Hey all, KD8JKK here. Node 46369 out of Willoughby Hills OH.
Short version of how this started: a bad storm earlier this year got me back into ham radio after years away. Found the local repeaters pretty dead, ended up back on EchoLink, someone told me AllStarLink was bigger now, went looking for a Windows client, found nothing modern. So I built one.
QSO One is a cross-platform client for both AllStarLink and EchoLink. Windows and Android are ready now, iOS, macOS, and Linux are coming.
It supports full Node Mode and Web Transceiver Mode on AllStarLink. Node Mode registers as an actual ASL node on the network with no Raspberry Pi, no radio interface board, no weekend of Linux configuration. The IAX2 implementation covers the full calltoken exchange, correct LAGRQ/LAGRP keepalive per RFC 5456, and a cascade system that tries Node Mode first and falls back to WT Mode when needed. EchoLink supports direct and proxy connections with full GSM audio. Both modes have full DTMF support.
Nodes running HamVOIP firmware have known compatibility issues we are actively working on. Standard ASL3 nodes work correctly. Node Mode on cellular is being worked on but it's hard due to NAT. WT Mode and full EchoLink work fine on cellular.
I'm looking for real AllStarLink operators who know the network and can tell me when something is wrong before we launch in May. If you're interested, DM me or check out qso1.net.
Def interested in trying your Android version.
Will your Node Mode support incoming connections? It not even something I think I even necessarily care about but have always been aware it wasn't supported on DVSwitch's Node Mode.
The app will eventually be paid, yes. The app cost is much less than building a physical node, though, which was kind of the point of building it. The subscription is for extra features not necessary for the apps intended functionality as an allstarlink node bundled with a modern echolink interface. The subscription is not necessary, in other words.
I'll be 100% honest, since I am trying to fairly compensate myself for the work, open sourcing raises questions as to how I would profit if anyone else can rebuild it. I know that sounds terrible, but to be totally up front-
I am currently disabled. I saw an opportunity to do two things- 1. Save hams money in relation to building a node and 2. Make money from offering this solution, while also having an app that will add future functionality (so long as I can eat and keep the lights on).
Sorry about my rather crass reply earlier. Sometimes I get on that soap box and it's hard to find my way down...
It sounds like you are creating something really neat and I wish you the best with it.
I always encourage practitioners of our hobby to look inside our equipment and see how things work, and I like to think this extends to software and protocols as well as hardware.
And I get it, it's not practical for every piece of software to fall into my ideals. I purchase software now and then and I too use an iPhone filled with proprietary mystery software.
Anyway, I hope the app works out well and we get more people on the air!