APRS Thursday: a live map of the weekly net
#APRSThursday is a weekly text net on APRS. Every Thursday, from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC, operators around the world check in by sending one message to ANSRVR, the APRS group-messaging server, addressed to the group HOTG. ANSRVR relays each check-in to everyone subscribed to the group. Because the net runs on UTC, most of it happens on Wednesday evening in the Americas.
APRSThursday.com is a new site that shows the net as it happens: who has checked in, where they are, and what they said. It is built and run by APRS Connect, the same way as our SpaceAPRS site for the space station. It is not run by the net's organizers and does not speak for them.
What is on the site
Live. A globe with every station that has checked in to this week's net, drawn with its own APRS symbol, beside a list of the check-ins with each station's first message. The counters at the top show how many stations have checked in, how many are subscribed to the group, and when the last check-in arrived. The bar under the map steps back through past nets, and the date on it opens a list of every net by year and month. The globe can be switched to a flat map.
Stations. Every station that has checked in, sortable by newest check-in, most nets, most check-ins or first heard. Each station has its own page with its first and last check-in, how many nets it has attended, what it last said, its last position, its device, and its messages.
Messages. Every check-in, keep-alive and server reply for one net at a time, with the time, station, country and device. It can be filtered by country and searched.
Nets. One row per net, with the number of stations, check-ins and countries. Each net has its own page with a map of everyone who checked in, check-ins by hour, and the full list of stations.
Trends. Charts of the net over time: stations per net, new and returning stations, countries per net, and which hours of the day are busiest. A slider sets the range. The history goes back to January 2023.
How the site places stations
A check-in message carries no position. The site listens to the APRS-IS network and places each station using its own position beacons: the last one heard before it checked in, and the first one after. A station that checks in but never sends a position is listed but not drawn on the map.
A message counts as a check-in when it goes to ANSRVR, starts with CQ HOTG, and arrives while the net is on. A message sent within 12 hours before the net opens or after it closes is shown and tagged as early or late, and each page has a box to include those in the counts. Retries of the same message are counted once.
Checking in
To check in from any APRS radio or app, send a message to ANSRVR with the text CQ HOTG followed by whatever you want to say, such as your name and location. For example:
CQ HOTG N0CALL checking in from EM78
A check-in keeps you subscribed to the group for 12 hours, so you also receive everyone else's check-ins during that time.
Checking in with APRS Connect
APRS Connect turns #APRSThursday into one conversation on your phone. The net room collects every post in the order it arrived, with each one shown under the operator who sent it, instead of mixed in with beacons and other traffic in the packet log.
- Check in opens the composer, so you can add your name and location before it goes out.
- The top of the room shows whether you are checked in and how long your subscription has left. Renew keeps you subscribed for another 12 hours without posting again.
- The room shows whether the net is live, when it closes, and when it next opens.
- When APRSPH, the net's logger, confirms your check-in, the room shows "Logged on the net list" with the time the logger recorded.
- A roster lists who has been heard since you checked in and how many posts each has made, with how many operators are subscribed to the group.
The net room works over APRS-IS and is free. You do not need a radio or a subscription to check in. A check-in sent while the net is on puts your station in the list on aprsthursday.com, and on the map once your phone sends a position beacon.
The details are in the Groups and nets guide and in our earlier post on checking in to #APRSThursday.
APRS Connect is on Google Play. Get APRS Connect, then open the net at aprsthursday.com and look for your callsign.
