Enable server ports on Xastir. We need to use the command line binary xastir_udp_client which is part of Xastir. To send the data over RF, you need to have Xastir configured with your transmitter already.

More info about the mail APRS service: http://www.aprs-is.net/email.aspx

The basic string is:

xastir_udp_client XastirIP port callsing passcode -to_rf 'callsign>APRS::EMAIL    :EmailOfReceiver@something.com message'

Real example:

xastir_udp_client 192.168.0.140 2023 S55MA-10 22222 -to_rf 'S55MA-10>APRS::EMAIL    :s55ma@radioamater.si hello'

Note: You may only send one line messages of 64 total characters maximum for the message even though the documentation is saying 67. You have to put 4 white spaces between EMAIL and EmailOfReceiver, so the total lenght of EMAIL+white spaces is 9 characters.

This post is about Xastir, but on the side note, most APRS capable handhelds stations are not able of sending email messages through APRS. One portable station that’s able to do it is Kenwood TH-D72. I found this post about it. Too bad other portables are not able to do that where this feature is the most usefull, I mean, it’s not like I’m going to need aprs to email service from my home station, I’d likely need it outdoors for emergency situations or to send an email when I’m abroad and without cellular data service.

Quick script for sending messages:

#!/bin/bash

#APRS to Email script using Xastir
#Define variables
#Xastir server and port
server=192.168.0.140
port=2023

#Authentication info
user=S55MA
passcode=22222

echo "Enter sender (yours or some others callsign)"
read sender
sendercapital="$(echo $sender | awk '{print toupper($0)}')"

echo "Enter destination email:"
read email

echo "Enter your message (max 64 characters):"
read message

#Count message characters
msglenght="$(echo $message | wc -c)"

#Restart script if message exceeds 64 characters.
if [ "$msglenght" -gt 64 ]; then
echo "Your message exceeded 64 characters, try again!"
exec bash "$0"
else
xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $passcode -to_rf "$sendercapital>APRS::EMAIL    :$email $message" >/dev/null 2>&1
echo "Message has been sent."
fi

In my previous post I wrote about sending objects and telemetry via command line to APRS-IS server.

You can also do that with Xastir, but as a bonus point, you can do it all via RF if your Xastir setup is already paired to the radio and configured to transmit. You can use the scripts from my previous blog post, you only need to change some commands.

Xastir GUI is lacking options to send multiple different beacons or telemetry data. There is a binary called xastir_udp_client that comes with normal Xastir setup which takes care of that, but you need to run it from a command line and do some custom scripting. To use this feature, you need to enable server ports. Open xastir, go to interface menu and click enable server ports.

The basic commands to create an object with a house icon are:

Send via RF:

xastir_udp_client XastirIP port user passcode -to_rf 'senduser>APN100,WIDEPATH*:=latitude/longtitude-Comment'

xastir_udp_client 192.168.0.140 2023 S55MA-10 22558 -to_rf 'S55MA-10>APN100,WIDE2-1*:=4539.94N/01417.67E-QTH'

Send via Internet only (remove -to_rf):

xastir_udp_client XastirIP port user passcode 'senduser>APN100,TCPIP*:=latitude/longtitude-Comment'

xastir_udp_client 192.168.0.140 2023 S55MA-10 22558 'S55MA-10>APN100,TCPIP*:=4539.94N/01417.67E-QTH'

Why did I write “senduser” in string? Because you can place remote objects on the map that’s not your own call sign – sticking to the protocol rules, you need to change the code to show the correct path if you want to place objects with not your own sign. The only drawback with Xastir in this example is, it overrides your permanent timestamp (111111z). More info about sending objects with not your sign is in my previous post. Why is it so “cool” to collect and send data from another stations to RF? Let’s say you want to transmit critical data to offline users like repeater offset or echolink node number. You can also transmit weather data from other non RF stations to RF. So for example if I’m walking in the forest with my handheld APRS capable station I can receive weather or repeater data directly on my handheld without having the internet.

Example:

I’m collecting data from this weather station: https://www.hobolink.com/p/d0a7b4f0dbc44b973b0a5cce75a0521d and sending it to RF, including telemetry.

https://aprs.fi/weather/S51Y

Another example is sending repeater and echolink data to RF:

You see that purple lines? That means the object was put on the map via my station (S55MA-10).

You can also see the path at the bottom of a white rectangle “[APN101 via WIDE2-1,qAR,S55MA-10]”

Note that this is actually faking an object, it looks like the transmitter is at the object and it’s

being igated by my station, but it’s actually my station doing the transmissions. This is a good example  how to not

stick to the protocol rules 😉 I was unable to do it with xastir_udp_client binary, it rewrites it’s path if you want to send another

object. There is also a “bug” or a feature, I’m not sure yet, that xastir_udp_client inserts additional } in the string. I don’t know

why is that, but it’s unwanted.

