SOTAMAT updated with new SOTAWatch Support

Thanks for updating APKs - now I can once again use the latest version on Sailfish.

Wow, I’ve never heard of Sailfish. I’m amazed the app works on a non-Android emulator like that!

-Brian

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A new SOTAMAT has released (no longer beta) to the various app stores:

New features:

  1. Spot 7 different ways:

    • Internet,
    • SMS,
    • Email,
    • Satellite, with replies using direct Garmin inReach API
    • HF FT8 audio from the cell phone app
    • SOTACAT hardware plugin for Elecraft KX2/KX3 with direct FT8 FSK synthesis,
    • SOTAMAT Alert-CW for RBNhole ‘tickling’.

    Use of SMS requires adding your cell phone number to your Sotamat.com web profile. Use of eMail / Satellite requires adding a PIN to your Sotamat.com profile.

  2. Copy Summit / Park (Lat,Long) values to clipboard for use in other apps (requires downloading Summits and Parks database for offline use).

  3. Improved SOTACAT handling. If you have a SOTACAT, please upgrade your firmware and try the new SOTAMAT V2.1.0 with it.

Enjoy!

73 de AB6D - Brian

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Hi Brian,

Thanks for the update on this useful app!

I have a small issue that is not mission critical.

Under ‘Setup’, step 3 [Download Databases]: when I click this button, its label changes to ‘Download Error:’ with no error message and 0 records have been updated.

It seems to me that my local database is from an earlier date when the download still worked.

I’m running the app on Android 15 and used the beta version before, so my latest beta version is the official one (V2.1.0, build 100).

73 Stephan

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Stephan,

Can you try uninstalling the application and re-installing? We’ll see if it is a general persistent error, or some sort of data upgrade issue.

73 de AB6D - Brian

Brian, yes, reinstalling it did the trick!

73 Stephan

Hi Brian

this action didn’t solve the issue on my huawei tablet, i tried twice.

73 de ruedi

@HB9FVK Are you saying you are getting a Step-3 “Download Error” message with 0 records updated or some other issue? I have not tested on tablets, I have only tested on phones. I don’t know why a tablet would operate any differently other than lack of compass/GPS but that would not affect operation of the Peaks-and-Parks database. Do you have an Android/iOS phone you could try?

-Brian

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Hi Brian, this is an android tablet, i trued rigth away on my android phone and got the same error

73 de ruedi

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I had a few local SOTA users with Android re-test and they aren’t seeing this issue.

Next, can you tell me what version of Android your tablet and phone are using?

The server is not showing the request in the logs for your callsign. If you click on the “Load Configuration from Server” in “Step 2”, does that work with a “Success” message? Do you have some sort of security software that blocks connections to https://sotamat.com?

Do you have any ideas as to why your device would be different from my Beta tester devices?

-Brian

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Hi Brian,
The app is working fine here - automatic Google update to this latest version, not a re-install. I’m using Android v 12 on a 3GB LG K42 smartphone.

At my first start after the update, the program reported that the local file was out of sync with the server, so I had to redownload the “blob” (step 2). Then, I downloaded the databases (Step 3)—all went fine, and the App was running as normal.

I wonder if the others are seeing problems with newer Android versions?

73 Ed DD5LP.

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Hi Brian,
the tablet has Android 10, the Phone Android 14. Today i got a new message on my tablet.

If i go into Apps to see the Permissions, i don’t see on for file access, i don,'t know if this is okay?

There is no filter for any traffic, since i can login to your site i think must be okay.

73 de ruedi

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Hi Ruedi,

On my Android I also don’t need file access permissions, so this seems OK.

About the 401 (unauthorized) HTTP error:
Very strange, since your credentials seem to be OK, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to download the configuration from the server. But this is a helpful input for Brian, I guess…

73 Stephan

There seem to be two issues affecting a total of 3 Android users (and nobody else so far):

  1. A crash when trying to create the database on the device to hold the configuration and the Summits and Parks database. Only 1 person has reported this (S55VN).
  2. An inability to download the Summits and Parks database. Two people are reporting the issue. The 401, Unauthorized almost sounds like you’ve changed your password after loading your configuration, but I’m sure you would have known that. So it just appears like an Unauthorized issue. I’m not sure why your Android differs from all the others out there who are not having a problem.

The issue #2 would be explained if you followed the Setup instructions out of order and did Step 3 before Step 2, since Step 3 requires a valid login to work.

As for application permissions: the application does need to write to the local file system (the app’s own directory) for these things:

  1. It stores your Configuration database in the local file system associated with the app’s own storage area (not the global file store, only the local file store for app-specific files).
  2. It stores the Summits and Parks database in the local file file system associated with the App.
  3. It stores a set of name-value pairs for the current settings and selections you’ve made in the app. Again, this is in the app-specific directory.

If you turn off file system writes/reads to the app’s own storage area, it will fail. The app doesn’t need read/write to any other directory except its own. I’m not sure if there are special Android settings needed for that. This should not have changed since the beginning. Note that I use .Net MAUI technology so I write device portable code at a layer above Android and it gets translated to device / operating-system specific code. So I don’t directly pick the app-specific filesystem location as MAUI does that for me.

-Brian

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I noticed today regardless of what I set the Max FT8 message repetitions to (i.e. between 1-4) I get three transmissions of FT8.

Warren.

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Good find! I’ll get that fixed in the next version.

-Brian

Brian,
At the risk of asking a dumb question… Should the number range for Max FT8 Repetitions be 0 to 3 rather than 1 to 4?

This would result in a total number of transmissions of 1 to 4 rather than 2 to 5, i.e. the original plus ‘n’ Repetitions.

Warren.

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Hi Brian, i have given up on that issue. There seems to be no change to get this Summit list down to my tablet. I assume anyway, that sotamat will still function without this file?

73 de ruedi

I guess it depends on how you define the words. If I have 4 apples on the table, can I say I have 4 repeating instances of a type of fruit? Is playing something N times defined as 1 transmission and N - 1 repetitions? Or does English allow me to simplify the concept and say I’ve played N repetitions in total? While it might be more correct to say 1 transmission followed by N - 1 repetitions, I think most people would appreciate the shorthand. The alternative of saying N transmissions has the issue that it doesn’t convey that each transmission is the same message and not N unique messages.
But there is a bug to fix any way we define the words!

-Brian

@hb9fvk Yes, you can use the app without downloading the summits and parks databases. It just becomes less convenient.
If I get time I might try and get you a special debugging build to narrow down the exact line of code that is failing. I sill am not seeing a widespread issue with downloading the databases.
-Brian

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