I spent a couple of hours today researching/working on an APRS setup. Came very close but no cigar… need to make a quick trip into Akihabara tomorrow to pickup some connector components and solder them together. THEN, I will finally have an APRS (packet radio) node going with GPS output. The cool thing about this technology, however, is that it’s not just GPS information, it’s not just weather information, but it can relay just about any information as long as it fits in the designated payload. Started thinking about hooking up an APRS-enabled transmitter with weather to a high-powered sub-orbit capable rocket like these guys from Noisebridge did. Cool stuff, but they did not include a packet radio connection as originally planned, and the camera stabilization was rotten – but a nice try! Wish I was there when they did it, so time to plan our own for Spring 2010.  If you watch the balloon video, be warned on top of it not being a stable mount, which gives me a headache, it turns round and round and round all the way up, so make sure you haven’t drank too much before watching.

On another note, I want to setup an internet connection through my ham radio equipment and contribute to the cause, per se. This solution caught my eye ’cause it’s based on Linux and the Asterisk PBX system – pretty techie and slick. My brother, Bruce, was telling me about this a couple years ago, but always thought it was overkill for my house. Time for another look….

73…. enjoy