If you want to show that remote object is put on the map by your station, you need to change the path as I mentioned above,

stick to the protocol, but I don’t think that’s possible with xastir_udp_client. I neglected this and I’m going to update my scripts

if I find the correct solution.

Example script I’m using to send Echolink data to RF:

#!/bin/bash

#Transmit objects via Xastir to RF.

#Define login info
user=S55MA-10
password=23458

#Define object user info
usersend=S55UPO-10

#Define xastir server
server=192.168.0.140
port=2023

#Define station location (Echolink Postojna, Pecna Reber)
lat=4546.72N
lon=01413.80E

#Define data
comment="Echolink Postojna 438.825Mhz -7.6M T123 Node:609569"
data="$usersend>APN101,WIDE2-1:=${lat}E${lon}0${comment}"

#Send object to RF
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$data"

#Debugging
#printf "$data\n"

Example of my hobolink weather collector script. Hobolink to APRS. It’s similar to the script in my previous post so I won’t go into details.

#!/bin/bash

#Read data from HOBOlink station and send it to APRS network via Xastir. Server ports option has to be enabled on Xastir.

#Create a temporary RAM disk (we don't want to write on a SD card too often).
#You need to run this script as sudo (root) or create a temporary ramdisk at boot as root
#and run this script as a normal user.
if [ ! -d "/mnt/ramdisk/" ]; then
mkdir -p /mnt/ramdisk; mount -t tmpfs tmpfs /mnt/ramdisk -o size=10m
fi

#Check if file exist
if [ ! -f "/mnt/ramdisk/sequence_numberjavornik.txt" ]; then
touch /mnt/ramdisk/sequence_numberjavornik.txt
fi

#Read sequence number
read num < /mnt/ramdisk/sequence_numberjavornik.txt
num=$((num + 1))
if (( num == 1000 )); then
num=0
fi

#Error log file
error=/var/log/wxdata.log

#Define login info
user=S55MA-10
password=passcode

#Insert the same as user. Insert other user sign if you want to put another station not owned by you on the map. Be aware that telemetry
#requires 9 char long callsign so you need to add whitespaces after the callsign and telemetry, for example:
#t2="$usersend>APN002,WIDE2-1::"$usersend" :PARM.Solar Radiation,Battery" #5 whitespaces between "$usersend" and :PARM because
#S51Y is only 4 char long.
usersend=S51Y

#Define xastir server
server=192.168.0.140
port=2023

#Define station location (Veliki Javornik, Postojna)
lat=4545.48N
lon=01417.72E_ #_ is a symbol for WX station

#Download weather data
file=/mnt/ramdisk/wxdata.txt
file1=/mnt/ramdisk/wxdata1.txt
curl -s https://www.hobolink.com/p/d0a7b4f0dbc44b973b0a5cce75a0521d | grep nobr | awk -F\> '{print $6}' | sed 's/<\/nobr//g' > "$file"
curl -s https://www.hobolink.com/p/d0a7b4f0dbc44b973b0a5cce75a0521d | grep "Wind Direction" -A 1 | grep "latest-conditions-info-reading" | awk -F\> '{print $5}' | awk '{print $2}' | grep -o '[0-9]\+' > "$file1"

if [ -s "$file" ] #If downloaded file is not empty, continue, else quit
then

#Date in UTC
zuludate="$(date -u +%d%H%M)"

#APRS needs temperature in F, data is fetched in degress C so we need to convert it.
tempC="$(sed -n -e 1p "$file")"
tempF="$(echo "((9/5) * $tempC) + 32" | bc -l | awk -F. '{print $1}')"

#Relative humidity
rh="$(sed -n -e 2p "$file" | awk -F. '{print $1}')"

#APRS need windspeed in mph, data is fetched in meters per second so we need to convert it.
windspeedms="$(sed -n -e 4p "$file")"
windspeedmph="$(echo "(($windspeedms * 3.6) / 1.609344)" | bc -l | awk -F. '{print $1}')"
gustsms="$(sed -n -e 5p "$file")"
gustsmph="$(echo "(($gustsms * 3.6) / 1.609344)" | bc -l | awk -F. '{print $1}')"

rain1h="$(sed -n -e 7p "$file" | awk -F. '{print $1}')"
winddirection="$(cat "$file1")"
solarradiation="$(sed -n -e 6p "$file")" #For telemetry only
batteryvoltage="$(sed -n -e 8p "$file" | tr -d '.' | head -c 3)" #For telemetry only

