APRS with Baofeng -F8HP WITHOUT A TNC

 

This is to record my settings to get APRS working on my Baofeng HT without a TNC, following the instructions on https://www.instructables.com/APRS-and-the-UV-5R/ with some minor tweaks to make it work with my own devices.

Devices Involved

  • Baofeng BF-F8HP
  • Pixel XL (without sim card)

Configurations

Pixel

Install following two applications on the device:
  • Mobilinkd Config App for Android which you can scan the QR code comes with the package or search in the PlayStore to get it
  • APRSdroid which you can get from PlayStore by searching the name. If you want a free version, the developer also offers a free download on their website. To support their development effort, I paid for it.
  • System sound settings
    • Media: around 3/4 and full
    • Ringtone/alarm/etc: off

BF-F8HP

I am located in the United States where the APRS main frequency is 149.630MHz (simplex). The most important configurations are listed below:
  • SQL(squelch): 1 , Mobilinkd suggested to turn this fully off, however, Baofeng HT won't transmit in that mode.
  • VOX: 1
  • Offset: 000.000Mhz

Antenna

Nagoya NA-320A VHF/220/UHF whip attena.

APRSdroid

  • Set callsign and SSID which I used SSID 1 as I have used SSID 7 for another sstation
  • APRS digi path:WIDE1-1,WIDE-2-1
  • Location settings
    • Location source: "Periodic GPS/Network Position"
    • GPS Precision: Low / Use network position
  • Connection Preferences
    • Connection Protocol: Audio(AFSK)
    • High-Quality Demodulator: checked
    • Bluetooth Headset: unchecked
    • Audio Output: Music 

After all above, clicking on the "Start tracking" button to start receiving APRS packets. After a while, if everything works as expected, a list of nearby stations sending APRS packets can be observed.

Clicking on the "Send Location" button will trigger a APRS packet sending action. If everything works as expected, you can find your APRS packet by check your callsign's raw data on aprs.fi as well as see your avatar on aprs.fi.

Similar to send location, one can also send message to the stations just like text messaging where the TO field is the CallSign-SSID.

Comparing to my other setup with a TNC employed, the success rate of sending/receiving APRS packets with above configurations is much lower. 

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