Texting with Ham Radio - How to send and receive SMS text with APRS

In this video, I am going over one of the many facets of APRS in ham radio and that is sending an SMS message to a phone from your radio. Super simple setup and it could help you in times where you have no phone service.
Links from the video:
aprs.fi/
If you want to see a propagation map for APRS check it here: aprs.mennolink....
smsgte.org/
✅Website: hamradiofornon...
✅rumble.com/c/c...
✅Patreon: / hr4nt
✅My Amazon Store: amzn.to/3sSeA1n
✅Facebook: / hr4nt
✅odysee.com/@ha...
✅Twitter: / hamtechies
✅TOADs Discord: / discord
✅Kit.co Product Recommendations: kit.co/ki5npl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Current Shack Setup:
ICOM IC-7300
Yaesu FT-2980
DX Commander Classic
Comet GP-9
Diamond GZV4000 Power Supply
LDG AT200 PROII Tuner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#hr4nt
#ki5npl
#hamradiofornontechies

[@jdillard08]

How many are looking into this in February 2024?

[@HR4NT]

The service I demonstrated in this video has since disappeared. However there is a new service out there that does the same thing. As to how many are looking into SMS through radio? I have no clue. Here is the link to the new service: aprs.wiki/SMS/ I hope this helps. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@kyoshivp]

Good stuff as always, Scott. Managed to grab an FT5 during the Black Friday sales with the intent of using this functionality while hiking. And of course, the ridiculous sales didn’t hurt either. Thanks for all you do. I appreciate your efforts.

[@HR4NT]

That is pretty awesome!! I was looking at the FT5, but since I already own and paid for a 3, I decided to stay with what I have. Glad to hear you got a killer deal on yours! Thanks for supporting the channel and for watching. 73!!

[@jifchosehismother]

bad info out of date

[@ferdinandwp4rjl377]

Great job SCOTT, 👍🏽 THANKS for the information. Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season 👏🏽

[@HR4NT]

Hey Ferdinand!! I really appreciate your continued support of the channel! I wish you and your family a fantastic holiday season as well! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@RichardTrowbridge-zt5wm]

Thanks for introducing me to APRS and messaging. Really fine presentation. Keep up the great work.

[@HR4NT]

Glad it was helpful! The unfortunate side is that since this video, the outfit running the SMSGTE went down and has not returned as of yet, so that feature is not available at the moment. I tried to reach out to them and see if the would come on the show to see if the ham community could help get them back up, but never heard back. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@n2rj]

It's too bad SMSGTE got shut down. It was one of my favorite things to demo with ham radio.

[@HR4NT]

Yeah I don't know what happened. I tried to reach out to the owner of that site and see if they would want to come on to my show and discuss it and see if the ham community would help donate whatever he needed to get back up and running again, however, I never got an answer. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@mikeph4]

It's not shutdown by the way. And there are alternatives now

[@verdexj160]

​@@mikeph4 it is shut down. It is not working. What are the alternatives?

[@bobcatskrieman3384]

Nice explanation of how to with APRS. Looks simple when someone walks you thru it…

[@HR4NT]

I agree. I think a lot of us are visual leaners and just taking a few moments to show you how it works can mean all the difference in the world. I am glad my video helped. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@johnb6084]

Great and thank you. It's stuff like this that helps when I select my first radio.

[@HR4NT]

Glad it helped. I try my best to bring good info that is easy to follow. Best of luck on getting your first radio! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@45auto]

I watched part of a video yesterday by BridgeCom Systems on how to use the APRS on my 878UVII Plus. They do it all with radio connected a computer. I mentioned in the comments that I don't have a computer. Their response was "that does make and hard. We suggest you get a computer."

[@HR4NT]

LOL...really? That was their solution? WOW!!!! I mean they do sell digital radios, but that is a weird way to respond to a customer with an issue......wow. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!!!

