NE-FL D-STAR System

The Journal of the North East Florida D-Star Repeater Network

Archive for category Dongles and DVAPs

New D-STAR Repeater Site Possibilities

Jul 3

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | No Comments

We will be surveying a couple of potential repeater sites today (Saturday) – both in or near Jacksonville.

The  first is in Jacksonville Beach – near the pier – on one of the tallest buildings in the area. This site will provide handheld coverage to the entire JAX Beach area, as well as mobile coverage throughout all of downtown JAX. Permission by the property manager has already been granted, through the diligent efforts of Scott (K2LSF). Assuming the site is suitable, we expect to install equipment within the next 30-days.

The second is a very tall tower in Jacksonville at an existing television station, courtesy of their chief engineer and Duval EC Cary Beurshausen (N4CDB). We are looking at installing at the 500+ foot level, which will allow for the other 500-feet of VXL7 hardline for the Switzerland tower. We considered going to 900-feet, but the coverage pattern was not substantially better – and the lack of redundancy was a bit troubling to us. Having both Jacksonville and Switzerland at 500-feet provides a good level of redundancy while also providing multiple simultaneous RF channels.

Some of these sites may have a D-Star Hotspot versus a full Icom repeater stack (we haven’t decided yet). As additional sites become available, we will likely be installing more hotspots.

Stay tuned for more info….

D-STAR Hotspot – a REALITY..!!

Jul 2

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, Dongles and DVAPs | 1 Comment

I’m am most pleased to announce that Steve Finger (KB4DNQ) has been successful in taking our project of producing a workable, duplicatable, low-cost D-Star hotpot and turning it into REALITY..!!  Steve has been working for the past 6 weeks on integrating the Satoshi Yusada D-Star Node Adapter, a Kenwood TM-271 VHF radio, and software from Mark McGreggor and making a hotspot which essentially is a high-power D-Star Access Point (DVAP). Running at 15-20 watts, this hotspot configuration can provide D-Star communication from an RF station to a Gateway or Reflector (like REF034C) for many miles from the hotspot location.

Steve has been testing at his home QTH and was able to have a number of successful contacts while mobile at 1/10 Watt and almost 1-mile away. With sufficient height, this could be the perfect system for providing “fill-in” coverage to locations which do not have good HT coverage thru the repeater, or emergency D-Star coverage for disaster areas.

Steve is in process of creating the documentation (the “HOW-TO” guide), so this can be replicated by ANYONE. Parts cost, ordering information, documentation will all be provided on this site so that all can have and freely replicate. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for more info.

We will also be looking to see whether it is possible to have full-duplex operation, while also having a connection to a Gateway or Reflector – not sure on that one yet (it may be in the next release of the software), but if possible it could mean a whole new way of providing inexpensive D-Star repeater services.

I was successful in talking to Steve thru his hotspot while I was in Philadelphia a couple of days ago – as with all things D-Star, his audio sounded crystal clear and there were no dropped packets or “R2″ on his signal….. ahhh, the clarity of D-Star (it REALLY makes you spoiled..!!)

In the meantime, if you see KD4DNQ on the Dplus dashboard, it’s likely that he’s using the new Hotspot – give him a call and see for yourself how it sounds…   priceless..!!!

Repeater Status Pages for NEFL D-Star Network

Jun 23

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | No Comments

Status pages for the Repeaters and Reflector are now available:

http://ref034.dstargateway.org

https://ka4res.dstargateway.org:8443

https://kj4ryh.dstargateway.org

the St. Augustine Gateway is not yet working, but when it does, it will be:

https://kj4ryf.dstargateway.org

REFLECTOR 034 – moving NEFL to 034C

Jun 20

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, Dongles and DVAPs, NET Operations | No Comments

In order to be consistent with other D-Star “conventions”, we will be using REF034C (Charlie) as our repeater “bridge” for connecting the four repeaters in the NEFL D-Star Network (instead of REF034A).

Timer scripts for both the Palm Coast and Daytona Beach D-Star gateways have been updated and will automatically LINK to the appropriate reflectors for the Sunday night SouthEastern D-Star Weather Net on REF002A, as well as the Monday night Florida Hurricane Net onREF034A. The timers will then unlink from the scheduled Net reflectors, and link the systems back to REF034C after the scheduled Nets in order to form the seamless NEFL-DSTAR network.

