findU.com cgi's

What follows is a list of the various cgi's available on www.findU.com, and the parameters and options that each cgi accepts. This list is meant to be a comprehensive reference to findU, as such it is fairly technical. This is not meant as a beginner's guide to findU. If you have trouble getting the output you want from findU, take a look at some of the form-based sites that have been created to simplify use.

In referencing any of these cgis please be aware of the findU policy on screen scraping:

Dynamic findU HTML pages must not be used to extract data which goes into a database...in other words, no screen scrapers. If you have a project that needs to do this, you should either use another database as a backend or create your own database by parsing the APRS data stream. Several open source APRS parsers are available. Lately there has been a great increase in the number of people attempting screen-scraping, so I must clarify my position. A single access generated from a user action (starting a program, pushing a button, etc.) is allowed, while any repetetive access by a program is NOT ALLOWED. This is necessary because a single program can use as much resource as dozens of human users, and I do not have the capacity to support this sort of use. I will be monitoring for inappropriate access and blocking IPs where I find a problem.

Recent events force me again to clarify this. If you use findU upon some user-generated action, please think hard about the most efficient way to accomplish this. I've had people use findU to show unaltered radar images by using an off-the-radar station. findU had to fetch the image, realize there was nothing to draw, then send it out again. All this instead of the person getting the image directly from the NWS. Others grab a list of hundreds of raw reports and use one. Please act as if you realize that findU is the limited resource it actually is. If you have questions about any use please ask.


Index:
ariss - www.ariss.net page
altitude - produces a png of altitudes
baro - barometer graph
breadcrumb - produces a png of tracked points
errors - look at parsing errors detected by findU
emergency - show stations with recent emergency messages received by findU
errorlist - look at parsing errors detected by findU for a specific callsign
find - locate an APRS station
inputpos - enter a position into the system
line - produces a tracking png where tracks are drawn as lines
map-near - display a map and table of APRS activity near a callsign, lat/lon, or zipcode
mapurl - generate a minimal web page containing a single MapBlast URL
msg - display messages to and from an APRS station
near - show the APRS activity near a callsign, lat/lon, or zipcode
panel - display the current weather of a single station
pcsat - the pcsat.findu.com page
plot - produce a png of current APRS positions
posit - displays parsed position reports
radar-find - produce a png of radar with current APRS activity overlaid
rain - rain graph
raw - show the raw packets data from an APRS station
rawposit - show the raw position data from an APRS station
rawwx - show the raw weather data from an APRS station
symbol - list stations matching a symbol
tele-list - list stations with telemetry
tele - telemetry plot, uncalibrated x axis
tele1 - telemetry plot, single parameter with scaling
tele2 - telemetry plot calibrated x axis
telpac - Displays maps and a list of WinLink Telpac nodes
temp - temperature/dew point graph
track - tracking page using breadcrumb cgi
track1 - tracking page using MapBlast features
wap find - Location using Wireless Access Protocol - cell phone access
wap wx - Weather using Wireless Access Protocol - cell phone access
warn-near - Display NWS weather messages near a callsign, lat/lon, or zipcode
warn-text - Display NWS weather message text
wind - wind graph
winlink - like find, but with maps and text customized for users of WinLink
wl-list - lists recent WinLink activity
wl-near - display WinLink stations near a callsign, lat/lon, or zip
wx - table display of an APRS weather station
wxnear - show the weather stations near a callsign, lat/lon, or zipcode
wxpage - show the weather at an APRS station
wxraw - raw weather packets
wxxml - experimental product producing XML

find.cgi

This is the workhorse of findU, it displays the current position of a station. The map(s) which are displayed is controlled through a number of parameters.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call mandatory 
units englishcan be english, metric, and nautical
radarNEXRAD ID Radar map to display (*** picks closest)
degreedegrees of longitude0.04Scale of the APRSworld map to display
norelief 01 disables display of photo-relief map
noaprsworld 01 disables display of APRSWorld map
terrameters per pixel0scale of aerial photo image (1,2,4,8,16,32,64)
topometers per pixel0scale of topographic map(2,8,32)

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?k4hg
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=k4hg
It can also accept a radar parameter, which is either a three letter callsign (of the NEXRAD radar, not the airport ID, though sometimes they are the same) or ***, in which case the system will pick the closest radar.

