Midland D-STAR Repeater

Monday, September 12, 2016

Detailed To Do

Summary to-do list

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
917	2016-08-12	FIXED	Order NW Digital board
994	2016-09-10	WONTFIX	Investigate hang time control
986	2016-09-12	FIXED	Validate LTE
982	2016-09-15	FIXED	WiFi startup
981	2016-09-16	WONTFIX	KC8ARJ as repeater
978	2016-09-16	ASSIGNED	Select UDRC/Pi Case
983	2016-09-19	FIXED	Order quality SD cards
987	2016-09-19	ASSIGNED	Select LTE provider
988	2016-09-20	ASSIGNED	Order LTE Device
989	2016-09-27	ASSIGNED	Receive LTE device
991	2016-09-28	ASSIGNED	Log file strategy
995	2016-09-28	ASSIGNED	Investigate hang time in source
984	2016-09-29	ASSIGNED	SD card receive
979	2016-09-30	ASSIGNED	Receive UDRC/Pi Case
990	2016-10-03	ASSIGNED	Configure/Test LTE Device
985	2016-10-12	ASSIGNED	Schedule 2030 install
980	2016-10-12	ASSIGNED	Modify/Install UDRC/Pi Case
992	2016-10-18	ASSIGNED	Make backup SD
993	2016-10-19	ASSIGNED	Move to 2030
996	2016-11-30	ASSIGNED	Test 100 watt amp

The following are the full descriptions of the various to-do items, including those completed, in order of estimated completion, as of September 12:

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
917	2016-08-12	FIXED	Order NW Digital board

2016-08-08 14:19:41:

Product page info below screen cap visible portion


Open Source Applications  Supported by Others:

    dstarrepeater (and optionally ircddbgateway)
    DIREWOLF 1200/9600 AX25

The UDRC is a Raspberry Pi HAT containing all of the necessary
hardware to directly interface to a radio or repeater.

The UDRC is compliant with the Raspberry Pi HAT Specification
and has the ID EEPROM which directly loads the device table for
the UDRC on boot up. The Ideal Diode circuit allows the Pi to be
powered by either the Micro USB jack or external 12VDC.

Direct Connection to the Yaesu DR1-X Repeater is available with
the HD-15 Cable and adds D-STAR Capability to your Fusion
Repeater. This cable must have all 15 pins wired straight
through.

Alternatively the Mini DIN-6 Cable can be used to connect to the
Data Port on a standard HF/VHF/UHF Radio. This cable must have
all 6 pins wired straight through.

2016-08-08 14:21:15:

From: PayPal 
To: John McDonough 
Subject: Your receipt for payment to NW Digital Radio
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2016 11:13:45 -0700 (08/08/2016 02:13:45 PM)

 
  
 
You paid $96.05 USD to
NW Digital Radio

  
  
 
Thanks for using PayPal, John McDonough

2016-08-10 18:45:15:

Got an "Order Complete" email, whatever that means

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
994	2016-09-10	WONTFIX	Investigate hang time control

2016-09-11 11:16:21:

Not much found in config panel.

2016-09-12 08:17:08:

No real opportunities in configuration panel.  Need to
investigate source.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
986	2016-09-12	FIXED	Validate LTE

2016-09-11 09:39:11:

Tether repeater off phone to validate LTE utility

2016-09-11 20:06:02:

No link tethering from phone. Able to ssh in through phone when
also tethered and connection looks good

root@KC8ARJ:~# ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr b8:27:eb:49:40:f2  
          inet6 addr: fe80::523:94ec:2a31:756e/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:2529 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:2529 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1 
          RX bytes:164814 (160.9 KiB)  TX bytes:164814 (160.9
KiB)

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr b8:27:eb:1c:15:a7  
          inet addr:192.168.43.162  Bcast:192.168.43.255 
Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::625a:8382:b7d2:1582/64 Scope:Link
          inet6 addr: 2600:1007:b02b:bbfb:e670:e28b:6efd:6417/64
Scope:Global
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:2152 errors:0 dropped:134 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1931 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:1538428 (1.4 MiB)  TX bytes:241161 (235.5 KiB)

