Web location uploads, better iPhone support, and favourite stations
Heikki Hannikainen
I've just installed a rather large upgrade on the production aprs.fi
servers. As usual, some things might break, in which case you'll get to
keep both pieces, but it should be worth it.
The system now supports uploading positions directly to aprs.fi using a
web browser which supports the W3C Geolocation API. In practice this means
that you can update your location using a mobile phone which has a GPS and
a modern web browser. No native application or purchase is required. I
have only tested this with the iPhone (OS 3.0 and newer), but there is a
good chance that Android phones will work, too. To try this out, create an
user account on aprs.fi, log in from the phone, and click on the
transmitting tower button to upload your position.
You can also click on the crosshair button to center the map on your
current GPS coordinates. Naturally, your web browser will ask you whether
your position can be revealed to aprs.fi before either of these functions
are enabled.
The positions are not transmitted to or via the APRS-IS, so it is OK for
users without amateur radio licenses to upload their positions, too. The
stations are identified as web stations on aprs.fi, for example:
http://aprs.fi/info/w/4225895793 (my iPhone). Web stations names are not
restricted by AX.25 / APRS limitations, and can contain spaces and
international characters. The name is not shown in the URL.
The names of the web stations live in a separate namespace from APRS and
AIS stations. There can be a 'N0CALL' phone as well as a 'N0CALL' APRS
station, and a 'N0CALL' AIS ship. When names overlap, the web site will
let you pick the right station from a list. Multiple web stations may also
share the same name, which should help avoid collisions.
The mobile version of the map has been improved to better support the
iPhone. With some luck, these improvements should also help on Android and
other new powerful mobile devices, but I haven't tested it on one yet. I
really haven't used anything iPhone-specific which would intentionally
break on other devices (I have tested the mobile version of the site on
Firefox to validate this), but only testing will tell. Feedback is
welcome.
I've also added a favourite stations list. The 'star' button to show the
bookmark list is visible, and the list can be edited at http://aprs.fi/my/
- please consider this a limited beta of some kind. I'm only publishing
the link here on the discussion group to get some bug reports before
placing a link to it on the web site. The favourite stations list is
stored in the database on the server side (instead of the cookies), so
you'll need to log in to use this feature. On the good side, your
favourites list will also appear in the mobile version of the site, saving
a lot of typing there.
The Google Latitude integration has not been installed on the site yet, so
setting data source to Latitude will not have any effect (yet).
Stay tuned for more!
- Hessu
Gavin Nesbitt
Hello Hessu,
Logged into APRS.fi from my Nexus One (Android) this morning and noticed the new bar at the top, logged in and clicking on the tower icon it showed me on the map correctly with my callsign. Brilliant!
I did try the favorites but have nothing I in it and there is no obviouse way to add a station but I'll now go check the /my/ page.
As for the callsign, is there a way to add an SSID to the registered callsign or is it easier just to create a new registration? I see no link in the mobile site for preferences which may include a way to modify the callsign, then again it may not.
Thanks,
Gavin Nesbitt, M1BXF.
Sent from my Nexus One.
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Heikki Hannikainen
> Logged into APRS.fi from my Nexus One (Android) this morning and noticed
> the new bar at the top, logged in and clicking on the tower icon it
> showed me on the map correctly with my callsign. Brilliant!
Most excellent! I'm very happy to hear that it works on Android.
> I did try the favorites but have nothing I in it and there is no obviouse
> way to add a station but I'll now go check the /my/ page.
It's there. I'll publish links to /my/ after some initial testing. And
probably some 'add to favorites' link in the appropriate places after
looking up a callsign.
> As for the callsign, is there a way to add an SSID to the registered
> callsign or is it easier just to create a new registration? I see no link
> in the mobile site for preferences which may include a way to modify the
> callsign, then again it may not.
You can adjust the callsign (name) of the default web station at
http://aprs.fi/my/ - you can add an SSID if you like, or make it "M1BXF
Nexus". Simply edit the settings of the default station which was added in
there when you first uploaded your position.
The names of the web stations are in a different namespace, so they don't
show up in the 'other SSIDs' list for now. Let's see if that can be
changed without too much trouble.
> I see no link in the mobile site for preferences which may include a way
> to modify the callsign, then again it may not.
The preferences menu does not quite work on mobile devices yet, so there's
no link to it either. Needs some work.
- Hessu
Gavin Nesbitt
Again Hessu what an update :o) great work!
If it's useful this is my station and track from today incase you wish to see any info from it http://aprs.fi/info/w/0831271827
Thanks,
Gavin Nesbitt, M1BXF.
Sent from my Nexus One.
Heikki Hannikainen
Hi again,
I've installed a couple of fixes in the web locations updating code now.
It failed to work for about 6 unlucky users due to a little bug which
didn't take database replication delays into account. But that's sorted
now.
I've also put the 'share location' button on the non-mobile site, so that
it can be used on the iPad and other larger devices with GPS. We'll see
what effect that has!
The good news is that it seems to work on several Android phones:
* Nexus One (of Google)
* HTC Dream
* HTC Espresso
* Samsung Galaxy S
* Motorola Droid
It'll probably work on the rest of the new ones with GPS, too.
- Hessu
mcl...@onetel.com
Regards Rob G7GHA