Network Changes/Updates

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working on replacing the Cisco Meraki MX-67 firewall with a Fortinet 60E. Quite a bit of a learning curved was involved there, but we’re on the other side of it now!

I’ve also been exploring the world of containers. With some guidance from Stephen, K1LNX, I’ve been able to reduce my VM inventory by ~6. I’m continuing to look for ways to further exploit this technology and to further streamline my operations.

I’m beginning to migrate all of my public services to a reverse-proxy model which allows me to leverage Lets Encrypt certs to secure communication channels. So there may be some changes to URLs as services are migrated. For instance, accessing the c-Bridge no longer requires ports on the URL and the communication is secured via SSL.

While much of this tech isn’t new to me, introducing the container aspect of it has sent me down a rabbit hole. But it’s been fun so far…..

Until next time…..

Quick and dirty MTR2000 Programming Cable

Recently, I decided to finish up a project that’s been on the shelf for several months now. I was going to convert an analog MTR2000 into a P25 machine via an MMDVM.

I used the excellent STM32_DVM and associated cable from Repeater Builder. I have three of the STM32_DVM’s and they work great. Easy to tune, etc. Scott also has a native MTR2000 card now, too. However that was not available when I bought mine.

Anyway, I needed to reprogram the repeater to change the frequencies as my coordination differed from the test pair I was using. And that’s where the problem started.

Searching everywhere, I could not find my programming cable. So back to the bench to make one…. After researching the pinouts, it is very simple, I ran into having to translate from the examples online looking into the radio jack, to the other examples looking at the RJ45 connector, but from which side?

Much trial and error later and after reviewing my notes, I thought I’d share my revelation:

  1. Get a T568B ethernet cable, probably the most common out there, and cut off one end.
  2. Get a DB9 female connector, with clam shell, etc. if you want to make a keeper
  3. Soldier the white/blue wire to pin 5 of the DB9
  4. Soldier the green to pin 2 of the DB9
  5. Soldier the white/brown to pin 3 of the DB9
  6. Attach your clam shell and cable retention
  7. Program your repeater!

I assure you, we’re open!

Coining a phrase from one of my favorite movies…..

Things have been very busy around here and I have unfortunately not been updating this page regularly. There is so much work that goes one behind the scenes to keep everything running and I often have little time to come here and update things.

Having said that, work is continuing and I’m doing my best to maintain the networks that I’ve build, but it the end of the day I’m one guy and reliable help is hard, if not impossible, to find.

Most of my work now centers around P25 and it’s related technologies. I still own/manage a DMR c-Bridge, but as of this writing, I do not have any DMR repeaters on the air.

If you’re wondering what I’m up to, or have a question, feel free to ping me via email.

The Origin of “73”

Thank you!

I would like to extend a big thank you to a young lady by the name of Willow.  Recently the N9AG Club was contacted by her mother and informed that they were doing research for a Brownie Girl Scout Troop regarding emergency preparedness and communication skills.  Willow found the links we provided of great help in their search and in the interest of being a good digital citizen, she wanted to share a link with us to add to the website for the benefit of future visitors.  As the president of the N9AG Club, I wanted to thank her here on my personal site as well.

You may visit the link here:

Amateur Radio and Emergency Communications

Well done, Willow!

 

 

Anytone AT-D868UV – My Thoughts

 

I’m going to try something different than what I’ve done in the past.  Instead of providing you with a full review, there are plenty of good ones already on the web, I’m going to summarize my pro’s and con’s as I continue to play with this radio.  This will be a living post for a while as I will continue to update throughout my experience.

Pro’s

  • Display is very clean/crisp
  • Last heard indicator for DMR
  • Timeslot indicator for DMR channels
  • Separate CPS containers for Group Call ID’s (talkgroups) and Private Call ID’s (users)
  • Support for contacts on www.amateurradio.digital
  • Ability to write config and contacts separately to radio
  • Very easy to set boot-up image

 

Con’s

  • Unable to re-order zones, scan lists
  • Can’t cut/paste multiple channels in CPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ailunce HD1 – My Thoughts

 

I’m going to try something different than what I’ve done in the past.  Instead of providing you with a full review, there are plenty of good ones already on the web, I’m going to summarize my pro’s and con’s as I continue to play with this radio.  This will be a living post for a while as I will continue to update throughout my experience.

