Groups Page

The Groups Page

The Groups page on this dashboard shows real-time activity from APRS messaging groups. It provides a window into the group messaging ecosystem — who's active, what groups are popular, and what conversations are happening right now.

Featured Groups

At the top of the page you'll find featured groups — well-known APRS groups that are highlighted for their activity level or community importance:

HOTG — The #APRSThursday net group (Hams On The Go)
SOTA — Summits on the Air activation announcements
POTA — Parks on the Air activity
WX — Weather-related discussions

Featured groups show at-a-glance stats including recent message count and active participant count.

Discovered Groups

Below the featured section, the dashboard shows discovered groups — these are groups detected automatically from APRS traffic. Any group that appears in ANSRVR or APRSPH traffic will be listed here, giving you visibility into groups you might not have known existed.

Live Feed Tab

The Live Feed shows group messages as they arrive in real time:

Each message shows the sender callsign, group name, message text, and timestamp
Messages are color-coded by group for easy scanning
New messages appear at the top of the feed
The feed updates automatically — no need to refresh

This is the fastest way to see what's happening across all monitored APRS groups.

Analytics Tab

The Analytics tab provides aggregate views of group activity:

Message volume — How many messages per hour/day for each group
Active contributors — Unique callsigns participating in each group
Peak activity times — When groups are most active (useful for knowing when to listen)
Trends — Whether group activity is growing or declining over time

Interpreting the Data

When reading group analytics, keep in mind:

Thursday spikes in HOTG are expected — that's the weekly #APRSThursday net
Weekend spikes in SOTA and POTA correspond to when activators are out in the field
New groups appearing often indicate events, contests, or experiments
A station appearing in multiple groups is typically a very active APRS messaging user

Getting Involved

If you see a group that interests you, check the ANSRVR Groups documentation to learn how to subscribe and start participating. All you need is an APRS-capable radio or software client connected to APRS-IS.