WinAPRS Quick Start tips
To best use this help - size this screen so you can have it viewable and scrollable on your desktop while you open other things and do the tasks asked. Three choices: http://www.qsl.net/kd4rdb/aprs.htm for one persons' instructions http://aprs.rutgers.edu/WAPRSdoc.htm for the authors instructions or do these steps if you want to try my way. Use your browser and get this file: "Getting this file" means highlighting the following line and holding Control key and press the C key down Then, move your mouse to the URL box in your browser and holding Control key and press the V key down That will put the location in the box. Then, you hit return. The browser will try to open it and then when it can't it will ask you what to do with it. You want to "Save As" Use your dialog box to browse to the subdirectory that you download your software in. Some people use c:\downloads other people use c:\temp Anywhere is ok just as long as you know where it goes so you can locate it in a few minutes. ftp://ftp.tapr.org/aprssig/winstuff/WinAPRS/waprs246.zip Also, get this file: ftp://ftp.tapr.org/software_lib/utils/UNSTUFF50.EXE When it is extracted on your hard drive you can drag the waprs zip file on top of the icon in the new open window and it will unzip Windows APRS automatically as a subdirectory in the same directory as the waprs233.zip was downloaded. Once the Windows APRS is unzipped on Windows 95-98 you can connect to your internet provider. Then run WinAPRS. Under Settings - Station fill in your CALLSIGN STATE County City Leave Latitude Longitude out for a second. (you can click your mouse on the APRS map at your house and read off the lat/lon on the boxes at the bottom of the screen) Time to -5 offset (for CDT) Fill in Power Ant Gain Ant Height Directivity Click on OK. Under Settings - APRS Leave the defaults. Click on OK. Under Settings Serial Port Highlight and change the port number to the right of the Band you are using your TNC on. Also, highlight and change the speed to match your TNC as per TNC default speed instructions. Click on OK. Settings TNC type Click on the bullet to the left of your TNC type. Click on OK. Settings TNC Click on the bullet at the far right matching your TNC model and features. Click on OK. Settings Position Rate Leave the defaults. Click on OK. Settings Weather Leave the defaults. Click on OK. Settings Database Leave the defaults. Click on OK. Find the box Enable Sound and UNCHECK IT. It is nice but not right now. Go down quit a ways and click on TCP/IP connections and slide over and open the Southern Florida/USA composite box. Watch all the stations pop up on the USA map. These are live! To zoom in: Push and hold the RIGHTSIDE mouse button and drag the box around the area you want to zoom in on. From there, Page Up or Page Down to make bigger or smaller. When you register your software, can use the internet for more fun. If you see a station you want to talk to, you click once on him and hit F7 and type in his call and fill in a few words in the box below. (It only sends packets of about 40 characters per packet. If you have more, it sends multiple message packets) This goes -instantly- to that station. This way you can watch the spotters out in the field... around Central Illinois realtime. And when your stations go out on watch... you can enter their real position on the screen and they will appear on the NWS-ILX or NWS-CHI screen. REALTIME. You can enter tornado reports the same way. The stuff is logged so you will have a time stamped file of who was were and saw what... here is a few lines of last Tuesdays tornado outbreak here in Central Illinois. copy and paste follows: FUNNEL *072258z3955.85N08928.90Wt045/030 orp- ILX reports at 5:54 CELL *072306z3947.45N08906.60WT045/030 orp- ILX report K9ORP>APRSW,K9ORP-1*,WIDE,WX3:TORNADO*072222z3958.70N\08942.50Wt045/030 orp-at 430 reported-warn till 5 K9ORP>APRSW,K9ORP-1*,WIDE,WX3:FUNNEL*072258z3955.85N\08928.90Wt045/030 orp- ILX reports at 5:54 K9ORP>APRSW,K9ORP-1*,WIDE,WX3:CELL*072306z3947.45N\08906.60WT045/030 orp- ILX report K9ORP-4>APRS,K9ORP-6,WIDE,RELAY:>030851zILX Weather Reports on backbone K9ORP-4>APRS,K9ORP-6,WIDE,RELAY:=4028.68N/08859.64WoMcLean Co ESDA-794- end actual packet log copy and paste. If you would copy and paste just the above lines and create a file with it and do File - Open - filename, you would see the actual positions on the map.
WinAPRS Quick Weather Station monitoring tips
Do these steps. Unzip and run WinAPRS as mentioned above. At this stage you should know how to manuever the WinAPRS maps. If you don't, go to http://aprs.rutgers.edu/WAPRSdoc.htm If there is an Blue Icon with WX on it in the area you want to view the weather, go the MENU - Lists and select Weather List. Highlight by clicking once on the weather station callsign in the Weather List. Go to the Menu - Lists and select 24 Hour Weather Chart. You will see the graphical representation of the data that has been received by the WinAPRS software. That could be either live over the air or via the internet connection that you have chosen.
Weather Watch
Weather Station Data
Go back to the APRS page.