[aprssig] Another APRS-over-VARA Road Trip About to Start

[Denis Barton]

  I will be watching. Safe trip.

73,

Denis, WB8SKP


On 7/19/2026 12:44 PM, Stephen H Smith via aprssig wrote:
>
> I will be departing Tuesday afternoon (21 July) on my annual road trip 
> to the Evergreen Jazz Festival <https://evergreenmjazz.org> in the 
> Colorado Rockies 40 miles/64 km west of Denver.    I will, once again, 
> be testing APRS beaconing over VARA en route, and at the festival.
>
> Depending on propagation, I will be either on 30 meters or 40 meters.  
>  The mobile setup will be my "VARAtrack" device, a Yaesu FT-891 and 
> mono-band Quicksilver Radio "Quicksticks" on a ball mount on my Jetta 
> TDI.
>
> *HF    APRS-over-VARA  Frequencies
>   40M   7.083.5  USB       30M   10.148.2  USB
> *
>
> As in previous years, I will be beaconing on both 2 meters, and on HF 
> VARA.
>
> *WA8LMF* (no SSID)     is the two-meter beacon
>
> *WA8LMF-3*    is the HF VARA beacon, either on 30M or 40M
>
> Unlike previous years, I will NOT be HF beaconing on classic 300-baud 
> AX.25 packet.APRS.  Traditionally, I have used WA8LMF-2 for this mode. 
> Over several years now, VARA has shown to be so overwhelmingly 
> superior to AX.25 that I have decided that the added hassle of 
> dual-mode beaconing isn't worth bothering with.
>
> You can follow the trip on the usual websites, or on my own RoadTrip 
> Tracker on my website at:
>
> <http://wa8lmf.net/RoadTrip/Tracker/index.htm>
>
> This displays a composite of what my off-the-air receiver at my home 
> QTH is hearing on HF, along with 2-meters from the APRS-IS.
>
>  Once I get into Colorado (some time late Thursday afternoon), my 
> "Special Events" page (which normally covers hamfests, swapmeets, 
> Dayton, etc) should start showing me heading west on I-76.   The 
> default page is currently set to show the greater Denver/Front Range 
> area of Colorado, with a second page showing the detail of the 
> Evergreen, CO area.
>
> <http://wa8lmf.ddns.net:14445/>
>
> More links and info:
>
> This page contains links to details on the VARA high-performance 
> soundcard soft-modem,   how to use VARA with APRS clients,  and my 
> lightweight "VARAtrack" tracker device based on a cheap "stick PC".
>
>      <http://WA8LMF.net/VARA
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com
>
>
> Live APRS Mapping on HF & VHF
> <http://WA8LMF.net/map>
>
> "Studio B" Ham Shack on Wheels
> <http://WA8LMF.net/Aliner>
>
> -- APRS over VARA  --
> <http://wa8lmf.net/VARA/APRSoverVARA>
>
>
>
> I will be departing Tuesday afternoon (21 July) on my annual road trip 
> to the Evergreen Jazz Festival <https://evergreenmjazz.org> in the 
> Colorado Rockies 40 miles/64 km west of Denver.    I will, once again, 
> be testing APRS beaconing over VARA en route, and at the festival.
>
> Depending on propagation, I will be either on 30 meters or 40 meters.  
>  The mobile setup will be my "VARAtrack" device, a Yaesu FT-891 and 
> mono-band Quicksilver Radio "Quicksticks" on a ball mount on my Jetta 
> TDI.
>
> As in previous years, I will be beaconing on both 2 meters, and on HF 
> VARA.
>
>     WA8LMF (no SSID)     is the two-meter beacon
>
>     WA8LMF-3    is the HF VARA beacon, either on 30M or 40M
>
> Unlike previous years, I will NOT be HF beaconing on classic 300-baud 
> AX.25 packet.APRS.  Traditionally, I have used WA8LMF-2 for this mode. 
> Over several years now, VARA has shown to be so overwhelmingly 
> superior to AX.25 that I have decided that the added hassle of 
> dual-mode beaconing isn't worth bothering with.
>
> You can follow the trip on the usual websites, or on my own RoadTrip 
> Tracker on my website at:
>
> <http://wa8lmf.net/RoadTrip/Tracker/index.htm>
>
> This displays a composite of what my off-the-air receiver at my home 
> QTH is hearing on HF, along with 2-meters from the APRS-IS.
>
>  Once I get into Colorado (some time late Thursday afternoon), my 
> "Special Events" page (which normally covers hamfests, swapmeets, 
> Dayton, etc) should start showing me heading west on I-76.   The 
> default page is currently set to show the greater Denver/Front Range 
> area of Colorado, with a second page showing the detail of the 
> Evergreen, CO area.
>
> <http://wa8lmf.ddns.net:14445/>
>
> More links and info:
>
> This page contains links to details on the VARA high-performance 
> soundcard soft-modem,   how to use VARA with APRS clients,  and my 
> lightweight "VARAtrack" tracker device based on a cheap "stick PC".
>
>      <http://WA8LMF.net/VARA
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com
>
>
> Live APRS Mapping on HF & VHF
> <http://WA8LMF.net/map>
>
> "Studio B" Ham Shack on Wheels
> <http://WA8LMF.net/Aliner>
>
> -- APRS over VARA  --
> <http://wa8lmf.net/VARA/APRSoverVARA>
>
> *HF    APRS-over-VARA   Frequencies
>   40M   7.083.5  USB       30M   10.148.2  USB
>
> *
> -
>
>
>
>
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