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WHAT :
APRS was developed by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, as a real-time local tactical communications system for rapidly exchanging digital data of immediate value to operations. This really took off when GPS became available and MAPS were integrated into the system for tactical situational awareness of everything in the net. In the 13 years since its introduction.
Author(s): Bob Bruninga, WB4APR <bruninga@nadn.navy.mil>
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ABSTRACT
ARTICLES.TXT A brief history and bibliography of APRS.
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This file consists of a brief history of the development of APRS and then
a bibliography of most of the articles that have been written about APRS.
THE HISTORY OF APRS
The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) software has evolved over the
last 18 years of my involvement in amateur packet radio. In 1976 I had
built the first digital RTTY on the air automatic message system which
evolved into a dual port phone and packet radio BBS for the AMRAD group
when ASCII first became legal in the late 70s [1]. In 1978 we began
experimenting with the original VADCG packet boards from Canada. For years
I was on the AMRAD board of directors, the Amateur Radio Reasearch and
Development group that was instrumental in the original specification for
AX.25 written by Terry Fox, WB4JFI and published by AMRAD in 1984. Isolated
overseas in Japan in 1982, I wrote my first data maping program, which took
NAVY HF position reports off the air and displayed them on an APPLE-II.
From the beginning, I was always making packet maps of the growing packet
network [3,5,6]. In 1983, I wrote a gateway/BBS program on my VIC-20
computer to permit simultaneous operation of both HF and VHF ports for
exchange of packet messages and pioneered the use of 200 Hz shift for packet
on HF with cross-county links to W0RPK, W9TD, and K7PYK [2]. We used 10.149
MHz. To my knowledge, this was the first amateur HF BBS/GATEWAY; and it
remained on the air 'round the clock for 5 years through 1989 under the FCC
STA for automatic packet HF operations.
My APRS connectionless protocol idea was first used in a VIC-20 program
in 1984 for reporting the position and status of horses in a 100 mile cross
country endurance run for AMRAD [4]. I spent two years improving the idea
for amateur packet radio support of the National Disaster Medical System
exercises sponsored by FEMA [7,8,9]. During this time frame I called it
the Connectionless Emergency Traffic System (CETS). At the end of the
second national exercise, I dropped the C-64 and began to port CETS to the
new IBM PC. I also began to integrate packet mapping into the program.
During 1990 I got tired of trying to find a public domain set of maps
and began to digitize the East Coast myself with a TEXT format so that any
HAM could draw a map for any local packet application using only a text
editor. Once that maping decision was made, APRS evolved nightly as I
began to play with it on the air, and realized its potential. For four
years now, APRS has consumed thousands of hours of evenings and weekends
as I tweaked the program and drew maps.
Finally, I am not doing this to make money on amateur radio. The
registration contribution helps defray the mailing hassles and the
psychological burden of having hundreds of HAMS all across the country call
me at home at all times of the evening with repetitious and continuous
questions. I learned this lesson the hard way by releasing my C-64 BBS
source code to the HAM community in 1984 for free. Now, 11 years later, I
still get phone calls, letters without SASE's, and registered letters from
third world countries (requiring a trip to the post office) asking questions
about this obsolete software!
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APRS, Automatic Position Reporting System, Is a fun aspect of Amateur Radio!! Track your friends no matter where in the world they may be. Also get Weather reports from all over also!! It is a basic system requiring as little as a 2 meter rig, TNC, Computer, and a GPS. And depending on the Rig you use such as a Kenwood TD-7H Handheld and a Gps!! Very simple to get running and even more fun to operate!
BASIC INFORMATION: Listen to 144.390 and you will hear the digital signal going all the time and there are several links on the web to track and great information on APRS, If I can help you feel free to e-mail me at wd8dx@yahoo.com and I will guide you in the right direction!!
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