Many thanks to Rogers County Oklahoma club member and OK digital cruise director Jeff Scoville AE5ME for showing us how to operate the Amateur Radio Packet Service (APRS) using VARA on the HF bands. This setup allows you to send APRS commands, geolocation, and messages around the globe. Watch the YouTube link below to see the whole presentation. Jeff has also provided his presentation slides and the links to get you started. There are also links to resources to help you as you journey through APRS via VARA HF.
Jeff’s Presentation Slides
https://w5nor.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Getting-Started-HF-APRS-SCARS-2024.pdf
Links to the Software
To get started, download VARA HF from https://downloads.winlink.org/VARA%20Products/VARA%20HF%20v4.8.7%20setup.zip. This package contains the drivers and software that connects the soundcard to the APRS software. Those using HF Winlink will already have this software and should know how to use it.
Jeff highly recommends the PinPoint APRS software, which can be downloaded at
https://www.pinpointaprs.com/Pinpoint_v2.1_build_240324.msi. This program contains a user interface to transmit and receive the APRS packets.
On-The-Air Locations
Popular hangouts for APRS over VARA HF operations are 14,083.5 kHz on 20-meter USB and 7,083.5 kHz on 40-meter USB.
Additional Information
If you are looking for additional information regarding HF APRS using VARA, check out the
There is a Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/355264387119488. Another great site that gives examples of real-life operations is http://wa8lmf.net/APRS_VARA/. He shows tests and comparisons of APRS over 300 baud packet and HF APRS over VARA Modem.