UV-PRO in ATAK | Grants Pass TAK Server

What this is

UV-PRO is a free ATAK plugin for Android. It connects the map on your phone to a radio over Bluetooth, so people running it can share positions, chat, and map points with no cell service.

One plugin talks to two kinds of radios:

An FM radio with a built-in KISS TNC. The phone sends the data. The radio puts it on the air.
A MeshCore companion. That is a low-power data mesh, separate from GMRS, MURS, and amateur radio.

This server's catalog has UV-PRO 2.0.19 for ATAK-CIV 5.6.0 (com.uvpro.plugin). The plugin does not carry voice. Voice is the radio's push-to-talk, or Mumble when the phone has data.

Radios that work

BTECH (BaoFeng Tech)

UV-PRO handheld
GMRS-PRO handheld
UV-50 series mobiles with the KISS TNC, including the UV-50X and UV-50PRO

VGC Vero

VR-N76 handheld. Same radio as the BTECH UV-PRO, sold under the Vero name.
VR-N7500 mobile. 50 watt dual-band radio with the KISS TNC.
VR-N7600 mobile. 50 watt dual-band radio with the KISS TNC.

Radioddity

DB50-B mobile. 50 watt dual-band radio with the KISS TNC.

On this server the FM radios use 146.550 and 147.450. To use these frequencies, you need an amateur radio license. You can read more about the license at the ARRL, and more about amateur radio testing at Ham Radio Prep. For upcoming test sessions, visit the Southern Oregon Amateur Radio Club.

FM channel file. Download ATAK_DATA.csv and import it in the HT app as its own channel group. ATAK-D is 146.550. ATAK-V is 147.450. This file was made for the VR-N7600. It may work on the other FM radios in this list. Those have not been tested.

A GMRS-PRO can pair with the plugin. While that radio is locked to GMRS, it cannot transmit on these frequencies, but it can receive and decode them.

MeshCore

We use devices flashed with MeshCore. The channel is #GPTAKServer.

When to use it

The TAK server is the normal map when phones have internet. Use UV-PRO when people are in radio range and that connection is gone.

Positions, GeoChat, markers, and routes go over the radio.
A fire perimeter, a search, a convoy, or a neighborhood check when the group is close enough for radio.
When everyone still has data, stay on the TAK server and Mumble.

The bridge between radio and server stays off until you turn it on. Server-to-radio relay sends each person at most once every 10 minutes, and it skips people who have not moved. A long-press in the radio panel stops transmitting and leaves receive on.

How to use it

Use ATAK-CIV 5.6.0. Enrolled phones load UV-PRO 2.0.19 from https://takserver.gptakserver.net:8443/update. The project is on GitHub.
Licensed amateurs use 146.550 MHz for data and 147.450 MHz for voice. Everyone else uses MeshCore. Details are below.
Pair the radio in Android Bluetooth, then open ATAK → Menu → Tools → UV-PRO, or the radio icon at the lower right. Green means connected.
On an FM radio, turn KISS on in the radio menu before the radio will pass data. The BTECH programmer app will not connect while KISS is on. MeshCore does not use KISS.
Set data to 146.550 MHz simplex and voice to 147.450 MHz simplex. No offset, no CTCSS or DCS. Dual watch lets you hear voice while data uses the other channel.
Position starts on a 10-minute beacon. Smart beaconing sends sooner while you move. Change it under Settings → Tool Preferences → UV-PRO.
Chat from GeoChat. A message to one person can get a delivery checkmark. A message to All Chat Rooms does not.
Use Send Ping to see who is on the radio. Send a point or route to a radio contact the same way you send it to someone on the server.
Leave the shared passphrase off. MeshCore on this server uses #GPTAKServer, not that passphrase.

Voice, data, and the internet

Licensed amateurs use two 2-meter FM simplex channels, about 900 kHz apart. No offset and no tone.

146.550 MHz is data. Positions, chat, and map points. The plugin sends this as standard 1200-baud AX.25 packet (AFSK). Any basic KISS TNC can decode those frames.
147.450 MHz is voice. The radio's own push-to-talk. The plugin does not carry that audio.

You can reach the group three ways.

Radio voice on 147.450. Any FM radio works. On a UV-PRO, put 147.450 on the other channel and turn dual watch on.
Mumble when the phone has cell or Wi-Fi. The ATAK Vx plugin uses mumble.gptakserver.net port 64738, channel Scorpion Main. Enrolled phones get that from the server profile. Vx does not key the radio.
Map and text. With internet, use this TAK server. With no internet, the plugin carries them on 146.550. The bridge between the two stays off until you turn it on.

Both radio channels need an amateur radio license. Packets have to carry your FCC call sign, not a tactical ATAK name. The plugin labels its frames OPENRL. Leave the shared passphrase off.

This plugin is not compatible with FCC rules for data on GMRS or MURS. Do not put it on those frequencies.

MeshCore on this server

A MeshCore device needs companion firmware 1.17.1 or newer. That is the current release.

In the plugin, open Add Channel, choose Join a Hashtag Channel, and type:

#GPTAKServer

Where it comes from

The plugin is open source, MIT licensed, from atakmaps/TAK-UV-PRO, built on earlier work by darksteal. BTECH, VGC Vero, and Radioddity make the FM radios. MeshCore is a separate project and a separate radio. This page is the Grants Pass TAK Server's field guide for our users. The plugin authors and the radio makers did not write it.