Getting Started:
APSPOT supports a number of commands, and depending on what command is sent will depend on how APSPOT responds. To get started with APSPOT, simply send a message “usage” to APSPOT on APRS and as long as you have gone in via a Tx-Enabled APRS IGate (Or you were heard by a Tx-Enabled APRS IGate) the system will reply with a number of messages on how to use the system. Please read this page in it’s entirity, including the section at the bottom with information on receive only IGates
The commands:
“usage”
Replies with the list of usage types of the system.
“usage <type>”
Replies with a basic usage information for each type within the system. Valid types are “aprs”, “sms” and “winlink”
Eg: “usage aprs”, “usage sms”, “usage winlink”
“usage <type> <activity>”
Replies with an example message for your activity, eg:
“usage aprs sota” replies with: “EXAMPLE: “! SOTA VK3/VN-030 7.090 CQCQ’”
Getting current SPOTs
“spots <activity>”
Replies with the 3 (SMS/APRS) or 10(Winlink) most recent SPOTS under the activity you provide. Currently the system supports POTA (from pota.app), SOTA (from parksnpeaks.org) and WWFF (from parksnpeaks.org), eg:
“spots POTA” would return 3 messages via APRS and 10 spots via a single Winlink reply:
“K0DME | K-1210 | 14057.0 | CW”
“N9FAL | K-2234 | 14287 | SSB”
“B3WAV | K-7724 | 14294 | SSB”
“spots” Filter options
The “spots” command has a couple of filtering options:
To filter by mode, simply add the desired mode onto the end of the command, for example:
“spots pota cw” – will return CW POTA spots
“spots wwff ssb” – will return SSB WWFF spots
To request more than the default number of spots (3 for SMS/APRS and 10 for Winlink), simply add a number onto the end of the command, for example:
“spots wwff 5” – will return a maximum of 5 WWFF spots via SMS and APRS. Via Winlink there is no limit.
The two filters can be combined, but the mode filter must be specified first:
“spots wwff ssb 5” – will return up to 5 SSB WWFF spots via SMS and APRS. Via Winlink there is no limit.
Note: If less than the requested amount of spots are available for the given request – only the available spots will be returned.
Posting a SPOT:
APRS:
“! <Activity> <Ref> <Frequency In MHz> <Mode> <Comment(Optional)>”
Winlink (Place in Subject of message):
“! <Activity> <Ref> <Frequency In MHz> <Mode> <Comment(Optional)>”
SMS:
“!<Callsign> <Activity> <Ref> <Frequency In MHz> <Mode> <Comment(Optional)>”
Note: For SMS Spotting, please append your callsign immediately after the “!” WITHOUT a space. Our numbers are available on the SMS Numbers page.
This is the message format to submit a spot, it is case insensitive (You can send the message in uppercase, lowercase, or any combination of both, and is broken down as follows:
“!” – This tells the system that you’re submitting a SPOT – the system will use your APRS callsign to submit the SPOT so you don’t need to specify your callsign
“<Activity>” – This is the activity that you want to submit the spot for. Currently supported activities are: WWFF, SOTA, POTA, SIOTA
“<Ref>” – This is the reference of the Park/Summit/Silo/etc that you’re working. For example WWFF-1929 for WWFF, VK3/VN-008 for SOTA, VK-3024 for POTA
“<Frequency in MHz>” – This is the frequency you’re working in MHz, for example 7.144, 7.090, 14.310, etc
“<Mode>” – This is the mode you’re using. Currently supported modes are: SSB, CW, FM, AM, DATA for WWFF, SOTA, SIOTA, with the addition of FT8 for POTA
“<Comment>” – This is a comment that will be added to your SPOT. Note that if you include the string “test” in your message, the system will assume you DO NOT want to post a SPOT and will do everything except post your spots.
Example Messages:
APRS & Winlink:
For APRS send the message to “APSPOT” in the callsign field
For Winlink send the message to “apspot@apspot.radio” and place the command in the SUBJECT line.
“! WWFF VKFF-1929 7.144 SSB CQCQ” sent to APSPOT will post a spot to parksnpeaks.org with the following details:
Callsign: VK2MES
Activity: WWFF
Park: VKFF-1929
Frequency: 7.144
Mode: SSB
“! POTA VK-3024 7.195 SSB CQCQ” sent from VK2MES-7 to APSPOT will post a spot to BOTH parksnpeaks.org AND pota.app with the following details:
To ParksNPeaks:
Callsign: VK2MES
Activity: POTA
Park: VK-3024
Frequency: 7.144
Mode: SSB
To POTA:
Callsign: VK2MES
Park: VK-3024
Frequency: 7.144
Mode: SSB
SMS:
“!VK2MES WWFF VKFF-1929 7.144 SSB CQCQ” sent from your phone to your regional number via SMS will post a spot to parksnpeaks.org with the following details:
Callsign: VK2MES
Activity: WWFF
Park: VKFF-1929
Frequency: 7.144
Mode: SSB
“!VK2MES POTA VK-3024 7.195 SSB CQCQ” sent from VK2MES-7 to APSPOT on APRS will post a spot to BOTH parksnpeaks.org AND pota.app with the following details:
To ParksNPeaks:
Callsign: VK2MES
Activity: POTA
Park: VK-3024
Frequency: 7.144
Mode: SSB
To POTA:
Callsign: VK2MES
Park: VK-3024
Frequency: 7.144
Mode: SSB
Where the system posts to multiple systems, the system will check to see if you are a valid user in that system. If you are not, then the system will error on that system only and not SPOT you on that system. For example if you’re a valid user on ParksNPeaks but not pota.app, your spot will only go to ParksNPeaks, if you’re a valid user on pota.app but not ParksNPeaks, your spot will only go to pota.app.
The system will respond with a confirmation message if your SPOTS are successfully posted (multiple if posting to multiple systems). If you’re not getting a response check out our FAQ for possible reasons this could be happening.