VR-6900 With Band Scope and APRS Display

Copied from an e-mail from VGC:

The Feature

Band Scope VR-6900 support muitl band scope search 1: Frequency Mode Search 2, Band mode Search 3. Channel Mode Search   Wide Band Frequency TX:136-174&400-480MHz RX: 78-108Mhz   108-136MHz     136-174MHz        350-400MHz    400-480MHz   480-520 MHz   High Power Output VR-6900 has adjustable power function 1, UHF : 40w (High) 25 W (Mid) 8W (Low) 2, VHF : 45w (High) 25 W (Mid) 8W (Low)   APRS Display (Optional) TX:136-174&400-480MHz RX: 78-108Mhz  108-136MHz     136-174MHz         350-400MHz     400-480MHz    480-520 MHz   Cross-Band /In-Band Repeater Connector VR-6900 support connect a extra handheld radio to be a Cross-Band repeater or In-Band repeater.   Zone Function VR-6900 support A B C D zone,each zone has 128 channesl.Total 512 channels

Hams and Runners

I forgot to mention in my post yesterday about hams and the half the marathon that I often try to thank the volunteers as I run - at least when I have enough breath to do it. Usually it is simple "thanks" for people at a water stop, a course monitor, or policeman stopping traffic. For the hams, I toss out a "73" as  I go by. It really caught one ham off guard on Saturday. I could hear him excitedly telling his buddies what I said. I think this Venn diagram explains his excitement.

Half Marathon, Hams, and APRS

I ran the Strawberry Plains Half Marathon this week-end. The METERS group was out in force. They even had a big display showing the APRS data. Thanks to all the volunteers!

Baofeng Tech APRS-K2

John reviews the Baofeng Tech APRS-K2 cable:

"BTECH APRS-K2 TRRS / APRS Cable is a simple way to start using APRS by using devices you already own. The BTECH APRS-K2 Cable will quickly connect your radio to APRS by using virtual TNC (app driven) on your tablet or device. The APRS-K2 cable is built with a custom circuit board that will automatically adjust the audio for clear packet transmissions with minimal adjustment; along with protecting your devices from strong over modulated signals."

So, take your radio, this cable, and an app on your tablet/phone and you are ready to go!

APRS: Xastir and Raspberry Pi

WZØW's Xastir on the Raspberry Pi:

"A while back I got interested in APRS. My only 2m radios were a Kenwood TM281A in my car, and a dual band HT. Neither had TNC capabilities built in, though, so the first order of business was to get a TNC that I could use on one or both of these radios. I had seen an article by Jerry Clement, VE6AB, in the May 2015 issue of QST about a bluetooth-capable TNC fromMobilinkd that works well with HT tranceivers and APRSDroid on Android smartphones. I decided to give it a try, and it worked well, as advertised. 

Then I started wondering, if I used a Bluetooth USB adapter on a Raspberry Pi, could I use Xastir to set up APRS on my base station. The punchline of the story is yes, I could."

Vero Telecom VR-6600PRO: APRS Software and Info

Andy's still waiting on his test unit, but he got some information about the APRS software.

SainSonic AP510 APRS Tracker

The SainSonic AP510 APRS Tracker ($140 at Amazon):

AVRT5 is developed on the basis of the above aprs AVRTT-AVRT4 equipment, the main function is to transmit APRS data integration. Built-in GPS antenna and module + VHF radio transceiver module to TNC codec comprehensive plan. When it power on it can be decoded to work with the standard orientation can be issued after verification of aprs data. It's compatible with common business APRS equipment and various aprsDIGI repeat and IGATE, it's a real APRS machine including transmitting and receiving.

Features

* Built- charge management IC (Input 5V)
* LED status display: Dual LED display, red is charging indicator, when charging it's red, full extinguished or dimmed. Green is the GPS indicator: Flashing indicates that no location. If it's on it means success positioning
* Single button: Press button long time - turn on. After startup, short press- transmitting, long press-turn off
* 18B20 temperature sensor: IC precision 0.0625 degrees, passes the temperature of inside/outside the machine and the board in real time
* The buzzer (beep): Switch and transmitter, there beep prompt, convenient to determine the state and blind transfer machines
* TF deck: Internal device flash memory allow you to store your position history with second by second resolution

Specifications

* Memory: Support 4G TF card (not included)
* Thermometer: 18B20 Sensor
* MCU SCM: Mega64 Industrial
* Output: USB
* Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0
* Decoding function: Decoder chip of CML Inc.
* Battery Capacity: 3300 mAh
* Interface Extension: PCB 3 Analog Interface
* LED: Highlight Dual LED Indicator

Package List

1 x AVRT5 APRS tracker
1 x USB data cable to PC
1 x VHF Antenna





Via reddit

Leixen VV-808: Power and APRS

Both via F4FWH...

First, power measurements:

High power was measured at 6.5W drawing 1.3A.
Low power was 5.5W and 1A.

Second, on the same page as the power measurements, a wiring diagram for APRS. (PDF)

Lastly, the list of components for building the APRS solution.

Baofeng UV-3R: APRS

A detailed report of an APRS project using our beloved UV-3R.