cz/wwv/wwv.txt .

Digital Operations on Field Day

APRS -


Every FD site will usually have APRS on line.  Remember, you can contact any other FD site in the world on your APRS channel. (144.39 in North America).

Just send them an APRS text message.

Of course, this assumes you know their callsign.  To facilitate learning who else is on the air, send a CQ FD message to the APRS CQSERVER and your CQ will go to every other CQ FD site on the planet.  This has nothing to do with FD rules and points.  It is just a way to have fun and be able to contact any FD site without knowing apriori their calling freq.

Just send an APRS message to CQSRVR and make the first two words of the message be CQ FD .... for example, "CQ FD from Bob in Annapolis, MD".  These do not count for points, but are a great way to have ham radio fun with other sites.

This will log you onto the CQ FD message group and from then on, you will get ALL OTHER such messages from all other such stations.  When you DO see an incoming CQ FD message, now then you know their callsign and can MESSAGE THEM DIRECTLY from then on.

To keep the load down, you can only send one CQ FD message once every 30 minutes, but you will remain logged on for up to 12 hours.  After no activity, you will be dropped.

Oh, for more info about APRS and Field Day, see http://aprs.org/cqsrvr.html

Bob, WB4APR


JT65-HF -


While this will require manually entering callsigns, it should work -- really same format as a RTTY contest qso. All free-text except the initial search/pounce call.  Note that don't need 2-way grid exchange, or RRR or 73's ...  the FD info is the non-callsign info being exchanged ... and going to next step implicitly R's the previous.

CQ FD KJ4IZW
  KJ4IZW KB3EAW EM00  (structured)
KB3EAW 3A WNY
  KJ4IZW 1H EPA
TU KJ4IZW FD
  KJ4IZW W1LIC FM00   # flows to next caller
...

Also, doesn't require any custom initial reply to the CQ ... and hopefully they mimic the FD report format ...

I'll be operating as K4NAB club call, running the digital station .. PSK31 & RTTY, but would like to proof-of-concept JT65 too.

--david
KJ4IZW

On The Air with HF Soundcard Digital

Update 6/12/12 - After running WSPR for a couple days I'm moving on to packet and APRS-Messenger.  The UZ7HO soundcard modem is receiving well and it looks like transmitting is working.   I have to tweak the configuration of the BPQ32 switch to use a realistic delay between connect attempts.   Then I can try a VIA connection to see if the nodes I'm hearing are hearing me.   Updating BPQ32 to the latest version will give me APRS and Unconnected Packets.   That will come after getting APRS-Messenger running and testing it out for a few days on the 30 meter APRS frequency.

Note to self - I still have to figure out why my WSPR display is showing from 0 to 200 Hz instead of 100 Hz to 300 Hz.  It appears I'm missing all the stations in that upper half of the band segment.

Cool discovery - the 2.0 WSPR User Guide document has some screen shots of the program being used.  Timing was good and I was on the air at the right time to show up on Joe's screen for the Additional Details section.

-----

It's so cool to FINALLY have a a solid HF to Computer Soundcard interface working...

Last weekend, at SeaPac, I picked up a West Mountain Rigblaster Advantage from their booth manned by Sholto.    Soundcard, PTT, Computer Rig control and more - all running in one little box with one USB cable to the computer..   Nifty...

After a bit of cable juggling and installing drivers (after all this is LinuxXXXXVista...)  I put it on the WSPR channel on 20 meters and gave it a "Transmit Now" kick.   2 minutes and some seconds later I went to the WSPRnet database and did a query on who have heard me.   I thought there might be one or two...


