11 UI-View

APRS Article 11

May-June 2001

UI-View

By Jeff Robbins

VE3JTR (Voice Call)

VA3JTR (APRS Call)

Hello APRS hams. I’m off the air again! Actually it is not that bad, we are renovating in the basement, and had to unplug everything. Perhaps I will get everything back up shortly. I have been noticing that the APRS community here in the Quinte area is growing fast. The map used to be peaceful with just a couple of stations and our cars, but we have seen several new stations appearing in recent months. Hey, the more stations, the better. Since my last column, I have received positive comments about using APRS during foxhunting. The idea being that the person manning the fox would enjoy being able to observe the hunters as they close in on his position. Each hunters progress track could be saved and played back during the debriefing and strategy defending session at Tim Horton’s afterward!

In other news, only four hams took me up on my experiment of placing my Fire Station on the map at the coordinates near my residence. Guys, your QSL cards are coming soon. Since then, I have noticed static objects appearing on the air from time to time to indicate the locations of club meetings and other events. I will be watching for Hamfests to show up on the map too as we get into spring and Hamfest season begins. I plan to travel to the Durham Region Hamfest this year, so I hope to see a few other vehicles converging on Whitby that day. I will also be trying to get over to the Kingston ARES Hamfest in June and down to the Brantford ARC Hamfest in August. Perhaps I will see you there!

This issue, we will take a look at the newest software choice for APRS, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. It is called UI-View, and is definitely positioning itself to be a major presence in to APRS arena. Roger, G4IDE, is the author of UI-View, and he has made some remarkable decisions regarding his software offering. First, UI-View is open architecture. He isn’t afraid to allow other people to write add-on hook programs that add functionality to the base program. Second, he provides two versions of his program, a 16-bit and a 32-bit. The 16-bit version is fully functional, with the exception of some I-gating functionality, which is disabled. It will work on Win3.1, Win95 and Win98. You do not need to register your copy in order to fully enjoy the software. The 32-bit version is for registered users only, and includes all functionality. Obviously, the 32-bit version will not work on Win3.1, but is tested on Win95, Win98 and Windows ME. Third, registration doesn’t cost a small fortune like other offerings. Roger asks only 10 UK pounds, which is roughly $22 CAD depending on the exchange.

Yet another great resource for people using UI-View, is the UI-View mailing list from Yahoo Groups. Roger monitors and participates in the discussions daily, so any questions you may have get sent directly to the author. No lurking in the background for this guy! He is in there everyday responding to questions and comments. Roger is very approachable, and does answer questions. I have heard that other software authors tend to avoid questions and emails.

UI-View requires around 4MB of hard drive space to install, not including maps. The 32-bit program does seem to be heavy on system resources: Roger recommends a P200 and 32MB of Ram. While it will run fine on slower machines, it too will run slow. If you choose a slower computer, perhaps using the 16-bit version is the better choice for you.

UI-View differs from most APRS software in that it isn't designed to be used only with TNCs in terminal mode. It also supports TNCs in KISS mode, AGWPE host mode and BPQ host mode. The 32 bit version also supports WA8DED/TF host mode, and the variant of it used in the SCS PTC-II and PTC-IIe. The host mode support means that UI-View can be used with an extremely wide range of packet hardware and allows up to 16 RF ports to be used. UI-View has a full-featured internal intelligent digipeater, which is not dependant on TNC firmware. UI-View also has full support for connecting to APRS servers on the Internet. This really is a complete package!

Once you download and install UI-View, there is a great little ‘Getting Started Guide’ that is a five step process to configuring the software and getting on the air fast. Also, every time you start UI-View, the program displays some Start Up Tips, that give you hints about the different program features. If you are like me and rarely read the documentation, these little tips let you know about features you might otherwise miss. UI-View is a very intelligent Windows program that does a great job of APRS. Maps are springing up in the usual places on the Internet where you previously found WinAPRS maps. Eric, VE3GSI has been making top quality maps for our area here in Quinte!

So where do you get it? Surf on over to http://www.packetradio.org.uk for all the download files and registration information. You can even register the software on-line using a secure server, and have the registration key in your email box in a couple of days. If you wish to join the mailing list, click on the link on the website, or send a blank email to ui-view-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and participate in shaping future versions of UI-View.

POCKETAPRS MAPS

Some time ago, I received several emails inquiring about Canadian maps for the Palm Pilot version of APRS software. At the time, I did not have a source, however, Mike Musick, N0QBF, author of PocketAPRS, has created a program to develop maps for Canadian Provinces. These maps are large scale and show major and secondary highways as well as most land features. These maps are on the same scale and detail as the US Interstate map. We can finally see where we are going!! Mike spent some of his valuable time to create a converter to produce these maps for us as well as other non-US countries. Give the maps a try and sent your comments to Mike. They can be downloaded from the Tapr site:

ftp://ftp.tapr.org//aprssig/palmstuff/palmmaps/02Non-US%20Maps/Canada/. Thanks to Eric, VA3EWC for the info.

I would also like to thank everyone for the many emails and inquiries I receive regularly. I do tend to get very busy during the week, and I usually spend part of my weekend responding to email. If you have sent me email and I haven’t responded to you, please email me again. I am not ignoring you, but I do get busy and sometimes forget who I have responded to and who I haven’t. Take care everyone, and I’ll be seeing you ON THE MAP!