SPACE.TXT         USING APRS FOR SPACE COMMUNICATIONS
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Document version: 8.4.3
Document dated:   20 Jul 1999
Author(s):        Bob Bruninga, WB4APR <bruninga@nadn.navy.mil>
ABSTRACT
SPACE.TXT:        Using APRS for amateur space communications.
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APRS/MIR School Club Roundup 8-13 Feb 99
APRS/MIR test on 11 March 98 a SUCCESS!
APRS via SAREX on STS-78 in June 1996
APRS via SPRE on STS-72

BACKGROUND:  APRS is a connectionless protocol to communicate information
effeciently among a large group of stations in real time.  Each station
with information transmits, and all stations capture, sort and accumulate
the information on a variety of display pages or windows such as STAUTS,
BULLETINS, MESSAGES, TRAFFIC, POSITIONS, TELEMETRY, and channel packet
statistics.  This type of communications is ideal for multiple users of
a satellite.


APRS/MIR TEST 11 March 1998.  See MIRTEST.TXT

On 11 March 1998 a special APRS/MIR test was conducted to show methods
for improving the visibility of MIREX communications to students and
schools.  Over 204 APRS station reports and 110 status/message/bulletin
packets were exchanged by 104 stations over a 5 orbit middle-of-the-
night test on short notice.  More than 95% of participating stations
were successful.  The test was to show the ability for about 100 stations
(schools for example) to participate in the MIREX amateur radio packet
station on MIR.  See MIRTEST.TXT for the event summary, and use the
FILE-REPLAY-MIRTEST command to see the entire 5 pass event.

     Due to the success of this test, a permanent web page has been set
up at the Naval Academy http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html.
THis page not only captures the downlink from the last 8 MIR passes but
also feeds everything it hears live to the new APRS AMSAT linked ground-
stations system at www.aprs.net port 10001.  See also TRAKNET.TXT for
more details.


APRS/SAREX TEST June 1996.

    APRS experimentation was authorized via SAREX on STS-78 in June 1996.
Ham Radio activity was reported on 15 days of the mission with 20 voice
passes, 25 packet  passes and 11 school passes, or 75% of all passes.
A great effort on the part of the STS-78 crew!

    Eighteen APRS stations successfully digipeated their position via
SAREX and 2 others relayed STATUS, but no POSIT. A total of 65 APRS packets
were received.  Thirty Nine APRS stations attempted transmissions but
indications are that only about 10 APRS stations were making a serious
effort and trying every pass.    This compares favorably with statistics
for conventional SAREX ROBOT activity of 561 stations being heard a total
of 1350 times with only 146 getting a successful QSO number.  It is
estimated that thousands tried...

SEE ALSO: TRAKNET.txt for a proposal to use the 1200 baud PACSATS for a
worldwide amateur mobile status/position reporting network.


APRS AS A HIGHLY EFFECIENT BRIEF PROTOCOL:

     APRS is an ideal solution to the congestion normaly found on any
narrowband Amateur Satellite uplink channel.  Especially the high
visibility missions where many of the 2 million world wide amateurs
want to make a brief contact in a short period of time such as SAREX.

       The problem with SAREX is the total saturation on the uplink channel
which makes the use of a normal CONNECTED protocol impractical.  For the
SAREX robot QSO mode, a total of five successive and successful packet
transmissions are required to constitute a successful contact.  Of an
estimated tens of thousands of uplink stations, only a few hundred are
successful.  Recognizing the stringent requirements for success using the
CONNECTED protocol, provision is also made to recognize those stations which
were successful in getting only one packet heard onboard the shuttle.
Almost three times as many stations are heard (one successful packet)
as are successful in the full two-way connected protocol.

     APRS takes advantage of this unconnected, one packet, mode to
demonstrate successful uplinks to the shuttle.  In addition, however, it
capitalizes on the most fascinating aspect of the amateur radio hobby,
and that is the display on a map of the location of those stations.
Historically, almost every aspect of HAM radio communications has as its
root, the interest in the location of other stations.

     If, instead of every station attempting to CONNECT with the SAREX
on the Shuttle, all stations simply inserted his/her 6 digit gridsquare
into their TNC TO callsign via the SAREX callsign, then, everyone within
the satellite footprint would not only see when he made a successful
uplink, but also where he was.  It takes a total of 128 bytes for a
successful SAREX QSO plus 92 bytes for every retry.  The APRS GridSquare
packlet only takes 26.  This alone could provide an order of magnitude
improvement in the number of successful SAREX contacts.


GRID SQUARE POSITION REPORTING:  To convey more information than just
seeing station callsigns plotted via grid square on the map, provision
is made for stations to also include a special Station SYMBOL character
in their packet as well.  The format is to begin each packet with the
">" character which makes it an APRS STATUS packet and then to include
the gridsquare as the first word of the status.  If one of the optional
APRS SYmbol characters is included then APRS will plot the station with
that ICON.  (see SYMBOLS.TXT).  Note:  The previous grid-in-to format
has been abandoned in APRS.


FORMATS:  APRS and APRtrak respond to both the conventional LAT/LONG
APRS POSITION reports and to other packets with included Grid-Squares.
But recently the new Kenwood HT in the hands of thousands of users
will only receive the old gridsquare format.  Thus, we have moved the
gird square format to the STATUS packet as mentioned above so that these
HT's can also receive these packets.