#Station comment
aprscomment="Veliki Javornik 1268m asl"

#Xastir weather variable with padding zeros for correct APRS format
printf -v xastirwx "%03d/%03dg%03dt%03dr%03dh%02d%s" "$winddirection" "$windspeedmph" "$gustsmph" "$tempF" "$rain1h" "$rh" "$aprscomment"

#Xastir user and WIDE path data
xastirpath="$usersend>APN100,WIDE2-1:=$lat/$lon"

#Telemetry
printf -v t1 "%s>APN002,WIDE2-1:T#%03d,%03d,%03d,000,000,000,00000000" "$usersend" "$num" "$solarradiation" "$batteryvoltage"
t2="$usersend>APN002,WIDE2-1::$usersend :PARM.Solar Radiation,Battery"
t3="$usersend>APN002,WIDE2-1::$usersend :UNIT.W/m2,Volts"

#Add coefficient in EQNS field to convert real data.
t4="$usersend>APN002,WIDE2-1::$usersend :EQNS.0,1,0,0,0.01,0,0,0,0,0,0.0,0,0,0,0"
t5="$usersend>APN002,WIDE2-1::$usersend :BITS.00000000,Weather station Veliki Javornik Postojna"

#Send data to Xastir
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$xastirpath$xastirwx"

#Send telemetry data to Xastir
#Send PARAMS, UNITS, EQNS and BITS every 2 hours.
#Check if file exist
if [ ! -f "/mnt/ramdisk/datejavornik.txt" ]; then
echo 0 > /mnt/ramdisk/datejavornik.txt
fi

#calculate time difference
read olddate < /mnt/ramdisk/datejavornik.txt
date="$(date +%s)"
diff="$(echo "$date - $olddate" | bc)"

if [ "$diff" -gt 7200 ]; then
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$t1"
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$t2"
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$t3"
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$t4"
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$t5"
echo "$date" > /mnt/ramdisk/datejavornik.txt
else
/usr/bin/xastir_udp_client $server $port $user $password -to_rf "$t1"
fi

#Delete old data
rm -f /mnt/ramdisk/wxdata.txt /mnt/ramdisk/wxdata1.txt

#Write sequence number
echo "$num" > /mnt/ramdisk/sequence_numberjavornik.txt

else
echo ["$(date -u)"] Error downloading data >> "$error"
fi

Link to the Hobolink to APRS script: https://pastebin.com/v6cQkm54

This post will show you how to generate weather data from LA Crosse WS2300 series weather stations for submission to the APRS network.

APRS software I’m using is Xastir, but you can use this setup to push the weather data to other APRS applications also. Digipeater mode is already set up in Xastir. This post will not cover digipeating WX data.

1. Install packages

apt-get update

apt-get install  bc ncat unzip gcc build-essential

2. Download open2300 and compile fetch2300

Fetch2300 is part of open2300, it’s used to connect to the weather station and return the data. Credit goes to Kenneth Lavrsen (http://www.lavrsen.dk/foswiki/bin/view/Open2300)

wget -O "open2300-1-10.zip" https://sourceforge.net/projects/open2300/files/open2300/1.10/open2300-1.10.zip/download"

unzip open2300-1-10.zip

cd open2300-1.10

make fetch2300

cp fetch2300 /usr/local/bin/fetch2300

3. Edit  and rename open2300 config file named open2300-dist.conf or copy mine to /etc/open2300/open2300.conf

mkdir -p /etc/open2300

nano /etc/open2300/open2300.conf

SERIAL_DEVICE /dev/ttyUSB1 #/dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyS1, COM1, COM2 etc
TIMEZONE 1 # Hours Relative to UTC. East is positive, west is negative
WIND_SPEED km/h # select MPH (miles/hour), m/s, or km/h
TEMPERATURE F # Select C or F
RAIN IN # Select mm or IN
PRESSURE hPa # Select hPa, mb or INHG

Note: make sure you select the correct SERIAL_DEVICE in the config. The station in my setup

is connected via USB to RS232 converter so the device is ttyUSB0. Also, don’t change the units, bash script will automatically convert them to be compatible with APRS network.

