APRS message-services dropdown on Recipient field (SMS, Email, Winlink, WXBOT, ISS/satellite)

[jensenpat]

Summary

Add an APRS message-services dropdown to the APRS messaging UI so operators can address common APRS gateway/auto-responder services without memorizing their callsigns and message-text syntax. The trigger would be a small arrow/picker attached to the Recipient ("To") field; selecting a service pre-fills the destination callsign and seeds the message text with the correct command template (and a hint about character limits).

This is a discoverability/usability feature — all of these services already work today by manually typing the right destination callsign and body. The dropdown just makes them one tap away.

Where this lives in the code

The APRS messaging client landed in #3530 (AetherModem APRS client). Relevant spots:

• Recipient field: m_aprsMsgTo — a plain QLineEdit with placeholder "To (N0CALL-7)", in src/gui/Ax25HfPacketDecodeDialog.cpp (~line 3025).
• Send path: sendAprsMessageFromUi() (~line 3445) reads m_aprsMsgTo/m_aprsMsgText and calls AprsMessenger::sendMessage(to, text).
• Encoder: aprs::encodeMessage() in AprsPacket.cpp (~line 594) builds the :ADDRESSEE :text{NN frame (addressee padded to 9 chars, uppercase).
• Today the "To" field is populated only via station-table double-click, the roster right-click "Send Message to…" action, and message "Reply".

The dropdown would sit next to m_aprsMsgTo (an arrow button or a QComboBox affordance) and, on selection, call m_aprsMsgTo->setText(...) plus optionally seed m_aprsMsgText.

Proposed UX

• Small down-arrow/caret button attached to the right of the "To" field (or a combo affordance).
• Categories in the menu: SMS · Email · Winlink · Weather (WXBOT) · Satellite/ISS.
• Selecting an entry:
  1. Sets the destination callsign (e.g. SMSGTE, EMAIL-2, WLNK-1, WXBOT).
  2. Pre-fills the message text with a template + placeholder (e.g. @15551234567 and put the cursor after it).
  3. Shows a short inline hint with the per-service char limit (most are ~67 chars of message text) and a one-line "what this does".
• Satellite entries additionally suggest setting the TX path to a satellite path (e.g. ARISS / RS0ISS) rather than the terrestrial WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 — worth a note since path matters more than addressee for sat work.

Services to include (with sample uses)

Limits: APRS message text is ~67 characters per message for most of these gateways. Destination is the addressee of an APRS message (the :ADDRESSEE :… field), not the AX.25 tocall.

1. SMS — SMSGTE

Send an SMS text to a phone; replies come back as APRS messages.

• To: SMSGTE
• Body: @<10-digit-number> <message> — e.g. @15551234567 Running 20 min late
• Aliases: register a number with #mynumber add <number>; then address by alias instead of the full number to save characters.
• Notes: unpublished inbound number (anti-spam); ~67 char limit including the number.

2. Email — EMAIL-2

APRS → email gateway. (Classic AnsToRosetta-style "EMAIL" service, now EMAIL-2.)

• To: EMAIL-2
• Body: <email@address> <message> — e.g. jane@example.com Landed safe, call you tonight
• Setup: first send <your@email> to EMAIL-2 to register a short userid alias; replies are held ~24h and retrievable by sending get to EMAIL-2.

3. Winlink (email + one-line SMS) — WLNK-1 (APRSLink)

Full Winlink radio-email bridge driven over APRS messaging.

• To: WLNK-1
• Help / command list: send ?
• One-line email/SMS: SMS <email-or-callsign> <message> — e.g. SMS bob@example.com QRV on 40m
• Multi-line email: SP <email|callsign|alias> <subject>, then subsequent messages form the body, terminated by /EX.
• Other commands: L (list), R# (read msg #), K#/Y# (kill/forward), P (playback), etc.
• Notes: put WLNK-1 in your status/comment text to get new-mail alerts on the radio front panel.

4. Weather — WXBOT

Auto-responder returning a brief US NWS forecast / METAR for a location.

• To: WXBOT
• Body examples:
  • Boston,MA (city, USPS state abbrev — comma required)
  • Houston,TX Saturday
  • Honolulu,HI current
  • KJFK / KSFO (4-char ICAO → METAR; works internationally)
  • DW6273 (CWOP station id), 4/6-char Maidenhead grid, or 41.123/-122.112 lat/lon
  • bare (no body) → forecast for your last-heard position
• Notes: METAR and CWOP queries are the only ones useful outside the US.

5. Satellite / ISS APRS digipeater

Not a message addressee service — this is about routing. Worth a menu entry that nudges the user to set the right path for working the ISS / sat digipeaters (and reminds them SMS/EMAIL gateways are reachable through the bird).

• ISS digipeater: 145.825 MHz FM; path ARISS (a.k.a. RS0ISS). Successful digipeat shows RS0ISS* in the path; visible globally on aprs.fi.
• Use: address a short (≤~60 char) message or position to a buddy, or to SMSGTE/EMAIL-2 to relay off-grid SMS/email via the pass.
• Practical: best on passes >30–40° elevation; the digi is intermittent during the ~10-min pass.

