[Xastir-dev] adding new NMEA tracker interface type?

[Jason KG4WSV]

So there's this not so new tracking device that's nothing more than a GPS
on the end of an RF serial link like this

http://www.eggtimerrocketry.com/page21.php

or probably this

https://www.missileworks.com/t3/

and definitely some stuff I've built.

I've been using a perl script that reads this NMEA, prepends
"MYCALL>GPSAO:" and feeds it to xastir's server port.

In a fit of insanity I looked at the xastir code and it seems I can create
a new interface type and modify interface.c/pop_incoming_data() to prepend
the APRS prefix to the NMEA data. Of course there would also need to be a
new interface GUI to configure the remote tracker's call, etc as well as
the standard serial port stuff.

questions:

is modifying the incoming string in the interface code a reasonable way to
do this?

am I on the right track at looking at pop_incoming_data() as the correct
place to modify the incoming string?

can pop_incoming_data() return more than one APRS record at a time?

is this a feature that would be potentially desirable?  Is there anyone
besides me and Kurt S that would use it?


I won't ask if I'm insane, because I have a strict policy of not asking
questions I don't want to know the answer to.

-Jason
kg4wsv