With the development of QIKCOM-2 APRS DTMF satellite*, we have found a way to encode ANY ham call 3 character suffix into the 5 digit ANI codes of all those cheap radios. And hence, we can use the ANI to place anyone on the APRS map locally and globally. And knowing who is on the air when, where and on what frequency is what APRS brings to Ham radio.
This project is part of the overall APRStt, TouchTone project to allow anyone to use any radio for APRS contact and visibility. Especially the cheap Chinese radios.
Here is how it works: . User makes VOICE ID and his ANI goes out when he releases PTT . Other repeater users do not hear the DTMF ANI because repeater output is typically muted. . APRS-ANI engine ($50 gizmo) at the repeater receiver decodes the ANI . That repeater APRS-ANI engine has a list of all known callsigns (and their suffix) in that area . APRS-ANI engine responds with SPOKEN CALLSIGN (if needed) for feedback . APRS-ANI engine sends out APRS packet on national APRS channel as follows: . It is from your full call like any other APRS packet . It shows WHEN you keyed the radio (real time) and were on the air . It includes the FREQUENCY and PL of the repeater . It includes any ID or BRAG text associated with that repeater . Your POSITION shows on every APRS radio locally and every map in the world in a table near the repeater
And THAT is what APRS is all about. Facilitating human-to-human contact by providing situational awareness of everything going on in Ham radio in the area.
What we need: We already have all the pieces needed to do this. We just need to get organized to do it more efficiently. I have working models of the APRS-ANI engine using just the DTMF chip and a Byonics TinyTrack4. But here are some things that can help speed this along:
. Programming your ANI radio: Daniel KB3MUN has a good summary on these radios. http://aprs.org/aprstt/DTMF-China.html . CALL/Suffix lists: Need a Smart parser that can take ANY club roster in ANY format and output a simple list of nothing but callsigns in .TXT format for the local ANI engine to use for suffix correlation to full calls. . Tweaking DTMF decoders (such as Byonics) to follow the high speed ANI codes (hardware solution) . All repeater developers to add this to their Controllers! (software solution)
And this is just the beginning of what we can do with DTMF and APRS. See http://aprs.org/aprstt.html
Bob, WB4APR * http://aprs.org/qikcom-2.html