Not everyone has a fancy weather station with APRS connectivity built in. Maybe you're like me, and have an old-school thermometer and CoCoRaHS-approved rain gauge. This command-line app, written in C99, can compile on most Linux toolchains (Windows support is in the works) and will manually submit APRS 1.2.1-compliant weather information to the APRS-IS network.

Anyone can use this app to create an APRS packet. However, to send it to the APRS-IS network, you must have an account on an APRS-IS IGate server, as well as an amateur radio license or CWOP identifier (more on that below).

At the bare minimum, you can submit your weather station's position with a command line like this:

$ ./aprs-weather-submit --callsign W1AW-13 --latitude 41.714692 --longitude -72.728514 --altitude 240 --server example-igate-server.foo --port 12345 --username hiram --password percymaxim

If you'd like to report a temperature of 68°F, you can use a command like this:

$ ./aprs-weather-submit -k W1AW-13 -n 41.714692 -e -72.728514 -I example-igate-server.foo -o 12345 -u hiram -d percymaxim -t 68

Or, if you just want the raw packet for your own use, don't specify server information:

$ ./aprs-weather-submit -k W1AW-13 -n 41.714692 -e -72.728514 -t 68
W1AW-13>APRS,TCPIP*:@090247z4142.88N/07243.71W_.../...t068aprs-weather-submit/1.5.2

This app supports all of the weather data parameters defined in APRS versions up to and including version 1.2.1:

• Altitude (-A, --altitude)
• Barometric pressure (-b, --pressure) in mbar/hPa
• Luminosity (-L, --luminosity)
• Radiation (-X, --radiation)
• Rainfall in the past 24 hours (-p, --rainfall-last-24-hours) in inches
• Rainfall since midnight (-P, --rainfall-since-midnight) in inches
• Rainfall in the past hour (-r, --rainfall-last-hour) in inches
• Relative humidity (-h, --humidity)
• Snowfall in the past 24 hours (-s, --snowfall-last-24-hours)
• Temperature (°F) (-t, --temperature)
• Temperature (°C) (-T, --temperature-celsius)
• Water level above flood stage or mean tide (-F, --water-level-above-stage)
• Weather station battery voltage (-V, --voltage)
• Wind direction (-c, --wind-direction)
• Wind speed, peak in the last five minutes (-g, --gust) in mph
• Wind speed, sustained over the last minute (-S, --wind-speed) in mph

If your distribution supports PPAs, I just learned how to make a PPA! You can install this with APT:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:signofzeta/aprs-weather-submit
sudo apt update
sudo apt install aprs-weather-submit

If not, follow the instructions in INSTALL.md to configure it normally:

./autogen.sh
./configure
make

To use this app, you must be either:

1. a licensed amateur radio operator, or
2. a member of the Citizen Weather Observer Program in good standing.

Getting your ham radio license is easy, and joining CWOP is even easier.

Like it says in the license: this app is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License 3.0 for more details. As such, you and you alone are solely responsible for using this app to submit complete and correct weather and/or location data. Please do not use this app for evil. Don't make me regret writing this app.

QTH. 73, W1DNS (formerly KC1HBK)