     Timestamp         Call                 MHz              SNR Drift Grid         Pwr Reporter RGrid km az
 2012-06-10 17:44 WA7NWP 14.097033 -12 0 CN87wq 10 K7UEB/20 DN06tb 337 121
 2012-06-10 17:44 WA7NWP 14.097052 -19 0 CN87wq 10 KK7KZ DN30xm 1131 131
 2012-06-10 17:44 WA7NWP 14.097027 -25 0 CN87wq 10 W7QL DN40bo 1134 130
 2012-06-10 17:44 WA7NWP 14.097043 -19 1 CN87wq 10 W7YLQ CN85mq 231 196
 2012-06-10 17:44 WA7NWP 14.097027 -8 0 CN87wq 10 KL1X BP51ip 2306 322
 2012-06-10 17:44 WA7NWP 14.097027 -20 0 CN87wq 10 K4COD EM73sc 3532 103


I'll have a bit more cable juggling - mostly extracting - and then it's down to just seeing what can be done and using the incredible software that's available.

73
Bill

SDR really?

Ok - after the SeaPac/TAPR SDR seminar at Seaside last weekend, and now that I have a borrowed SDR receiver - it's time to pay a bit more attention to SDR (Software Defined Radio).   I've brought the HPSDR maillist up from the backlog and will be cleaning up the history...

My current hardware is the Funcube Dongle Pro.   Once it's running I'll have more incentive to get the SoftRock transceiver built and running.

I'll start with the FDP on the home station PC.   Next step is to plug it in and let it do the driver install magic.

Then I have to find software:

• studio1 - http://www.woodboxradio.com/studio1.html   replaces  WRplus
• cuSDR -  https://plus.google.com/107168125384405552048/posts

Once there's some sort of software running, what to I use it for?  I have 80 KHz of reception between 60 MHz and 1.7 GHz.  I'll know more once I get 

• Broadcast FM
• All the legacy packet channels - 145.01 to 145.09
• Will it stretch down to 6 meters at 50 MHz?   I've seen one note that says it will.
• APRS at 1200 (144.39) and 9600 (144.35) at the same time...

I'll update this post as I make some progress and learn more.

PACKET!

Slowly the packet station revives...

Yesterday the D7 was hooked to the JNOS system and many packets are being received.   Even better - the frequency and baud rate are potentially under computer control.

I've been monitoring NET105 on 20 meters for the past month with the UZ7HO soundcard modem.  It's working well and is exciting to see the substatial traffic from around the country.

Much more to come...

JNOS with a Kenwood D7

Here's notes on work in progress to get a D7 (1200/9600 - VHF/UHF) remotely controlled radio working with the JNOS system.

Yes - I know the buffer is too small, there can be data overruns and the D7, like the D700, has the absurd feature of responding to Control Commands in the middle of a KISS data packet.   These are known issues to be dealt with.

Soon I hope to replace the D7 with an D700 - same functionality but more power and more receive range.

Current Status:

• Monitoring 9600 baud traffic on 440.800 MHz.
• Need to figure out why it's not transmitting - try the other D7?

Step 1 - get the MiniItx Linux box (500 MHz, Ubunty 6.06 on a 1 GB CF) talking to the D7 TNC.

I found the available serial ports by checking in /etc/setserial where I'd hardcoded them years ago.   The PC has one built in port, currently used on a powered off KAM, and a dual serial card in the sole external PCI slot.

Picocom is a good little application.   Smaller and less cranky than minicom.   With a little experimentation I discovered that "C-a" is short for Control-a which is the command attention character.   A C-a C-q is the exit sequence.

Since I don't want any modem initialization - I launch picocom as "picocom --noinit --noreset /dev/ttyS5"
The ttyS5 was just a lucky guess....   (C-a C-u for baud up and C-a C-d for baud rate down.   Not needed as I'm using 9k6 but it's handy to know.)

On to JNOS -

To attach the serial port:  (I'm using 'ax1' as the port name...)

  attach asy ax25 ax1 256 256 9600

Jnos has a great built in simple terminal command:   tip ax1  - to give access to the TNC.  

