Live Map

The Live Map

The Map page shows real-time positions of APRS stations as they're reported on the network. Every dot, icon, and marker represents a station that recently transmitted a position packet.

What the Map Shows

The map displays stations using APRS symbols — small icons that tell you what type of station you're looking at:

Symbols are defined by the APRS protocol and each station chooses which symbol represents them.

Interacting with Stations

Click on any station to see its details:

• Callsign — The station's amateur radio call sign
• Last position — Coordinates and timestamp
• Comment — Free-form text set by the operator
• Path — How the packet reached the network
• Speed/Course — For mobile stations, direction and speed of travel

From the popup, you can navigate to the station's full detail page for historical data.

Filtering the Map

Use the map controls to focus on what interests you:

• Zoom in/out — Standard map controls or scroll wheel
• Pan — Click and drag to move around
• Country filter — If available, limit stations to a specific country
• Station type — Filter by weather stations, mobiles, or fixed stations

Map Data Source

The positions shown on the map come from APRS-IS in real time. Stations update at different rates:

• Mobile stations typically beacon every 1-2 minutes
• Fixed stations often beacon every 10-30 minutes
• Weather stations report every 5-15 minutes

The map shows the most recent position for each station. Stations that haven't been heard in a while may be removed from the display.

Tips

• Zoom into your local area to discover nearby APRS operators
• Watch mobile stations trace routes in real time
• Look for weather station clusters to find active monitoring areas
• Use the packet decoder (Cmd+K) to examine raw data from any station