Comments: accepts multiple calls accepts wildcards tactical callsigns

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=k4hg&radar=***

wxpage.cgi

This displays the current conditions of a weather station, and four graphs of the historical weather data.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call mandatory 
lasthours120length of history graphics
radarNEXRAD ID Radar map to display

The radar parameter allows you to replace the MapBlast map with an NWS NexRad radar image, which of course are only available in the US. Using *** results in the system choosing the closest site.

Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=k4hg&last=24&radar=byx

emergency.cgi

This displays an emergency beacons received by findU.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
lasthours24length of display

Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/emergency.cgi?last=96

wx.cgi

This displays the current conditions of a weather station in a table format.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call mandatory 
units englishcan be english, metric, and nautical
lasthours24length of history
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wx.cgi?call=k4hg&last=24

wxraw.cgi

This displays the weather packets received from a weather station. It can be very slow, and can bog down the system, it should only be used if you have a real need.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call mandatory 
lasthours12length of history

wxxml.cgi

This displays recent weather data in XML. It should be considered experimental, if you have a need for something like this you should email me. This is NOT meant for downloading large amounts of data, I've set the somewhat arbitrary limit of 20 stations, each no more than once every five minutes. If you have a need for more data you should look for another backend, or extract the data yourself from the APRS stream.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call mandatory 
lasthours120length of history
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxxml.cgi?call=k4hg

errors.cgi

This displays the a log of erroneous packets seen by findU's parser. The parser is rather strict, and may reject packets that display on other APRS programs. As the disclaimer states, please be sure a packet meets the APRS Specification before emailing me. The table includes the callsign, the number bad packets seen from this callsign over the period.
name units default remarks
last hours 6 length of history

 

errorlist.cgi

This displays the a list of erroneous packets seen by findU's parser from a particular callsign
name units default remarks
call   mandatory  
last hours 6 length of history
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/errorlist.cgi?call=k4hg&last=24

 

altitude.cgi

This was primarily developed for balloon flights, but it works with any APRS station that sends altitude information.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call   
lasthours24time limit for display
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/altitude.cgi?call=k4hg-1&last=9999

near.cgi

This displays the position reports known to be near a given location, which may be specified as a lat/lon, callsign, or zipcode. One, and only one, of these options must be specified.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call   
latdecimal degrees negative for southern hemisphere
londecimal degrees negative for western hemisphere
zip  Zip codes
n 60maximum number of stations
distancemiles99999maximum distance displayed
lasthours240time limit for display
rate offrate=1 shows average packet rate over covered time period
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?call=k4hg&last=24&n=200
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?zip=33042&distance=50
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?lat=24.5&lon=-81.2&last=1&rate=1

wxnear.cgi

This displays the weather reports known to be near a given location, which may be specified as a lat/lon, callsign, or zipcode. One, and only one, of these options must be specified.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call mandatory 
latdecimal degrees negative for southern hemisphere
londecimal degrees negative for western hemisphere
zip  Zip codes
limit 20number of nearby stations checked for weather
noold 0noold=1 suppresses display of stations over 1 hour old
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxnear.cgi?call=k4hg
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxnear.cgi?zip=33042
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxnear.cgi?lat=24.5&lon=-81.2

warn-near.cgi

This displays the NWS messages near a given location, which may be specified as a lat/lon, callsign, or zipcode. Only one of these options can be specified, if none are (or if call=* is used) then the page will show all warnings and they will be sorted by time received.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call   
latdecimal degrees negative for southern hemisphere
londecimal degrees negative for western hemisphere
zip  Zip codes
nomap 0nomap=1 suppresses display of the map
exclude (none)Types of messages to exclude
include (all)Types of messages to include
oldhours0shows messages which expired in last n hours
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/warn-near.cgi?call=k4hg
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/warn-near.cgi?nomap=1&exclude=go
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/warn-near.cgi?include=o

warn-text.cgi

This displays NWS message text. It only takes one parameter, id, which is the callsign of the object associated with the message. Generally this is only used by the warn-near cgi. No examples are possible, because the valid id's change constantly. Messages are held 24 hours past their expiration.

