#"aprs"

2 articles tagged with ""aprs""

APRS: The Radio Protocol That Puts Ham Operators on a Live Map 📡

I discovered APRS — a ham radio protocol that broadcasts GPS positions, weather data, and text messages over radio, and someone built a live world map out of it. Here's how I decoded it with a $25 SDR and got absolutely hooked.

Mar 09, 2026

"rf""sdr""wireless"

12 min read

APRS: Ham Radio Invented Real-Time GPS Tracking Before Smartphones Existed 📡

I tuned my RTL-SDR to 144.800 MHz and suddenly the airwaves were alive with position reports, weather data, and text messages — from amateur radio operators moving around my city in real time. Ham radio has had its own Twitter-before-Twitter since 1992, and most software developers have no idea it exists.

Feb 23, 2026