NWAPRS serves: Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories,
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana

 ALOHA AND WELCOME TO APRS HAWAII

Here are some tips when operating APRS in the Hawaiian Islands:

Hawaii WIDEn-N DIGIPEATERS: Kauai, Oahu, and Maui all have WIDEn-N digipeaters set to respond to WIDEn-N settings, including WIDE1-1, WIDE2-2, and WIDE3-3. They will also respond to HIn-N if you so wish to operate that way. The obvious goal is at least one or two high altitude WIDEn-N digipeaters on each island comprising the chain of Hawaiian Islands, to support local and emergency operations using the graphical interface presented with APRS.

NEW TO APRS?: If you're new to APRS, your best method for getting up to speed without too much frustration is find an APRS Elmer to give you and hand and help walk you through the process. If you want to give it a go on your own, first thing to do is download one of the many APRS applications off the internet. Over 75% of the APRS users around the planet are using UI-View32, and while there are other applications out there, like APRSPoint (uses MapPoint maps), APRSISCE (uses Google internet maps), Xastir (Linux), many folks have landed on UI-View because of its ease of use and that it uses the Precision Maps CD street level maps of North America (and of course Hawaii), and doesn't rely on internet access to obtain maps. The maps CD is $50 from http://www.undertowsoftware.com and takes about a week to deliver. Check this link for complete details to download and install UI-View32: http://www.nwaprs.info/downloads/UI-VIEW Instructions.pdf

If you're looking for even more info on APRS, simply Google or Bing "APRS" and have fun.

APRS PATH: If you're just setting up your APRS station, somewhere in your station configuration files you will find a place to insert your OUTGOING PATH. For Hawaii, please use WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2 if you are a mobile or portable station. This setting will take advantage of not only the Island's WIDEn-N digipeaters, but also any other fixed stations set to digipeat a WIDE1-1 in its path. If you are a fixed station and have a decent path to a nearby WIDEn-N digi, then please use WIDE2-2 or WIDE3-3 for your outgoing path. Mobiles and HTs may transmit once per minute, while fixed stations should slow the transmit periodicity down to once every 30 minutes.

APRS-IS ACCESS: If you have internet access from your APRS station, please connect to the following server: hawaii.aprs2.net:14577, or southwest.aprs2.net:14580. On the SWUSA Tier 2 server Port 14580, enter "filter r/21/-158/700" if you want to filter just the Hawaii APRS traffic. You can check the Tier 2 server web pages for more instructions on filtering traffic from the APRS-IS.

APRS and IRLP: If you are the control operator of an IRLP node in the Hawaiian Islands, please consider running the script below which will then place an icon, or object, on the APRS-Internet Server (IS) and thus appear on those stations running APRS with a link to the APRS-IS. There's a second step for an APRS station operator to enter the IRLP-0000 node number in a list of items to gate from the APRS-IS to RF, so local users and mobiles will see the IRLP in their object list. Properly formatted, an APRS user with a Kenwood APRS-ready radio, like the TM-D710 or TH-D72, or a Yaesu APRS-ready radio, like the FTM-350 or VX-8GR, can hit TUNE or QSY on their radio and easily QSY to the IRLP node frequency and have the Tone and Offset entered automatically, making the IRLP node ready for instant access. 

Here's the link for the IRLP node owners:

http://irlp.kc6hur.net/ irlp_scripts.php

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER ON APRS: The State of Hawaii RACES organization operates station KH6HPZ on APRS from the EOC headquarters at Diamond Head. While the station is on the air 24/7, typically there is no one manning the station unless an emergency is underway.

WIDEn-N DIGI SETTINGS: This file is primarily for those wishing to set up an APRS WIDEn-N digipeater with a KPC-3+ or other TNC2 compatible TNC. Further instructions can be found on the internet, and this file is just here to help you get started. Here is the printout of a KPC-3+ settings, using the Mt. Haleakala NH7C-5 as example: