New in the Asterisk world - D-Star gateway ?

App_rpt-users
1

Hi,

  I'm new on this list, so here's a quick presentation. My callsign

is TK1BI, I’m living in Corsica, and I’ve got some experience
about building and maintaining analog repeaters and interconnects
all around our small island in the Mediterranean sea. I’m now
doing my first experiments in the digital world. Working with Open
Source software, and with “open” systems, seems obvious to me :wink:

  I built my first Asterisk/app_rpt from source on a HummingBoard (a

Raspberry Pi clone, powered by an ARM7 quad-core Freescale iMX6).
The operating system is Debian.

  The next step will be to order some low-cost USB soundcards, and

connect them to a pair of radios, to create a test repeater. In
the meantime, we are reactivating and old project of HamNet WiFi
network, to carry TCP/IP to the mountains where our VHF/UNF
repeaters are located.

  Anyway, there is some interest here for D-Star. Lots of people are

buying rigs, and having fun with it. Even if D-Star does not match
my idea of an “open” system, I’m thinking about the possibilities
to make a gateway between analog, AllStar and D-Star world. But I
didn’t find much information about that. What I understood is that
I need to use the additional software “RptDir” with a hardware
AMBE codec. There are some web sites about that, but it’s unclear
for me if these are currently supported projects or not.

  Then, here are some questions :

  - About RptDir, it seems I also need a piece of software called

“dstar2analog”, but I didn’t find it anywhere

  - About the hardware codec : the "DV Dongle" seems expensive to

me, and I didn’t find any reseller in Europe. The DV3000 card for
Raspberry Pi seems more interesting to me, but is it supported for
what I want to do ?

  - Are there already some attempts to interconnect Asterisk routing

with D-Star routing (ie, more than just sending the audio between
each other) ?

  Thank you in advance for your answers, and for pointing out some

interesting ressources about that.

  Hope to be QRV soon :-)

  73 de TK1BI
2

I don’t know about the technical attempts to connect Dstar and Allstar. I know there are people playing with it. From an operational standpoint in my opinion I hope it doesn’t happen. Dstar audio quality sucks and I suspect it will be the first amateur radio format to become obsolete. Its sales are already down it the US. Yaesu, DMR, Mototurbo all have superior audio at a lower cost. Yaesu is giving away their digital repeaters to clubs here in the US and greatly saturating the market. I would not invest any money in Dstar. That being said there are many that already have and want to get their monies worth, so it will hold on for awhile. Just don’t mess up Allstar’s great audio quality with Dstar!
73 Doug
WA3DSP
http://www.crompton.com/hamradio

···

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:33:07 +0100
From: t.ottavi@bc-109.com
To: app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
Subject: [App_rpt-users] New in the Asterisk world - D-Star gateway ?

Hi,

  I'm new on this list, so here's a quick presentation. My callsign

is TK1BI, I’m living in Corsica, and I’ve got some experience
about building and maintaining analog repeaters and interconnects
all around our small island in the Mediterranean sea. I’m now
doing my first experiments in the digital world. Working with Open
Source software, and with “open” systems, seems obvious to me :wink:

  I built my first Asterisk/app_rpt from source on a HummingBoard (a

Raspberry Pi clone, powered by an ARM7 quad-core Freescale iMX6).
The operating system is Debian.

  The next step will be to order some low-cost USB soundcards, and

connect them to a pair of radios, to create a test repeater. In
the meantime, we are reactivating and old project of HamNet WiFi
network, to carry TCP/IP to the mountains where our VHF/UNF
repeaters are located.

  Anyway, there is some interest here for D-Star. Lots of people are

buying rigs, and having fun with it. Even if D-Star does not match
my idea of an “open” system, I’m thinking about the possibilities
to make a gateway between analog, AllStar and D-Star world. But I
didn’t find much information about that. What I understood is that
I need to use the additional software “RptDir” with a hardware
AMBE codec. There are some web sites about that, but it’s unclear
for me if these are currently supported projects or not.

  Then, here are some questions :

  - About RptDir, it seems I also need a piece of software called

“dstar2analog”, but I didn’t find it anywhere

  - About the hardware codec : the "DV Dongle" seems expensive to

me, and I didn’t find any reseller in Europe. The DV3000 card for
Raspberry Pi seems more interesting to me, but is it supported for
what I want to do ?

  - Are there already some attempts to interconnect Asterisk routing

with D-Star routing (ie, more than just sending the audio between
each other) ?

  Thank you in advance for your answers, and for pointing out some

interesting ressources about that.

