SimpleUSB and VOX (again) ...yes I know! "VOX BAD dont do it" --- but

App_rpt-users
1

Hi All,

Trying to get some locals interested in app_rpt but it seems there’s a growing trend among hobbyists not to pick up a soldering iron! if they cant buy a ready made lead + interface on amazon / ebay “they’re out”

I am myself a LONG time user of asterisk as a SIP PBX (back before even asterisk@home was a thing!) but am about 2 weeks into app_rpt. Fortunately I have 48 years radio experience too.

Dealing with the elephant in the room - I know VOX sucks and the Soundfob mod is the way to go.
I am the converted! they are the unbelievers lets move on !

The counter argument I get is “Mehhhh…with zello you just plug 2 leads into the radio [kenwood mic connectors - 2.5+3.5mm] plug in a Cm108, set the radio to vox and there it is - can’t be bothered with faffing around wiring soundcards and **** like that”

So I embarked on a mission to find out if the same could be done in app_rpt - but thus far I can only get it working one way at a time not true simplex VOX.

Modifying simpleusb.conf produces these results:

carrierfrom = no
ctcssfrom = no

produces good quality 1 way audio

carrierfrom = usbinvert
ctcssfrom = no

produces good quaility audio …the opposite way

I cant find a combination to permit 2 way Simplex vox?

Annoyingly with the system setup for audio In , running the simpleusb setup menu with [t] and [4]
and the radio with VOX produces a lovely tone out of the radio but when I exit, [w] and [0]
and restart asterisk …Still 1 way audio

I even tried modifying the extensions.conf stanza from:

exten => ${NODE},1,rpt,${NODE}

to exten => ${NODE},1,rpt(${NODE}|Pv)

And whilst asterisk didnt complain or stop working I couldn’t get 2 way simplex
VOX

So , am I just on a road to nowhere ? or have I missed something please ?

As zello seems to be moving away from its public access roots I’m keen to generate
interest in asterisk. Again VOX sucks - but if I don’t get users engaged , zello wins !

Dawkins forbid that they end up on teamspeak or worse !!

Many thanks in advance for any clues

regards

BB

1 Like
2

carrierfrom=vox is a setting in usbradio.conf. Would that work for you?

3

Thanks for the reply Tim

My understanding (happy to be corrected on this though guys?) was that with a bog standard CM108 I have to use simpleusb not usbradio ?

However, the stanzas look HIGHLY similar and I confess I had not tried it.

I’ll give it a blast this evening and report back here

many thanks

regards

BB

4

I have not used vox since the acid version of the software, but I had fair sucess with it on HF remotes.
However, to get that sucess, you have to tweek the controls a bit. Not so good straight out of the box.
WE are missing good documentation of this.
And I can’t find my notes on it right now, but there was vox threshold and some other values
that I think were delay/decay.

Currently, with a Pi, you are kinda stuck with the sound fob but some of us are experimenting.
Perhaps something in the near future?
If you use a old pc/laptop with a built-in parallel port, you can have cos/ptt though that.

But your issue seems to be one way audio and vox will not change that for you.

Look in your simpleusb.conf
duplex = 1 ; Duplex / 0 - half duplex / 1 - full duplex
Yes, You are using a half duplex radio, but ‘try’ duplex and the radio will not mind.
I have never done this like your config, just guessing to get what I think you want/need.

But do be mindful of duplex mode in rpt.conf in the nodes stanza as well.
The combinations of the 2 can make for some varying degrees of needs.
I think that may be the source of the issue for you.

I am not a good explainer of this. I would say check the wiki, and ask specific questions to what you don’t understand. But there is a difference you have to keep in the back of your mind of ‘audio’ gates and ‘logic’ gates being your cos/ptt response. They are not the same.

Hope that helps a minor bit since you have radio experience.

5

Good {checks clock} evening guys (well for 5 minutes anyhow) :slight_smile:

Thanks to all for your feedback !

So the good news is that I now have a fully working vox simplex gateway!

Because I couldn’t find the info all in one place, I will start a separate thread on this tomorrow
and give a detailed description so that others may do it too (its not the “right” way to run a radio
but sometimes you just need quick and dirty stop gap as a band aid or demonstrator)

executive summary for the impatient:

  1. I needed to use chan_usbradio not chan_simpleusb - the in file comments suggest use only with DSP enabled CM108 - its configurable - don’t sweat it! - it works with the open board CM108s on fleabay

  2. Despite configuring the system correctly longhand (years of asterisk hands-on) using asl-menu to set the levels didn’t work - I concluded its a bug / permissions thing, but hundreds of people must have hit the same issue beforehand ? not just me ? jury is out - Incidentally this was built on the stable 1.x release not beta 2.x - beta 2.x kept cyclic restarting the asterisk process after 5 days of flawless 24/7 operation so I regressed back to 1.x which resolved that particular challenge

  3. once I had determined that the asl-menu wasn’t working as expected I called the radio-tune-menu script directly as root. This worked flawlessly and I have good levels

  4. as expected with a UHF DMR handheld on the end of the leads (its what I had to work with) about 4 turns on 2 heavy duty mix 31 ferrites were needed between radio and the sound fob to smooth out the pulse noise from the audio

  5. Audio doesnt seem to be as good on chan_usbradio as on chan_simpleusb - but that might be down to config / placebo effect - lets play some more and find out.

Once again many thanks to all who guided me down the path

And yes - friends don’t let friends “do vox gateways” but this was a needs must scenario - a mackerel to catch a shark if you will.

wishing you all 73

Regards

BB

6

Well, thanks for the follow up.
I might say that simpleusb has a tune function as well.
And that radiousb is needed only when accessing dsp functionality.

So, once again, that’s what I get for assuming.
Glad you have that part working.
I have learned something as well.
Trouble for me is will I remember it the next time ? LOL

7

Either channel driver works with a CM108. But the RPi’s can be an issue according to some people. However, I think if you stay away form the DSP functions like SQ and PL detection (let the radio do those) VOX will work and not put a big load on the CPU. Let us know hoe it goes.

8

I can confirm that to get simplex vox traffic both ways through the CM108 I needed chan_usbradio

with chan_simpleusb it would go in, or go out , but not both - one way or the highway! :slight_smile:

as far as I can see the only options in the simpleusb.conf are:

carrierfrom = no, usb, usbinvert

and in usbradio.conf they are:

carrierfrom = no, usb.usbinvert,dsp, vox

and without DSP or vox it just doesnt work both ways

I didnt get to writing up my simplex vox configs tonight - still wrestling with cyclic reboots on my
second demo node (stuck usb card, nope it isnt ! , stuck usb card, nope it isnt )

its midnight:18 here - time for some shut eye

73

Regards

BB

9

Well, I think ‘carrier from vox’ would make it a dsp function and require usbradio