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Most likely an unverified Passcode. Entering -1 only lets you connect — messaging needs your own Passcode from the APRS Passcode generator, entered in Connection Settings. If the server returns unverified, a yellow banner appears at the top of the home page — tap “Go to settings”.

In step 6 of the wizard or under Settings → Connection, generate one from your full callsign (including the SSID suffix, e.g. BG7LZQ-3) and paste it in.

The app reconnects with progressive backoff (8 → 16 → 32 → 60 s). If it keeps failing, check your network, confirm the server (default rotate.aprs2.net:14580) and port are not blocked, or switch servers in Connection Settings and tap Reconnect.

Four: internet (APRS-IS), Bluetooth / serial TNC over KISS, sound-card AFSK 1200, and Kenwood’s $PKWDWPL (receive-only). Start with APRS-IS; add TNC or audio once you have a radio. Several links can receive at once — the transmit source is picked separately.

The iGate relays what you hear on RF into APRS-IS, so the global network sees the stations around you. You only need it if you are listening on RF and want to contribute. Loop protection (packets carrying TCPIP* or an existing q-construct are never echoed back) and 30-second de-duplication are built in; off by default.

Update first: v1.6.110 fixed “TNC and PKWDWPL bound to the same device split the received data”, and v1.6.112 found the real cause of “transmits but receives nothing”. If it persists, use the link self-test for layered diagnosis and make sure Bluetooth and location permissions are granted on Android.

Wire the headphone / mic jack to the radio’s SPK / MIC and set up PTT. During transmission the app maxes media volume and mutes the mic; the link self-test shows the audio level. If others cannot decode you, check level and wiring first.

Check if your target country/region is selected in the Receive Filter, and verify that the receive range (lat/lon + radius) covers your location. By default only Chinese (B-prefix) stations are received.

Android uses a foreground service for continuous positioning. Adjust the report interval in Location / Beacon settings, or switch to manual reporting to reduce power usage. The notification bar has a one-tap Exit.

v1.6.146 added stationary debounce for your own fix; v1.6.149 goes further — the accelerometer decides whether you are moving and the compass fills in heading at low speed (Android, on by default, switchable in Settings → Beacon → Location). Updating fixes it.

Settings → Track history keeps days on disk, with total distance, average and top speed and moving time — it survives a restart, and tapping a day replays that day’s route on the map (draggable, 0.5×–4× speed). It is deliberately separate from the on-screen “my track”, which serves this session only (gone on exit, cleared on a confirmed jump).

For best compatibility on Windows, switch to Vector Map (no API key needed) or use Carto / OSM / Esri layers in Display → Map Type.

Settings → Display switches between UI 2.0 (map-first) and the classic layout, and picks frosted glass or mica (v1.6.138). Themes cover colour, icons, text and background image (17 colour tokens) and export as JSON to share.

Clustering was removed in v1.6.149: both the vector and self-drawn maps show one marker per station. Density at low zoom belongs to the heatmap — its toggle is in the toolbar.

Settings → Display → Offline map downloads the tiles of the current view once (resumable, 200k tiles per region) so the map works with no network; there is also an Offline-only mode. The web build has no download.

Six UI languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Indonesian and Spanish. Chat translation works out of the box on a free endpoint — no API key — two-way, side-by-side, and pre-send.

Long-press the home screen → Widgets → APRSlocus: weather, HF and system status. The widgets never open a connection themselves — the app pushes a snapshot. Open the app once after adding them; if they go blank after an update, open the app to refresh.

It comes from hamqsl.com (compiled by N0NBH, the de-facto standard in amateur radio); the source updates hourly and the app caches for 30 minutes. Note it is a global/regional average, not a local measurement.

The weather widget has four adaptive sizes; since v1.6.133 the HF and system-status widgets resize too, switching to a taller tier when you drag them up.

Settings → Backup & restore exports settings and data as a single JSON; import it on the new device (v1.6.123). Restart the app afterwards for everything to take effect.

One-tap ADIF export — the standard amateur-radio log interchange format — with a configurable frequency, ready to import into other logging software.

Since v1.5.2 Android builds use the official release signature (CI and local builds match) — install straight over the old version. Coming from a much older build, uninstall and reinstall first.

GitHub Releases and GitCode; in-app “Check for updates” picks the right build per platform and can install past versions. The Download button in the navigation goes straight to the latest release.