APRS and Storm Chasing

[John Erwin]

I'm curious about how many people here have used APRS while storm chasing. It would seem that it could be quite useful in certain situations, especially since you can add some basic weather data to the position info and even exchange messages.

I've "fiddled" with it a bit myself in the past, however I've just purchased a Kenwood TMD700A with a built in TNC and GPS interface so an APRS setup will be exceptionally easy to set up.

I'd be interested in hearing about other peoples installations/experiences with APRS while on the road.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

John,

There's a topic on APRS in the Archive forum, but it's interesting reading nonetheless: http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/viewtopic....&highlight=aprs

I've tried using APRS with AGWPE, which uses the soundcard on a computer to produce the necessary tones. With UIView32 and a GPS, you can use any ham radio to transmit and receive APRS data (and plot the stations on any particular map). I got it to work a few times, but it was rather tedious to set up, and I just wasn't able to get it working consistently. I am still interested in APRS, but I'm definately going to get a radio with APRS built-in. Here's my 'tracking' page that I set up to allow folks to 'track' me on a storm chase: http://www.tornadocentral.com/aprs.shtml

 

[Tyler Allison]

warning: possibly a commercial
AllisonHouse now has APRS position tracking for users of GRLevel3. You can overlay the persons current position within the radar screen. Helps with nowcasting and spotter coordination. This was specifically requested by the Indianapolis NWS office as part of their storm spotter coordination efforts.
end commercial

I'm currently working with a storm chasing team (not sure if they want me to say who so I'll leave that until later) to figure out how to get position reports of their vehicles back to a nowcaster at their forecasting headquarters.

I queried the APRS gurus on the aprsig mailing list and found out the following information about the typical "storm chasing" areas in the middle of the US:

information is dated as of late Sep 2005

If running a 50 watt radio with a good antenna and a path of
'WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2' the following *should* hold true.

- All major highways are covered as are most major cities.

- APRS coverage in Colorado dies about 60 miles east of the front range of
the Rocky Mountains until you hit Kansas.

- Kansas has near full coverage
- Nebraska has near full coverage
- Iowa has near full coverage
- Wisconsin has near full coverage
- Minnesota has near full coverage except in the north
- Missouri has almost nothing except on major roads/cities
- South Dakota has almost nothing except on major roads/cities

One thing I didn't think of is you can run APRS on 30m with an HF rig and
a Hamstick using the same tracker/gps configuration you would have used
for VHF. That would nearly garuntee a connection as it would cover
thousands of miles. The Byonics/TinyTracker supports 300baud HF. I don't
have a license for HF though so I can't help with that.

Even with the fairly good coverage listed above you are garunteed to be in an area that simply isn't covered (even in the states that claim full coverage).

For the chase team they are looking into Satellite tracking (think Semi truck) instead since they think it will cost about $70 bucks a month. It's worth it to them to have 24x7 coverage instead of the "on the cheap...might work" APRS network.

Nothing wrong with APRS tracking..I'll be playing with one in 2006.

 

[John Erwin]

John,

There's a topic on APRS in the Archive forum, but it's interesting reading nonetheless: http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/viewtopic....&highlight=aprs

I've tried using APRS with AGWPE

Thanks for the link Jeff; I should have consulted that first. In any case I suspect interest in this will grow as time goes by and the technology becomes more refined. I had experimented with a separate 2m radio, GPS and TNC but found the setup to be a bit cumbersome without working on it a bit. I'm looking forward to using my new Kenwood next chase season since it's alot easier to implement.

I queried the APRS gurus on the aprsig mailing list and found out the following information about the typical "storm chasing" areas in the middle of the US:

Wow, thanks Tyler! Good info there; I'll be looking forward to using this next year. I can understand the reliability issues for some folks, but it sounds like a lot of effort is going into these gateways/servers and I expect it will suit most peoples needs nicely.

 

[Tim Stoecklein]

I, too, have the Kenwood 700A and it doesn't get much simpler for plug and play APRS. I run it most of the time when I'm chasing just because family, friends, and co-workers get a kick out of following along on findu.com. Granted, in order to show up on findu.com you must be able to hit a digipeater with an internet link, but that's getting easier everyday with more digis going up. findu.com has given the ability to overlay an NWS radar for about a year now, and that is really cool for those following my moves.

I actually found a chaser from Pennsylvania in Concordia that I wouldn't have know was there at the same time without the APRS running, pretty cool. I almost always have my APRS running unless I find a need to use the second band on the 700 for receiving other information over the airwaves.

It is also cool to be able to use APRS without the need for extra equipment, and that's the advantage of the Kenwood 700, no laptop or separate TNC needed.

Another cool feature, at least in most areas of KS is that many of the NWS offices (OAX, GLD?, ICT, and Hastings) all transmit warnings via the APRS network. I've picked up a number of watches and warnings via APRS as I make my way along I-70, especially when I'm not actually chasing.

During those trips along I-70 that I'm not "truly" chasing, I'm on my way to the in-laws in eastern Colorado (think 30 miles south of Stratton). I can vouch that coverage gets pretty spotty out there, but from time to time I can pick up a digi out of Goodland or Garden City depending on how far north or south I am. Otherwise it's pretty quiet out there.

