Timz Ham Radio Page
APRS on the FTM-350r w/FGPS-1 option
Here were my operational goals:
* I do not want to digipeat with this radio
* I do not wish to send text messages either
* All I wanted was for the radio to auto-transmit my GPS coordinates/Speed/Altitude... and do nothing else packet related; and... to not be annoying to the driver.
Here are the Setup Menu sections that I altered from their factory default settings to get things working:
E05 APRS Modem ON
E07 APRS Popup OFF (for both fields)
E08 APRS Ringer OFF (for all 7 fields)
E13 Beacon Status TX OFF
E14 Beacon TX
1. ON Fix (auto)
2. 1 min (interval) transmits the GPS data every 60 seconds
3. OFF (proportion)
4. OFF (decay)
5. 2 (low speed)
6. 20 (rate limit)
E16 Data Band Select - APRS
1. L-Band Fix (I set up a APRS memory channel w/127.3 TSQ on the left side for 144.390)
E29 My Position Set GPS
E33 Smart Beaconing OFF
Q&A
1. Are these the ideal settings for everyones APRS-GPS operation?
Heavens no; they can be custom tailored for each persons specific operational wishes.. These are what I've settled into at the moment.
2. Are you going to stay with these settings?
About the only thing I may try is the Smart Beaconing; and I may enable the "Decay" feature E14-4. The Decay featured will auto adjust the reporting interval if your travel speed drops below the value stored in E14-5. . If you're stuck in a traffic jam, the Decay feature will start to add time to the intervals... so you're now sending the data not-as-often; at longer wait intervals. As soon as your speed increases again over the E14-5 threshold, the interval reverts back to it's original (quicker) timing.
3. You turned OFF the APRS Popup feature; aren't you interested in what others may be sending?
On occasion, yes. Even with the Popup features disabled, the incoming data receptions are still being logged. To view them, all you need do is press the radios "F" button until the keys "F3" listings appear. Then press S-LIST button and they all will be shown there. Use the left channel knob to scroll through the list. Press the left channel knob to see the details of that particular data transmission (rotate the left channel knob again to scroll through the multiple lines of data). Each screen has a BaCK button.
4. Sometimes I want to have the radio auto-popup the data as it's received.
Great; sometimes I do to. Go into the Setup menu and change both fields of E07 from OFF to 5 seconds (or whatever timing you personally prefer).
5. Is there a simple way to shut-off the automatic APRS-GPS transmissions?
Yes; press the radios "F" button until the keys "F3" listings appear. Then press BCON and the "bullseye" icon should disappear. Push the same button to re-enable the auto TX feature.
6. I noticed you left the E06 APRS Mute in the OFF condition; don't you tire of hearing the "modem noise"?
if you enable the GPRS Mute function... it mutes the audio on that entire side of the radio; including all memory channels and the VFO. So if you decide to use that same half of the radio for normal voice communication - you'd need to navigate through the setup menus and diable the mute function. What I decided to do was to create a 144.390 memory channel with a TSQ of 127.3. Since gateways and digipeaters don't transmit a CTCSS tone... the radios audio remains silent on this memory channel, but it still received the APRS data.
Sometimes I've noticed a TX ERROR message on the screen when the APRS modem tried to transmit my coordinates.
If your GPS module isn't signal locked, you will get a TX Error message during an APRS-GPS data transmit attempt; especially if you try to force a transmission using the F3 B-TX button. To prove this is the root cause, navigate using the FWD BCK buttons until you get to the screen that shows the satellite chart. You need to have -at least- 3 sats... with good signal strength... to obtain a "3D lock". Without a 3D lock - the APRS-GPS will not transmit data; thus the "TX Error". Also, if the channel is busy and you try to force an APRS send (by either pressing the F3 button or mics PTT)... you'll also get the TX ERROR message.
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