HOW TO USE A DV DONGLE

Jun 8

Posted by N4FPS in Dongles and DVAPs | 5 Comments

DV DONGLE

Before we even get started, you must register on the D-STAR gateway before you can use your DV Dongle.  It simply will not work if you don’t register first.

Ok here we go.  My quest in this article is to provide a simple, who cares what the instructions say, this is really the way to do it, how to install and us a DV Dongle.

First I feel compelled, don’t ask me why, to give you the technical definition of a DV Dongle.  So here it is quoted from the Web Site http://www.dvdongle.com/DV_Dongle/Home.html : “The DV Dongle connects to your PC or Apple Mac via a USB port and provides encoding and decoding of compressed audio using the DVSI AMBE2000 full duplex vocoder DSP chip.  AMBE technology is used in all D-Star radios to provide efficient voice transmissions.  It is also used in some HF digital protocols by vendors like AOR.  The DVTool application used with the DV Dongle may be installed and run on Microsoft Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X Leopard, or many flavors of Linux.”

 Ok now that that’s out of the way, here is the down and dirty definition:  The DV Dongle is a device that connects to your computer through a USB port and uses your computer’s sound card working together with a good quality head set / microphone allowing you to connect to any gateway (internet) enabled D-STAR repeater or D-Star reflector and talk to anyone who is also connected to or monitoring the same. So that’s what the DV Dongle is and does, now how do we get it to do all that?  The rest of this article is dedicated to giving you a step by step written and graphical guide to installing the DV Dongle and the appropriate software as well as configuring the same.  Scroll down below the various steps to see a screen shot of what the text is referring to.

 Step 1. Plug the DV Dongle into an open USB 2.0 PC port.  The “Found New Hardware Wizard” should display. Select “Yes, this time only” and click “Next” to have Windows search for the appropriate driver. Select “Install the software automatically” and click “Next” to install the FT232R USB UART driver.  If the driver is not found, download the driver from http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm by clicking on the “setup executable” link on that web page.  Run the downloaded executable and the drivers will be automatically installed. Click “Finish” to complete installation of the first driver.

 Step 2. The “Found New Hardware Wizard” should display again.  Select “Yes, this time only” and click “Next” to have Windows search for the appropriate FTDI driver. Select “Install the software automatically” and click “Next” to install the USB Serial Port driver. The DV Dongle driver installation is complete.  The green LED on the DV Dongle should now be pulsing on and off. (Note: on my windows 7 machine I plugged the Dv Dongle in with a live internet connection and everything was found and installed without a single action on my part.)

 Step 3.  Download the latest DV Tools software version 2.0 beta 4 at  http://www.opendstar.org/tools/DVTool-2.0beta4.exe. Install the software by clicking on all the default yes answers and let the software load in the default locations on your computer. Simple enough so far right?

 Step 4. Make sure you have a solid high speed internet connection and that it is on and functioning.  This is real important because DVtools will not run if it does not detect a solid internet connection or a connection that is too slow for proper operation.  A dial-up connection probably won’t work.

 Step 5.  Once the software is loaded, click on the DVtool-2.0beta4.exe file to run the DVtool software. When it loads you will see a black DOS like screen and a blue user interface (See Below) which is your main operating screen.  The DOS screen shows various processes such as connection status, user information and various software settings.  This screen has no user interface and can be pretty much ignored by the casual user. It is a great tool however, should you have connection problems.  Just read the information and it will pretty much tell you what the issue is.

 Step 6. The blue DVTool screen is where the action takes place and the connections and configuring happens. On this screen you will see the My Callsign and My Message fields.  You obviously put in your personal call sign in the MY Callsign filed.  Most folks put an “A” in the eighth position after the call sign as a standard indicator that they are using a DV Dongle. If you use the “A” designation after your Callsign, that must be registered on the D-STAR Gateway to be recognized.  In the Message field you can put any appropriate message up to 20 characters that identifies you or your location or whatever you want.  The next tab down is “DV DEVICE” which should show the comport that the Dongle is assigned to:  You now simply hit the “OPEN” button to connect to the comport and activate the DV Dongle.

