Environmental Monitoring as a Public Resource on the APRS Network

This paper presents the proof-of-concept of an environmental data monitor for the collection and distribution of sensor data of interest to the amateur radio community and others via packet radio (AX.25 protocol) on the APRS network. Included is a discussion of suitable hardware and software to collect data, format data packets and transmit the data packets to the APRS network. The design is based on open source LightAPRS 2.0 tracker board, which is compatible with a variety of analog and digital sensors. The board is programmed in C++ using the Arduino IDE. Environmental data is encoded as an APRS telemetry packet and conforms to the APRS protocol. The protocol instructs the proper encoding and decoding for transmitting and receiving stations. Example packet formatting and a demonstration of the successful distribution of environmental data via the APRS network are provided.