Derek,
You do some great ideas and I agree with you on the COS and PTT.
It would certainly make things easier for hams to interface radios to soundcards.
I was kind of trying to be funny when I made mention of the adding these features to the open source project.
What I was really getting at is, there is a lot of work involved with making a system like Allstarlink work.
Sometimes it is not very simple to add features.
There are only a few folks with the programming skills necessary to write or modify the open source to make an alternate mechanism for COS and PTT.
(Until now, no one has offered to step forward and take on the project of an alternate mechanism for COS and PTT.)
I could be wrong, but at some point in time there was some provision for COS and PTT using the parallel port of a PC.
We all enjoy what is offered for Allstarlink for FREE, there is no charge for the software or service.
Sometimes we just have to use what is available, even if it is not the easiest to deal with. 
73
Marshall - ke6pcv
···
From: Derek Chauran via AllStarLink Discussion Groups [mailto:noreply@community.allstarlink.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2020 11:11 AM
To: ke6pcv@cal-net.org
Subject: [AllStarLink Discussion Groups] [App_rpt-users] RPi Gpio
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af7ux
July 2
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It’s great that you are open to folks contributing, however it’s not safe to assume that everyone who uses ASL is fluent in Linux & c development, and thus should go make their own features. Open source projects need community support, and taking this attitude towards feedback shuts that down. I’d happily take a crack at it, but the development documentation is very sparse, and seems to assume a very high degree of preexisting knowledge. I cannot even find the code that deals with PTT & COS looking through the repo, nor am I confident that I could successfully build this on the only linux machines I have - 2 Pis.
And yes, I realize that I could buy the chip, but it really isn’t as simple as “buy chip, make board” that requires an even deeper level of knowledge, such as how to design the surrounding circuitry, design a PCB, making a PCB, solder a surface mount package (which requires equipment your average ham doesn’t have) etc…
The link you posted to Amazon is out of stock, and if you keep watching that link, you might notice that the in stock date keeps changing. I did find one that is ostensibly in stock, and will try to get it, but I’m also a bit hamfisted, and have had bad luck soldering to this very same chip in the past (I’ve destroyed 2 of these adapters trying to solder on them in the past). Yes, even using a pre-made USB adapter assumes that someone has a high degree of soldering skill.
Meanwhile, I have been able to build 2 dedicated PC interfaces for my radios using simply the audio portions of USB audio adapters, transformer isolation for the audio, USB serial with opto isolation for PTT, cat control (I couldn’t get the opto circuits to work there), one where I had to build a circuit to invert the logic signals, and a hub to tie it all together with 2 of the ports removed and the adapters soldered directly to them to save space. So I’m not unskilled at building stuff for radios, soldering, rework, etc yet I still can’t manage to reliably pick up a single pin on a small package like that.
So my point is, there are much more user friendly solutions out there. There are even pre-made boards for the audio and PTT isolation (2 of these would give you isolation of audio, PTT and COS for 2 radios for a duplex node) that cost something like $8 apiece.
But moreover, I just think it’s a bad idea to put all of your eggs in one basket. Even if ASL decided to support USB serial and NOT GPIO, I would support that move. Yes I would have to buy another adapter for about $5, and even sacrifice another USB port, but at least it would make the modification easy, and would work on both PC and Pi, and give me the option of picking my chipset (CH340, FTDI, Silabs, etc) or not even caring what chip was on the board. This makes the hardware solution trivial - Buy any USB audio adapter, any USB serial adapter, connect 2 wires from each radio to the audio adapter, and 2 from each radio to the serial adapter (GND/DTR or RTS and GND/CTS).
73 af7ux
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Previous Replies
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KE6PCV ASL Admin
July 2
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Derek,
I couldn’t agree with you more about COS and PTT!
That’s the beauty of open source software. Anyone can contribute and add features that they want.
I am sure there are a lot of folks that would love for you to add these features to the app_rpt open source project for Allstarlink.
In case you didn’t know where the repository is located, its here.
https://github.com/AllStarLink
You know you can use the CM119 chips and these are only a $1.35. (Quick google search)
or this one from amazon.
only $8.00 delivered.
73
Marshall - ke6pcv
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af7ux
July 1
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The issue is that the CM108 chips are becoming harder to find and more expensive. There is currently 1 seller in the US on eBay with them, and they’re charging a premium price. I wanted to build a node, but why on earth would I pay more than the combined cost of the computer and radios used to run the node to get an adapter, when all of the necessary hardware is right there?
ASL needs a way to configure an alternate mechanism for COS and PTT. It shouldn’t even necessarily be GPIO specific, e.g. using serial would be useful for some people rather than GPIO or CM108.
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BryanW1BRI
June 17
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Thanks Joe;
I bought CM108 USB FOB that I will modify.
Can’t beat join them thing.
Bryan
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kd2nfc1
June 17
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I didn’t hand much luck since current forms of AllStarLink and even Hamvoip do now allow for RPI GPIO. I had to use the CMxxxx audio USB for PTT and COR
Joe
KD2NFC
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BryanW1BRI
June 15
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Joe;
Had you found a solution to using R_Pi GPIOs as an alternative to purchasing a USB dongle.
I have a repeater already working (SVXLink) that sounds fantastic and I’m in the process of switching over to AllStarLink and was hoping I could just change software without any hardware changes.
Bryan
W1BRI
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