KD0TLS: The passcode obstacle

 A whole lot of hams never got on to APRS because of a simple barrier: the  passcode. 

APRSDROID asks you to enter a passcode

 Most apps require a passcode to install or operate on the internet (APRS-IS) side. How to get this magical passcode has been something that has never been explained well. Back when I first was exploring this, the official League advice was "Ask someone running an I-Gate". In other cases, app developers will tell people to send an email to some address that becomes unattended. 

 Basically, APRS needs a way to ensure that you are a licensed amateur radio operator, much like EchoLink does. The APRS passcode, however, is far from some highly secure system. It's nothing more than a "hash" of the callsign in question. 

 The best way to get your passcode is to Google "APRS passcode generator", which will provide you with several. Any of these will do, and they tend to come and go. One such generator is this, by N5DUX. If you enter your callsign, the generator will give you the 5-digit number derived from your sign.

 It should become obvious immediately that you could enter ANY callsign on that page, and it will generate a passcode for it. Anyone can impersonate anyone, and non-hams can literally make up a non-existent callsign and use that. It's almost ironic that this system has become such a common obstacle to legitimate users. 

 If you decide to send an email to someone asking for your passcode, that person is extremely likely to use a generator similar to the several others out there. Waiting for a busy developer to do that is kind of pointless. Just do it yourself. The convention is that the software developer is supposed to provide the passcode to their users, but that's an obsolete notion to my mind. Especially with so much old and unsupported software out there, we should really just tell people to do it themselves.

 I've always thought that a club should provide you with your APRS passcode as soon as you become a member. It's a simple, free service that could help someone get on APRS easier. I have no idea why so many continue to push the idea that there's some secret method or some special people you need to convince before you can get on APRS. 

 Last, if you get a vanity callsign, don't forget to get the new passcode to go with that sign. You might be surprised at how many people get angry over their software suddenly not working, or some faceless APRS authority doubting their license status, when the problem is just that they didn't update their passcode.

Todd KD0TLS