symbol.cgi

This displays stations matching a particular symbol.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
icon (mandatory)two characters, first is the set/overlay, second is symbol
limit 100maximum number of stations to display
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/symbol.cgi?icon=/u&limit=200

raw.cgi

This displays raw packets.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
starthours24start of history
lengthhoursstartlength of history
time 0if 1, prepends a timestamp to each packet
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/raw.cgi?call=k4hg&start=48&length=24&time=1

rawposit.cgi

This displays raw position packets.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
starthours24start of history
lengthhoursstartlength of history
time 0if 1, prepends a timestamp to each packet
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/rawposit.cgi?call=k4hg&start=48&length=24

posit.cgi

This displays position reports, either as a table or as a comma-delimited list.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
starthours24start of history
lengthhoursstartlength of history
time 0 if 1, prepends a timestamp to each position
comma 0if 1, presents the data in comma delimited format
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/posit.cgi?call=k4hg-8&comma=1

rawwx.cgi

This displays raw weather packets.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
starthours24start of history
lengthhoursstartlength of history
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/rawwx.cgi?call=k4hg&start=48&length=24

baro.cgi

rain.cgi

temp.cgi

wind.cgi

These four cgis draw weather graphs as used by wxpage. They all take the same parameters, and each may be inserted into your own web pages using the img tag. If you use these directly please do not put them low on a page that auto-refreshes (meaning the vast majority of images you ask findU to create are never seen by a human). My resources are limited, please respect that.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
lasthours24length of graph
xsizepixels300horizontal size of graph
ysizepixels200vertical size of graph
tzminutes0time zone for y scale
dateyyyymmdd absolute start date for graph
The timezone parameter is meant to be fed by Javascript, and therefore uses Javascript's unusual time zone scale, minutes subtracted from UTC. The Internet standard is hours added to UTC. So Eastern Standard Time, generally denoted as UTC-5, must be sent as tz=300.
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/temp.cgi?call=cw0925&last=48&xsize=400&ysize=300
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/baro.cgi?call=cw0925&tz=300
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wind.cgi?call=k4hg&date=20050824&last=120

breadcrumb.cgi

This draws an image with each track point shown as a small red square, the current position has the callsign attached.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
starthours24start of tracking interval
lengthhoursstartlength of track
geo  usa.geo geo file details
zoom 1zoom factor of map
xsizepixels800horizontal size of image
ysizepixels600vertical size of image
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/breadcrumb.cgi?call=k4hg-8&geo=keys.geo&start=10000

line.cgi

This draws an image with each track point shown as a small red square with the points connected by lines.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory)multiple callsigns, colors, tactical callsigns
starthours24start of tracking interval
lengthhoursstartlength of track
geo  usa.geo geo file details
zoom 1zoom factor of map
xsizepixels800horizontal size of image
ysizepixels600vertical size of image
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/line.cgi?call=k4hg-8!Steve:0:255:100&geo=rad_byx.geo&start=100

radar-find.cgi

This plots current APRS positions on top of NWS NEXRAD images, used by wxpage.cgi. If you use this directly please do not put them low on a page that auto-refreshes (meaning the vast majority of images you ask findU to create are never seen by a human). My resources are limited, please respect that.

