November 24, 2011 | Amateur Radio & Scanning
I came across a project write-up by Scott Evans VK7HSE that was brought about by Byon Garrabrant N6BG, creator of the TinyTrak and other APRS gadgets.
The project aims to use the APRSdroid app for Android, but instead of relying on APRS-IS for data, the data is transmitted and received via radio using a Bluetooth adapter connected to a TinyTrak and then transmitted via 144.39 MHz (or whatever the local APRS frequency is) by the radio.
As a user of both APRSdroid and TinyTrak, this is a very interesting concept and looks very straight-forward and inexpensive. It’s nice to finally see some practical applications for Bluetooth integration in amateur radio.
It would be a great option for those who maybe have a TinyTrak already in service and wants to send/receive messages via RF and see other stations received via RF plotted beautifully on a Google map. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a D710-killer even if it catches on, but this would be a great alternative to buying an expensive and bulky Kenwood D710 or Yaesu FTM-350R for those who want all of the APRS functionality over RF. One major disadvantage of using a smartphone for this purpose would be the GPS and Bluetooth draining the battery (I usually keep both off), but this is still a very cool project.
You can see more information and pictures on Scott’s blog.
Tags: 144 MHz, Amateur Radio & Scanning, Android, APRS, APRSdroid, Byonics, TinyTrak
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[...] can even use Bluetooth to wirelessly interface APRSdroid with a TinyTrak. The Bluetooth adapter sends/receives data to/from the TinyTrak, and then [...]