[Andrew] used a DSL router to make his own Terminal Node Controller. This will become part of an APRS-IS network, an Internet-based network built by amateur radio operators. The router used here is a Dlink DSL-502T with an AVR based TNC module attached to the serial port header. The phone line connector and its accompanying hardware have been removed to make room for the TNC module, which is supplied with 12V via that red wire. When the router boots up it sends data to the serial port header so the firmware on the TNC needed some tweaking to accommodate this (yay for open source).
Want some more APRS goodness? Check out this AVR APRS tracker.
this is awesome! i love amateur radio, it seems like such an underutilized area these days.
WOOOOOO!!!!!
HAM RADIO HACK! I love it, keep ’em coming!
To the roots of electronics hacking!
Bravo! Bravo!
not new… Lots of guys have done this. It’s been a atricle in ARRL 4 years ago.
Now that’s a great mod. Wish I understood how APRS worked.
@M4CGYV3R: Think of APRS as text messaging over a mesh network.
Think of APRS as twitter without wires. It the network gets built out sufficiently it could be a real asset for both amateur radio and for the community when emergency communications are needed.
It also can act as an automatic position reporting system and that is what lots of hams use it for but it was not the intent of the guy who invented it.
Here’s one from a few years ago in an WRT54G:
http://www.dimebank.com/cak/k6dbg/k6dbg_igate.html
And shown at the 2009 SF Maker Faire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZS0bdYmtik
@fartface If this site required only new hacks, we’d never see another nixie tube or LED hack. I’m not saying that is a *bad* thing, but — there would almost never be any content!
Agree there is nothing really new here but for those who have access to DSL-502T’s and want to build IGates all the detail on other blog including how to build the OpenWRT images might be useful.
Nice to see that the hams are still at it.
I remember using RTTY back in the 80’s.
RTTY was a way computers could communicate using a serial interface using amateur radio . Wireless networking years before the internet. Sending text messages back and forth over a distance of 5000 miles was pretty awesome then and still is now.
Amateur Radio ROCKS!
73 DE N2NLQ!
Nice work!
This is awesome. Amateur radio is such a wonderful tool for experimentation. I hope that posts like this will bring more people to the hobby.
Amateur radio provides such a vast area for experimentation and hacking that it is suprising that I don’t see more of us taking advantage. It really is sad.
Good job guys.
73 KJ4KNW
I wish i had my Grandfathers old ham radio this look like a wonderful way to communicate with a computer from rural camp grounds thanks for the post guys ;)
I’m a new ham, and I wish I could find a nice how-to document for APRS.
73 de kd0gzj
@asheets what would you like to do with APRS?
There’s multiple starting points.
@Leigh — I found a “Homer” to help me out. The 1st thing I’m going to do is set up an inbound i-Gate. Looks like I won’t need the TNC, since I’ve found several pieces of code that use the soundcard as a decent substitute. The setup will go well with my already-running 10M propagation beacon.
Looks like this will be a good complement to my CWOP, just as soon as I can get my weather station fixed and calibrated again.