APRSOn the Air.
On the Map.
APRS OTA combines the vibe of a POTA activation with a native APRS messaging bot and a website to show what’s happening. Find an operator on the air, send one message and a position report to work them, and your contact is logged, mapped, and scored here as it happens.
On the air now
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On
the
air
XE3JCL-1
EL51fa
Op 4
Greetings from Yucatan Mexico 73
0 QSOs
0 chasing
0 points
since
· 0 min
60 min left
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On
the
air
K7III
CN87us
Op 59
0 QSOs
3 chasing
0 points
since
· 12 min
48 min left
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On
the
air
KD3BNW-9
FN20kb
Op 16
Sunday op in Philadelphia.
4 QSOs
0 chasing
9 points
since
· 18 min
72 min left
How it works
APRS OTA is an activity and an APRS messaging bot. One operator goes on the air from wherever they are by hosting an operation, which we call an op because it's shorter and easier to say. Other operators call in to work them, and the OTA bot relays the message exchange and logs every contact as it happens. There is nothing to install and no account to create. When you send APRS messages to the OTA bot, you're in.
Host
Runs an op. Goes on the air over RF from anywhere, and works chasers as they call in.
Bot
Sits in the middle. Relays messages between hosts and chasers and logs every QSO as it happens.
Chaser
Joins an op. Contacts the host through the bot to complete a QSO. RF optional.
Check your setup
You need to be able to send and receive APRS messages and send APRS position reports (sometimes called beacons). You can use a radio, any one of the many APRS software applications, or a combination of both. The handbook has more details on various equipment setups that work well with APRS OTA.
Send an APRS message to OTA containing the word PING
optionally followed by any message you'd like. The OTA bot will send you a
PONG response.
W1XYZ-5 checks their APRS setup.
W1XYZ transmitted their message via RF, and roundtrip messaging is confirmed.
You now have your own page on this site at aprsota.org/YOURCALL where
all your future contacts and ops will be displayed.
Chase an op
When you chase an op you find an op that's currently on the air and initiate contact with the person hosting the op. The completed contact is often called a QSO.
W1XYZ-5 finds an op and chases it by initiating a QSO.
Standard APRS position report, also known as a beacon
The OTA bot will notify the host of the op that you are chasing. When they
respond with a QSL, it will be relayed to you.
The bot relays the QSL from the host back to W1XYZ-5.
QSO complete.
Host your own op
Hosting means going on the air yourself and working the chasers who call
in. Send HOST to OTA
with a short description of where you are, then beacon your position
within 5 minutes. You are on the
air for 60 minutes and every QSO
adds time. The one hard rule: a host transmits and receives over RF.
What OTA does for you
A live page for every op
An op gets its own permanent page the moment it goes on the air. The host's pin, every chaser who called in, and the host's trail if they move, all on one map.
Beside it, a running timeline and the logbook of every contact, with any message blasts sent by the op participants.
Your own operator page
Your callsign gets a dashboard. Your points, the ops you have hosted and chased, and where you stand on the leaderboards.
Click through to your logbook with every contact you've made. A map visualizes your reach, and you can download an ADIF file to share or upload to the logging service you use.
A QSL card for every contact
Each contact mints a digital QSL card at its own permanent URL, and it unfurls as an image when you post the link. No paper, no postage, no waiting, available forever.
Stamps on every contact
Contacts are scored with stamps, and every stamp scores points. Four of them so far, with more to come.
Various combinations of stamps get a special name and picture, like Two Way when both the host and the chaser are on RF. Stamps and combos are printed on the QSL card.
Leaderboards
From the most points to the most countries worked, and to the most grid squares you have hosted from. Each board runs monthly, annually, and all time.
A closed month keeps its standings for good, and anyone can climb the charts next month.
Achievements
When a month closes, everybody in a board's top ten earns a permanant achievement memorializing their rank. These achivements show up on your callsign page too.
Many more achievements are coming, including some not related to leaderboards.
Latest radiogram
A German Handbook, an ADIF Download, and a Map on Every QSO
By the time most of you read this there will be more than 5,000 QSOs on APRS OTA. The handbook is now in German and downloadable as a PDF, every QSO page has a map, and your logbook downloads as ADIF. The lake data is more accurate, and I fixed a position report bug that affected several operators.
Join the community online
Bug reports, questions, ideas, and stories from the field are all welcome.