APRS Mobile vs PulseModem A

APRS Mobile connects your iPhone and iPad straight to APRS-IS, the internet side of the Automatic Packet Reporting System used by amateur radio operators around the world. Watch the stations around you live, look up any station, message other hams and beacon your position. No account needed. Work over your own radio too — with a Bluetooth TNC, or with nothing but an audio cable, using the built-in software modem. LIVE MAP • Stations appear the moment they're heard, with their APRS symbols and callsigns • Tracks, PHG circles and a Layers panel: fixed, mobile and weather stations, digipeaters, IGates, objects and items • A status bar shows your connection, the server and the traffic • Map switches for SmartBeacon and Keep Screen On, so you can tell at a glance when they're on • Via: one control for every link — APRS-IS, TNC and software modem STATION DETAILS • Tap a station for a quick card, then its full page, updated live as it's heard • Last heard, beacon prediction, digipath, comment and status • Position, Maidenhead grid square, speed, course, altitude and distance from you • Drag a station's card up for its digipath, how often it beacons and the raw packet • Current weather, plus weather and telemetry history charts APRS MESSAGING • Chat with any station, with conversations and message bubbles • Messages go out over APRS-IS or straight over your radio, and IGates carry them between the two • Automatic retries until acknowledged, with delivery receipts • Notifications for messages to your callsign, even when the app is closed • Block or report a station, and offensive language is hidden behind a tap RADIO — BLUETOOTH TNC (OPTIONAL) • Connect a Mobilinkd TNC4, or a TNC3 with Bluetooth LE firmware, over Bluetooth LE to send and receive APRS over your own radio • Stations heard over the air appear on the map alongside APRS-IS • Choose how messages and beacons go out: radio first, APRS-IS first, or both • Choose where the map's stations come from: radio, APRS-IS or both • Stays connected in the background, so beaconing and receiving carry on • A TNC and a radio are separate purchases; everything else in the app works without them RADIO — SOFTWARE MODEM (OPTIONAL) • No TNC required: with an audio cable, your phone is the modem — 1200 baud APRS decoded straight from your radio's audio • Transmit through a radio set to VOX, with adjustable TX delay and level • A live spectrum with both tones marked, a plain-language level check and a clipping warning, so setting the audio takes seconds • Receiving needs no licence; transmitting is off until you confirm you hold one OFFLINE MAPS • Download OpenStreetMap-based maps for the areas you care about, and the map keeps working with no network • Pick a region or the area around you, see the size before you commit, and pause or resume any download SMARTBEACON • Beacon with SmartBeaconing: more often when moving fast or turning, less when slow or stopped • Keeps beaconing in the background when you allow it, with a low-power mode • Choose your APRS symbol, comment and position ambiguity SEARCH • Find any callsign, city or zip code AND MORE • Imperial, metric and nautical units, any APRS-IS server, iPhone and iPad Anyone can watch APRS activity and weather stations. Sending messages or positions requires an amateur radio license; sending over APRS-IS also needs the APRS-IS passcode for your callsign, and transmitting over the air has to be switched on by hand. The software modem uses the microphone to hear your radio. The audio is decoded on your device, never recorded and never sent anywhere. Weather and telemetry history charts, and offline map downloads, come from openaprs.ai; everything else comes straight from APRS-IS or your radio. Offline map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Positions you send can also be seen on other APRS websites. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. A live APRS-IS feed uses a lot of data.

PulseModem A is the APRS client for licensed Amateur Radio operators on iPhone and iPad. Connect to the global APRS-IS network and watch nearby stations appear on a live map in real time — each one drawn with its authentic APRS symbol icon and a country flag derived from its callsign prefix. LIVE APRS-IS FEED - Connects to rotate.aprs.net with a geographic filter centred on your GPS location - Displays raw packets as they arrive, colour-coded by type - Auto-connect on launch — PulseModem A is ready before you finish your coffee - Decodes uncompressed, Base91 compressed, and Mic-E packets (common in Kenwood and Yaesu radios) INTERACTIVE MAP - Every station plotted with its real APRS symbol PNG — car, hiker, weather station, digipeater, and hundreds more - Tap any pin to see a callout; tap the callout to open the full station detail - Centres on your location at city level the moment a GPS fix is available - Your own beacon appears on the map immediately after sending STATION LIST - Full searchable list of received stations - Country flag next to every callsign, resolved from the standard cty.dat prefix database - iPad split-view: select a station on the left, see full details on the right - One tap to look up any callsign on QRZ.com — right inside the app, no browser switch GPS BEACONING - Send your position to the APRS network with a single tap - Choose your station symbol from a searchable visual grid of all APRS symbols - Add an optional comment to your beacon packet - Encoded in Base91 compressed format for maximum compatibility SETTINGS & COMPATIBILITY - Callsign and passcode stored securely in the Keychain - Upgrading from an earlier version? Your callsign, passcode, and preferences carry over automatically - Adjustable filter radius, fallback coordinates for GPS-denied environments - Supports receive-only mode (passcode -1) — no transmit license required to monitor REQUIREMENTS A valid amateur radio license is required to transmit on APRS. Anyone may receive and monitor. RF Receive and RF Transmit (direct audio-port TNC operation) are under re-development and will return in an upcoming update. APRS is a registered trademark of Bob Bruninga.