Kendall Amateur Radio Society Nov 2018 With thanks to: KF5ZBL – Bill & KG5EIU – David of the Richardson Amateur Radio Club

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Digital HotSpots For Ham Radio

ZUMSpot

Why HotSpots - System Diagram/Use

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● Gives Radio Operator fast easy

access globally

● High Quality Digital Audio

Experience

● No Repeater Access Needed

● Multiple Digital Modes Available

(12 total)

● Most still require operator’s

digital radio

● Most require a computer or

Raspberry PI

HotSpot Repeater

Reflectors

D-Star, DMR, YSF, etc

DV HT

Why HotSpots

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● Not near a repeater

● Local repeater not internet accessible

● Ease of changing reflectors

● Not tying up a local repeater

● Allows a portable system

HotSpot Types/Categories

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No Operator Radio Needed (usually USB dongles)

● Uses a computer + hardware dongle/vocoder + software

● Requires computer mic and headset plus USB port to power dongle

● Requires good Internet connection to/from computer

Operator Radio Needed (HT or mobile/base) ← ● Uses computer (Raspberry Pi) + hardware radio (ZUMSpot) and software

(Pi-Star) + Operator DIGITAL radio

● Requires good internet to/from computer and/or hotspot/appliance

Raspberry Pi – What is it?

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● Credit card sized computer

● Developed in the UK by the RaspberryPi foundation in 2009

● Based on Broadcom SOC (System On a Chip)

● Affordable (from $5 to $35)

● Runs Linux or Windows

● Consumes less than 5W

● Supports full HD video (1080p), multiple USB ports, audio jack, ethernet,

bluetooth, wifi

● Expandable through a 40 pin header

● Up to 1Gb of RAM, SD card for storage

Raspberry Pi – Current models

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DV Mega RPI Radio Module

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● DVMEGA RPI - a radio module that fits without a

modem or node adapter directly on the Raspberry PI.

The combination RPI and DVMEGA radio is a

complete D-Star and DMR compatible hotspot with

an output power of 10mW.

● This works with all versions of the Raspberry PI

● Two versions. A UHF board and a Dual band

VHF/UHF version.

● Needs operator’s radio

http://www.dvmega.auria.nl

BlueStack Micro + DVMega Board

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● BlueStack

● Android,IOS, Windows, Linux versions

● Uses DVMega boards

● BlueDV app or software

● Dstar, DMR, Fusion

● App connects via bluetooth or USB

● App has to be running for unit to work

● Needs operator’s radio

http://www.combitronics.nl/index.php

Shark RF OpenSPOT (no longer made)

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● Stand alone appliance has on-board transceiver 20mW RF output

● Requires good wired ethernet connection via RJ45 NO WIFI

● Multi-protocol support - D-Star or System Fusion and/or DMR

● Cross mode with DMR and System Fusion (on board cross mode)

● Simple web interface GUI, HTTP, UDP/TCP API support

● USB Powered

● Runs embedded software/OS - no linux/windows, no memory card

● Firmware easily upgradable

● Need operator’s Radio

https://www.sharkrf.com

Shark RF OpenSPOT2

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● Finally released! Replaces original OpenSpot. Cost: ~$230

● Stand alone appliance has on-board transceiver 20mW RF output

● Supports WIFI

● Multi-protocol support - D-Star or System Fusion and/or DMR

● Cross mode with DMR and System Fusion (on board cross mode)

● Simple web interface GUI, HTTP, UDP/TCP API support

● USB Powered

● Runs embedded software/OS

● Firmware easily upgradable

● Need operator’s Radio

https://www.sharkrf.com

NANO-SPOT by Micro-Node International

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● Stand alone self-contained digital hotspot has

onboard transceiver 20mW RF output

● Requires good WiFi-based Internet connection

● Multi-protocol support - D-Star, System

Fusion, DMR, P25, NXDN

● Simple Pi-Star web interface GUI, HTTP,

UDP/TCP API support

● USB Powered

● Running “Pi-Star”

● Needs operator’s Radio

Micro-Node International

http://www.micro-node.com/index.shtml

DHAP Digital HAM Access Point

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DHAP Mini Mega

● Custom 3D case

● Raspberry Pi 3

● DVMega board based

● Need operator’s Radio

Jumbo Spot/China Spot/MMDVM_HS_HAT

● Clone/knock-off of MMDVM PiHat (all open source design)

