Position beacons
- Controlled Beta · not open yetPosition beacons
Where this stands
Not available yet: nothing on this page can be used today
- The Full APRS Controlled Beta isn’t open yet. It opens only with the owner’s approval, by invitation, for licensed amateur operators. Today’s public beta of HAMORA is receive-only.
- The first Full APRS release includes both links: two-way APRS-IS (messages, acknowledgements and position beacons) and APRS over radio through your own HAMORA Bridge and TNC.
- APRS over radio: In Testing · not approved for use. HAMORA RF transmission has been verified in a controlled laboratory environment using HAMORA Bridge and Dire Wolf. Real radio transmission testing is pending. It stays off until HAMORA approves it.
- As of 21 October 2026, there has been no live APRS-IS transmission from HAMORA.
- HAMORA’s owner opens each step, one at a time: the beta itself, and each test on APRS-IS or on air. Details on this page may change before then.
Sending your position
Beacons need the same set-up as two-way APRS-IS: your licence, a verified callsign, your own passcode and sending switched on. Then:
- Agree once. HAMORA explains that your position will be public on APRS-IS, archived by sites such as aprs.fi, and can’t be taken back. Nothing is sent until you agree.
- Send position now. HAMORA takes a fresh position from your phone, while it’s open on screen. The position must be recent and accurate enough, or HAMORA says why it can’t send.
- Check the preview. It shows the exact packet, the position as it will be sent and the final comment.
- Send. Nothing goes out before you tap it. If a setting changed after the preview, HAMORA asks for a new preview, so what goes out is exactly what you saw.
A beacon carries:
- your callsign and SSID;
- your position, at the precision you chose;
- a symbol you pick (Person to start with);
- a short comment, if you write one;
- course and speed, only while you’re moving.
It never carries your altitude or a timestamp.
A beacon goes out on one link: APRS-IS, or your own radio through HAMORA Bridge. Both are part of the first Full APRS release. By radio, beacons are manual only, and APRS over radio is In Testing · not approved for use: see APRS over radio.
On APRS-IS, HAMORA adds “via HAMORA hamora.app” to the comment when there’s room. You can switch this off. Your own comment always comes first and is never shortened. It’s never added to messages or acknowledgements, or to anything sent by radio.
Choosing the precision
You choose how exact the position is, from about 18 metres to about 111 km. A lower precision blanks the last digits of the position, so others see an area rather than your exact spot.
The preview shows the position as it will be sent. Choose a precision you’re comfortable with being public for good.
Near your home
- Within 500 metres of the home location in your station profile, the button reads Send my home position, and you must press it on purpose.
- A beacon always uses your phone’s own position. HAMORA never sends your station profile’s home coordinates.
- HAMORA asks for your location only while it’s open, and only for a preview or a beacon you asked for.
Automatic beacons
The controlled beta covers beacons you send yourself. Automatic beacons aren’t part of it.
- Automatic beacons over radio are off. A setting keeps them off. If they were ever approved, they would run only while HAMORA is open on screen.
- HAMORA never sends beacons in the background.
What’s public
- Your last 50 beacons, from the last 7 days, are kept on your phone. You can clear them.
- APRS-IS doesn’t send your own packets back to you, so HAMORA can’t confirm that a beacon reached a map. Your station shows on HAMORA’s map only when your packet really comes back, for example through an IGate.
- Stopping: switch sending off, or see APRS safety.