I took a short trip to the city with the aim of conducting a brief APRS test using my Kenwood TH-D75. The test aimed to map the coverage areas of the Braga digipeater, CQ0PBR, installed on Mount Santa Marta, at an elevation of 562m ASL.

Knowing in advance that the antenna was not yet in its final location due to some technical constraints, I was aware that in the more obstructed and lower areas, without a line of sight to the digi, it would be very difficult for my packets to be repeated.

The antenna I used was a Super-Elastic Signal Stick™ from SignalStuff, and the power level was set to High on the TH-D75, which, on paper, means about 5W.

You can see below a map extracted from the site aprs.fi, where it is possible to check the points where the transmission was repeated by CQ0PBR.

It is noted that the signal was repeated at 6 locations:

Largo do Toural
Weekly Market area (near GuimarãeShopping)
Ascent to Mercadona
Elevated area between Mercadona and Hotel de Guimarães
D. João IV Avenue (open area to the NW)
D. João IV Avenue (open area to the NW, almost at the end of the avenue)
As can be seen from the horizon map below, in each of the six locations, the signal “traveled” in the opening identified to the NW.

The distance between the transmission point and the digipeater is approximately 11 km in a straight line.

Next, the list of stations received between 1330z and 1335z is shown:

My experience was the subject of a tweet:

A quick city walk for #aprs fun pic.twitter.com/g8QZNehNJs

— CT1ETE 🛰 (@CT1ETE) January 21, 2025

And here is a short video:

I hope you feel encouraged to try APRS.

73 de CT1ETE, Paulo