G4CTP's Amateur Radio Hints and Tips

N.B. The current status of the project is that wfview does not provide a reliable link, because it is intolerant of delayed or out-of-sequence UDP packets. Although the remainder of the project is described using wfview, this may not be the ideal solution. Fixed Location Ensure that Wireguard is running, the iptables rules are in place, and the router port forwarding is configured, as described in Part 2 . Portable Station Portable Station Configuration The Raspberry Pi at the Portable Station requires a copy of Wireguard, and wfview. For Wireguard: sudo apt install wireguard Then take the .conf file provided by the Fixed Location (generated in Part 2), and place it in /etc/wireguard. The command will be something like: sudo mv /Downloads/G0XXX.conf /etc/wireguard/G0XXX.conf For wfview: Follow the download instructions at  https://wfview.org/ , using the Raspberry Pi build script included on the downloads page. Connect the Pi to the rig using USB. Some trial-and-error might be need...

Configuring the Fixed Location N.B. The current status of the project is that wfview does not provide a reliable link, because it is intolerant of delayed or out-of-sequence UDP packets. Although the remainder of the project is described using wfview, this may not be the ideal solution. Part 2 follows on from Part 1 , and describes the configuration of the Fixed Station, i.e. the "middle man" in the overall design: Hardware The hardware configuration couldn't be simpler: Any configuration of Pi can be used. I am using the most basic model: a Pi Zero (not even a "W"). It is connected (actually via a USB ethernet dongle) to an ethernet port on my home router, which in turn is connected to the public internet. Router Configuration My home LAN operates in the 192.168.0.0/24 private address space. Yours may vary, of course! The router's address is 192.168.0.1. I have assigned the Pi a fixed address of 192.168.0.2. This assignment is configured in the router. I wo...

Concept The challenge: Is it possible to put a portable station on a remote hilltop somewhere, and then operate it remotely?  Something like this: This would be pretty straightforward if the portable station had a physical internet connection available, with a fixed IP address. Then the diagram above would be all that is needed. But of course it doesn't, so that presents some challenges! If the portable station has mobile internet available - a fairly safe assumption since it will probably be located on a hilltop - then we can use a mobile router or a hotspot to provide the internet connection. Fortunately I was offered a 3G Router for this project. A 3G Router contains all the functionality of a standard router, including physical ethernet ports, as well as slot for a SIM card and an external 3G antenna. Of course, 4G would be preferable and 5G even more so due to its lower latency, but the 3G Router is what we had to hand. The same thing could be achieved using a 3G, 4G or 5G wif...

This is a quick addendum to Part 3 , which has been amended to include TG400. When operating on the Phoenix network using a hotspot, sooner or later you will have the frustrating experience of opening a user-activated talkgroup that is in use by a QSO... which you than can't manage to release so that you can listen to a different talkgroup. Unlike other networks, the Pi-Star dashboard does not have a "drop" option for Phoenix talkgroups. In fact, there are three ways to disconnect: 1. Wait 15 minutes without transmitting on that talkgroup. It will time out. You can monitor the timeout on the Phoenix F dashboard - it is the number in parentheses after the talkgroup number. 2. Reboot the Pi-Star! Drastic, but it works. 3. Make a group call to TG400 (yes, 400). I found this out from this useful post on the Pi-Star forum:  What is the correct method to drop a TG on Phoenix? - forum.pistar.uk So, to add TG400 to your codeplug: Create a Digital Contact with a Group Call to TG4...