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APRS on the FTM-400
Here were my APRS operational goals... yours may vary:
* I do not want to digipeat with this radio
* I do not wish to send text messages either
* All I wanted was for the radio to auto-transmit my GPS Location/Speed/Altitude...
and not be annoying to the driver.
Here are the Setup Menu sections that I altered from their factory default settings:
NOTE: the newest version of the FTM-400 Setup Menu has these items in a different order. I haven't had the opportunity to go through the latest version. Below is how things were arranged on the version of the FTM-400 of mine:
Setup Menu - APRS
2. Data Band Select = B Band Fix (this says that the B band - the one on the bottom of the display - will be the one where APRS transmission will commence from. Set this band to 144.390 simplex)
5. APRS-Modem = ON
6. APRS Mute = OFF
7. APRS Pop-Up = Off
9. APRS Ringer = all turned to OFF
15. Beacon TX, Interval = 2 min (or whatever you wish. Please don't hog the APRS frequency by sending your position every 30 seconds . Unless this is an Em-Com emergency situation - no one really needs to follow your path that closely. The other settings field "Auto" should be ON. If setting an interval doesn't automatically turn "Auto" to ON, do it.
23. Callsign = (your callsign, with the SSID designator added to the end. For example "KE8ZYX-9".
Note: this is the only screen where your call sign should also have the "-x" SSID designator added. During the first time the radio was powered, it also asked for your call sign... that field should be your call sign only, without the "-x" added to the end)26. My Position Set = GPS (for mobile operation)
30. Smart Beaconing = Off (Smart Beaconing looks like a good idea on paper, but is a headache to get set to your liking. There will always be an instance where the radio did not transmit your coordinates... but you'd wish it had. If you're like me, you'll start out with Smart Beaconing enabled... but finally switch over to automatic (forced timed interval) beacon transmit... turning OFF Smart Beaconing.
To have automatic interval GPS coordinate transmission, you need the following three icons to be located in the upper-right section of the screen:
Note: The "dot" to the left of the clock may be a different shape if Smart Beaconing is enabled.
Q&A
1. Are these the ideal settings for everyones APRS-GPS operation?
Of course not; they can be custom tailored for each persons specific operational wishes.. These are what I've settled into.2. You turned OFF the APRS PopUp feature; aren't you interested in what others may be sending?
On occasion, yes. Even with the PopUp feature disabled, the incoming data receptions are still being logged. To view them, all you need do is press S. List. To make this task easier, you can program one of the soft buttons to S. List to go directly to this listing.3. Is there a simple way to temporarily disable the automatic APRS-GPS transmissions?
Yes; program a soft button, either one of the four located on the bottom of the display... or one of the PF buttons on the microphone to the "Beacon" function (not to be confused with the Beacon TX option... that is something different). Pressing a Beacon programmed soft button will cause the little "dot"to disappear from the upper right of the display (near the clock/satellite icon). With this dot missing, you will still receive and log received APRS transmissions, but not send your positional data via beaconing. That symbol may be slightly different if you enabled SmartBeaconing.
4. I noticed you left the APRS Mute OFF ; don't you tire of hearing the "modem noise"?
if you enable the APRS Mute function... it mutes the audio on that entire half of the radio; including all memory channels and the VFO. If at some point you decide to use that same half of the radio for normal voice communication - you'd need to navigate through the setup menus and disable the mute function... or turn the APRS Modem feature OFF (or you will never hear anything). What I decided to do was turn APRS Mute OFF, and create a 144.390 memory channel with a TSQ of 118.8 (any CTCSS will work). Since gateways and digipeaters don't transmit a CTCSS tone... the radios audio remains silent on this memory channel, but it still receives the APRS data; and will function normally during standard voice communications.5. How do I determine if the radios GPS receiver has obtained adequate satellites to start beaconing my travels?
Upon radio powerup, the satellite iconwill appear in the top right corner of the display... then disappear in a few seconds. This signifies that you do have a GPS receiver installed in the radio... but that it hasn't locked on to enough GPS satellites yet (this is why it disappears quickly). The icon doesn't reappear until there is a lock on -at least- three GPS satellites. So, after the initial disappearence of the satellite icon from the display, if/when it reappears - this signifies it has met the minimum satellite lock-count to allow beacon transmissions.
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