[@RobinAltoft]

I've had similar experiences with their 'support'... That said, I've got the same radio. Most of the setup can be done without a computer, but for some reason you cannot set your callsign (the most important part!!) without a computer. I haven't tried the digital APRS without the computer yet. I'd guess it's probably the same situation 🫤

[@DARTHDANSAN]

Lol I just got my yeasu today lol man this thing takes forever to charge !! I love APRS can’t wait to try it and if you really want to communicate of grid get garmin inreach mini satellites text messager ! But ya APRS!

[@HR4NT]

Thank you for that! I will look into it for sure! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@raytreinen]

You can also add aliases on that website so you aren’t sending phone numbers over RF.

[@HR4NT]

Hi Ray, yeah I saw that, but to keep the video from being an hour long (LOL), I wasn't able to cover everything, but I do encourage those that are interested, to play around with the site and discover things as they see fit. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@dacodemonk]

This is really cool. I'll have to see how active aprs is around here.

[@HR4NT]

Awesome! Glad you liked it! Depending on where you live, you may be surprised on the APRS activity in the area. I wish you the best of luck! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

APRS rocks.73!

[@HR4NT]

Yes it does!!! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@twohomesteads6512]

baofengs can do APRS according tom what I found when I searched. Thanks for this. Some of us are greener than green in this.

[@HR4NT]

I am not aware of a Baofeng that does APRS, I could be wrong, but I generally do not use Baofengs on a regular basis. You would be much happier with a Yaesu FT5 or the new Icom ID-50. I try to instill the buy once cry once mentality when buying ham radio gear, because you do get what you pay for. Thanks for the comment an for watching. 73!!!

[@twohomesteads6512]

thank you.@@HR4NT

[@JimmyShot]

Great video man. Thank you

[@HR4NT]

Thank you! 73

[@dougputhoff3215]

Great stuff…I will use this!

[@HR4NT]

Please do! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@AnthonyChopra]

wow its like a old school 2003 text phone.

[@HR4NT]

Kinda...yeah...LOL Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@N7VAN...]

Thanks for the explanation video! What is your truck radio?

[@HR4NT]

You're welcome! The radio in my truck is the Yaesu FTM 400 XDR. It is no longer in production. I think the 500 or 300 is the new one. If you can find a good deal on a 400 I highly recommend it as the screen is nice and large and very easy to read and operate in the car. I hope this helped! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@garyclark4930]

This is good but Ham to Ham only? Very good information. I came across a video of a Ham who is of the opinion that APRS is totally useless mode. I have both Kenwood TH-D72A and the TM-D710G. Your video gives me one more option to explore. Gary KF6EWO

[@HR4NT]

Absolutely! APRS is NOT dead. I use it every day in my truck. It may not be the glamorous operating like POTA and the like, but it has its place and uses. I just like to experiment with different modes of ham radio operation as much as I can. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@ramonbennett8416]

I am!!

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@selborx]

Thanks for the video! New ham here, do you know if the if the sms server is down?

[@HR4NT]

Yeah apparently a couple months after this video aired, the SMS server went down and there has been no indication of if or when it will be back up. I contacted the folks over there a couple months ago to inquire about this and got no response. If it is a matter of money, I am sure that the ham community would help out, but I can't even get them to respond back to me to do a live interview. I will keep trying. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@joecraft4409]

The SMSGTE service us currently offline. New regulations put into place in the US, Canada and other jurisdictions along with some recent abuse of the service to send SPAM have forced me to shut the service down.

[@HR4NT]

This was an old video when it was still working. I tried to reach out and have you on the show but never heard back. There is another service that does something similar now that is up and running. I am glad I got to use this one when it was operational. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@cantaffordtodie]

FYI. apparently this system has been shot down.

[@HR4NT]

Not sure I follow. APRS still works and you can still do what I show in the video...Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@deborahbreeden4394]

Cool

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@cre8vedesign]

Can I use on a icon ic 2730a or any tone at 778uv. I don’t see this option listed on Amazon. I want my son who is looking for over landing radio rig that can do this

[@HR4NT]

From what I could find, neither one of those radios have built in APRS. Not sure if there is an external module you can add to it to make it APRS compatible. I hope this helps. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@user-fk3wm7sd1b]

Do I need to register each of my radios (FTM-500 & FT5D) so I can receive messages on either radio?