To Enter KISS mode

  kiss on
  restart

To totally reset the D7 TNC:

  reset

To exit kiss mode:

  * set Num Loc on
  alt 1 9 2  alt 2 5 5  alt 1 9 2

Once the TNC is in kiss mode and semi-mangled packets are showing in the display it's time to terminal the TIP session.   F10 to go back to JNOS command session.  Assuming this is the only session running;  kill 1, to kill the session.   Then 'se 1' to go to the session and simple CR to clear it out.

To monitor traffic on the ax1 port:

  trace ax1 311

F9 to the monitor screen to watch the traffic flow.

Step 3 - Testing remote control of the frequency and mode.


Using notes from my D7 at 9600 on UHF blog posting, I manually moved the TNC from 1200 baud on 144.390 to 9600 baud on 440.800 using keyboard commands.

Connected to the TNC 'tip ax1' and cycled power to reset the TNC out of KISS mode.  (The alt192-255-192- should do that and needs to be tested.)

Once in command mode I entered the following commands - less the comments:

;Control mode on.
TC 1!
;Select packet mode.
TNC 0
;sELECT band B for 9k6
BC 1
;Set the frequency to 440.800.
FQ 00440800000,0
;No shift.
SFT 0
;Select data band as 'B.
DTB 1
;Open the TNC in packet mode. 

TC 0
;Send some TNC commands.
ECHO OFF
HBAUD 9600
AWLEN 8

;;;  BV - I don't know which, if any of these commands are needed
BEACON EVERY 0
MON ON
MCOM ON
CONOK OFF
LTMON 10
LOC E 0

;;;; back to kiss

KISS ON

RESTART

I don't believe it's necessary to exit kiss mode to send these command - more experimentation is needed.

JNOS needs to have the modified Kenwood kiss to prevent accidental Kenwood control codes being picked up from the KISS packets.

Packet Plan 9

+ The Next Next Generation for Amateur Radio Packet

++ Why
* Old and slow - but incorrectly used
* Face Book of Digital Ham Radio
* Hard to use, not a clear picture
* Old applications - not using modern computers like Smart Phones and Pads

++ What
* Database (backend for Xastir 2)
* Web User Interface
* Template driven interface,  D700, APRSDOS, UI-View

++ How
* Common technology so will work on any platform

++ When
* alpha testers running this month

++ Where
* SEATCP and NWAPRS are getting initial announcements, then a dedicated list
* Any packet/APRS frequency - probably 223.6 @ 9k6 will be more exercise.


++ Changes
* No Paths
* Learning
* Database and Data driven
* UI will be web based and configurable by the user
* Flood data and file transfer

++ General Concepts
* Will use both Connected and Unconnected modes
* + Smart - learn the best path to a station and use that.  No flood paths to a single receiver.   Learning is key!
* Flood paths for information and data
* Core server will use database technology.  Record and learn what is heard on the air
* User interface will be a web view - optimized for mobiles, pads or workstations
* No station to station interaction by the web.  User interface yes.
* RF DX will be sought and tracked
* Technology for exchanging files, either 1 to 1 or 1 to many will be one of the technologies.
* Plugins and addons.  Modular for expansion or optimization.

++ Uses
* Data exchange - e.g. Callsign data, program updates, keps
* Group messaging (convers, IRC)
* One to one messaging
* Email
* NTP bulletins

Sharing Web URL's with APRS

++ Resources to be shared
* 73 - 7373 UIWebserver
* 01 - 14501 APRS-IS status page

++ Formats

+++ Full

..web-URL

Example:  73.7373.wa7nwp.no-ip.info Bill's home UIView Webserver

+++ Short Form

.


Example: 73.wa7nwp.noipI Bill's UIView Webserver


+++ Abbreviated


.


The port is the default and the description will be created from the Source Callsign and type of resource


Example:  73.wa7nwp.noipI

Wetnet Geek Brunch 2/25/2012

Good brunch today with medium turnout....  The WiFi lasted 'hours' which is a big improvement...

