[aprssig] Standardized format of WX data in APRS?

[Steve Dimse]

> On Feb 13, 2017, at 5:49 PM, Miroslav Skoric <skoric at uns.ac.rs> wrote:

> Does it mean that if an AWS includes an integrated GPS receiver, then there is no need for a separate G-mouse or a GPS stick (to get the station's position only)? For my planned portable APRS, I was thinking to obtain a G-mouse for getting the position at first, and later to obtain an AWS for meteo data. Each device should hook up to a separate USB port on a laptop. So, by having a good AWS there's no need for extra GPS thing?

If I understand your question the format doesn't affect the answer. If the station does not move, generally you do not need a GPS, but rather manually enter the position in non-volatile memory - you need to have some way to store callsign, path, rated, and other parameters anyway.

If your station moves you do need to have a GPS and send position data, in this case the format with position would be strongly preferred. It doesn't matter if the GPS is in the AWS or connected directly to the computer as long as the computer has access to the GPS data stream.

You also need a magnetic orientation sensor, because GPS does not give heading data when stopped (and is unreliable at slow speeds as one parks). You can't tell the true wind direction if you do not know which way a vehicle is positioned. You also should suppress wind data while moving - we once had a truck with a weather station that sent 60 MPH north wind frequently.

Steve K4HG