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Ham Radio

Home Archive for category "Ham Radio"

Start Direwolf at Boot, the SystemD way

Start Direwolf at Boot, the SystemD way
APRS / Ham Radio  aprs / direwolf / systemd April 17, 2022 April 17, 2022

The ways to start Direwolf at boot, as provided in the manual, are quite archaic and hacky. Let’s see how we can do this in a more modern way using systemd.

Read more"Start Direwolf at Boot, the SystemD way"

Doing APRS Voice Alert with CRT 2M / Anytone AT-588

Doing APRS Voice Alert with CRT 2M / Anytone AT-588
APRS / Ham Radio  anytone / aprs / tinytrak / voice alert October 22, 2021 November 19, 2021

After trying and failing at getting a working APRS set-up with voice alert here is my last try with a CRT 2M Radio, a rebranded Anytone AT588.

Read more"Doing APRS Voice Alert with CRT 2M / Anytone AT-588"

Putting a 3.3V HC-05 module in the Tinytrak 4

Putting a 3.3V HC-05 module in the Tinytrak 4
APRS / Ham Radio  aprs / bluetooth / tinytrak October 1, 2021 October 2, 2021

If you followed my previous adventures with the Tinytrak 4 and Bluetooth you may know that I used HC05 modules which where RS232 levels capable. I bought these years ago and, as of today, they …

Read more"Putting a 3.3V HC-05 module in the Tinytrak 4"

Jabra headset and amateur radio

Jabra headset and amateur radio
Ham Radio  bluetooth / headset / icom / jabra / yaesu March 6, 2021 March 6, 2021

The Evolve series of headset is being (at least that is my understanding) phased out and replaced by the Evolve2 series. As a matter of fact it is easy to get some good bargains on …

Read more"Jabra headset and amateur radio"

HC-06 and Tinytrak : Fail

HC-06 and Tinytrak : Fail
APRS / Ham Radio  aprs / bluetooth / hc-05 / hc-06 / tinytrak January 30, 2021 September 22, 2021

A couple of month ago I Bluetooth enabled my second Tinytrak 4 using a HC-06 module. It turned out this failed after a few weeks and the HC-06 is not usable for APRS.

Read more"HC-06 and Tinytrak : Fail"

Retevis RT98 for APRS, review 8 weeks after

Retevis RT98 for APRS, review 8 weeks after
APRS / Ham Radio  aprs / retevis / RT98 / voice alert January 15, 2021 January 15, 2021

After almost 8 weeks of using this little radio for my mobile APRS operations I thought it’s a good time to provide some feedback. I must admit I have mixed feelings about this radio…

Read more"Retevis RT98 for APRS, review 8 weeks after"

Analog vs. Digital APRS

Analog vs. Digital APRS
APRS / APRS Explained / Ham Radio  analog aprs / anytone / aprs / digital aprs December 30, 2020 November 21, 2021

I keep on reading about “Digital APRS” vs “Analog APRS”. Youtube and social media are full of these words. This is utterly wrong. Whenever I hear “Analog APRS” I’m going mental: “Analog APRS” simply does …

Read more"Analog vs. Digital APRS"

Bluetooth and TinyTrak 4, episode 2

Bluetooth and TinyTrak 4, episode 2
APRS / Ham Radio  aprs / bluetooth / tinytrak November 1, 2020 January 30, 2021

I got myself a second TinyTrak 4 and wanted to Bluetooth enable it like I did for my first one. I went a different route using a different module and wiring it another way.

Read more"Bluetooth and TinyTrak 4, episode 2"

What is APRS Voice Alert ?

What is APRS Voice Alert ?
APRS / APRS Explained / Ham Radio  aprs / voice alert October 25, 2020 October 25, 2020

Ever got frustrated of not being able to contact a passing by station you just saw on APRS? APRS can also work as a nearby station radar and help you out with that.

Read more"What is APRS Voice Alert ?"

Using the Retevis RT98 for APRS with voice alert

Using the Retevis RT98 for APRS with voice alert
APRS / Ham Radio  aprs / retevis / RT98 / tinytrak / voice alert October 21, 2020 December 24, 2020

My TYT THD9000 started to exhibit some strange behavior, after transmitting it sometimes needs half a second to switch back to receive. So I was in the market for a new APRS radio and came …

Read more"Using the Retevis RT98 for APRS with voice alert"

Buggy Icom ID-51 and ID-5100 Firmware – UPDATED

Buggy Icom ID-51 and ID-5100 Firmware – UPDATED
DStar / Ham Radio  bug / icom / id-51 / id-5100 / mmdvm December 7, 2019 October 20, 2020

On November 6th 2019 and December 5th 2019 Icom released new firmware. According to Icom’s claim on their latest release it fixes issues with “other manufacturers” hardware and that there were no issues with Icom …

Read more"Buggy Icom ID-51 and ID-5100 Firmware – UPDATED"

Pi-Star: Scheduling DStar Reflector Linking and Unlinking

Pi-Star: Scheduling DStar Reflector Linking and Unlinking
DStar  dstar / g4klx / pi-star October 5, 2019 January 23, 2021

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.