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                       

Step 7. After you open the comport you will need to set your audio settings before attempting to connect to a Repeater or Reflector.  This is done by going to the “SET UP” tab and then the “AUDIO TAB”. You will see the audio input and audio output devices available to you.  Select the headset microphone and earphones of your headset for these settings. You will see two tabs below this that say “TEST AUDIO USING SOUND CARD ONLY” and TEST AUDIO USING DV DONGLE”  click one of these at a time and speak in a normal voice into your headset and listen to your voice while adjusting the audio settings in your sound card for audio output and microphone input volume until you hear a clear and proper sound level coming back to you.  This can be adjusted more with on the air tests as you talk to others later.

                                                                                                                                                       

Step 8. The actual connection to the D-STAR Network is accomplished by clicking the “CONNECTION” tab and then you will see “CONNECT TO GATEWAY” and then a drop down list of gateway active Repeaters and Reflectors.  Click on the one you want to connect to and also the port designation to the right of the repeaters must be set to the proper port either A,B, or C.  You then hit the “CONNECT TO GATEWAY” tab and you should connect to the indicated repeater or gateway you chose.

Step 9.  To talk, you use your mouse to click on the green PTT button located on the bottom right of the DVTOOLS window.  If you have the lock feature checked, you click the mouse once to key and click again to un-key. If the lock feature is not selected you click on the PTT button to remain keyed and once you let off of the mouse button the software will un-key. You speak directly into your headset microphone to talk. To disconnect from a Repeater or Reflector you simply hit the “DISCONNECT” button.

There are other features to the software under the set-up tab to change the way the DVTools Window looks and feels but that is another lesson and won’t do much to help you connect and use the D-STAR Gateway.  For additional information on how to use A DV Dongle go to the DV Dongle site at http://www.dvdongle.com/DV_Dongle/Home.html. 

Have fun with your Dongles.

MonLink – a D-Star Gateway Link Monitor

Jun 6

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | No Comments

We are in the process of installing MonLink – a script by author Ken Adkisson (WB4FAY) in Birmingham, Alabama. Ken and I had a wonderful discussion on his existing and new products while we were both at the Dayton Hamfest – he is definitely a mover-and-shaker in terms of writing D-Star Gateway utilities for Control Operators. I am deeply grateful to Ken for sharing his code with us and helping to make the process of managing and maintaing our systems easier, more effective and more consistent. MonLink was installed on our system on Friday, 04-June-2010. The details of MonLink are below, but in summary – MonLink constantly monitors our D-Star Gateway Links and restores them to “known states” after programmable durations of inactivity (like when somebody forgets to UNLINK). Future versions will also allow for extensive Link Scheduling for Nets, as well as automatic recognition of changes in Net schedules or Reflector changes.
    Following is the information provided by Ken to System Owners/Operators:
    • MonLink runs as a service on the D•STAR gateway.
    • It reads the ‘dplus.log’ file as input and actively monitors and manages the remote link connections.
    • If a link is established and remains inactive for a configurable amount of time, it is automatically disconnected.
    • There are separate configurable time values for input over the link and for local transmissions sent out on the link.    Therefore if the far end of the link has a lot of activity but nothing locally, it can still be disconnected in a specific amount of time.
    • If a link is established but is dropped by dplus due to repeated timeouts of the keep•alive pings, then MonLink will (if configured to do so) automatically try to reconnect the link.  The first attempt will be made 10 seconds after the failure.  Subsequent attempts will be made at 60 second intervals up to the maximum number set in the configuration file.
    • If a link is established, a recorded announcement will be played at a specific configurable interval to notify the users that a link is up and ALSO what system is on the other end.  For example, the announcement might say “Linked to REF001 module C”.  These announcements are ‘friendly’ in that they will only be played if the module has been quiet for a minimum of 30 seconds.

    Because MonLink is tracking channel activity, it also provides the ability to configure “general announcements” to be played on specified days, times, and modules.   Multiple messages can be defined and they will be played in rotation.  These announcements are managed as follows:

    The channel must have been:
    • quiet for the preceding 60 seconds, and
    • No other “general announcement” has been played for the preceding 10 minutes, and
    • This particular announcement has not been played for the preceding 60 minutes.
    • Times can be blocked out for any “general announcements” (e.g. during SE WX Net, etc.)

    NE-Florida D-Star Reflector (REF034) is ONLINE

    Jun 4

    Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | No Comments

    I’m pleased to announce that the North-East Florida D-Star Reflector is now ONLINE and ready for use.