Pro’s

  • Look and feel of CPS
  • Look and feel of the radio
  • Separate CPS containers for Group Call ID’s (talkgroups) and Private Call ID’s (users)
  • Support for contacts on www.amateurradio.digital
  • Option in CPS to set the radio date/time with each write

 

Con’s

  • No nuisance delete function
  • Unable to re-order channels in a zone without removing all of them and re-adding.
  • Ability to toggle channel name/channel number/frequency is not available in CPS but is available in the radio’s menu.
  • No LED indication when there is activity on the adjacent time slot
  • Talk permit tone sounds, regardless of status of repeater connectivity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m Back!

I’ve been absent much of 2018 due to some family medical issues.  Things are beginning to return to normal and I’ll get back to updating this site regularly.

 

Android DMR M1DU – First 24 Hours

So after a lot of consideration and some collaboration with Bob (W2CYK) regarding c-Bridge integration into the RFinder application, I decided to pull the trigger and get one of the android/radio devices.  The M1DU is a ruggedized Android 6 Phone plus a 77UHF FM/DMR Transceiver.

After playing around with it for a few hours and figuring out how it worked, I decided to take the plunge and pull the SIM from my Samsung Galaxy S7 and put it in the M1DU and begin the process of converting it to my daily carry device.

As with any Android device, while the base OS is the same, the interfaces, etc., are a bit different and it’s taken some getting used to moving from my trusty S7.

I have to admit, being able to pull up and application that knows where you are, choose a repeater and hit a button and you’re ready to TX, it very nice.  However, along with that model comes a paradigm shift.  Gone are the ideas of zones, channels, scan lists, etc.  Basically you have a single channel that can be programmed with a couple of touches.  It’s taken me a bit to get used to, but once I’ve adjusted the way i think, the idea has merit.  I do think there is room there for “presets” which would be tied to the 16-position channel selector on top.  Additionally, I’d like to see some sort of scan, although Bob said currently, it’s just too slow, which while disappointing, I’ve seen similar in other radios.

I also think there needs to be a one button talk around option.  The good thing is that in my discussions with Bob, he’s open to development ideas and acknowledges that he’s new to DMR.  However, for being new to DMR, he has a good handle on the basics.  I will be working with him to automatically pull talkgroup info from c-Bridges and import into the RFinder DB.  Right now, Brandmeister enjoys that ability.

At any rate, during my first 24 hours, I made a list of observations that I felt worth noting.  Some of these I’ve talked to Bob about and will add those comments as well.  So here we go:

 

