Help Needed: Best Way to Set Up a Simple AllStar Node for Personal Use!

AllStarLink
1

Hi everyone,

I am new to AllStarLink and recently got interested in setting up a personal node primarily for local linking and testing. I have gone through some documentation but would really appreciate some guidance from experienced users here.

My goal is to build a low-power node using a Raspberry Pi and possibly a USB radio interface. I am not looking to connect to any big hubs yet — just want to experiment and get comfortable with the system.

Can someone recommend a solid starting point (hardware/software) for this setup: ?? Also, any security best practices I should follow from the start: ??

I would love to hear what’s worked for you and what pitfalls to avoid. Your advice would mean a lot as I begin my journey with AllStar. I have also read this thread https://community.allstarlink.org/t/allstarlink-node-and-a-private-node-setup-cyber security training in chennai but still looking for more help.

Thanks in advance !!

Derek

2

Dereek, welcome aboard.

I'm sure you will get many opinions on this.

I always use to tell everyone to make a dahdi channel driven node to work with IAXrpt software or a sip phone before you set-up a radio.
Make it work that way and get comfortable with operating and command in it..

It kinda separates the learning curve a bit .
While you have some idea what you want to do, you may change your mind when you see what it is all capable of.

While some of what I said may be over the top yet for you being new, just take it one step accomplishment at a time in whatever path you choose.
Plenty of pre-reading material in the manual and the wiki.
The board here is also an asset.