Included in each position report is latitude and longitude plus course direction, speed and altitude data collected from the Garmin StreetPilot GPS mounted just above the audio console on the GoldWing.

Position broadcasts happen at timed intervals whenever the GPS is functioning and the tracker’s Beacon function is enabled.  On my motorcycle, the tracker is almost always enabled when I’m out riding, unless I have a problem with the equipment, or I’m going to leave the bike in an area where equipment could be covertly removed.   Purple highlighting on the roads pictured above indicates the route taken during over weekend.

Actual packet transmissions are handled by the bike’s Kenwood TH-D7AG 2-meter/440 hand-held radio.  This is a small package that can easily fit in a tank-bar, storage area, or on a handlebar mount. Included in the radio is a small device called a TNC (Terminal Node Controller) that has a simple program allowing the radio to interact with the GPS for data collection. If the GPS isn’t in navigation mode, the TNC doesn’t allow the radio to transmit so it doesn’t broadcast dumb information because the GPS wasn’t ready. 

Once turned on, data collection and position reporting begins automatically and updated information is transmitted at timed intervals.  Intervals can be as quick as every 12 seconds, or a long as once every 30 minutes.  Fast moving mobiles should use a more frequent rate and a slow moving station should use a slow rate.  Stationary stations should use the longest rates because not much movement occurs between broadcast.

All APRS packets are broadcasted on the 2-meter frequency of 144.390 and any amateur radio stations tuned to this frequency, and within range of 2-meters, can receive the packets.  There are various types of amateur stations that can receive and decode packet information, but usually only I-Gate stations place position information on the Internet where it is publicly available.  To decode packets received, a receiving station also needs a TNC so the packets can be changed into something readable.

Getting information onto the Internet is accomplished by establishing a few settings in the radio that directs how the received information is routed once it is received.  In most voice amateur communications, broadcast received are not retransmitted, but in APRS, most broadcast are retransmitted so they can make their way to a station that is putting the information onto the Internet.  Each re-transmission is considered a Hop and most APRS packets can make it to the Internet in about 2 to 3 hops.  Stations that retransmit position reports are called Digipeaters (Digital Repeaters) and stations that put information onto the Internet are called I-Gates (Internet Gateways). 

Once position information is on the web, it can easily be retrieved by anyone with an Internet connection and a modern day browser. If you click Track-W1RDR and I’ve been out moving around on my motorcycle, you’ll see my most recent track information.  To see my last position reported, press Find-W1RDR.

Sometimes the Internet sites go down because the developer often works on the site expanding its capabilities.  If the site has been down in between the time I’ve reported and the time you try to access the site, you’ll get the “No Position Information” message.  When this happens, go back in a few days and see what has been reported.

Being able to see tracks is one of the recent improvements made on FundU.Com site.  Previously, if a user wanted to see a route, or a vehicle’s track of their APRS beacon they needed to capture the packets themselves with a shareware programs like WinAPRS or APRS+SA running on a computer connected to a radio through a TNC device. 

APRS equipment has now reached appliance operation levels.  Which means, once you’ve learned what the equipment definitions mean and the best settings to use for your type of operation, the operation boils down to turning the units one and providing them with power.