Pi-Star: Scheduling DStar Reflector Linking and Unlinking
Do you want your repeater or hotspot to automatically connect to a specified reflector at a certain time? It is quite easy to do that, almost no command line stuff is involved.
Howto: Setting up and using D-PRS on Icom ID-5100
Setting up D-PRS on the Icom ID-5100 can be confusing for beginners as the radio has lots of options for D-PRS. Here are some step by step pictures an explanation I originally made for a friend, now for everyone.
XLX reflector direct connection
As i mentionned in this earlier post, with the XLX reflectors came some confusion for the users. A few months (almost 18 months ago actually) I modded ircDDBGateway so that it’ll be able to connect using commands like XLXxxxyL.
Howto: AX25 as a Systemd Service
In this article we’ll see how to run AX25 as a Systemd service, bringing the AX25 interface up on every boot and also putting the TNC into kiss mode. Having an AX25 interface allows you to share it among different applications like an APRS Digipeater or Winlink.
Putting Bluetooth into the Tinytrak 4
Byonics provides a Bluetooth add-on for the Tinytrak 4. While I love the TT4 I am not a huge fan of their TT4BT Bluetooth solution. It consists of a board with 2 DB9, no case nothing to protect and makes the whole thing clunky and bulky. Almost 4 years ago I came up with my own more slick and integrated solution and have been happy with it since then.
Why are APRS RX only iGates bad ?
Every now and then I keep on reading on social networks or forums how people set RX only igates up. RX only igates are just bad, really bad. I could just leave you with the following statement “APRS is a bidirectional network and RX only igates are not bidirectionnal. Period” But let me expose how they are breaking the network.
ircddb and quadnet, what is this all about ?
Following my previous article about the REF/XRF/DCS/XLX differences I will try to explain what are ircddb and QuadNet and what they are good for. There is some misunderstanding about what those things are.
DStar Life Hack: Is the station local on the repeater?
While listening to a QSO on a DStar repeater have you ever wondered how to know if the station you are listening to is local on the repeater or coming from a distant source (reflector, other repeater etc…)? BTW, I wrote this because I assume there are still people out there who are using repeaters instead of hot spots for their DStar operation.
APRS.fi is not APRS-IS
There is a widespread belief that aprs.fi is the internet backbone of the APRS network. It is not uncommon to read posts on social networks saying “I am connecting to aprs.fi with aprsdroid” or “I need a password for aprs.fi”. Let’s see how and why this is erroneous.
Compile and install the latest DStarRepeater in Pi-Star
After publishing my article about updating ircDDBGateway in Pi-Star I received messages about how to update DStarRepeater as Pi-Star also ships with a quite outdated DStarRepeater. Updating it will get you the ability to use your ID51+2 and ID4100 in terminal mode.