4. Copy bash script to desired location

mkdir -p /root/ws2300/

nano wxdata_v1.6.sh

#!/bin/bash

#This script reads weather data via fetch program which is part of Open2300 suite written by Kenneth Lavrsen (http://www.
#lavrsen.dk/foswiki/bin/view/Open2300/WebHome).
#It outputs the right data needed to feed Xastir for APRS weather reports. The scripts utilizes Ncat utility as server to
#serve the fetched output to Xastir.
#Fetched Data is pushed to Ncat server and then to Xastir. (Fetched data -> Ncat server -> Xastir)
#Ncat is part of Nmap, get it by installing Nmap.
#This script should work for LaCrosse weather stations, WS23xx series. Testing was done with WS2307.
#Written by S55MA and S56IUL, May 2016

#DEFINE VARIABLES
host="127.0.0.1"
port="1234"

#Start the Ncat server
chkncat=$(netstat -ant | grep $host:$port | grep -c LISTEN)
if [ "$chkncat" -ge "1" ]
then
echo "ncat already running, nothing to do"
else
nohup ncat -k -l --broker $host $port &>/dev/null &
fi

#Start while loop
while true; do

echo "start `date`"

datetime=$(date '+%Y%m%d%H%M%S')
ws2300config="/etc/open2300/open2300.conf"
/usr/local/bin/fetch2300 $ws2300config > /tmp/wxdata-"$datetime".tmp
fetch_path="/tmp/wxdata-$datetime.tmp"
chkfile=$(ls -la $fetch_path | awk -F ' ' '{ print $5 }')

if [ "$chkfile" -le "43" ]
then
echo "No Data"
sleep 30
else
tempF=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep To | grep -v 'min\|max\|DRtot\|TRtot' | awk '{print $2}')
temp1=$(echo "$tempF" | awk '{ printf ("%d\n",$1 + 0.5)}')
if [ "$temp1" -ge "99" ] || [ "$temp1" -le "-99" ]
then
temp="$temp1"
else
if [ "$temp1" -le "-1" ]
then
if [ "$temp1" -ge "-9" ]
then
temp2=$(echo "$temp1" | sed 's/[-]//g')
temp=$(echo -0"$temp2")
else
temp2=$(echo "$temp1" | sed 's/[-]//g')
temp=$(echo -"$temp1")
fi
else
temp=$(echo 0"$temp1")
fi
fi

windspeed2=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep -m1 WS | grep -v 'min\|max\|DRtot\|TRtot'| awk '{print $2/1.609344}' | awk '{ printf ("%d\n",$1 + 0.5)}')
if [ "$windspeed2" -le "9" ]
then
windspeed=$(echo 00"$windspeed2")
else
if [ "$windspeed2" -le "99" ]
then
windspeed=$(echo 0"$windspeed2")
else
windspeed=$(echo "$windspeed2")
fi
fi

winddirection2=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep DIR0 | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/\..*$//')
if [ "$winddirection2" -le "9" ]
then
winddirection=$(echo 00"$winddirection2")
else
if [ "$winddirection2" -le "99" ]
then
winddirection=$(echo 0"$winddirection2")
else
winddirection=$(echo "$winddirection2")
fi
fi

rain1h=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep R1h | grep -v 'min\|max' | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/[.]//g')
rain24h=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep R24h | grep -v 'min\|max' | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/[.]//g')

airpressureR=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep RP | grep -v 'min\|max' | awk '{print $2}')
airpressure2=$(echo "scale=1;$airpressureR / 1" | bc | sed 's/[.]//g')
if [ "$airpressure2" -le "9999" ]
then
airpressure=$(echo 0"$airpressure2")
else
airpressure=$(echo "$airpressure2")
fi

relhumidity=$(cat "$fetch_path" | grep RHo | grep -v 'min\|max' | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/\..*$//')

#Combine variables to forge Xastir string
xastir="c${winddirection}s${windspeed}t${temp}r${rain1h}p${rain24h}b${airpressure}h${relhumidity}xDvs"
printf "%s\n" "$xastir" | ncat --send-only $host $port
echo "$xastir"
sleep 3

rm -f /tmp/wxdata-*.tmp

echo "stop `date`"
echo "-----------------------------------"
fi

done

#EOS

If there are some formatting mistakes, the script is also available on pastebin: http://pastebin.com/29q8epF8

5. Start the script

/root/ws2300/wxdata_v1.6.sh

You should see output similar to that:

start Tue May 3 00:36:47 CEST 2016
c112s013t048b10037h85xDvs

Leave the script running, open another terminal and check if ncat is getting data:

ncat localhost 1234

Wait a few seconds and you should get the result similar to that:

c112s018t048b10037h85xDvs

6. Go to Xastir and add the WX interface

Interface -> Interface Control -> Add -> Networked WX

WX Host: 127.0.0.1

WX Port: 1234

Save and start the interface.

7. Go to Xastir, View -> Own Weather Data

You should see your own weather data from the station

8. Start the script at boot and run it in background

Open /etc/rc.local and add

screen -d -m /root/ws2300/wxdata_v1.6.sh

Save and exit

Note: make sure you set your own path of the script location