  Hope to be QRV soon :-)

  73 de TK1BI

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3

Hi Doug,
I fully agree with you on a technical point of view. Anyway, Icom
rigs are the only ones currently available in France, and there are
a lot of low-cost personal DStar systems. Lots of people are buying
them, and having fun with them.
As a SysOp, I want to build systems that suit my user’s needs and
interests. Of course, I won’t build a repeater system based only on DStar ! Not
only because of the poor audio, but also for the “closed” codec, and
the dependancy to one manufacturer. I want to buy a fully “open”
system. This means the core will be based on “Open” software
(Asterisk/AllStar). But I would like to be also “open” to the rest
of the world. This includes the ability to interconnect with other
commonly used “standards”, including DStar and Echolink, whatever my
personal opinion could be about these systems :slight_smile:
Thank you in advance for any informations about Asterisk/DStar
interconnect.
73 de TK1BI

···

Le 25/01/2015 23:01, Doug Crompton a
�crit�:

    I don't know about the technical

attempts to connect Dstar and Allstar. I know there are people
playing with it. From an operational standpoint in my opinion I
hope it doesn’t happen. Dstar audio quality sucks

4

Sorry, my English is poor. Please read : I want to *build* a fully "open" system :slight_smile:

···

Le 26/01/2015 09:46, Toussaint OTTAVI a écrit :

I want to buy a fully "open" system.

5

D-STAR has an advantage over those other modes; not only does it have a large user base, it has a very active experimenters base. Much of the growth in the mode can be traced to the existence of home-brewed interface hardware and alternatives to the closed source network from Icom. The biggest thing with a bridge is to match the audio levels and make sure the right codec is used between AllStar nodes to keep the quality up. It’s annoying to hear the Echolink users that haven’t adjusted their audio properly over the system I hang out on, whether I’m on D-STAR or coming in through AllStar.

Matthew Pitts

N8OHU

Nodes 28713, 28910, 28912, 28913 AllStar

Echolink 828057 (N8OHU-L)

···

On January 25, 2015 5:01:03 PM EST, Doug Crompton doug@crompton.com wrote:

I don’t know about the technical attempts to connect Dstar and Allstar. I know there are people playing with it. From an operational standpoint in my opinion I hope it doesn’t happen. Dstar audio quality sucks and I suspect it will be the first amateur radio format to become obsolete. Its sales are already down it the US. Yaesu, DMR, Mototurbo all have superior audio at a lower cost. Yaesu is giving away their digital repeaters to clubs here in the US and greatly saturating the market. I would not invest any money in Dstar. That being said there are many that already have and want to get their monies worth, so it will hold on for awhile. Just don’t mess up Allstar’s great audio quality with Dstar!
73 Doug
WA3DSP
WA3DSP Amateur Radio Resources

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:33:07 +0100
From: t.ottavi@bc-109.com
To: app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
Subject: [App_rpt-users] New in the Asterisk world - D-Star gateway ?

Hi,



  I'm new on this list, so here's a quick presentation. My callsign

is TK1BI, I’m living in Corsica, and I’ve got some experience
about building and maintaining analog repeaters and interconnects
all around our small island in the Mediterranean sea. I’m now
doing my first experiments in the digital world. Working with Open
Source software, and with “open” systems, seems obvious to me :wink:

  I built my first Asterisk/app_rpt from source on a HummingBoard (a

Raspberry Pi clone, powered by an ARM7 quad-core Freescale iMX6).
The operating system is Debian.

  The next step will be to order some low-cost USB soundcards, and

connect them to a pair of radios, to create a test repeater. In
the meantime, we are reactivating and old project of HamNet WiFi
network, to carry TCP/IP to the mountains where our VHF/UNF
repeaters are located.

  Anyway, there is some interest here for D-Star. Lots of people are

buying rigs, and having fun with it. Even if D-Star does not match
my idea of an “open” system, I’m thinking about the possibilities
to make a gateway between analog, AllStar and D-Star world. But I
didn’t find much information about that. What I understood is that
I need to use the additional software “RptDir” with a hardware
AMBE codec. There are some web sites about that, but it’s unclear
for me if these are currently supported projects or not.

  Then, here are some questions :

  - About RptDir, it seems I also need a piece of software called

“dstar2analog”, but I didn’t find it anywhere

  - About the hardware codec : the "DV Dongle" seems expensive to

me, and I didn’t find any reseller in Europe. The DV3000 card for
Raspberry Pi seems more interesting to me, but is it supported for
what I want to do ?

