All these messages are of course completely public, and you can even get a full history of people using this service here:<p><a href="https://aprs.fi/?c=message&limit=50&call=SMSGTE" rel="nofollow">https://aprs.fi/?c=message&limit=50&call=SMSGTE</a><p>Very cool stuff.
This has to be one of the most practical applications of amateur radio. Keep in mind that all of these comms are unencrypted and are visible by anyone who has the ability to receive.
Also supports optional message ack by placing ? after callsign. I’m looking to use this in the woods in case of emergency as you can forward your APRS message through one of the many digipeters available on mountain tops. Interested to hear of anyone has given this a try yet!
I'm starting to see a lot more interest in shortwave radio and radio in general recently. Is it just me being out of the loop or is anyone else noticing this?
APRS is cool, but it’s also somewhat… complex. I wonder how hard it would be to write a “modem chat” phone app, with the ability to translate text into audible Bell beeps, slow enough to work without cables, to be used over ordinary voice frequencies.