If there is a radar that is not being shown, please read the FAQ on findU's front page.

nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory)multiple callsigns, wildcards, tactical callsigns
radar  Three character radar call
zoom 1zoom factor of map
offsetxpixelsnonehorizontal offset of edge
offsetypixelsnonevertical offset of edge
nocall 0nocall=1 hides callsigns
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/radar-find.cgi?call=*&radar=amx&zoom=2

plot.cgi

This draws an image with current positions shown as a small red square with the callsign attached.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory)multiple callsigns, wildcards, tactical callsigns
nocall 0nocall=1 hides callsigns
degreedegrees longitude1if no geo file, specifies an APRSworld map scale
geo  usa.geo geo file details
zoom 1zoom factor of map
xsizepixels800horizontal size of image
ysizepixels600vertical size of image
lasthours120hours of data to plot (max 240)
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/plot.cgi?call=*&geo=usa.geo&nocall=1
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/plot.cgi?call=k4hg-8&geo=keys.geo
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/plot.cgi?call=k4hg-8&geo=http://www.aprs.net/rad_amx.geo http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/plot.cgi?call=k4hg-8&degree=5

tele-list.cgi

This displays a list of all stations with telemetry in the last 24 hours. Links are provided to display the data with tele.cgi and tele2.cgi.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/tele-list.cgi

tele.cgi

This displays telemetry plots, it is the original telemetry cgi. The x axis is not calibrated, using a single pixel for for each report. In other words, each report is placed next to the other regardless of the time received. All five telemetry values are plotted, as well as the optional binary data.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
lasthours24length of graph
xsizepixels530horizontal size of image
ysizepixels330vertical size of image
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/tele.cgi?call=K42C&last=240

tele1.cgi

This displays a telemetry plot usings ploticus, so the x axis is calibrated to the time the report was received. It displays a single telemetry parameter, coefficients and labels may be provided to customize the display. APRS uses a quadratic equation for its telemetry calibration:

ax^2 + bx +c

Full details on APRS telemetry are available here. This cgi is under development, and these parameters are subject to change, even more so than the rest of the site!

nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
lasthours24length of graph
xsizepixels530horizontal size of image
ysizepixels330vertical size of image
param 1number of telemetry parameter to plot
labeltext Description of parameter
unitstext Description of units of the parameter
tics 10Number of tics on y axis
a 0equation coefficient
b 1equation coefficient
c 0equation coefficient
range  range of y axis
autorangeboolean0automatic scale
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/tele1.cgi?call=k42c&last=96¶m=1&b=0.1&label=supply%20voltage&units=volts&autorange=1

More examples to come....

tele2.cgi

This displays telemetry plots using ploticus, so the x axis is calibrated to the time the report was received. All five telemetry values are plotted, at this time the optional binary data is not shown.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) 
lasthours24length of graph
xsizepixels530horizontal size of image
ysizepixels330vertical size of image
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/tele2.cgi?call=K42C&last=240

map-near.cgi

This displays the position reports, on both a map and a table, known to be near a given location, which may be specified as a lat/lon, callsign, or zipcode. One, and only one, of these options must be specified.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call   
latdecimal degrees negative for southern hemisphere
londecimal degrees negative for western hemisphere
zip  Zip codes
cnt 100number of stations to display
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/map-near.cgi?call=k4hg
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/map-near.cgi?zip=33042
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/map-near.cgi?lat=24.5&lon=-81.2&cnt=20

mapurl.cgi

This creates a minimal web page displaying nothing but a single MapBlast map. It is intended to be used within your web pages within a frame. Pretty worthless due to changes since MapBlast was bought by the evil empire. See it in action.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call (mandatory) wildcards
xsizepixels640horizontal size of image
ysizepixels480vertical size of image
scale?20000MapBlast's scale number
refreshseconds300refresh interval
lasthours120hours of data to plot (max 240)
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/mapurl.cgi?call=k4hg&last=24

msg.cgi

This displays the messages to or from a given station. It only accepts one parameter,the callsign of an APRS station.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/msg.cgi?call=k4hg

inputpos.cgi

This allows the web entry of position reports, and is detailed here. Note that this requires registration, as the reporting mechanism is password protected.

