Why did we start the APRS Foundation?

JeffH - W4JEW

• 2 min read

I think it’s safe to say that many of us agree that APRS is in a precarious position. While there are undoubtedly thousands of APRS users worldwide, the number doesn’t seem to grow as it used to.

Other technologies have entered the space that have garnered the attention of hams to the point where APRS is losing relevance. It seems like there’s a new shiny object that gets other's attention. 

Whether it’s WinLink, FT8, JS8Call, Rattlegram, or Meshtastic…there’s so much out there, and, in many ways, the roots of these technologies stem from APRS.

There’s still a lot of lifeblood in APRS. We must make every effort to ensure APRS maintains its current foothold and, ideally, get it back on the growth path!

Bob did a great job establishing and vetting the protocol and standard but fell short when communicating the capabilities and use cases.

You can ask ten ham radio operators what APRS is, and you will likely get ten different answers. Some think APRS is nothing more than a method for tracking their vehicle’s location. Others believe sharing telemetry data is inserting plain text data in the body of a message. 

We need to band together to establish what APRS is and what it is not. We should make every effort possible to be technology evangelists and use our knowledge to educate others.

As crazy as it may seem, we are in a position where we can hit the reset button and redefine what APRS is. Nothing says we can’t!

The Foundation’s charter is to ensure APRS has a future!

What’s taken so long?

To bring you up to speed on what we’ve been working on…

  • Established APRS Foundation Inc. as a Delaware non-stock (non-profit) corporation on March 1, 2022
  • Selected Harbor Compliance as our Registered Agent in the State of Delaware (legally required for a Delaware Corporation)
  • Awarded 501(c)3 non-profit and 509(a)2 public charity statuses by the Internal Revenue Service!
    • This was a crowning achievement! It took a lot of work!
    • We initially only pursued 501(c)3 not-for-profit status - receiving 509(a)2 was a welcomed addition!
    • The IRS made our not-for-profit status retroactive to the date the corporation was formed!
  • Domain Registration: aprsfoundation.[org/net/com]
  • Wireframed a very rudimentary website (www.aprsfoundation.org) - 
    • Don’t look right now - it’s embarrassing - we need a webmaster! (you're reading this on the NEW site)
  • Developed bylaws (heavily based on TAPR’s bylaws)
  • Monthly meetings with executive team members (“monthly” is more of a best effort) - we will open these meetings to anyone interested in attending.
  • Implemented Google Workspace and Okta to support official business operations
  • Established financial services - bank account & PayPal account to support business operations
  • Created an APRS Foundation presence on GitHub: https://github.com/APRSFoundation/

Sneak Peek at the Plans

Here’s a short list of areas that the APRS Foundation plans to address.   More details on these will follow in future e-mail messages.

  • Documentation
    • APRS Specifications
    • Define Use Cases
    • Website
  • Project Management
  • Intellectual Property
  • New APRS Logo
  • Foundation Membership

More to Come

As you can see, there’s a lot more coming.   We’re looking for a few good hams!!! We are just getting started! But we cannot do this without YOU!

To make this point abundantly clear - our door is open to any licensed amateur radio operator worldwide interested in contributing to the effort!   Watch for upcoming messages to find an area where YOUR expertise is needed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message. We look forward to working with you!

Best Regards and 73,

Jeff Hochberg - W4JEW
President
APRS Foundation, Inc.
Ensuring the Future of APRS