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PLAN

You don’t have to plan your op in advance, but if you do, you’ll probably get more chasers. Use the PLAN command to share your plans with others. QRX, the Q-code meaning “I will call you again at”, does the same thing.

Send a future time and an optional description, and your plan is posted to aprsota.org/plans and to your callsign page, where chasers can see what is coming up.

See Plan an op for more information on when to use this command.

PLAN <time> [description...]

Announce a planned op: a future time, posted to aprsota.org.

time
ISO 8601 date and time, e.g. 2026-08-12T18:30Z. Zone optional (UTC assumed); seconds optional.
description
Free-text description of the planned op. optional
Also answers to
QRX
Available to
Anyone, from RF or APRS-IS. At most 3 active plans per operator.
Rate limit
2 per minute and 3 per 10 minutes

Replies

plan_confirmation
Op planned for {time}. aprsota.org/plans

Hints

time missing or unreadable
Couldn't read that time. Try PLAN {example} limited to 1 per 24 hours, then silent
time in the past
That time already passed. Plans need a future time. limited to 1 per 24 hours, then silent
time more than 7 days out
Plans can be at most 7 days out. limited to 1 per 24 hours, then silent
operator already has 3 active plans
You already have 3 planned ops. aprsota.org/plans limited to 1 per 24 hours, then silent
within 120 minutes of an active plan
Too close to another of your plans. Space them 2 hours apart. limited to 1 per 24 hours, then silent
K7ABC-6OTAPLAN 2026-08-12T18:30Z lake op, HT and a wire
OTAK7ABC-6Op planned for 12 Aug 2026 18:30Z. aprsota.org/plans

The time

Times are ISO 8601 in a single word (meaning no spaces). If you don’t specify an offset, it will be interpreted as UTC. Seconds are optional, and if you send them, they won’t show up on the website. These all name the same minute:

Minutes are optional too: 2026-08-12T18Z means 18:00 UTC.

Time constraints

A plan must name a date and time that is:

and you can have at most 3 standing plans at a time. Once a plan’s time passes, it comes off the website on its own and stops counting against your 3; nothing bad happens if life got in the way and you never went on the air.

When you go on the air with HOST near your planned time (1 hour early or 2 hours late), your op takes the plan’s place on the website. Change of plans? Cancel with UNPLAN and send a new one.