1). No PTT tones?  Impossible to tell if you’ve successfully hit the repeater.
  • So this one is a biggie.  There is no tone at all when you key up the radio.  On analog or digital.  While a mere convenience on analog, on DMR those tones confirm you’re into the repeater and have a time slot.  The good news here is that he’s working with the developers to implement the PTT tones.  I’m not sure how much influence that I’ll have here, but I intend to make the suggestion that it’s optional and selectable for both modes.  Also, a bonk or DMR failure tone will also need to be implemented.
2). No scan?  Nuisance delete?
  • As mentioned above, there currently is no scan.  Bob was talking about the scanning of frequencies, etc., whereas I was thinking more of a TG scan on a given repeater.  I’m not sure what can be worked out here, but we’ll see.
3). Any concept of zones?  Or are you just expected to re-program when you move between machines?  I realize you can have multiple machines in the one zone you get, but we typically organize the TG’s with one machine per zone.
  • This is where the paradigm shift takes place.  There is no need for zones, channels or code plugs.  You select a repeater, analog or DMR, then select the TG you want to be on and hit “Send to Radio” and you’re done.  It’s very easy and very intuitive, although it flies in the face of conventional practices.  Again, I still see the need for presets, etc.  Once we get the c-Bridge integration working, we’ll re-examine this and perhaps re-evaluate.
4). I’ve had the PTT app crash a few times.  Is there any debug or data I can gather/report to fix that?
  • So I was not aware, but the RFinder App integrates directly to the internal radio.  There is also an app called PTT, that someone just opening the box would gravitate toward.  I did.  It’s also the only app covered in the documentation which is very basic.
5). I’ve had the radio stick on PTT 2-3 times, which is a bit scary, but the red light wasn’t on, yet I was stuck in transmit.  The only way to clear it was to switch channels.
  •   So far, while using only RFinder, I have not had a situation where PTT locked open, however, I have had at least one occurrence of the radio shutting down, even though the LED indicated that it was active.
6). Can the channels be named or the voice files changed?
  • Again, this refers to the PTT app.  no need for this in the RFinder app.  Also contact info is automatically populated in RFinder vs. PTT.
7). What is the POC button?  It is indicated in the manual, but no explanation given.
  • PoC = PTT over Cellular and it intended for use in applications like Zello.  Although Bob tells me there is currently a bug in it’s implementation.  I don’t recall the specifics of the bug, perhaps we didn’t really go into it.  I might install Zello just to check it out.
8). Same goes with the button between the power connector and the power button.  Can either of those be programmed or used?
  • This button is currently not programmed for use, but that options exists based upon my take-away from my call with Bob.
9). I saw in the setup the unit seems to support two SIMs.  Is this true?  I have a vacation phone that I could consolidate, if that’s the case.
10). In the receive groups what does Ref_Times mean?  I typically do not use receive groups, but found yesterday that the radio would not unmute unless I had a receive group with the TG in it.
11). When switching between high/low power the verification prompt always appears, even though you check the no longer prompt box.
We ran out of time for the last three questions.  When I get those answers, I will update this post.
Since this list, I’ve made a few additional observations:
12). Bluetooth seems to be a bit flaky.  I pair my phone with Ford’s Sync in my 2011 F150.  All of my other phones work flawlessly, but the M1DU seems to disconnect randomly.  This is still under investigation.
13). In speaking with Bob, the manufacturer assures him Android 7 is an option for this platform.  I’m eagerly awaiting that.  Perhaps that would have eased my transition from my S7.
One cool thing is the charging jack.  It’s very similar to the Mac Lock on the Apple MacBooks.  I’m a Mac Guy for the most part and I just upgraded to a new MacBook without the Mag Lock charger.  I think that is one of the dumbest moves Apple has made.  USB-C is nice, but it’s not nearly as rugged.
Battery life has been great.  It has a 6200mAh battery.  I’ve run it all day with both the radio and phone and bluetooth on and when I get home I’m usually ~60% of the battery left.
That’s all I have for now.  I have the device paired with one of my Android Wear Smart Watches and used it daily.  So far so good.  Installing other android apps is just like one would expect and thus far, I’ve run into no real nuances beyond the differences in Android 6 and 7 and the button differences.
I’m sure I’ll have more as I continue to work with the unit, but at this point, I like it.  There are some things to get used to, but it’s a different piece of gear.  The ability to consolidate two device into one, even with the slight increase in size appeals greatly to me.

NF9K Technical Specialist Report – February 2017

Provided some assistance to an Indiana HAM regarding the Raspberry Pi. He’s building an AllStar node and also looking into the RTCM units to build out a simulcast system. This will be an interesting project to follow. Last I heard from him, he’s purchased GPS references for each RTCM. Simulcast is nothing without perfect timing.

Continued work on building out the infrastructure for the Indiana Quantar Network (IQN). We opted to go with VPN connections between the core and each site. Doing so eliminated holes in the firewall and static IP requirements. It also makes the entire infrastructure available from a single point. I wrote documentation for configuring the VPN, so that we can keep everything standardized, I still need to write the documentation for the Cisco routers. Our efforts have literally been brick by brick…. As an example, you obtain the proper Cisco router, then you have to buy the right cards for digital and analog audio, the right cables and adapters to connect to your Quantar. You also require DSP resources in your router to run mixed mode, and then there is all the planning for each repeaters ports, subnets, IP addresses, VPN tunnel config, etc. But it’s coming together. As I write this, three tunnels are up and two repeaters on online with a couple more to come very shortly. While the following techinically happened in March, The first official P25 QSO on the IQN too place on 3/4/2017 @ 02:41UTC between K3HTK and NF9K. This was a huge milestone given all the work we’ve put in thus far and really paves the road to shift into overdrive now! We’ve established an FB Group for the IQN (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1742372622743134/) Come join us!

I received a comment via my website from an 8-Call asking about the Henry Amplifiers that I currently use. He was interested in using one for DMR, which I am doing and was curious since the website mentions analog only. Since the DMR repeater brings up both time slots at one time, they will work with most amplifiers, however DMR portables and mobiles will not. Before I purchased the one I have in service, I consulted with the folks at Henry and the confirmed that they work fine with DMR. I shared what I’d learned and my experiences.