I showed the imic I picked up a couple nights ago at the Redmond Mac Store..    It's currently trying to receive WSPR on HF.   The install and hookup was painless - even on my 'vista' machine.  I say 'trying' because apparently there's a RTTY event this weekend and both 20 and 15 meters are very busy...

  http://wa8lmf.net/ham/imic.htm

Four out of five installed the D-Rats Beta successfully and exchanged our Hello's and Good Morning's via the WA7FW ratflector...   The application continues to improve.   I'll have it running full on on the home workstation now and will be getting the repeater (ratflector) running on both the home server and the (little white netbook) portable server.    If anybody wants the secret handshake to get the Beta - send me Email.   (Hey Ren - the unit's are configurable under Preferences...)

  http://d-rats.com/

I'm looking forward to trying the KISS packet mode of D-Rats with the Virtual Kiss port on BPQ32 - that should twist up the packets nicely.

Onward!

73
Bill - WA7NWP

A Portable HF Digital Station

More notes - to be polished soon.

The 'project' is done.  I wanted to get a handle on the equipment I had and how to use it.  Also to get an idea of where to go next.

I used the good laptop.  The goal was to learn the tools not do battle with a minimal system.  That comes later.   For now I'm assuming that if I have to go - I'll be taking the good laptop and the yellow toolbox of portable radio equipment.

The learns would seem to be obvious:

• Most important is to spend time with the system.  Using the hardware and software is the only way to really learn it.
• The low power, 2.5W, is useable but marginal.   It can work the world but only during optimum band conditions.
• A tuner is a good thing.  The new automatic tuners really take up the slack for a non-resonant marginal antenna.
• External Radio Interface that has a built in sound card with a single USB cable is the way to go.
• Computer control of the radio is much better than not...
• ... more soon.

A new project will be started today to fill in the missing pieces of this go-box setup.   Missing pieces include hardware such as a self supporting antenna, an amplifier and more experience with the software tools.

For the next generation:

• JT65-HF for simple QSO's and minimal information exchange
• WSPR for system propagation testing
• Self supporting antenna with a handy way to station it outside.
• Need a connection to a messaging system.   WL2K, APRS, PSKEmail?
• CW - just for fun?   Need a CW key interface?
• Self hosting battery that charges from 12v auto, local AC mains or even Solar.

Initial write up notes...

The Rig
* FT-817ND
* Tigertronics USB
* HP Laptop.  Vista.  Lots of CPU, RAN, Disk.
* ZL11 autotuner -> Elecraft T1
* 40/30 fan dipole

The Software
* VOAProp - notes:  Learned:  r-click to set location.  click to draw line on chart then hit button to "Show Chart" to get time of day effective reports to that area.  For example I just clicked on La Par.  Best of the chart shows S3 at 22Z on 21 MHz.
* FLDIGI
* JT65-HF
* APRS-Messenger

Learned.
* Need better antenna
* Web results good.  (save some pictures)
* WSPR for unattended.

UI-View TNC Config File for 96UHF

The UI-View program works well with the Kenwood D7 HT.   So well, it even sets the frequency at startup time.   The beauty of this is that it allows setting up different configuration files for different channels and, it turns out, for different baud rates.

Editing the stock file to create a new configuration file for 145.01 was trivial and only a matter of changing the frequency setting.

Moving to 96UHF, where not only the frequency but also the band and baud rate changes, was a bit trickier.

Fortunately, before I had to spend too much time discovering the silly little things that thrive on eatting our minutes, I found the SV1BSX  web page were he already had it figured out.

  http://www.qsl.net/sv1bsx/APRS/d7-9k6.html


This is working for me now.  I'm sure there will be future tweaks..

Here is the text for a 96UHF.cmd file to be saved in the ui-view\cmd folder:

;This is a TNC initialisation file for use with
;the Kenwood TH-D7 on the NWAPRS 96UHF 9600 baud APRS on 440.800 MHz.

;
;TH-D7.ORG will allow you to revert to the default
;version of this file, if you edit it and mess it up!

