APRSdroid turns two!

December 29, 2011 | Amateur Radio & Scanning

Three windows of the APRSdroid app running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich: the APRSdroid Hub showing received stations (left), a map of recently-received stations in Des Moines plotted on a Google Map (center), and the message composition window (right). Click the image for a larger view.

Oh, how fast they grow up.

When I got my first Android phone not too long ago, the APRSdroid app was one of the first apps I installed on my device. APRSdroid allows licensed amateur radio operators with a valid APRS-IS registration code to transmit (and receive) position, status, and message packets via TCP/IP, whether it’s over 3G, 4G, or wifi. Nearby received stations are plotted on a Google Map for easy viewing.

You can even use Bluetooth to wirelessly interface APRSdroid with a TinyTrak. The Bluetooth adapter sends/receives data to/from the TinyTrak, and then the TinyTrak transmits/receives packets over the air on the APRS frequency, all while providing the user with a pretty UI on an Android device without the clutter of cables.

APRSdroid is the brainchild of German amateur radio operator Georg Lukas, DO1GL. Georg has worked on this project and provided support for this spare-time project. You can purchase his app on the Android Market to support the project, or you can download the .apk or the source code at aprsdroid.org.

George lays it out in a birthday blog post, which would be of particular interest to Android developers.

I feel like I’ve definitely gotten the $4.49 worth of the Market purchase — I didn’t have any mobile APRS capability since I traded in my last car for the Jeep, and this app held me over until I was able to put a “real” APRS setup in the Jeep last week.

If you haven’t already downloaded the app from the Market, it’s on the list of must-have apps for hams with Android devices. This is the best example I’ve seen so far that has complete functionality and brings Android and ham radio closer to each other than they’ve ever been.