Here is the format:

     WB4APR>CQ,W5RRR:GG##gg$ Hi!..

     Where GG##gg is the gridsquare and $ is the symbol.  See SYMBOLS.txt

       To implement this experiment on any shuttle mission, the SAREX
TNC only needs to have DIGI ON.  No other changes onboard the shuttle
or MIR spacecraft TNC are required.  Stations worldwide can use APRS or
APRtrak to then watch successful uplink stations plotted in real time.

SPRE EXPERIMENT:  The first APRS experiment was during the Uiversity of
Maryland SPRE mission on STS-72.  During 3 midnight and later passes,
over 66 stations successfully uplinked position reports.  You can replay
this file using the FILE-REPLAY command and select the SPRE file.

DEMONSTRATION:  To demonstrate the expected results of a SAREX flight,
replay the MIRTEST.HST file and watch the contacts appear as the shuttle
moves across the country.  In this file the Moving MIR ICON was
synthesized after the event, but you will see some MOVING MIR posits
that were uplinked LIVE during the event as MIR-3, and MIR-6 by
one station in the 3 and 6 amateur call areas.

     This capability also demonstrates the practicality of using a space
AX.25 digipeater for routine position and status reporting.  Imagine a
constellation of three AX.25 digipeater satellites all on one FM channel.
It would not matter what satellite was in view, or when.  Mobile and
portable stations could beacon their position once every 5 minutes and be
tracked nationwide!  Just using 1200 baud AFSK, up to 1000 stations could
probably be supported just in the US and have a reasonable chance of
getting a position report through at least once every 3 hours!  Going to
9600 baud FSK would support almost 8000 users.  See the TRAKNET.txt file.

APRS and APRtrak use a special SPACE FORMAT which also configures them
for sending their GRID SQUARE Status beacon via a space digipeater:

  * First, you must set your UNPROTO path via the space digipeater
  * Next, use the alt-SETUP-FORMATS-SPACE command places your Grid Square
    in your status packet.  It also sets CONTROLS-OTHER on so that
    you can see other packets.  It sets up a congratualtions BEEP-MSG when
    it sees your packet digipeated.
  * The alt-SETUP-MODES-AUTOspace command can be used to activate an
    AUTOmatic routine which will reset your packet timers to minimum if
    the spacecraft is heard.  Otherwise your station will continue to only
    send your posit packet at the decayed (15 minute) period (which
    will miss most 8 minute passes).
  * Since only the SPACECRAFT will be digipeating, APRS will detect any
    of your packets that are digipeated and will announce your success
    with some BEEPS.  It also resets your STATUS period to max to minimize
    QRM since you have already been successful!  After 10 minutes, the
    AUTOspace mode will reactivate for the next pass.


OPERATING TIPS VIA SPACECRAFT DIGIPEATERS:

To have a good chance of being seen via the SPACE digipeater and to
minimize unnecessary QRM, use the above commands and consider the
following procedures.  Even under worst case scenarios, APRS stations
will still generate fewer packets than other stations attempting to
CONNECT to SAREX.

*  Use XMT-POS command to force transmissions as needed.
*  Use the APRS VIEW screen so you can VIEW all packets on a full screen
*  Use your lowest 2m antenna (preferably on the ground).  This minimizes
   QRM to your receiver from other local uplink stations, and also
   minimizes your QRM to them.  A ground level antenna is perfectly
   adequate, since it can still see the sky, and the SPACECRAFT is so far
   away on the horizon and has such high doppler that you will NOT make
   it anyway at elevations below 10 degrees or so.
*  NOTE:  The SPACE mode only permits a single SYMBOL character, so only
   SYMBOLS from the PRIMARY APRS symbol table are usable.


AUTOMATIC OPERATION:  In AUTOspace mode, your station will transmit your
normal packets about once every 15 minutes.  But if APRS hears a packet
from the special call of R0MIR or W5RRR then APRSdos will reset your
STATUS timer to minimum and also set a random number of seconds up to
24 before your first packet is transmitted.  As long as you continue
to hear the space digipeater callsign, your STATUS timer will stay at
minimum and your period to the next packet will remain a random number
under 24.  Since APRS is on a 5 second timing cycle, you have about a 20%
chance of transmitting in each window, or about 1 packet per 15 seconds.
This is still less than what a connected station would be doing...
If the callsigns of MIR or SAREX change, you can edit them in your
CFIG8xx.APR file.


APRS POSITION REPORTING VIA THE 1200 BAUD PACSATS!

     All of the 1200 baud PACSATS can operate in digipeater mode and
can serve as a worldiwde APRS satellite communications relay system
Please read TRAKNET.TXT and/or PACSATS.TXT.  There are several items
that make these satellites very attractive to APRS:

   1)  They can hear ANY 5 watt or better FM XMTR on the uplink!
   2)  Uplink only requires an OMNI antenna with no pointing (mobile!)
   3)  ANY TAPR-2 compatible TNC (with an 89 cent mod) can be used on
       the UPLINK.
   4)  For vehicle tracking, only a few downlink stations are needed,
       since they can digipeat the packets onto HF and VHF nets or
       be linked into the worldwide live APRS internet system...