● UHF or VHF Transceiver Raspberry Pi-Hat

● eBay.com (do a search for mmdvm)

● Now upgradable

Setup Guide

http://www.hagensieker.com/blog/page/?post_id=99&title=jumbospot-dmr-hotspot

ZUMSpot Board - UHF Transceiver Pi-Hat

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● 32-bit ARM Processor

● 10mW RF Power

● SMA Antenna Connectors

● DMR, P-25, D-Star, System Fusion, NXDN

● Firmware pre-loaded, upgradable

● Displays: NEXTION, I2C Support

● Status LEDS

● Needs operator’s radio

● YSF2DMR, YSF2NXDN Gateway ZumSpot Kit

https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015993

ZUMSpot Board - Examples

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● ZUMSpot - Radio Module Board (UHF Transceiver) For Pi Hat

● Raspberry Pi - Credit-Card-Sized Computer (Pi3B+, P2, Pi3, Pi-ZeroW)

● Pi-Star - Custom Software Image For Pi (Raspbian + MMDVM)

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HotSpots: Hardware + Software

Software And Firmware For HotSpots

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Raspberry Pi “images” Completely Open Source

● Pi-Star - Hardened Raspberry Pi OS (Raspbian) with included

MMDVM - Open Source Multi-Protocol Digital Voice Modem code +

POCSAG

● Firmware open sourced

● Several choices but Pi-Star most popular

Pi-Star - Software Image/Appliance

Page - 18 Pi-Star Digital Voice Software - http://www.pistar.uk

Current Version as of Aug 10, 2018: v3.4.16

Updated frequently

Pi-Star – Looking up a call sign

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If configured, clicking on a

call sign will bring up the

QRZ page

Hardware Support With PiStar

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PiStar (http://www.pistar.uk)

● Custom RPI software, free and open

source.

● Lots of dongles, boards, and USB

sticks supported. 32 devices as of Oct 2018

Pi-Star supported modems: https://amateurradionotes.com/pi-star-notes.htm#supportedradios

→

PiStar Software Features

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PiStar New Features As Of Aug 2018

● YSF 2 DMR

● YSF 2 NXDN

● DMR 2 YSF

● DMR 2 NXDN

● POCSAG

Pi-Star Digital Voice Software - http://www.pistar.uk

Digital Modes As Of Aug 2018

● DMR

● D-Star

● P25

● NXDN

● Fusion (YFS, FCS)

● YSF2DMR,YSF2P25,YSF2NXDN

(bridge)

● DMR2NXDN, DMR2YSF (bridge)

● POCSAG (Post Office Code Standardization

Advisory Group – data to pager)

Network Portals and Dashboards

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Great way to see “what is going on” - in the Internet side

BrandMeister Dashboard (DMR) Self Help and more

● https://brandmeister.network

Xreflector

● http://xreflector.net/neu3/

DMR Plus CCS7

● http://www.mw0mwz.co.uk/ccs-live.php

DAPNET (Paging)

● https://hampager.de/#/

Get Started Quickly:

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Need:

Digital Radio (Fusion, D-Star, DMR, NXDN, P25) base, mobile, HT

WiFi Internet Connection (Pi ZeroW needs a 2.4Ghz AP; Pi 3 can use 2.4 or

5Ghz)

Acquire:

ZUM Radio ZUMspot Kit - HRO https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015993

Case: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016096

Read/Follow:

Well Done Guide: https://www.toshen.com/ke0fhs/pi-star.htm

ZUMSpot Board - Reference Links

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● MMDVM - https://github.com/g4klx

● ZUMSpot - (hamradio.com)

● MMDVM_HS_HAT rev 1.5 - tindie.com N5BOC Store

● Raspberry Pi - https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/

● Pi-Star - http://www.pistar.uk

● Support/Latest Info - https://www.facebook.com/groups/pistar/

● Initial Setup Videos W1MSG-https://youtu.be/B5G4gYDdJeQ

● BrandMeister Network - https://brandmeister.network

● KG5EIU Photo Gallery - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm3gQNuo

● DAPNET - Decentralized Amateur Paging Network https://hampager.de/#/

Thank You! Comments And questions?

Don – KI5AIU

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Thanks again to KF5ZBL - Bill KG5EIU - David