Linking looking a little shaky:

M: 2016-09-11 23:50:21: Linking KC8ARJ B at startup to REF024 C
M: 2016-09-11 23:50:29: D-Plus ACK message received from REF024 C
M: 2016-09-11 23:50:29: D-Plus link to REF024 C established
M: 2016-09-11 23:51:21: D-Plus link to REF024 C has failed (poll
inactivity)
M: 2016-09-11 23:51:21: D-Plus link to REF024 C has failed,
relinking
M: 2016-09-12 00:00:45: Link command from KC8ARJ B to REF030 C
issued via UR Call by WB8RCR  
M: 2016-09-12 00:00:45: D-Plus ACK message received from REF030 C
M: 2016-09-12 00:00:45: D-Plus link to REF030 C established

It looks like it may just take some time for the LTE link to
settle down

M: 2016-09-12 00:04:39: Link command from KC8ARJ B to REF024 C
issued via UR Call by WB8RCR  
M: 2016-09-12 00:04:39: D-Plus ACK message received from REF024 C
M: 2016-09-12 00:04:39: D-Plus link to REF024 C established

2016-09-11 20:26:46:

Not all is sweetness and light:

M: 2016-09-12 00:09:50: Link command from KC8ARJ B to REF001 C
issued via UR Call by WB8RCR  
M: 2016-09-12 00:10:20: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:10:51: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:11:21: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:11:52: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:12:22: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:12:53: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:13:23: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:13:54: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect
M: 2016-09-12 00:14:24: D-Plus link to REF001 C has failed to
connect

But then, maybe it is just REF001

M: 2016-09-12 00:15:20: Link command from KC8ARJ B to REF030 C
issued via UR Call by WB8RCR  
M: 2016-09-12 00:15:20: D-Plus ACK message received from REF030 C
M: 2016-09-12 00:15:20: D-Plus link to REF030 C established

2016-09-11 20:39:49:

Well, that worked pretty nice.  Shut off the WiFi hotspot and
immediately reconnected via the house WiFi (which was set as a
lower priority)

M: 2016-09-12 00:38:17: D-Plus link to REF030 C has failed (poll
inactivity)
M: 2016-09-12 00:38:17: D-Plus link to REF030 C has failed,
relinking
M: 2016-09-12 00:38:17: D-Plus ACK message received from REF030 C
M: 2016-09-12 00:38:17: D-Plus link to REF030 C established

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
982	2016-09-15	FIXED	WiFi startup

2016-09-11 09:31:24:

Clean up WiFi startup at boot

2016-09-12 08:18:52:

Starting automatically from interfaces allows selection of
network based on priority.  Good solution.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
981	2016-09-16	WONTFIX	KC8ARJ as repeater

2016-09-11 09:29:55:

KC8ARJ shows as a hotspot on dashboards, rather than as a
repeater.  Why is that?

2016-09-11 11:04:22:

Posted a message in the UDRC board

2016-09-11 11:40:08:

Normal behavior.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
978	2016-09-16		Select UDRC/Pi Case

2016-09-11 09:24:23:

Decide on a case

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
983	2016-09-19	FIXED	Order quality SD cards

2016-09-11 09:33:37:

Need a Class 10, 8G SD card, preferably SanDisk or Kingston

2016-09-11 11:13:08:

One of these looks like a possibility:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K1RK3174&cm_re=sdhc_class_10-_-9SIA12K1RK3174-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K4830573&cm_re=sdhc_class_10-_-0DF-0005-00JN6-_-Product

Both 18 day delivery, one ships from Taiwan, the other from the
U.S.  The U.S. one is a little more expensive and a little
slower, although we don't care about speed nearly as much as
life.

