A Good and Inexpensive TNC
If you want to get into Packet or APRS but don’t want to spend a lot of money, at under $30, the NinoTNC may be right for you. It is the most inexpensive TNC I have found to date.
APRS
KI6WJP’s APRS Weather Lookup Tool
KI6WJP has written a useful APRS-IS service called WxBot. Send a message to it with a single character from your APRS-capable radio or application, and it will respond with a forecast for your location. Here is a video demonstrating its use. If you are in an area that has a TX-igate, you can do this …
Kenwood TM-D710/TH-D72 APRS Queries
One feature of many APRS-capable applications and radios is that they support specially-formatted APRS messages called queries or QRU. When the radio receives this message, the text “Q? ” will flash on the top of the screen. Here are the message you can send. ?APRSM – Re-queues any pending messages. ?APRSP – Triggers immediate position …
OpenTracker USB and Motorola Mobiles
The Argent Data OpenTracker USB is a fully-featured KISS TNC – and it’s one of the least expensive, clocking in at $45 at the time this article was written. If you’re going to build an APRS digipeater or igate, or just use it on your home station in KISS mode, it’s a great solution. Motorola …