It has been a few years since the last G4KLX update and whilst there are a couple of yahoo groups (pcrepeatercontroller and ircDDBGateway) the latest information is not easy to find.
It appears that Jonathan Naylor's (G4KLX) good work is being carried on by Hans Barthen (DL5DI) and the source...
Continue reading...The adjustment of the GMSK modem output level is not very well documented. In my case, I carefully adjusted the Moencomm Star*Board output level to 200-300mV P-P as specified for the Friendcom FC301.
What I describe below may be very obvious to RF experts, but to mere mortals, like myself, it is...
Instructions to convert a simplex hotspot to a duplex repeater using a GMSK modem:
The Moencomm Star*board configuration needs to be changed to allow for duplex operation:
Once that is done proceed to the G4KLX software (e.g. on your Raspberry Pi).
Before changing configurations you need to...
Continue reading...After downloading the RaPi image from my download page you should follow these steps to get your Hotspot operational:
I came a across an interesting issue this week:
Friendcom FC301D UHF transceiver connected via GMSK modem (Moencomm Starboard) to my Raspberry Pi hotspot running G4KLX software.
I have been using my Icom ID51A to work the hotspot for the last couple of weeks an...
Continue reading...I decided to publish an image for the Raspberry Pi B+ to help other amateurs. The image contains the following software:
Credit for this article goes to K6JM.
If you want the two programs (dstarrepeater and ircddbgateway) to start up without the console and GUI, G4KLX provides daemon versions of his programs, in this case, dstarrepeaterd and ircddbgatewayd. To have these launched at startup rather than the GUI...
Continue reading...After you have configured your hotspot and you RaPi is up and running you may want to change the hostname of the Pi. The hostname is what you see when you log in by command line, at the top of your VNC window, in network connections and many other places. The default name is normally "raspberry" o...
Continue reading...Mid 2014 saw the latest Raspberry Pi model B+ released and everyone received emails advertising this new beauty.
Amongst the new features is an extended GPIO connector, 2 extra USB ports, microSD and reduced power consumption.
Apart from the new features my propellor hea...
Continue reading...Once you have the G4KLX D-Star hotspot/repeater commissioned on the Raspberry Pi you should back up your configuration files.
If you have access to the Desktop this process is not difficult:
If you are looking for G4KLX hotspot setup instructions they are located in this article.
Here are some notes on minor items which I found valuable while setting up the G4KLX image on the RaspberryPi:
Here is the connection diagram showing the connection between the Moencomm GMSK modem and the FC301D radio.
Connection cable plugs required:
FC301: Male D-sub 9 pin
Star*Board: Female D-sub 9 pin
FC301 pin description:
1 = Audio In
2 = Audio Out
3 = PTT
4 = GND
5 = +12V
not used for Moen...
Some of the Moencomm Star*Board signals are not very well documented so this brief article documents some of the information I received from Jim Moen:
The Carrier Detect (CD) / Squelch (SQL) output from a radio can be used by the Star*Board but Jim Moen's standard board setup does not use the radi...
Continue reading...The FC301 is a very well priced and simple data radio made by Friendcom in China. With direct access to it's discriminator and 5W RF output it is an ideal candidate for Amateur Radio data projects such as D-Star hotspots and mini repeaters.
The first time I used my FC301D radio in...
Continue reading...