2016-09-11 11:14:00:

Also

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K4830573&cm_re=sdhc_class_10-_-0DF-0005-00JN6-_-Product

Also 18 days from Hong Kong.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
987	2016-09-19		Select LTE provider

2016-09-12 10:29:17:

There are a number of LTE providers that can provide quite low
cost for limited data quantity.  Estimate it would be hard to use
up 1Gb per month.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
988	2016-09-20		Order LTE Device

2016-09-12 10:29:37:

Place order for LTE hotspot

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
989	2016-09-27		Receive LTE device

2016-09-12 10:29:54:

Wait for delivery of LTE hotspot/service.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
991	2016-09-28		Log file strategy

2016-09-11 09:46:43:

Develop a strategy to be sure that log files don't get excessive

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
995	2016-09-28		Investigate hang time in source

2016-09-11 11:17:29:

See if the source has any ability to control PTT when in analog.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
984	2016-09-29		SD card receive

2016-09-11 09:35:02:

SD card received

2016-09-11 13:23:20:

Readjust date to max expected shipping on 983

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
979	2016-09-30		Receive UDRC/Pi Case

2016-09-11 09:25:39:

Wait for delivery

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
990	2016-10-03		Configure/Test LTE Device

2016-09-12 10:30:32:

Configure the Pi to use the hotspot network, adjust the backup
scheme for the external address, test repeater using LTE hotspot.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
985	2016-10-12		Schedule 2030 install

2016-09-12 10:30:56:

Schedule a time to move the repeater to 2030

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
980	2016-10-12		Modify/Install UDRC/Pi Case

2016-09-11 09:27:25:

Indication is that case will need some modification

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
992	2016-10-18		Make backup SD

2016-09-11 09:49:16:

Need to create a backup SD card immediately before taking
repeater to site

2016-09-12 10:32:15:

Create a backup of the SD card.  Moved date to the day before
install since this wants to be the LAST thing we do.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
993	2016-10-19		Move to 2030

2016-09-12 10:54:35:

Install the repeater at the permanent site at 2030 building.

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
996	2016-11-30		Test 100 watt amp

2016-09-12 10:49:37:

Repeater will initially be set for 20 watts. It is unknown at
this time whether the addition of an external amplifier will
result in excess desense. After the repeater is at the site, an
amp will be tested for coverage.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

I kind of expect that it may take a little while to get proper Internet up to the site, so I thought I might get an LTE hot spot for the interim. D-STAR repeaters don't require a lot of data, so that kind of service can be fairly inexpensive. By my calculations, we would have to work hard to use even 1GB per month.

So a couple of tests. First thing was to configure the Pi to us WiFi instead of my wired Internet. That turned out to not be terribly difficult. I had previously tried unsuccessfully to get the Pi 3 internal Wifi working without success. Apparently I hadn't tried hard enough. Turned out a little man page exploration and it took off.

But then I ran across a note on setting it up on the UDRC message board. Their way was a lot nicer than mine, so I tried it out and it worked fine.

One slick thing is that the configuration file lets you specify different priorities for different WiFi networks. So I added my cell phone's hotspot in at a higher priority. I then rebooted the Pi to force it to disconnect, and was able to validate that it had connected to the phone's network. That was actually a bit tricky because without another network, figuring out the Pi's IP address was a bit of a trail of bread crumbs. The phone seems to give out random IPs, unlike my router which assigns them sequentially making it easy to guess.

It seemed a little unhappy a first, but after a while it started to work fine. I worried about it at first, but then I realized that all the various gateways need to get comfortable with the new external IP. After a few minutes, everything worked fine.

I had a nice QSO with a station in West Virginia, throughout the repeater continued to report 0% bit error rate, audio was perfect, so as expected, it looks like the LTE is plenty good.

I got curious how resilient it would be changing networks, so I turned off the cell phone hotspot and almost immediately it reconnected to the home WiFi and picked up where it left off.

So it looks like an LTE connection will be quite reasonable. A lot of people use DVAPs and DV-Megas tethered from their cell phones, but I wanted to prove to myself that it was going to work with this hardware.

D-PRS

Many D-STAR radios include a GPS. When an operator chooses, his location can be transmitted as part of his data. Some radios will pop up a screen that shows you the location relative to where you are, as well as the call.

Reflectors include a Last Heard list. When a station is heard who has included his GPS the call shows up in orange. Clicking on the call will link to a map, just like APRS.

