Linux · AppImage, .deb and .rpm
The same app as on Android and iPhone, in a window of its own. It suits a computer in the shack that stays on, with a TNC or a radio attached. Messaging, the APRS services, nets, the map and the packet log work over APRS-IS, and the app connects to a radio through a USB or network TNC.
Version 1.13.7. AppImage, .deb and .rpm, for 64-bit Intel, AMD and ARM.
Free to install and use over APRS-IS. APRS Connect Pro adds radios, offline maps and more: $3.99/month or $29.99/year, after a 7-day free trial.
Also on Android and iPhone, and on Windows.
Messaging with delivery states and retries, the APRS services, nets and groups, APRS OTA, the map, stations, the packet log, beaconing and backup, as on a phone. The app connects to the APRS-IS servers itself, so your own server, port and filter work.
A KISS TNC on a USB serial port, or a KISS TNC on your network such as Direwolf, on this computer or another one. Radio channels are part of APRS Connect Pro.
Closing the window does not stop the app. It stays in the system tray, still receiving, beaconing and notifying, until you choose Quit there.
On a wide window the app shows a list and the screen you open from it side by side: your conversations beside the one you are reading, the stations beside the one you picked. A right-click opens the menus that a long press opens on a phone.
The app checks for a new version and downloads it in the background. The update goes in when you restart the app, so it never drops a radio link in the middle of a net.
A computer usually has no GPS of its own. The app takes its position from a GPS receiver on USB or a serial port, or from a fixed location you set.
The guide covers each part of the app.
The stations and callsigns in these pictures are made up.
Choose the package for your computer. Each one is the same app.
Version 1.13.7. Built on Ubuntu 22.04, so it needs a system at least that recent, such as Debian 12 or Fedora 38.
The commands below go in a terminal, in the folder the file was downloaded to.
They show the files for 64-bit Intel and AMD.
For 64-bit ARM the files are APRS Connect_1.13.7_aarch64.AppImage, APRS Connect_1.13.7_arm64.deb and APRS Connect-1.13.7-1.aarch64.rpm. Use the name of the file you downloaded.
chmod +x "APRS Connect_1.13.7_amd64.AppImage""./APRS Connect_1.13.7_amd64.AppImage"Nothing is installed. The app is that one file, so keep it somewhere it can stay, such as a folder in your home. An update replaces the file where it is.
sudo apt install "./APRS Connect_1.13.7_amd64.deb"sudo dnf install "./APRS Connect-1.13.7-1.x86_64.rpm"The app then walks you through the same setup as on a phone: your callsign, an SSID and a symbol. You do not need to download it again for a new version. The app updates itself.
dialout: run sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER, then sign
out and in again.
APRS Connect Pro adds the radio channels, offline map regions and more. Choose a plan on the app's Pro screen, and the app opens the payment page on aprsconnect.com in your browser. Free and Pro lists what is free and what Pro adds.
APRS Connect is on Google Play for Android and on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and there is an app for Windows. It also runs in a web browser, with nothing to install.