[SETUP]
;DON'T alter anything in this section unless you are
;sure you know what you are doing!
COMMAND_PROMPT=cmd:
COMMAND_CHARACTER_CODE=3
ESCAPE_CHARACTER_CODE=
CONV_COMMAND=CONV
MYCALL_COMMAND="MYCALL "
UNPROTO_COMMAND="UNPROTO "
NO_BEACON_COMMAND=BEACON EVERY 0

[INIT_COMMANDS]
^C
AI 1!
;Control mode on.
TC 1!
;Select packet mode.
TNC 0!TNC 0
;Select band 'A'.
;sELECT band B for 9k6
BC 1!BC 1
;Set the frequency to 440.800.
FQ 00440800000,0!FQ 00440800000,0
;No shift.
SFT 0!SFT 0
;Select data band as 'A'.
DTB 1!DTB 1
;Open the TNC in packet mode. Wait for up to 4 seconds
;for PORTOUT to be seen in the response from the TNC.
TC 0!PORTOUT!4
;Send some TNC commands.
ECHO OFF
HBAUD 9600
AWLEN 8
BEACON EVERY 0
MON ON
MCOM ON
CONOK OFF
LTMON 10
LOC E 0
GPSTEXT $GPRMC

[EXIT_COMMANDS]
MON OFF
;Close the TNC.
TC 1

APRS at 9600...

> In the Pacific Northwest, there are a number of people experimenting
> with 9600 baud APRS. They have a reasonable network of i-gates and
> digipeaters. They've shown a couple of things: 9600 baud works for
> APRS; it can be more reliable for mobiles (less chance flutter will
> corrupt the packet, because the data burst is so short); and it ends
> up doing more for the network than halving the bandwidth because it
> moves a lot of stations off 144.39 and onto an alternate channel. Most
> of that network is Kenwood D700's, D710's, D7's and D72's.
> Tom

Following up on Tom's comment above...    I've been almost exclusively on the PNW UHF 9k6 APRS network for years and years.   In general -- it's great to get off the chaos of 144.39 and the system is working better than every with multiple I-Gates and digipeaters.

Messaging just work's as long as you have a real I-Gate or two.   What doesn't work is Voice Alert.   We've worked around that by bringing a significant portion of the local 144.39 traffic to the UHF network. Also I sometimes run with my second VFO on the Tone Squelched 144.39 channel just to see if anybody is in range.

It's really nice to have the extra bandwidth for more information... We have DX spots of 6 meter openings, satellites, winlink2K access points and the echolink/irlp nodes in the area and room for more.

As to TXdelay - ideally it would be a bigger win but since the D700 is fixed at 1/2 second (silly Kenwood) it is far from optimum.  With the light traffic load it's apparently a non-issue.

While 9600 is cool and it's trivial to set up with the Kenwood mobiles PM feature, I recommend to anybody that asks to not use 9600 buad.

Two reasons:

1.  The data you can see on a mobile radio is the rate limiter.  With a full 1200 baud channel the display too busy and distracting. Anything beyond that from a faster 9600 channel is just unusable. 9600 would work good for a backbone but not a 'user channel.'

2.  If the goal is to help spread the load from the busy 144.39, you don't want 9600 - you want 1200 which all the trackers use.  Moving the dumb trackers off the main channel onto an alternate frequency is good for both the trackers and the main channel.  Since the trackers aren't running Voice Alert, they're the ones that can run there without missing this incredibly useful APRS feature.

> Why would using a subtone suddenly not work when changing the baud rate?

Two issues with the tone .. I should have been more clear.

1. The affect of the tone on 9k6 data is an unknown.

2. Stations on the alternate channel don't hear the other stations on
the main channel... It would work if everybody moved. It doesn't
work cross channel.

The big win is the alternate channel to spread the load which only takes an I-gate or two to make happen.   Add digi's as necessary...

73
Bill - WA7NWP

DStar Options

... this is a work in progress ...

One of these days, RSN, (real soon now) I'll have an ICOM R91 DStar radio for a digital node.

