Is there ANYPLACE on earth for help with APRS?

[davecason]

Hi Gang,

Is there someplace on the internet for help with APRS for dummies and mostly my annoying Mobilinkd TNC3 with the equally frustrating APRS.FI !?!

The manual for the Mobilinkd TNC 3 is a not a manual, its a lame user guide so when the blue light flashes slowly its either paired or if it flashes two brief blinks every two seconds its working?!?! So when the led flashes blue things happen, it seems to be that ambiguous!?

I grabbed a stopwatch, mine flashes more like every 3.75 seconds?! Bottom line, the user guide was dictated freestyle while drunk rather than an exact step-by-step walk thru. (grin) Same goes for the APRS.FI, ..... it's a fantastic website to see "stuff" with a non existent manual to use and setup the bloody software IMHO.

I have my little black brick glowing steady on the red led because its plugged in and charging, the blue led flashes with two pulses about every 3.75 seconds rather than every 2 seconds according to the guide: 7. The blue LED should start blinking more slowly (two brief blinks every 2 seconds) So is that OK?

Anyway I can't "send a packet" according to page whatever it is in the stoners guide, when I hit start tracking reports come in but it neve "beacons" , same goes for the mystery Send Position button, I press it and it lights up for a second and that's about all it does.

I can sure as hell see why most serious users run rig's like the old Kenwood 710's or the Yaesu FTM-400 because these TNC's are a giant PIA to use.

 

[AK9R]

Well, I'm not an expert with the Mobilinkd, but I've used APRS extensively and I've interfaced various TNCs to various radios.

Let's start with the basics.

What radio do you have the Mobilinkd connected to? Are you confident that the Mobilinkd is getting receive audio from the radio? Are you confident that transmit audio is getting to the radio? Are you confident that the Mobilinkd is keying the radio so it can transmit?

But, maybe before we get into the nitty-gritty, what's your goal with APRS? What do you hope to accomplish?

 

[KE5MC]

Dave…
In the reference to 710 & 400 they only ‘beacon’ when they have a active GPS fix or a manual fix has been load in a specific menu location. Does your setup know where it it’s located?

 

[jeepsandradios]

Ive never used mobilink but as said needs GPS and a valid VHF radio to get out. As for aprs.fi I use it all the time. Its what it is. Mainly folks use it to view positions. Not alot of "software" there other than tracking certain call signs and what not. There is also APRSDirect out there. None of those sites will show your location if your not near a digi or igate.