Open questions / scope notes

• Static vs. configurable list: ship a built-in list, but consider letting users add custom service entries (callsign + template + hint) in settings, since regional gateways vary.
• Char-count helper: since most services cap at ~67 chars, a live character counter next to the message box would pair well with this (could be a follow-up).
• Path coupling for satellite entries: decide whether selecting a sat entry should offer to switch the TX path, or just show a hint. Changing path is more intrusive than setting an addressee.
• Regional accuracy: SMSGTE / EMAIL-2 / WLNK-1 / WXBOT are the well-known global instances; confirm current callsigns/SSIDs at ship time (services occasionally change SSIDs).

References

• SMSGTE — https://smsgte.org/ug-conversations/ · https://www.jpole-antenna.com/2019/06/12/aprs-text-messaging-via-smsgte/
• EMAIL via APRS — https://www.aprs-is.net/email.aspx · https://aprs.fi/?c=message&call=EMAIL-2
• Winlink APRSLink (WLNK-1) — https://winlink.org/APRSLink · https://hamradio.my/2024/09/sending-emails-using-aprs-radios-and-winlink-a-comprehensive-guide-for-amateur-radio-operators/
• WXBOT — https://sites.google.com/site/ki6wjp/wxbot · https://aprs.fi/info/WXBOT
• ISS / ARISS APRS digipeater — https://www.aprs.org/ariss.html · https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-the-iss-on-aprs-packet-radio/
• Global APRS messaging initiative (WB4APR) — https://www.aprs.org/aprs-messaging.html

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Follow-up to #3530.

[aethersdr-agent]

Triage: ready for maintainer review

Thanks for the exceptionally detailed write-up — the code pointers are accurate and this is well-scoped. I've labeled it enhancement / GUI / good first issue.

What I confirmed in the code

• Recipient field is at Ax25HfPacketDecodeDialog.cpp:3025 (m_aprsMsgTo, a QLineEdit capped at 150px) inside the horizontal msgLayout built around line 3021. Dropping a QToolButton (with setPopupMode(QToolButton::InstantPopup) + a QMenu) right after addWidget(m_aprsMsgTo) at line 3028 is the clean insertion point — it sits between the To field and the message text field.
• Send path sendAprsMessageFromUi() (line 3445) reads m_aprsMsgTo/m_aprsMsgText, uppercases the addressee (.toUpper(), line 3453) and trims-but-does-not-uppercase the body (line 3454) before AprsMessenger::sendMessage(to, text).
• Encoder aprs::encodeMessage() (AprsPacket.cpp:600) builds :%1:%2 with the addressee toUpper().left(9) padded to 9 chars. All proposed service callsigns (SMSGTE, EMAIL-2, WLNK-1, WXBOT) fit cleanly.

One correctness detail worth calling out

The body is not uppercased on the send path (line 3454) nor in encodeMessage() — that's correct and important here. EMAIL-2 recipients and SMSGTE aliases are case-sensitive, so the email/SMS templates will survive intact. Any implementation should keep relying on that and not uppercase message text.

Proposed fix (MVP)

All changes are local to Ax25HfPacketDecodeDialog (.cpp + .h); no protocol/encoder change needed.

1. Static service table — a small static constexpr/QVector of {label, addressee, bodyTemplate, cursorOffset, hint} rows for SMSGTE / EMAIL-2 / WLNK-1 / WXBOT, grouped by category in a QMenu.
2. Picker button next to m_aprsMsgTo (line 3028). On selection: m_aprsMsgTo->setText(addressee), m_aprsMsgText->setText(bodyTemplate), then m_aprsMsgText->setFocus() and setCursorPosition(cursorOffset) so the cursor lands after the @<number> / <email> prefix.
3. Inline hint — show the per-service hint (≈67-char limit + one-line "what this does") via the button/field tooltip or a transient line in the existing system-log area (appendSystemLine, already used at 3449).

Design decisions for the maintainer to settle

• Satellite/ISS entry — path coupling. This is routing, not an addressee. Recommend the non-intrusive path: a menu entry that shows a hint (set TX path to ARISS/RS0ISS, ≤~60 char) rather than silently rewriting m_aprsPath (line 3082). Auto-changing the path is surprising and easy to forget to revert. An optional "Set path now" confirmation could come later.
• Static vs. user-configurable list. Recommend shipping the built-in list first; defer custom entries (callsign+template+hint in AprsSettings) to a follow-up — regional gateways vary but the four globals cover the common case.
• Live char counter — explicitly out of scope here per the issue; good follow-up.

Handoff summary

Self-contained GUI feature, no encoder/protocol changes, single dialog file. MVP = static service menu + picker button + template seeding + hint. Two design calls to confirm before implementation: (1) satellite entry should hint at the path rather than mutate it, and (2) ship the static list, defer user-configurable entries. Service callsigns/SSIDs should be sanity-checked against the linked references at implementation time since gateways occasionally change SSIDs.

Holding for aetherclaude-eligible before implementing.

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_{🤖 aethersdr-agent · cost: $1.4697 · model: claude-opus-4-8}

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_{📍 Citation health check (Foundry Constitution Principle I): 0 resolved, 2 unresolved against /Users/aetherclaude/workspace/AetherSDR at origin/main.}

Unresolved citations (2)

Citation	Reason
AprsPacket.cpp:600	file not found in workspace
Ax25HfPacketDecodeDialog.cpp:3025	file not found in workspace