    You may link to it in the normal way “REF034AL” in the URCALL field.
    Unlink by putting a “U” in the 8th character of the URCALL field (like always).

    We will normally link all the repeaters in the NE-FL D-Star system to REF034A on a full-time basis, as well as inviting the Florida Hurricane Net to be on REF034A. During actual emergencies, we will use REF034A for a Resource Net and reserve REF034B and REF034C as Tactical Nets as may be required.

    This reflector is NOT private – all amateurs are invited to use the system, but it is RESERVED for North Eastern Florida traffic when the situation warrants due to severe weather or other conditions.

    Please contact Mike, Phil or Doug if you have questions.

    NE-Florida D-Star REFLECTOR Coming SOON..!!

    Jun 3

    Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs, NET Operations | No Comments

    As all of you know who having been using the KA4RES D-Star repeater, we make use of a couple of Reflectors to link multiple repeaters for functions such as the SouthEastern D-Star Weather Net, the Florida State Hurricane Net and other more casual functions which require multi-repeater linking. This method of using Reflectors to link MULTIPLE repeaters is simple, yet effective.

    We have always envisioned linking our 4 repeaters together for area-wide, simultaneous coverage from south of Daytona to north of Jacksonville, but weren’t quite sure how we would accomplish this task. Original plans called for the use of the Multi-Cast feature of D-Star, but we have since reconsidered. Use of Reflectors is a simpler and more fool-proof method.

    But use of existing Reflectors might be problematic. We have had generous offers from the Georgia D-Star group to use the Reflector 030B port to link our repeaters, including in times of emergency. But we have reconsidered for the following reason – when a hurricane or storm comes thru Florida, it will require our repeater resources and the linking provided by the Reflector. But when the storm turns north to Georgia, our neighbors in Georgia will require THEIR resources (and their Reflector) to Respond to the calamity – while we are still in Response or Recovery mode. This severely limits our ability to continue to provide service to EOC’s and the state if Reflector resources are redirected for use in Georgia.

    Therefore, I have elected to create our own D-Star Reflector (Reflector number to be assigned by Robin, AA4RC). As of Thursday 03-June, I have placed an order for a remote, dedicated server which will provide us three (3) Reflector ports. This will allow us to have a Resource Net (like the FL Hurricane Net) and two (2) Tactical Nets simultaneously. Any of our repeaters, as well as any others in the State (or country) will be able to connect to the reflector, at-will. Also, DV-Dongle and DVAP users will always be able to link into the Reflector to monitor any-and-all traffic.

    The server has a 100Mbps bi-directional link to the Internet (yes, you read that right… ONE HUNDRED Megabit per second), with usage capped at 10,000 Gigabytes per month, so in times of non-emergency, we can leave all 4 repeaters connected to the reflector unless independent linking is required by any user. The server is located in a high-availability data-center environment, with multiple telecom carriers, N+1 air conditioning and N+2 power, including over 10 Diesel generators on-site. This is also the site where Reflector 030 is housed. In reality, our configuration is actually a bit larger than REF030 – since I anticipate that we will have more traffic at times, due to the probability of severe weather, wildfires and the like. Our friend Robin Cutshaw (AA4RC), the “guru” of D-Star and the inventor of the DV-Dongle, DVAP and the dPlus Linking system for D-Star has been advising us during the week regarding the hosting service – and he will be installing the Reflector software as soon as the technicians at NetDepot turn the system over to us later in the week.

    I will tell you that this facility is quite expensive – our 1-time cost was in excess of $1,000 and the recurring expense is just over $150/month – but we feel that having our own Reflector is CRITICAL to our being able to control our own assets in times of crisis, as well as enabling day-to-day functions like linking our 4 repeaters on a full-time basis. But with all that, let us be clear – we are NOT soliciting contributions (we HATE handling other people’s money.. you know what I’m talking about) – but if you’d like to help, we would MUCH RATHER invite you to contribute your time, efforts and experience to maintaining the repeater hardware and system. ALL are invited to participate – there is no lack of things (Projects AND Tasks) that need to be done.

    UPDATE: The server has been provisioned by NetDepot, our data center services provider. We have turned-over the credentials for the server to Robin and he will be starting the install of the Reflector software on Friday, 04-June.

    Stay tuned – we will publish more information as the Reflector enters testing and as we open it for general use. I expect that it will be within the next 24-48 hours.