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APRS is Stupidly Complicated
🕑 Added 2025-10-11 08:07:00 +0000 UTCSo as I research this, APRS has a whole bunch of different standards. They couldn't just use one and stick to it could they? Oh no! And what's more, the standards themselves have a further bunch of caveats and sub-standards.
Coding something to deal with all of this would be a challenging nightmare in a high level language like C#, but in C? Low level embedded C for that matter that has no real advanced string manipulation? It would take a team of dozens months.
I don't even know where to begin, I think MIC-E is the dominant standard so I'm going to use that and completely IGNORE everything else. I don't have the damn time. Maybe I'll add other standards in the future, but there's NO WAY I'm locking myself in here for six months to do it all at once, NO WAY!
So in short, you won't get anything out of received APRS unless it's encoded for MIC-E, and you will transmit MIC-E encoded packets, which you better hope who you are transmitting to understands. And all caveats and fringe cases will be ignored, like early beta units or Kenwood sets that thought they'd take their own approach. A line has to be drawn under the insanity and a firm "NO!" delivered.
</rant>
Comments
Bernhard Behling
The only purpose I've used APRS for is for location tracking during public service events that my local club is supporting. Typically, my role would be to follow behind the last rider/runner/walker/whateverer with my vehicle (usually with police escort) with APRS on. This allows net control to project a live map on the wall at the event control station and shows the folks in charge of street closures exactly where the end of the vent is, and where streets can be reopened. Oh, and my wife uses it to track me on my off-roading adventures. So long as that is functional with timed beaconing (smart beaconing would be better, but I can work with timed) then I'm a happy ham.
Steven Pinkham
Mic-E, messages, and ideally KISS mode for doing more complicated stuff on another more capable device covers everything I want out of an APRS handheld.
R.D.M.
Appreciate the link given for APRS101.. That PDF will be a good read. Thanks for sharing~