  - Are there already some attempts to interconnect Asterisk routing

with D-Star routing (ie, more than just sending the audio between
each other) ?

  Thank you in advance for your answers, and for pointing out some

interesting ressources about that.

  Hope to be QRV soon :-)

  73 de TK1BI

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---


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6

The problem isn’t levels. The Dstar RF digital audio quality stinks. In some ways worse than echolink assuming levels are set correctly on echolink. I guess large user base depends on what area you are in. Where I am DMR and especially Fusion are taking over. With Yaesu Fusions Wires I believe there is a possibility for interfacing also.
73 Doug
WA3DSP
WA3DSP Amateur Radio Resources

···

Subject: Re: [App_rpt-users] New in the Asterisk world - D-Star gateway ?
From: n8ohu@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:12:47 -0500
To: doug@crompton.com; t.ottavi@bc-109.com
CC: app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org

D-STAR has an advantage over those other modes; not only does it have a large user base, it has a very active experimenters base. Much of the growth in the mode can be traced to the existence of home-brewed interface hardware and alternatives to the closed source network from Icom. The biggest thing with a bridge is to match the audio levels and make sure the right codec is used between AllStar nodes to keep the quality up. It’s annoying to hear the Echolink users that haven’t adjusted their audio properly over the system I hang out on, whether I’m on D-STAR or coming in through AllStar.

Matthew Pitts

N8OHU

Nodes 28713, 28910, 28912, 28913 AllStar

Echolink 828057 (N8OHU-L)

On January 25, 2015 5:01:03 PM EST, Doug Crompton doug@crompton.com wrote:

I don’t know about the technical attempts to connect Dstar and Allstar. I know there are people playing with it. From an operational standpoint in my opinion I hope it doesn’t happen. Dstar audio quality sucks and I suspect it will be the first amateur radio format to become obsolete. Its sales are already down it the US. Yaesu, DMR, Mototurbo all have superior audio at a lower cost. Yaesu is giving away their digital repeaters to clubs here in the US and greatly saturating the market. I would not invest any money in Dstar. That being said there are many that already have and want to get their monies worth, so it will hold on for awhile. Just don’t mess up Allstar’s great audio quality with Dstar!
73 Doug
WA3DSP
WA3DSP Amateur Radio Resources

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:33:07 +0100
From: t.ottavi@bc-109.com
To: app_rpt-users@ohnosec.org
Subject: [App_rpt-users] New in the Asterisk world - D-Star gateway ?

Hi,



  I'm new on this list, so here's a quick presentation. My callsign

is TK1BI, I’m living in Corsica, and I’ve got some experience
about building and maintaining analog repeaters and interconnects
all around our small island in the Mediterranean sea. I’m now
doing my first experiments in the digital world. Working with Open
Source software, and with “open” systems, seems obvious to me :wink:

  I built my first Asterisk/app_rpt from source on a HummingBoard (a

Raspberry Pi clone, powered by an ARM7 quad-core Freescale iMX6).
The operating system is Debian.

  The next step will be to order some low-cost USB soundcards, and

connect them to a pair of radios, to create a test repeater. In
the meantime, we are reactivating and old project of HamNet WiFi
network, to carry TCP/IP to the mountains where our VHF/UNF
repeaters are located.

  Anyway, there is some interest here for D-Star. Lots of people are

buying rigs, and having fun with it. Even if D-Star does not match
my idea of an “open” system, I’m thinking about the possibilities
to make a gateway between analog, AllStar and D-Star world. But I
didn’t find much information about that. What I understood is that
I need to use the additional software “RptDir” with a hardware
AMBE codec. There are some web sites about that, but it’s unclear
for me if these are currently supported projects or not.

  Then, here are some questions :

  - About RptDir, it seems I also need a piece of software called

“dstar2analog”, but I didn’t find it anywhere

  - About the hardware codec : the "DV Dongle" seems expensive to

me, and I didn’t find any reseller in Europe. The DV3000 card for
Raspberry Pi seems more interesting to me, but is it supported for
what I want to do ?

  - Are there already some attempts to interconnect Asterisk routing

with D-Star routing (ie, more than just sending the audio between
each other) ?

  Thank you in advance for your answers, and for pointing out some

interesting ressources about that.

  Hope to be QRV soon :-)

  73 de TK1BI

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To unsubscribe from this list please visit [http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users](http://ohnosec.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/app_rpt-users) and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Enter your email address and press the "Unsubscribe or edit options button"
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