New to ham looking to add ham to garmin GPS

[Shooter114]

G'day all , I'm new to ham and looking to get the necessary licenses to be able to use ham for when out adventuring around the country.

I've seen some recent posts on advrider about adding a ham to a garmin 6xx Montana with the necessary bits from bi nics to make it happen.

It looks like an inexpensive mod to allow you to track your progress ( or let someone back home do so ) , and also be able to communicate when there is no cell reception etc. one thing I really liked which I don't think has been confirmed yet is to be able to see your mates on your GPS that have the same setups . This alone would be worth the effort especially on group 4wd and riding trips !!!

The info I've seen so far is related to the states , would this set up still work here ? And be legal ?
As your not modifying the radio itself would you be able to do this on an amateur license?
Looking to try and do this legally as possible and learn as much in the process to avoid interfering with other services.

Any info or direction on this would be greatly appreciated .

[rochedalescan]

Welcome to the forums, I can't help you at all with your question but I'm definitely interested in the answer. I'm sure someone here will have done it !

Cheers Shane

[Comint]

I gather you are talking about APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System), which is legal in Australia.

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Comint

[Shooter114]

Yep that's the one, can you use aprs with VHF in your own set up if you have an amateur license and dont mod the radio itself ?

Found the aus. aprs website going to suss out some info on there and post what I can find on this to make it easier for anyone reading.

[Shooter114]

Thanks Shane! I see your from Rochedale any recommendations of places to go or people to see to get my amuteur license ? I'm based in brisbane near between kenmore and ipswich .

Australian APRS website with info on the subject topic , guidelines etc- definitely keen to use it for vehicle tracking in case of theft !
http://www.aprs.net.au/


An interesting read of APRS in underground situations
http://www.arrl.org/news/bob-bruninga-w ... nderground

[_Art_]

Old post, but it's probably going to be searched in future.
IIRC the only mod to a Baofeng for APRS is getting power out of the radio for another PCB and GPS module.
The transmit line is available at the headset connector, but external power is not.

Unfortunately as the OP has likely found out by now, the Foundation amateur license doesn't allow for digital transmission.
Secondly, the software associated with any digital operation doesn't provide for the four letter callsign suffixes which are issued to foundation licensees (ie. VK4FXXX) 4 = QLD, and actually there is a VK4FXXX!

Just as unfortunate, just about every operator has a Baofeng for projects, monitoring, etc. but as a operational radio they are rubbish.
You'd at least require a homebrew external antenna and nearby repeater to do much with it mobile.

On the bright side it's a weekend course that isn't designed to fail anybody, and most technically mined hobbyists could walk in to an assessment and pass. The following licences (Standard and Advanced) could be likened to Cert 3 & 4 vocational courses, and do involve text books and study.

At least then you can stop worrying about type approval (on amateur bands) and start worrying about real concerns such RF power EMI, and everything catching fire.