track.cgi

This uses the breadcrumb or line cgi's to produce a tracked image within a page containing current position information and a street level map. All parameters are passed to the drawing cgi, look here for description. If the url includes line=1, then a line is drawn between each point. Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/track.cgi?call=k4hg-8&geo=keys.geo&start=10000

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/track.cgi?call=k4hg-8&geo=keys.geo&start=100&line=1

track1.cgi

This is a deprecated cgi which uses capabilities from MapBlast to draw tracks. The only parameter is the callsign, tracking interval is fixed at two days. It draws dots at each plotted point. I have no plans to develop these further.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/track1.cgi?call=k4hg-8

winlink.cgi

This performs the same general functions as the find cgi, but the text and maps are customized for users if the WinLink system. These users are often in remote areas where the maps from the find cgi are not very useful.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?KG4LAR

wl-list.cgi

This provides a list of users who have recently sent reports via the WinLink system. It takes no parameters.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wl-list.cgi

telpac.cgi

This displays maps and a list of WinLink Telpac nodes.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
n 100number of nodes to display
call  if given order the list based on distance from this APRS station
latdegrees if lat/lon given prder list based on distance from this point
londegrees  
Example:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/telpac.cgi?call=k4hg&n=200

wl-near.cgi

This displays the position reports received via the WinLink system near a given location, which may be specified as a lat/lon, callsign, or zipcode. One, and only one, of these options must be specified.
nameunitsdefaultremarks
call   
latdecimal degrees negative for southern hemisphere
londecimal degrees negative for western hemisphere
zip  Zip codes
Examples:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wl-near.cgi?call=k4hg
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wl-near.cgi?zip=33042
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wl-near.cgi?lat=24.5&lon=-81.2

WAP find

This provides a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) page showing the location of a station. It takes one mandatory parameter, a callsign. The URL must be entered into a WAP cellphone or WAP emulator. This is old, does not work with all cell phones, and is not being maintained. For a more complete WAP implementation, see WAPaprs, which uses the findU database for the backend.

Example:

wap.findu.com/find?k4hg-8

WAP weather

This provides a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) page showing the data of a weather station. It takes one mandatory parameter, a callsign. The URL must be entered into a WAP cellphone or WAP emulator. This is old, does not work with all cell phones, and is not being maintained. For a more complete WAP implementation, see WAPaprs, which uses the findU database for the backend.

Example:

wap.findu.com/wx?k4hg



Footnotes and Comments


Accepts multiple calls

cgi's with this comment can accept more than one callsign, separated by commas. When one callsign has special meaning, for example in chosing the radar site or fetching a MapBlast map, the first callsign in the list is used for this purpose.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=k4hg,w7iuc-3,w7iuc-1

Accepts wildcards

cgi's with this comment can accept wildcards.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=w7iuc*

Tactical callsigns (or aliases)

cgi's with this comment can have a callsign replaced with an alias. The callsign is separated from alias by an exclamation point. If a callsign contains a wildcard character, the tactical callsign is ignored.

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/plot.cgi?call=k4hg!Keys House,k4hg-5!Miami House,k4hg-8!truck&geo=usa.geo

zip codes

There are two methods that can be used to specify zip codes. The first simply uses the for &zip=33042. This works for most US zip codes, but the file from the USPS site seems to lack some newer post offices. Thanks to Darryl Smith, VK2TDS, you can also do most Australian zip codes this way, since they are 4 digits long there is no confusion. The MapBlast zipcode lookup feature is no longer available due to changes in MapBlast.

Examples:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/map-near.cgi?zip=33042

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/near.cgi?zip=2000

Accepts color information

cgi's with this comment can have a color attached to the callsign (or a different color to each callsign if multiple callsigns are accepted). The color is specified as a red/green/blue 8 bit numbers separated by colons (":")

Example:

http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/line.cgi?call=k4hg-8!Steve:0:255:100&geo=rad_byx.geo&start=100



APRS is a registered trademark of APRS Software LLC and Bob Bruninga, WB4APR.