[aprssig] Looking for an appplication ?

[Jeff Dugas]

Tom,

The 160 character limit is certainly a potential issue for text message
queries.  I was thinking the other day that perhaps one could specify
(limit) the kind of info one wanted with a "command switch" of sorts.  For
example, in the text of the email to text message:

callsign-SSID /addr
 Would return the physical location info as it does now

callsign-SSID /geo
  Would return the Lat Lon

And perhaps  ...
callsign-SSID /geo-D.DD
  would return Lat /Lon in decimal degrees

callsign-SSID /geo-DMS
  degrees minutes seconds

callsign-SSID /geo-DM.M
    degrees and decimal minutes

Anyway, just some ideas  :-)

73
Jeff
N5TEV


-----Original Message-----

For those of you who haven't been following the thread:
I developed an email system for requesting an APRS station's status.
To get a station's status (last heard, location, and APRS status), just send
an email or SMS with the station's callsign to 98.166.97.99.
You should receive a reply in a minute or so.

> Thank you so much! This should be a really useful application.

You're welcome! I'm glad so many people have found it useful.

> I agree with Jeff that adding the actual lat/long might be a nice
addition.
>
> It's a minor thing, but it would also be nice if you sent email with a 
> subject. Perhaps something like "Location of <callsign>" or (my 
> preference)
> "RE: <original subject>"

These have been popular requests, and are simple to do, so I have added
them. There is a caveat though. SMS is limited to 140-160 characters
depending on your carrier. These two features add a number of characters to
the overall message, so your message may be truncated. The longitude is the
last thing listed, so let me know if it seems truncated. I have no control
over this. It's usually done in the carrier's email-to-SMS gateway.

> And perhaps you could get it to work with rich text... (although this 
> hasn't been a problem for me so far).

Parsing multi-part email is more complex than plain text. I intended this
application to be used with SMS. If you're at a computer, you can just look
at the station on aprs.fi. If there is a valid use case for rich text and
this application, I'll consider supporting it. (Is anyone familiar with a
good email parser library/class for PHP?)

73

Tom KD7LXL