Read more"Pi-Star: Scheduling DStar Reflector Linking and Unlinking"

Howto: Setting up and using D-PRS on Icom ID-5100

Howto: Setting up and using D-PRS on Icom ID-5100
DStar  dprs / dstar / icom / id-5100 July 26, 2019 January 19, 2021

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 …

Read more"Howto: Setting up and using D-PRS on Icom ID-5100"

XLX reflector direct connection

XLX reflector direct connection
DStar  DCS / dstar / ircddbgateway / kenwood / REF / reflectors / thd74 / XLX / XRF / yjgx-xe(( June 26, 2019 June 28, 2019

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 …

Read more"XLX reflector direct connection"

Howto: AX25 as a Systemd Service

Howto: AX25 as a Systemd Service
APRS  ax25 / howto / linux / raspberry / raspbian / systemd / winlink June 16, 2019 November 15, 2021

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 …

Read more"Howto: AX25 as a Systemd Service"

Putting Bluetooth into the Tinytrak 4

Putting Bluetooth into the Tinytrak 4
APRS  aprs / bluetooth / tinytrak / tt4 / tt4bt June 15, 2019 October 2, 2021

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 …

Read more"Putting Bluetooth into the Tinytrak 4"

Why are APRS RX only iGates bad ?

Why are APRS RX only iGates bad ?
APRS  aprs / aprs-is / aprs.fi / igate / rx only May 4, 2019 August 15, 2019

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 …

Read more"Why are APRS RX only iGates bad ?"

ircddb and quadnet, what is this all about ?

ircddb and quadnet, what is this all about ?
DStar / DStar Explained April 28, 2019 August 29, 2020

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.

Read more"ircddb and quadnet, what is this all about ?"

DStar Life Hack: Is the station local on the repeater?

DStar Life Hack: Is the station local on the repeater?
DStar / DStar Explained  dstar / gateway / local / repeater December 26, 2018 December 26, 2018

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, …

Read more"DStar Life Hack: Is the station local on the repeater?"

APRS.fi is not APRS-IS

APRS.fi is not APRS-IS
APRS / APRS Explained  aprs / aprs-is / aprs.fi November 25, 2018 June 16, 2019

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 …

Read more"APRS.fi is not APRS-IS"

Compile and install the latest DStarRepeater in Pi-Star

Compile and install the latest DStarRepeater in Pi-Star
DStar  d-star / dstar / dstarrepeater / g4klx / icom / id4100 / id51 / pi-star November 14, 2018 January 23, 2021

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 …

Read more"Compile and install the latest DStarRepeater in Pi-Star"

REF, XRF, DCS, XLX: what’s the difference ?

REF, XRF, DCS, XLX: what’s the difference ?
DStar / DStar Explained  d-star / DCS / dstar / REF / reflectors / XLX / XRF November 8, 2018 March 5, 2019

This is a question often raised by beginners to DStar : what is the difference between all those reflector types? I’ll try to give you an insight on this throughout this article.

Read more"REF, XRF, DCS, XLX: what’s the difference ?"

Compile and install the latest ircddbGateway in Pi-Star

Compile and install the latest ircddbGateway in Pi-Star
DStar  d-star / g4klx / ircddbgateway / pi-star November 4, 2018 January 23, 2021

Pi-Star allows everyone to setup and run a digital voice Hotspot easily, its ease of use largely contributed to the late Hotspot invasion. However, the DStar software shipping with it is quite outdated. It is …

Read more"Compile and install the latest ircddbGateway in Pi-Star"

Oops! I did it again!

Oops! I did it again!
APRS  cpu locked / th-9000d / tyt March 31, 2018 November 4, 2018

No, I am not writing a blog exclusively about the TYT TH9000D. However I actually managed to run into the dreaded gibberish characters issue for a second time and to  recover the radio!

Read more"Oops! I did it again!"

APRS with Tinytrak 4 and TYT TH-9000D

APRS with Tinytrak 4 and TYT TH-9000D
APRS  aprs / th-9000d / tinytrak / tt4 / tyt February 23, 2018 July 13, 2019

After a couple of frustrations (here and here) I have finally managed to get my TYT TH-9000D running quite well with my Tinytrak 4. After a few weeks using it I must say I am …

Read more"APRS with Tinytrak 4 and TYT TH-9000D"

Solved TYT TH-9000D Gibberish Characters / Locked CPU Issue

Solved TYT TH-9000D Gibberish Characters / Locked CPU Issue
APRS  cpu locked / gibberish / th-9000d / tyt January 30, 2018 September 24, 2021

Next episode of my TYT TH-9000D for APRS adventures (first episode here). Somehow I managed to run into the gibberish characters issue, after swearing a few minutes I went to my friend Google only to …

Read more"Solved TYT TH-9000D Gibberish Characters / Locked CPU Issue"

And so I wanted to use a TYT TH-9000D for APRS …

And so I wanted to use a TYT TH-9000D for APRS …
APRS  aprs / problem / tt4 / tyt January 28, 2018 July 13, 2019

I was in the market for another radio for my mobile APRS operations. After reading various articles (here and here) about the ability to add a D-SUB9 connector with all relevant signals for that matter. …

Read more"And so I wanted to use a TYT TH-9000D for APRS …"

Motorola R100 Repeater goes digital

Motorola R100 Repeater goes digital
DStar  dmr / dstar / mmdvm / motorola / repeater January 6, 2018 October 20, 2020

Introduction I came across a Motorola R100 repeater, those were very capable low to mid duty analogue repeaters in the mid 80s up to the 21st century, yet some of them are still in commercial …

Read more"Motorola R100 Repeater goes digital"

Latest Posts

  • Start Direwolf at Boot, the SystemD way
  • Doing APRS Voice Alert with CRT 2M / Anytone AT-588
  • Putting a 3.3V HC-05 module in the Tinytrak 4
  • Reclaim your Raspberry Pi 3 / Zero W serial port
  • Jabra headset and amateur radio

Recent Comments

  • F4FXL on APRS with Tinytrak 4 and TYT TH-9000D
  • Jon Adams on APRS with Tinytrak 4 and TYT TH-9000D
  • F4FXL on Using the Retevis RT98 for APRS with voice alert
  • Ben N(six)BRL on Using the Retevis RT98 for APRS with voice alert
  • F4FXL on Using the Retevis RT98 for APRS with voice alert

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