175 Moonlight

These days I am not very active on the radio, at least not in terms of getting on the air and making HF contacts or talking on local repeaters. I'm more into Connected Packet now than APRS (see the link above).

APRS.

For anyone with a Kantronics KPC-3+ or KPC-9612+ TNC, I put together a script package for taking the TNC in and out of KISS mode. The context at the time of writing was for use with APRSISE/32, but it really doesn't matter what (Windows based) APRS software is used.
Download Here

The above are perl scripts converted to binaries that run in Windows without the need to install Perl. The source perl scripts are here.

APRS Apps I've used...

APRSICE/32

APRSISCE/32 is very actively developed/supported and packs a lot of features and functionality. It's a very versatile application, and it runs well in Linux under Wine. APRSISCE is the Windows Moble version while APRSIS32 is the desktop version that runs in pretty much any Windows desktop/laptop version including Windows 11.

APRX is a lightweight Linux application that can be either an IGate, Digipeater, or both. It runs in OpenWRT and is one of the more popular applications used in wireless routers. It has had some problems with bugs in the past, and I found that users must be carefull with it. However it appears to have evolved to be a stable and bug free application. There's nothing smaller for use in platforms like a router or a Raspberry Pi, and on my old, memory challenged Pi Model B, it was rock stable. Also APRX is actively supported.

YAAC or "Yet Another APRS Client" is a cross-platform, full featured application that supports OSM XML maps. YAAC is written in java, and I've used it under both Linux and Windows. I used to complain about the XML maps not being as nice as the OSM tiles used by other apps such as APRSIS32. The gap has closed, however, between those maps, so I don't gripe about YAAC's maps anymore. The author has provided many features, some of which are offered as plugins. It's still under very active development, so anyone looking for an alll-purpose APRS app should give it a try.

Xastir is also a "full featured" application that's a Linux/Unix only play. It specializes in supporting lots of different map formats. Many people involved in search and rescue (SAR) organizations use and prefer Xastir, and one reason for that is the versatile map support. It's been around a long time and thus is mature and has some unique features such as support for Garmin Rino's.