Scripts to set up, install, and configure an APRS iGate using RTL-SDR receiver on Debian-based systems (including Ubuntu and Raspberry PI)
Start with download_install_apps.sh to get your system set up. It needs to run as root (use sudo) so it can install the applications and configure kernel modules.
If you're a HAM, you probably want to skip to running the configure script (requires callsign) configure_pymultimonaprs.sh and it will guide you thru configuring everything from finding your SDR's PPM offset to getting the APRS iGate software configured properly and, if desired, set up for running the iGate on system-startup. Use the debug_pymultimonaprs.sh to print full details and all beacons received/sent to the APRS system. If you think you are having issues, use the debug_aprs_textdump.sh and debug_aprs_listen.sh scripts to try simple text-dumps of APRS packets and hear the quality of the received audio.
If you're just playing around, you don't need to config script. You can start by modifying the debug_aprs_textdump.sh and debug_aprs_listen.sh scripts to enter your PPM, frequencies, gain, etc. If you don't know what PPM is, run the calibration script find-ppm-kalibrate-rtl.sh to determine the proper PPM offset for your particular RTL-SDR. Note, by default the script is set to lock onto GSM850 base stations, this can be configured in variables in the script.
NOTE: These scripts assume you are in North America, if you are somewhere else you will need to modify variables at the top of the scripts (bands, frequencies, gateway): find-ppm-kalibrate-rtl.sh BAND=850 Valid selections are GSM850, GSM-R, GSM900, EGSM, DCS, PCS
configure_pymultimonaprs.sh freq=144.390 Input the APRS frequency to monitor aprs_gateway=noam.aprs.net Valid selections are listed on http://www.aprs2.net/