The Opentracker supports both HF (300bps) and VHF operation. Like the TinyTrak series, it supports a Primary and Secondary profile, allowing the same unit to be easily switched between VHF and HF operation.

If you have an Opentracker, please consider using the configurations below, where Profile 1is the VHF setup, and Profile 2 is for HF.

VHF Configuration

HF Configuration

This was the first of this line of products, and some are still in service today. The TinyTrak supported VHF (1200bps) only, with no SmartBeaconing capability. It also had a flaw in that it would transmit position beacons even if the incoming data from the GPS was invalid (GPS not locked).  The TinyTrak supported a basic Primary/Secondary profile, however this was limited to the TXDelay and Beacon Interval parameters only.

If you still use an original TinyTrak, please consider using the configuration below.

UI-View is one of the most popular APRS client applications available.
It can be downloaded from the UI-View web page.

Unfortunately Roger Barker (G4IDE), the author of UI-View, became a silent key in September 2004. At his request, the source code for the program was destroyed, making impossible changes or updates to the final release (Ver. 2.03) of the program. The program, as distributed, is now living in "suspended animation" with an increasing number of defaults and settings becoming outdated. Fortunately, many of these can be changed after the initial install.

The steps below detail how to best configure UI-View to work in the VK APRS network effectively.

APRS Symbol Set

There have been numerous changes and updates to the APRS symbol set since UI-View became "frozen". Fortunately, the APRS symbols used by UI-View are contained in a pair of Windows BMP graphics files that can be easily replaced (overwritten) after the program is installed. Replacement current symbol sets for UI-View are located here: Revised APRS Symbol Set .

Station Setup

To set up your station details select Setup / Station Setup and fill in the dialog box based on the information below.

For those who want to use the internet connection (APRS-IS) to send & receive APRS data instead of RF, change the Beacon interval / Fixed setting from 45 to 0 and the Beacon interval / Internet setting from 0 to 45.

Quirky Way of Delimiting Degrees and Minutes in Latitude/Longitude Entries:
Like most APRS applications, UI-View requires that latitude/longitude entries for positions be expressed in Degrees, Minutes and hundredths of Minutes. You cannot use Degrees-Minutes-Seconds or Degrees and decimal Degrees.
[ DD MM.mm is the default format of NMEA GPS data, and is also the default format for APRS. ]

However, unlike NMEA, UI-View uses two periods to delimit the string instead of one. For example, latitude data output from a standard NMEA GPS receiver, for 33 degrees 45.14 minutes north, would look like: 3345.14S
UI-View requires that this be formatted as: 33.45.14S

APRS-IS Settings

Correct configuration for VK connections to APRS-IS (the internet) for UI-View is as follows.

In order to add the Australian APRS-IS servers to the server list, the following steps can be followed:

1. Select Setup / APRS Server Setup.
2. Click on the first entry in the Select One Or More Servers list. (a dotted line will appear around the entry)
3. Hit the [Insert] key
4. Type first.aprs.net.au:14580 then hit the [Enter] key
5. Click on the small box on the left of the entry you added. A small tick will appear in the box.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 but this time type second.aprs.net.au:14580

To remove a server entry click on the entry and hit the [Delete] key.
You may wish to delete all the un-ticked server entries.

Since the APRS-IS contains the entire global APRS traffic, we must use a FILTER to restrict what you actually recieve. This filter is set in the "Extra log on text" box, and is structured by using the word filter followed by one or more filter definitions.

For example, to see only VK* callsigns, the filter text would be filter p/vk. To see all stations in VK regardless of their callsign, the filter would be filter r/-34/146/4500

If you connect to port 14580 of a server but do not set a filter, the server will not send you any data until you set a valid filter.

Miscellaneous Settings

Miscellaneous Settings are required for APRS network cycle timing, Station Queries and other client behaviour.

Select Setup / Miscellaneous and enter the settings as show below.

