O-M ARES Training for 1 APR 2008

The following is a copy of an e-mail sent to those that subscribe to the NWS Binghamton Sky warn Group (Mike – KB2CCD):

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Sorry for the delay in posting this. This was discussed at our meeting in November and Mike and I have been busy. Here is what you need for APRS and Weather stations.

Brian
K2DLB

Getting Your Weather Station on the air with APRS

Many hams have weather stations in their shacks. A few of them are connected to the world via the Internet. Even fewer have them connected to the world via RF on the APRS network. It may sound like
a major project, but it is not. With a little work or a couple of purchases, you can be on the air.

If you already have a station setup and operational on the packet network then you are good to go as far as hardware setup.

If not here's what is needed to get a systems up and running; this will be the hardware part only. If you are connected to the Internet with one of the APRS programs that are available then all that you
will need to do is connect the TNC and configure the program.

The first thing that you need to decide on is what are you going to use for a radio, a few things to consider are:

1. Do I plan on leaving this set up and running all the time?
2. How much power (RF watts) do I need?
3. How big is the budget for this?

I have my station running all the time. I feel that this is the preferred way. Then your information is always sent to the APRS server and always available for use. If you choose to have a part
time station that's OK your information is always appreciated.

How much power will I need? That will depend on how close you are to a digipeter. I am just about line of site with the local digi, so I have the power on the transmitter at the lowest level that it will
operate at. If you are in a location that needs a higher power, try to use as low a power as you can. If you use a ham transceiver, you may be limited to the power levels that you can choose, trial and
error is the only way to find out. If you use a commercial radio most of them have continuously variable output but at low power they may have a dirty RF signal. My personal choice is a commercial rig. They
have a better front end and the variable power out. To connect the radio to a TNC you will need to make or buy a cable. The book from the TNC should have a wiring diagram that shows the TNC connections. If you are using a ham rig MFJ http://www.mfjenterprises.com/ Byonics
http://www.byonics.com/ and BuxCom http://www.packetradio.com/wiring.htm, are a couple of places that have pre-made interface cables. They may not have a cable for a commercial rig, but you may be able to get information from their site on the pin out. If you decide to go the commercial rig path be
sure that you can program the radio or have a contact that can do it for you. Most local radio shops can help you out for a small fee. Watch EBay for a rig that will fit your budget and needs.
A good radio can be had for $10.00 to $50.00. If you are going to go the full time route then a commercial rig may be the best bet, It should hold up better over time. Remember that it may not look good until you clean it up but if it works you can always hide it out of the way. Pre-made cables can be found for $9.00 to $30.00. And if you make it yourself parts might run $10.00 to $15.00.

After you have the hardware up and running then you will need to decide what software you want to use. I am using WinAPRS this is a very easy program to setup and use http://www.winaprs.org/ . The
program is fully functional before registration, the only draw back is to save you configurations you must register the program. The cost for this is around $50.00. Some other programs are UIView, APRS+SA and APRSPoint. Take a look at all of them and then decide for
yourself witch one you like.

Another way is to get a WXTraker from Byonics http://www.byonics.com/wxtrak/ this is the simplest way to get on the air. All that you need to do wire it up or by the pre-made cable and program it. I have used the TinyTraker and found that it is a well made and easy to program unit.

After you have all of the equipment up and running you can checkout this web page and see your weather station http://www.wulfden.org/APRSQuery.shtml . When you open the page scroll down and enter the call sign of you station or any station and you will see the report.

Just a few last items:

APRS frequency is 144.390mhz on PL.

Set you report rate to a reasonable rate. I have mine set to 10 minutes, and it works well for me. Most of my monitoring is from the mobile so I get up to date reports.

Use as low of RF power as you can. Trial and error will tell you how much you need.

If you run into any trouble the web has a lot of information that will help, I have used it a lot.

Have fun and be sure to pass around the link to your station, most people will be interested in the "neighborhood weather". Also some more hams may become interested.

Here is the link to my station http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=N3FJA&last=240. Please feel free to visit it as much as you would like, until yours is on line.

73's
Mike N3FJA