IGate2 Pro
4.8star
21 reviews
500+
Downloads
Everyone
info
About this app
IGate2 Pro is a mobile app that performs a receive-only APRS IGATE.
It is a software for HAM radio amateurs that uses a radio receiver or an SDR (software defined radio) dongle and an internet connection.
The radio receiver or the RTL-SDR dongle tuner (cost starting from 10 €) and its antenna, receives the information contained in APRS packets transmitted from HAM radio stations, and then a phone device, with IGate2, forwards them to the world wide web using its internet connection (WiFi or 3G).
IGate2 acts as a Software Defined Radio Demodulator, a TNC Modem and an Internet Gate.
It needs the installation of a driver (Martin Marinov’s driver) for the SDR dongle that you can find in: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Martin+Marinov .
If you already own an unused cellular phone (or tablet or TV Box), IGate2 represents a very cheap, compact and easy-to-use solution for suppling an IGATE service to radio amateur community.
Raw data contained in radio packets are visible on the phone screen and may be routed (if you check this option) to the APRS-IS network. All data convoyed and shared in APRS-IS network can be seen in maps and bulletins on particular websites, for example http://aprs.fi/ (or aprsdirect.com).
To be authorized to send data to APRS-IS you must have a HAM CallSign and a PassCode. See aprs-is.net. If you are not a radio amateur, you may only use your equipment in receive only mode.
The app has an audio monitor useful for tuning the parameters of the Sdr receiver (it may not work well in old devices with low memory). In the main page there is a frequency switch, a hub with the text of received packets, two indicator lights: one for the Sdr connection (or for Mic level) and one for the Aprs-Is connection, three counters reporting the number of: received, forwardable and forwarded packets. When you leave the main page while the IGate is running, the app service will continue working in the background, you can recall the main page by tapping the service icon in the android status bar. The app has an option for AutoStart function that is useful for unattended TV Box devices (with Android 6.0 or up). The preset of the UHF Aprs frequency is 432.500 Mhz.
Since the device and the Sdr dongle drains much power from the phone battery, it is recommended to use the phone charger or a power bank. You will need an OTG power cable. It is not easy to find a working cable, maybe you can do it yourself. The reception quality of the IGate depends, above all, on the antenna connected to the Sdr dongle. With very strong FM broadcasts in your area, it may be helpful to manually adjust the gain of the receiver or use a band-stop filter. If you use an analog receiver you will need an audio cable (useful also for the tracker app), do not use an acoustic coupling by bringing the microphone of the phone close to the speaker of the receiver and also be sure that the power saving function is not active on the receiver, otherwise some truncated packets will be discarded. An example of the audio cable is shown in the app site.
App permissions:
• This app uses Location permission (if you grant it) to get the IGate’s position for the beacon message.
• Audio input permission (if you grant it) for processing the audio of an external receiver (not SDR).
Other related Apps:
• Tracer2 : an APRS Tracker for Android using an external transmitter (or internet).
Notice:
• A free trial version of this app is available in Google Play Store. Search for IGate2 app. Before purchasing this app, try the free version to see if it suits your needs.
• This app has been tested in devices running Android 5 and up. If you find any error on your special device, please, do not give a negative feedback but feel free to mail the problem to the author and he will fix it.
It is a software for HAM radio amateurs that uses a radio receiver or an SDR (software defined radio) dongle and an internet connection.
The radio receiver or the RTL-SDR dongle tuner (cost starting from 10 €) and its antenna, receives the information contained in APRS packets transmitted from HAM radio stations, and then a phone device, with IGate2, forwards them to the world wide web using its internet connection (WiFi or 3G).
IGate2 acts as a Software Defined Radio Demodulator, a TNC Modem and an Internet Gate.
It needs the installation of a driver (Martin Marinov’s driver) for the SDR dongle that you can find in: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Martin+Marinov .
If you already own an unused cellular phone (or tablet or TV Box), IGate2 represents a very cheap, compact and easy-to-use solution for suppling an IGATE service to radio amateur community.
Raw data contained in radio packets are visible on the phone screen and may be routed (if you check this option) to the APRS-IS network. All data convoyed and shared in APRS-IS network can be seen in maps and bulletins on particular websites, for example http://aprs.fi/ (or aprsdirect.com).
To be authorized to send data to APRS-IS you must have a HAM CallSign and a PassCode. See aprs-is.net. If you are not a radio amateur, you may only use your equipment in receive only mode.
The app has an audio monitor useful for tuning the parameters of the Sdr receiver (it may not work well in old devices with low memory). In the main page there is a frequency switch, a hub with the text of received packets, two indicator lights: one for the Sdr connection (or for Mic level) and one for the Aprs-Is connection, three counters reporting the number of: received, forwardable and forwarded packets. When you leave the main page while the IGate is running, the app service will continue working in the background, you can recall the main page by tapping the service icon in the android status bar. The app has an option for AutoStart function that is useful for unattended TV Box devices (with Android 6.0 or up). The preset of the UHF Aprs frequency is 432.500 Mhz.
Since the device and the Sdr dongle drains much power from the phone battery, it is recommended to use the phone charger or a power bank. You will need an OTG power cable. It is not easy to find a working cable, maybe you can do it yourself. The reception quality of the IGate depends, above all, on the antenna connected to the Sdr dongle. With very strong FM broadcasts in your area, it may be helpful to manually adjust the gain of the receiver or use a band-stop filter. If you use an analog receiver you will need an audio cable (useful also for the tracker app), do not use an acoustic coupling by bringing the microphone of the phone close to the speaker of the receiver and also be sure that the power saving function is not active on the receiver, otherwise some truncated packets will be discarded. An example of the audio cable is shown in the app site.
App permissions:
• This app uses Location permission (if you grant it) to get the IGate’s position for the beacon message.
• Audio input permission (if you grant it) for processing the audio of an external receiver (not SDR).
Other related Apps:
• Tracer2 : an APRS Tracker for Android using an external transmitter (or internet).
Notice:
• A free trial version of this app is available in Google Play Store. Search for IGate2 app. Before purchasing this app, try the free version to see if it suits your needs.
• This app has been tested in devices running Android 5 and up. If you find any error on your special device, please, do not give a negative feedback but feel free to mail the problem to the author and he will fix it.
Updated on
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Ratings and reviews
4.7
20 reviews
Lyle Tanner
- Flag inappropriate
August 13, 2020
Great start... RX only iGates can cause lots of problems for APRS messaging, so it would be great if there was a bi-directional / TX option. I use a Mobilinkd TNC3 over Bluetooth (serial KISS TNC) so it would great to have the option of using a Bluetooth TNC instead of only RTL or acoustic.
17 people found this review helpful
Fred Kerfwappie
- Flag inappropriate
September 8, 2023
This app works great. I got it setup at home with a Baofeng and it's working like it should. I initially had some troubles with it, but the app's creator took care of them. This is a really easy way to setup an Igate. Excellent! 73 Eric
1 person found this review helpful
Jacek
- Flag inappropriate
August 7, 2020
Great app. I'm using it as internet I-Gate on Android TV-box with uv-5r radio and high-gain base antenna. I can see app screen remotely using Screen Stream over HTTP. Development suggestions: please add time stamp in front of shown received APRS-messages and if possible also the distance in km between IGate2 and position received in APRS-message.
20 people found this review helpful
What's new
- Added permission for background execution notifications in Android 13+
- Minor fixes and improvements
- Also update the Tracer2 app with new privacy options
- Minor fixes and improvements
- Also update the Tracer2 app with new privacy options
