Well, there went May…..
At the request of the users and repeater owners, a Facebook page was created for Crossroads DMR to allow for collaboration among repeater owners and users. Facebook, as we all know, is probably the king of social media and nearly everyone uses it in some fashion. Given its accessibility it’s an ideal platform for sharing information.
I received a comment via my website asking for some assistance in programming the Kenwood TK-981 for 33cm. I provided some guidance on how the FCC channel numbers were used and then how to utilize the available tools to get the radio into the 33cm band. I have a few TK-981’s and they are a solid 33cm mobile.
Officially received my repeater coordination for my DMR machine, which unfortunately resulted in a frequency change. Now to schedule the time to reprogram the repeater and re-tune the duplexers.
Participated in a WD9BSA VE Testing session which resulted in two new Technicians and a newly minted General!
Answered some c-Bridge questions from various individuals and groups. Some via third-party surrounding the addition of Motorola Capacity Plus radio ID’s to the database and another about c-Bridge remote control. As is our mission, knowledge learned is knowledge to be shared.
Did a little experimentation with c-Bridge configuration and talkgroup activation. In DMR you typically have two types of talkgroups. Full-Time which is what is sounds like, a talkgroup that is on all the time. The other is PTT or as some have started to call it, user-activated. The latter requires a PTT or kerchuck on each machine to bring that talkgroup to an active status on that repeater. PTT talkgroups are often governed by a timer, so once you activate it, it will only stay active for a set amount of time before going dormant. Some c-Bridge admins have implemented a way to turn all PTT talkgroups on with a single PTT and likewise to turn them off. This would give the casual listener the ability to see what’s going on an apparently idle repeater. I’ll be working more on this as time goes on.
Successfully performed a c-Bridge inter-operability exercise with the DCI group where we liked talkgroups in a non-traditional way. The process is called CPM or c-Bridge Peer Master. Basically instead of using Control Center connections to link two bridges, you use a manager on each c-Bridge. The advantage of this is that it can be used in situations where certain resources are limited and might otherwise prohibit establishing connectivity. It was certainly a learning experience for me and I embrace any opportunity to take existing technology and apply it in a new and different way.
Worked with Mike, NO7RF, on some Parrot troubleshooting. For those not familiar with DMR, a Parrot server is basically a simple echo audio test. You key up the talkgroup say a few words and in a couple of seconds your audio comes back to you. It’s a great way to see what you sound like to others. Mike had ask if I would share the new Parrot server that I mentioned in my report last month. I was happy to do so and once we got it setup, he wasn’t getting audio back. I scoured my end, but was unable to turn up anything. Ultimately the issue turned out to be a c-Bridge issue on his end. So the Indy Parrot is squawking the great state of Washington.
As I’m experimenting with various software packages that run as linux daemons, I’ve discovered that I’d like to find a good way to tail an application logfile and have it output to a webpage. If anyone has done something similar, I’d appreciate suggestions or information on how you accomplished the task.
Ed, K3HTK, received an email regarding Broadband HamNet which we’ve experimented with on and off. Cory (KC9WET) seems to be off and running and has either done or is doing some of the things that Ed and I have played around with or talked about doing. A potential new application would be to use that setup to pass IPSC traffic for linking DMR repeaters. This could have great impact in a disaster area by allowing DMR connectivity to be established when other means may have been knocked offline by whatever disaster has taken place. Additionally we plan to do some work with VoIP, the session initiation protocol specifically, to potentially have a PBX in a box that could also be rapidly deployed. Certainly an interesting technology with a lot of potential.
After picking up a DMR mobile in Dayton, I began putting together what I’m going to need to interface it with a Raspberry Pi to allow for remote control of the radio. The Raspberry Pi is uber sensitive to any voltage coming back on the GPIO interface and will fry a Pi pretty easily. There are multiple interface boards out there that provide protection so in order to move the project forward, I’m in the process of obtaining one of them. Luckily they run ~$15-$20.
Speaking of Dayton, Ed (K3HTK) and Eric (K9ZX) made the trek over on Friday. By the end of the day, the dogs were barking and we were pretty toasty. But it was a great day and while I didn’t bring home any fantastic finds, I did pickup a code generator to attach to my service monitor to generating PL, DPL, Two-Tone, etc. It was nice to see a few familiar faces in the crowd as we made our way around.
The Naptown Amateur Group (N9AG) participated in the INQP again this year. A modest effort on our part, but fun none-the-less. We tested out a new logging application written by Ed (K3HTK) on various tablet platforms and made several revisions to the application throughout the day. Ed originally wrote the app for Field Day and quickly adopted it for the INQP. We also started looking into making some FD shirts for the club. Since we don’t have many members, the cost isn’t the greatest, but I thought it would be neat.
At their request, I designed a new website for the Grant County ARC. Feedback thus far is that they like the new design and hopefully through our efforts we can generate some additional interest in their club.
I received a request from the ChicagoLand DMR group for a feed of the EchoIRLP DMR talkgroup that I’ve setup. I was happy to accommodate their request.
I think that’s pretty much it. I spent a week in Gatlinburg on vacation the later part of the month and beyond mobile monitoring, didn’t do any hobby related activities. I fully intended to stop by Ten-Tec and see the new facilities, but did not make it.
I’ll be travelling to Madrid, Spain in June on business. Looking into the possibility of doing some operating there. More on that next month!