I've had alot of fun with APRS more on the hobby end of amateur radio, but I could definitely see some uses for spotting and chasing!

Tim

 

[Jarrod Cook]

I plan to have an APRS set up by chase season 2006. I have a laptop that doesn't have a serial port, and I use the Delorme USB earthmate GPS. This will make things interesting to set up. I'm thinking I can get UI-View to see the GPS data by changing COM port settings. Then it should be able to send that data to the TNC. Anyone have any experience with this type of scenario?

 

[Jay Cazel]

This is when I wish I had gone with the Kenwood and not the I-com, (the Kenwoods make is soooo easy for APRS) but I am going to try to get APRS up and running for the 2006 season. I am going to run down to the Ham radio store tomorrow and start getting the stuff I need.

 

[John Erwin]

I plan to have an APRS set up by chase season 2006. I have a laptop that doesn't have a serial port, and I use the Delorme USB earthmate GPS. This will make things interesting to set up. I'm thinking I can get UI-View to see the GPS data by changing COM port settings. Then it should be able to send that data to the TNC. Anyone have any experience with this type of scenario?

Hi Jarrod;

I did some checking and came up with this:http://www.delorme.com/support/gps/lt20001.asp?D=572

It's a serial port emulator from delorme that will allow the GPS unit to be recognized with applications that only see serial ports. Can't be sure that it will work with the scenario you described, but it sounds like a good starting point.

Good Luck!

 

[John Erwin]

Another cool feature, at least in most areas of KS is that many of the NWS offices (OAX, GLD?, ICT, and Hastings) all transmit warnings via the APRS network. I've picked up a number of watches and warnings via APRS as I make my way along I-70, especially when I'm not actually chasing.

I find that feature to be of particular interest; I can think of all kinds of potential uses for that. You could have spotter networks that would do the same for a given area, a quick and easy way to get the message out.

Cheers!

 

[Jarrod Cook]

I plan to have an APRS set up by chase season 2006. I have a laptop that doesn't have a serial port, and I use the Delorme USB earthmate GPS. This will make things interesting to set up. I'm thinking I can get UI-View to see the GPS data by changing COM port settings. Then it should be able to send that data to the TNC. Anyone have any experience with this type of scenario?

Hi Jarrod;

I did some checking and came up with this:http://www.delorme.com/support/gps/lt20001.asp?D=572

It's a serial port emulator from delorme that will allow the GPS unit to be recognized with applications that only see serial ports. Can't be sure that it will work with the scenario you described, but it sounds like a good starting point.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the link. I thought I already had this, but apparently I had something else. This should work great I think. I am still waiting on a TNC though, so it will be a while before I can test it...

 

[Jeff Snyder]

I plan to have an APRS set up by chase season 2006. I have a laptop that doesn't have a serial port, and I use the Delorme USB earthmate GPS. This will make things interesting to set up. I'm thinking I can get UI-View to see the GPS data by changing COM port settings. Then it should be able to send that data to the TNC. Anyone have any experience with this type of scenario?

Hi Jarrod;

I did some checking and came up with this:http://www.delorme.com/support/gps/lt20001.asp?D=572

Good Luck!

I've tried using that utility, but it seems to be extremely buggy. It can start passing out the NMEA/GPS data, but it usually closes after 5-15 seconds of being open. You have to open the utility up again, which means it'll start all over in trying to lock on to satellites, only to close again after a few seconds of working correctly, etc. I suggest Franson's GpsGate program, which does work as advertised (unlike the DeLorme utility).

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Since I've never really found success using APRS via the ham radio, I decided to see what I could do using the inputpos CGI script available on findu.com . Essentially, this script allows you to enter your station position on the internet. I modified a VB2005 program so that, if I have a GPS position, my APRS position will be updated either every 2.5 minutes (if I'm moving >10 m/s) or every 5 minutes (if speed >10 m/s). Since I've had very good data coverage during the past several storm chases, I expect this method to be much better than my old laptop-to-radio method. Of course, I need to have an internet connection for this method to work, but I still expect it to be much more efficient than in years past. In addition, I made a Google Maps page to show my current position (with the infowindow showing lat, lon, and date of last report). Check it out at http://www.tornadocentral.com/aprs.shtml

 

[John Erwin]

Originally posted by Jeff Snyder
Since I've never really found success using APRS via the ham radio, I decided to see what I could do using the inputpos CGI script available on findu.com .

That brings up some interesting possibilities Jeff; I think we'll see more of that kind of approach becoming very popular when wide area wireless internet becomes an affordable reality.. especially since only a small segment of the population are hams.

In the meantime, I would prefer to use the no-cost radio approach rather then burning up cell phone plan hours. Besides, it's fun!

 

[Jarrod Cook]

Lots of hams use methods that don't use laptops. Just radios and "tracker" devices to send out the GPS data. I however want my laptop to do it, because half of the fun/usefullness is being able to see other stations nearby.

 

[Mike Gauldin]

One of the problems a buddy of mine has is that other chasers or "chasers" can see where you are. So if they know your APRS ID, and know you know what your doing, they like to follow you. I don't know how much of a real-world issue this is, but that's why he got rid of his.