[aprssig] MS Streets and Trips/WinAPRS

[Stephen H. Smith]

Bill Jennings wrote:
> I recently downloaded winaprs and it is looking for maps.I have MS 
> Streets and Trips with a GPS receiver. Is there a way to get winaprs 
> to run using the MS software and GPS receiver?
>  
> 73,
> Bill Jennings
> KC9OUA
> _beejay7018 at hotmail.com_
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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>   
Basically NO.    

1)     For locally-based scrollable zoomable mapping, WinAPRS is bound 
to Precision Mapping 5.0 which was discontinued over 6 years ago.    If 
you don't want to use fixed (static) maps screen capped from other 
programs, the alternative is the use of the U.S. Government online 
"TIger Files" mapping data via an Internet connection. 

The TIGER files are created and maintained by the US Census Bureau.  
They are the public domain road and highway database that many 
commercial CD-ROM mapping products are based on.  However, since their 
purpose is to account for every road in the US for census-taking 
purposes (not necessarily  their exact position), they are less than 
ideal for GPS-based navigation.  Errors of over a quarter mile or more 
exist in many areas. 

2)     All ham APRS applications and hardware devices (i.e. trackers, 
Kenwood radios, etc) are based on classic RS232 SERIAL interfaced 
devices. APRS programs only know how to connect to COM ports for TNC and 
GPS data.    

Any USB-interfaced GPS device (such as the Microsoft GPS which is 
actually a rebadged Pharos iGPS unit) is useless for APRS applications 
--- UNLESS --  you install the supplementary driver that makes the 
device appear on a virtual (simulated) COM port first.

3)     WinAPRS has not undergone any significant update in nearly a 
decade.  It's displayable symbol set is  hopelessly out of data and 
won't display nearly half of the current symbol set.


Details on Streets & Trips/MapPoint and their use in APRS mapping apps 
is here on my website:

     <http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/MapPoint_Info.htm>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

Stephen H. Smith    wa8lmf (at) aol.com
EchoLink Node:      WA8LMF  or 14400    [Think bottom of the 2M band]
Skype:     WA8LMF
Home Page:          http://wa8lmf.com  --OR--   http://wa8lmf.net

World Digipeater Map
  http://wa8lmf.net/APRSmaps

JavAPRS Filter Port 14580 Guide
  http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/JAVaprsFilters.htm

"APRS 101"  Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating
  http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths

Updated "Rev H" APRS            http://wa8lmf.net/aprs
Symbols Set for UI-View,
UIpoint and APRSplus:


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