APRS Compatibility

UI-View uses some special message formats that are not complient with the APRS protocol specifications. Turning these extensions off makes UI-View more compatible with other APRS applications.

Select Setup / APRS Compatibility and enter all settings as show below.

Messaging Setup

Messaging Settings need to be adjusted from the defaults to ensure that APRS Messaging can be sent and recieved effectively.

To access the Message Retries dialog box select Messages / Setup / Message Retries

Set the values for all fields as shown below.

 To aid in message Acknowledgements getting back to the message sender reliably, make sure that the "Use Default Path for Acks" option is checked under the Messages / Options menu.

Automatic Connection to APRS-IS

After you have configured the main parameters in UI-View you may wish to connect APRS-IS. To do this select Action / Connect to APRS Server.

UI-View can be enabled to connect to APRS-IS automatically using the Schedule Editor which can be run from the Files menu.

In the Schedule Editor, click 'New', select APRSERVE_CONNECT from the pull down menu in the Command box, type '+1' in the Time box then click 'Yes'.

This will connect UI-View Client to APRS-IS 3 minutes after it has started.

The TinyTrak4 is the latest in this line of trackers.  It adds teh capability to easily update the firmware directly from a PC (without needing PIC programming software), DSP packet decoding capability for 300, 1200 and 9600bps, Telemetry support and more.

Like the TinyTrak3, the TinyTrak 4 has a couple of variant models:

• MicroTrak TT4, a self contained tracker with inbuilt RF module based on the TinyTrak4 firmware

If you have a TinyTrak4, please consider using the configurations below, where the Primary configuration is for VHF and the Secondary configuration is for HF.

VHF Configuration (Tracker Firmware 4.07)

HF Configuration (Tracker Firmware 4.07)

Alpha Code details coming soon...

The TinyTrak3 was the first TT unit to support HF (300bps) operation. Like the TT2 it also supports a Primary and Secondary profile, allowing the same unit to be easily switched between VHF and HF operation.

The TinyTrak3 has a couple of variant models:

• TinyTrak SMT, a surface mount version
• TinyTrak3+, an update to the original TinyTrak3
• MicroTrak,  various models of self-contained tracker with an RF module built in, based on the TT3 firmware

If you have a TinyTrak3, please consider using the configurations below, where the Primary configuration is the VHF setup, and the Secondary configuration is for HF.

VHF Configuration

HF Configuration

TinyTrak2 was the first in the series to support SmartBeaconing, as well as ensuring that position beacons would only be sent if a valid position was being recieved from the GPS.  TT2 also provided a Primary and Secondary configuration to allow for two profiles (possible use as different callsigns) although it only supported VHF use only.

If you have a TT2, please consider using the setup shown below.

The TinyTrak series of trackers are a very popular kit-based tracker for portable and mobile use. Based on a simple PIC processor, it converts NMEA output from a GPS into compressed MIC-E APRS packets. The later versions support SmartBeaconing, and HF modes.

The guides included on this site detail how they should be configured to interact efficiently with the network in Australia.

The settings are a guideline, however they were developed and tested over several weeks by experienced operators to provide the best possible settings for Australian conditions. It is strongly recommended that you use them.

Please see the links on the left to see the configuration for your particular TinyTrak version.

Note:    Windows XP Issue
Some users have reported a problem using the configuration software under Windows XP. The problem involves entries in the config dialog that contain a single character or digit being changed or reset to 0 when writing or changing between Primary and Secondary configurations. If you experience this problem, the work-around is to make sure no edit box entry field contains a single char or number by entering characters twice in the Symbol and Symbol Table fields (>> instead of >), and add leading zeros in the numeric fields (03 instead of 3).

If you have problems configuring the TinyTrak3, try entering the follow DOS command to configure the serial port:

mode COM1 PARITY=N DATA=8 STOP=1 OCTS=off

The information presented here is a guideline on how to configure various hardware and software options for optimum performance in the Australian APRS networks.