[@HR4NT]

That service has been offline for a while now. I have tried to contact them to see if it will be reinstated, but have gotten no answer so far. Hopefully they will bring it back sometime in the future. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@RESISTAGE]

I'm interested in radio to radio text. no APRS. I don't want anything else catching my messages, time of day and position. might as well just use a cell phone.

[@HR4NT]

Unfortunately that is not possible as far as I know. Maybe in the digital modes it might be. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@davidvoss1508]

Everyone talks about the Tx end of things, but not about the Rx end. If I'm in the middle of Australia and there is no one else within a 1000 mile radius, will the APRS packets be received?

[@HR4NT]

Hi David! Thanks for reaching out. I am going to continue to research this, however, from what I can tell, APRS is dependent upon GPS and the 144.390 frequency. With that in mind, I am not sure that you would be able to send or receive with a 1000 mile radius situation. From what I have read so far APRS is somewhat reliant upon what is called a digipeater. If you do not have one in your area, I don't think it would work for you. Maybe setting up a digipeater at your location and having an internet connection may change that, but again, I am not sure. My research on the internet so far has not yielded any answers pertaining to your situation. I will keep looking and asking around to see if I can find a better and more reliable answer for you. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73

[@davidvoss1508]

@@HR4NT Thanks for the quick answer. This has had me stumped for a while and as you say there is very little out there on this topic. Having to rely on the internet or mobile (cell) coverage kinda defeats the purpose of radio.

[@DARTHDANSAN]

The pico APRS is also supposed to really good for APRS

[@HR4NT]

I have no idea what that is...I will be researching it now though. Thank you! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@DARTHDANSAN]

@@HR4NT thanks I also have pico APRS v3 set to arrive in few days . Thanks again 73

[@patriayvida4209]

Hello there!!! I'm kinda confused here: I can send text messages ONLY to other Hams and to MYSELF??? I really don't understand... So if I'm in a BAD SITUATION and my phone is dead ... CAN I send a text message to my wife??? Can anyone explain it to me PLEASE? Cause otherwise it's useless for me.... 73s from KJ4BGW

[@HR4NT]

Yes you can send a text message to anyone you wish. I think in the video I demonstrated how to send a text to another phone...AND they can reply back to you as well and that text will come across your screen on your radio. Go back and watch it again and take notes. Once you figure it out, it is a cool feature to have. I hope this helps. Thanks for the comment an for watching. 73!!

[@e7yu]

Interesting.....🤔

[@HR4NT]

It's pretty cool! Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@e7yu]

@@HR4NT 😎👍

[@mattjames9755]

Does it need a repeater to work?

[@HR4NT]

I don't believe so. The frequency for APRS is 144.390 with no tones or anything else except an APRS capable radio. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!!!

[@CurrentElectrical]

Can you text to other APRS units?

[@johnkaelberer237]

Yes

[@HR4NT]

Yes. With my FTM400-XDR I can set up messages that go out when I transmit my beacon, but I am sure you probably could just send a text to others operation APRS as well. Thanks for watching and for the comment. 73!

[@Nostrildomus]

C00L

[@HR4NT]

Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@ClementPierre-Louis-ky5um]

Thanks Scott from J73CPL

[@HR4NT]

Any time! Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@MikeG-js1jt]

looks like your mic has developed a little dandruff?

[@HR4NT]

LOL...no. The light from my front face light is reflecting off the shiny part of the mic filter. Thanks for the comment and for watching. 73!

[@johnbauman4005]

Great video! A lot of work, thank you. So all incoming messages are routed through the same APRS account meaning received texts from say spouse, friends or kids will be jumbled together right? Is that why you had to enter the call sign to reply? 73, KK7JBZ

[@HR4NT]

I think as a message comes into the radio through the APRS, it will separate them as individual messages in your screen. Again remember you are not having long conversations or using this as a means to replace texting. It is more designed to be a n alternative way to send a text if you need to reach out to someone. I hope this helps! Thank you very much for the comment and for watching. 73!