Until then, I'm looking at using one of my existing radios as a way to get on DStar and hook up with neighbors that have repeaters or hot spot access points.

The data to do this is scatter...

Software:

Radios with 9k6 data ports that work:

* YAESU seem to have the FT-8800 and FT-8900.

Ham Radio Wish List

Save the pennies maybe this year list:

• Kenwood TM-D710 for the mobile. The current D700 is my most used radio. It would be even better if I moved it to the house for two channels of packet use and then having the extra mobile functionality of the D710. This wasn't an option until Kenwood finally had a clue and redesigned the radio to fix the DC on the filters problem.
• Base station Vertical for 10/6 meters - Diamond CP610
• Tigertronics USB interface for base station
• USB to CI-V for home setup

Win the lottery new gizmo next year list:

• A pair of DoodleLabs 440 MHz Data Radios
• Better CW filter for the FT817
• Icom R92 DStar HT for remote operation
• High accuracy time base for FT817
• Diamond CP725H is a four band (6M, 10M, 15M and 40M) trap vertical antenna
• Comet H-422 quad-band rotatable trapped dipole that covers 40, 20, 15 and 10.
• CUSHCRAFT A6270-13S 6M/2M/70CM BEAM

UI-Webserver

1/29/11 Update - the UI-View maps quit working and thus the Webserver display. A simple update and refocus of the _PA7RHM map server using the updater was all that was necessary to fix it. We still need a source of local or cached maps but this keeps things going. BV

This is an update of a preliminary post on using UI-Webserver and the start of more detailed information describing how to use UI-Webserver, a component of the UI-View APRS package. For now, my notes are preserved on the NWAPRS WikiDot Wiki.

I'd post the link to the UI-Webserver here but I'm not quite ready to advertise that little web server up to the wilds of the World Wide Web.

Next project - learn how to use the Object editor to share the UI-Webserver URL on the APRS system with a slight obfuscation so the links are not plain text and thus easily open to everybody and everybot.

7/25/2011 - turn on the UI-Webserver. Running UI-View32 - File menu, click "UI-Webserver". Check the settings to make sure it's running on port 7373. It doesn't have to be 7373 but that's a convention a few of us are using and it's working well.

10/15/2011 - Added a live, even if captured, map to the main page to display on the web what the UI-View program is seeing.

10/16/2011 - Added the time stamp to the captured image. It was a simple matter of adding an additional event to the scheduler to apply the time stamp to each captured image. The help for for the captioner had the specific details needed.

Tracking the Home Station

Yes - there are uses for a GPS on the home packet radio station.... Least of which is tracking the house after an earthquake.

(lots to be added)

GPS 353 from Amazon.

Tried at Brunch. Bob did it first and everything worked fine on his laptop and my little white ASUS netbook.

Thanks to Bob/K7OFT for the reference to Visual GPS - it's a handy too.

Put on KVID - the packet machine.

Hard time getting lock in the window. Still need to find a better location for it.

(more to be added)

Still cannot get XPORT working. My goal is to get the GPS data from the USB Prolific device on Com port 19 and share that on, at least, COM ports 7 and 8. Currently XPORT reads the GPS just fine but it thinks ports 7 and 8 are in use. I've tried several techniques to clear up those ports but haven't had any success yet.

* http://www.modemsite.com/56k/xptip.asp

* http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/80943-45-remove-ports

I'll try later with a safe boot and remove the extra devices. For now I'm running with UI-View directly reading the GPS on Com 7. The Red Cross hairs are showing on the map. I've see to see how the time update function works. I manually added 8 hours delta from GMZ to PST and will have to change it if it's not correct.

(more soon)

New Project Starting - Portable Server with Packet

I've long sought the practical portal group server with Ham Radio Packet and Wifi access for the various brunches and ham fest meetings.   The plan and tasks for Revision A (or W?) of the server have been assigned a list in the Remember The Milk task tool.   Stay tuned to this blog page for updates and details.

Bill