Participated as a VE for the WD9BSA VE Team on 2/11/17. We had five come in to test and we gave exams on 10 elements. All in all, we added four new hams to our ranks. (2 General from zero, 1 General Upgrade and one Tech).

As mentioned in last months report, I’ve been working with the developers of the c-Bridge on their implementation of the SIP protocol. In addition to discovering a bug right out of the gate, I found some major issues with release 9032. It would only run for 2-3 days before becoming completely unresponsive. The issue did not manifest itself on a local-traffic c-Bridge as IN-2 had no issues. But IN-1 has the right combination to trigger whatever it is. After multiple attempts and captures of various system stats during the periods working up to a crash, I ended up sending all the data I had to the devs and downgrading to restore system functionality.

On the topic of SIP and the c-Bridge, I’ve successfully been able to initiate a phone call by keying up a talkgroup and conduct two-way communications. Very similar to the functionality of the Echolink client for smart phones. I was able to get the c-Bridge to register as a client to my FreePBX installtion allowing me to pick up a phone and “dial” a talkgroup again establishing two-way communications. I also configured an open conference and had the c-Bridge call and join the conference whenever a talkgroup was keyed up. I then used a SIP phone to also call the conference. The only catch was the conference is designed not to pass DTMF becasue it’s used for conference control, so I could not toggle TX/RX via the phone in this configuration. My next step will be to test with a SIP client on my smart phone. But if all works like I expect, I could offer DMR/talkgroup connectivity to users in a similar fashion to what Echolink does. We’ll see how things go. The IQN is taking a lot of my cycles, but the c-Bridge SIP setup is definitely high on my list of things to work on. I will say that I’m learning a lot on how the c-Bridge works under the hood…. And how to manipulate the system from the linux shell.

Received an email from a 7-Call asking about assistence configuring a Cisco router for P25 Quantar Linking. We exchanged a few emails and I was able to get him on the right path.

Programmed up some Motorola 33cm HT’s (MTX) for a local ham. Which meant I had to dig out the DOS laptop! But it worked fine and after programming one, I was able to do partial clones to the other two. In return, he presented me with a nice Moscato, which promptly went to the XYL. If she’s going to benefit from my work in Ham Radio, shouldn’t she at least get her ticket?!?!?!?!

I was ask once again to present at the Indianapolis Hamfest. They seem interested in another Raspberry Pi presentation. I’d be interested in hearing from folks on what they’d like to see. So if you have any ideas, please shoot me an email (bill@nf9k.net).

I’ve started thinking about building an ADS-B setup similar to what K3HTK has done, but likely without the solar aspect. There is just a cool factor about snagging that info out of the air and displaying it on a map.

When I first started with the IN-1 c-Bridge, Mike Shirley (N07RF) was a huge help. He was a fantastic mentor and teacher and we spend many hours in email, on the radio, even on the phone as he helped me through the learning process. He just recently inquired about SIP capability to the c-Bridge Devs and they referred him to me. The student becoming the teacher is definitely a great feeling and it was awesome to give back to someone who’s given me and the rest of the DMR community so much.

On the same note, I was also hit up my W2AXB, who like Mike, was interested in SIP on the c-Bridge. I was amazed at how quick news traveled that I was working on that stuff. Both guys were looking for the ability to have the c-Bridge function as an autopatch similar to analog repeaters used to do. While the c-Bridge implementation of SIP isn’t far developed, I still have an idea involving an FXO gateway that I’m hoping to try when I can find some time.

Received a website comment from an HK2-Call regarding the DR1X Fusion repeater. He was looking for help regarding the TOT settings and APRS integration. I’m still working with him on these issues.

Helped K3HTK through the process of requesting AMPRNet IP space. We’ll start building routers in a couple of weeks to deliver the IP space to his house…..

Received an email from the Purdue University Amateur Radio Club. They are interested in joining the IQN and after a few emails, we believe the have all of the necessary gear at this point. Once finals are finished for them, we’ll be bringing them online. They will be doing P25 only.

Boy, I think that’s it. It’s been a busy time, but I’m loving every minute of it. Nothing like going downstairs to the Laboratory and walking around looking at things, thinking, I could work on that, or that or this, or…. What a hobby!!!

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