I have some friends with iPhones that are connecting in with an app called “Repeater Phone”.
They just plug in their Allstarlink.org main admin account credentials and it “just works”.
I do not have an iPhone myself to test or understand this.
How does it actually gain access to nodes like it does?
Also it shows up in the Allstar network as “CALLSIGN” and not a node number.
It does not appear to be using IAX2 directly like any other node.
I can only assume this is using some kind of cloud broker provided by the app provider or something and conneecting on it’s behalf?
Or is there another path into the allstar network I’m not familiar with?
And how is it that are they presenting as a callsign instead of a node number?
I would expect any app like this would normally need to register as a “normal node” and follow those rules, but this appears to be something different and users are not setting these up as a normal node… They are simply plugging in their main allstarlink.org creds.
Any insight into this would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!!
-Steve
Short version:
RepeaterPhone for iOS, Transceive for Mac OS, and DVSwitch Mobile for Android, as one of the available modes, uses Web Transceiver. This is still IAX2, but a different context.
This used to be a thing one could use to call nodes directly from the website using java, but this has been deprecated.
Using this method, you are issued a token by allstarlink.org when you login. An unauthenticated call is placed to a node on the allstar-public context, which has as part of it’s dialplan, a mechanism for verifying that the token for the incoming CallerID (the callsign) is valid. If it is, it lets the call through. If it can’t validate, then it hangs up.
This doesn’t require a node number, as the call isn’t being directed to radio-secure, just an account on allstarlink.org.
There are downsides to this, so not all node owners, particularly some larger networks, allow allstar-public on their nodes. This can be disabled by commenting or deleting the entire allstar-public context in extensions.conf, or it can be handled more gracefully in one of a few different ways.
I have a relatively large, multi-mode/multi-node system, on which I have disabled it on all nodes but one, which makes it easier to manage and isolate when problems do occur.
Repeaterphone does optionally allow you to authenticate to a node using IAX2 credentials as well, but not directly to allstarlink.org as a stand-alone node. You need another node through which to connect.
DVSwitch Mobile does have a thing called node mode, which registers as it’s own node number.
Thank You!!
Extremely helpful and I learned something new I didn’t really know anything about!
I should add here the one misunderstanding I get again and again from new users (of Repeaterphone, M1KE, etc...); if you want to connect to your own node, it has to be an operating/registered with the system node; not just a newly created node number.
Lately I've had at least a couple people a week I have to explain that to. Oh, BTW, DVSwitch Node Mode WILL connect with just a fresh node number (because you become that node number. Slick...)
I can't speak directly of that app, but most of these newer app's use the web transceiver through http which converts everything to iax2 for asterisk to digest to a node..
But you can go into your own node via a sip/iax phone app like zopier.
app_rpt rides on asterisk, which is a telephone pbx.
So, it is natural to be able to interface with telephony apps.
The web transceiver does have to be enabled for the node
(see the user self service portal) to use apps that rely on it.
Surely this is covered by the manual for the app ?
I was just saying WT Mode requires a functioning (registered) node, as opposed to just requesting a node number and assuming that's sufficient for a connection.
My frustration also was the user manual for that M1KE device was using different terminology (ie. calling WT Mode "Allstarlink Mode") and I was getting numerous confused users writing the webportal helpdesk. I wrote them (SharkRF) about it but haven't seen any changes yet, though I don't check it on a daily basis.
This is not true. For WT Mode you only need a valid login on www.allstarlink.org. You do NOT need a node #.
For other people's nodes, yes; I mean an unattached node number doesn't work.
Good point. With WT, the node you are connecting "to" needs to be a real / registered node.
My comment was an attempt to clear up some of the confusion about when you need to get a node number. We've had folks that want to use a WT app/device to connect to an AllStarLink node (their local repeater or one of the many hubs) and someone incorrectly tells them that they "need" a node #. With WT, you don't configure the node # for your side of the connection so if you acquired a node # it would go unused.
Exactly; that's one thing I feel the vendors don't explain fully. If the rest of them did (the equivalent of) DVSwitch's "Node Mode", then I assume they could...