ToDo List 11 Sep 2016

I keep my todo list in bugzilla. It allows me to keep various documentation associated with each item, to keep estimates of how much time I need to spend, and to track relationships between items. The image below is the current list of items associated with the repeater. This will change frequently, and I'll post new copies here somewhat less frequently.

Gray means an item is complete. As before, click on the image to see it in a size you can actually read.

As of 2016-09-11:

ID	Estimate	Status	Description
917	2016-08-12	FIXED	Order NW Digital board
994	2016-09-10	WONTFIX	Investigate hang time control
986	2016-09-12	FIXED	Validate LTE
982	2016-09-15	FIXED	WiFi startup
981	2016-09-16	FIXED	KC8ARJ as repeater
978	2016-09-16		Select UDRC/Pi Case
983	2016-09-19	FIXED	Order quality SD cards
987	2016-09-19		Select LTE provider
988	2016-09-20		Order LTE Device
989	2016-09-27		Receive LTE device
991	2016-09-28		Log file strategy
995	2016-09-28		Investigate hang time in source
984	2016-09-29		SD card receive
979	2016-09-30		Receive UDRC/Pi Case
990	2016-10-03		Configure/Test LTE Device
992	2016-10-06		Make backup SD
985	2016-10-12		Schedule 2030 install
980	2016-10-12		Modify/Install UDRC/Pi Case
993	2016-10-19		Move to 2030

Repeater "Modules"

D-STAR repeaters can have a number of so-called modules. Each module is indicated by a letter after the call. Typically, the letter tells you about the module. The convention is:

A - 23 cm
B - 70 cm
C - 2 meter
D - 23 cm high-speed data
G - Gateway

These letters actually could be anything, but in practice the only place you see an exception is where a repeater might have multiple modules on one band.

Any useful repeater will have at least a band module and a gateway. KC8ARJ has a B and a G module. A surprising number of Michigan repeaters have four, and two have all five.

The letter is the seventh character of the call. A lot of radios and software have a separate field for the module. If you are linking to a repeater with a short call, you might have to add spaces. For example, to link to the 2 meter module of the Battle Creek machine:

W8DF CL

That's 2 spaces between the call and the module, forcing the module into position 7 and the command into position 8.

Reflectors also have modules, but in the case of reflectors, the letter has no meaning other than to separate different conversations on the same host. If you look at the three REF024 entries you can see all have the same dashboard and uplink speed (click on the image to enlarge):

And all the modules are combined on the same dashboard:

D-STAR Reflectors and links

The D-STAR network has a whole bunch of reflectors. These reflectors add a lot of capability, and really are what makes D-STAR fun. The repeater is configured to connect to REF024C after an hour of inactivity. REF024C is an open reflector used mainly in Michigan. It is a relatively quiet reflector, although a call will often scare up a QSO. The REF024 reflectors are hosted at the Owosso repeater, W8SHI.

Two other interesting reflectors are REF001C, the so-called MegaRepeater, and REF030C, a reflector that links a lot of U.S. repeaters. Both of these are quite busy. REF001C is so busy that, if you want to rag chew, it is recommended you move off to REF004C.

A complete list of REF reflectors can be found here.

Each of the reflectors has a dashboard that tells you who is linked to the reflector. The dashboard for REF0024 is here, and for REF001, here. There are also CCS, DCS, XRF and XLX reflectors, but the REF reflectors seem to be the most used.

There is a list of D-STAR repeaters here.

Some stations have turned on "visibility" for their radios, and in that case, you can see whenever they press the PTT here. There is also a link to tell you how to turn on visibility for your radio if you wish.

Current Configuration

The block diagram of the current configuration is shown here:

The repeater is currently running at 20 watts. The UDRC connects to the repeater through its remote port, and mounts on the Raspberry Pi's 40-pin connector.

The Pi is running the 'Compass' image which was provided by NW Digital and uses the G4KLX dstarrepeaterd deamon and the ircddbgatewayd daemon to connect to the D-STAR network.

Once we move it to the official site it will have heliax to a better antenna and a whole lot more height.