Kendall Amateur Radio Society Nov 2018 With thanks to: KF5ZBL – Bill & KG5EIU – David of the Richardson Amateur Radio Club
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Digital HotSpots For Ham Radio
ZUMSpot
Why HotSpots - System Diagram/Use
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● Gives Radio Operator fast easy
access globally
● High Quality Digital Audio
Experience
● No Repeater Access Needed
● Multiple Digital Modes Available
(12 total)
● Most still require operator’s
digital radio
● Most require a computer or
Raspberry PI
HotSpot Repeater
Reflectors
D-Star, DMR, YSF, etc
DV HT
Why HotSpots
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● Not near a repeater
● Local repeater not internet accessible
● Ease of changing reflectors
● Not tying up a local repeater
● Allows a portable system
HotSpot Types/Categories
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No Operator Radio Needed (usually USB dongles)
● Uses a computer + hardware dongle/vocoder + software
● Requires computer mic and headset plus USB port to power dongle
● Requires good Internet connection to/from computer
Operator Radio Needed (HT or mobile/base) ← ● Uses computer (Raspberry Pi) + hardware radio (ZUMSpot) and software
(Pi-Star) + Operator DIGITAL radio
● Requires good internet to/from computer and/or hotspot/appliance
Raspberry Pi – What is it?
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● Credit card sized computer
● Developed in the UK by the RaspberryPi foundation in 2009
● Based on Broadcom SOC (System On a Chip)
● Affordable (from $5 to $35)
● Runs Linux or Windows
● Consumes less than 5W
● Supports full HD video (1080p), multiple USB ports, audio jack, ethernet,
bluetooth, wifi
● Expandable through a 40 pin header
● Up to 1Gb of RAM, SD card for storage
Raspberry Pi – Current models
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DV Mega RPI Radio Module
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● DVMEGA RPI - a radio module that fits without a
modem or node adapter directly on the Raspberry PI.
The combination RPI and DVMEGA radio is a
complete D-Star and DMR compatible hotspot with
an output power of 10mW.
● This works with all versions of the Raspberry PI
● Two versions. A UHF board and a Dual band
VHF/UHF version.
● Needs operator’s radio
http://www.dvmega.auria.nl
BlueStack Micro + DVMega Board
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● BlueStack
● Android,IOS, Windows, Linux versions
● Uses DVMega boards
● BlueDV app or software
● Dstar, DMR, Fusion
● App connects via bluetooth or USB
● App has to be running for unit to work
● Needs operator’s radio
http://www.combitronics.nl/index.php
Shark RF OpenSPOT (no longer made)
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● Stand alone appliance has on-board transceiver 20mW RF output
● Requires good wired ethernet connection via RJ45 NO WIFI
● Multi-protocol support - D-Star or System Fusion and/or DMR
● Cross mode with DMR and System Fusion (on board cross mode)
● Simple web interface GUI, HTTP, UDP/TCP API support
● USB Powered
● Runs embedded software/OS - no linux/windows, no memory card
● Firmware easily upgradable
● Need operator’s Radio
https://www.sharkrf.com
Shark RF OpenSPOT2
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● Finally released! Replaces original OpenSpot. Cost: ~$230
● Stand alone appliance has on-board transceiver 20mW RF output
● Supports WIFI
● Multi-protocol support - D-Star or System Fusion and/or DMR
● Cross mode with DMR and System Fusion (on board cross mode)
● Simple web interface GUI, HTTP, UDP/TCP API support
● USB Powered
● Runs embedded software/OS
● Firmware easily upgradable
● Need operator’s Radio
https://www.sharkrf.com
NANO-SPOT by Micro-Node International
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● Stand alone self-contained digital hotspot has
onboard transceiver 20mW RF output
● Requires good WiFi-based Internet connection
● Multi-protocol support - D-Star, System
Fusion, DMR, P25, NXDN
● Simple Pi-Star web interface GUI, HTTP,
UDP/TCP API support
● USB Powered
● Running “Pi-Star”
● Needs operator’s Radio
Micro-Node International
http://www.micro-node.com/index.shtml
DHAP Digital HAM Access Point
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DHAP Mini Mega
● Custom 3D case
● Raspberry Pi 3
● DVMega board based
● Need operator’s Radio
Jumbo Spot/China Spot/MMDVM_HS_HAT
● Clone/knock-off of MMDVM PiHat (all open source design)
● UHF or VHF Transceiver Raspberry Pi-Hat
● eBay.com (do a search for mmdvm)
● Now upgradable
Setup Guide
http://www.hagensieker.com/blog/page/?post_id=99&title=jumbospot-dmr-hotspot
ZUMSpot Board - UHF Transceiver Pi-Hat
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● 32-bit ARM Processor
● 10mW RF Power
● SMA Antenna Connectors
● DMR, P-25, D-Star, System Fusion, NXDN
● Firmware pre-loaded, upgradable
● Displays: NEXTION, I2C Support
● Status LEDS
● Needs operator’s radio
● YSF2DMR, YSF2NXDN Gateway ZumSpot Kit
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015993
ZUMSpot Board - Examples
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● ZUMSpot - Radio Module Board (UHF Transceiver) For Pi Hat
● Raspberry Pi - Credit-Card-Sized Computer (Pi3B+, P2, Pi3, Pi-ZeroW)
● Pi-Star - Custom Software Image For Pi (Raspbian + MMDVM)
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HotSpots: Hardware + Software
Software And Firmware For HotSpots
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Raspberry Pi “images” Completely Open Source
● Pi-Star - Hardened Raspberry Pi OS (Raspbian) with included
MMDVM - Open Source Multi-Protocol Digital Voice Modem code +
POCSAG
● Firmware open sourced
● Several choices but Pi-Star most popular
Pi-Star - Software Image/Appliance
Page - 18 Pi-Star Digital Voice Software - http://www.pistar.uk
Current Version as of Aug 10, 2018: v3.4.16
Updated frequently
Pi-Star – Looking up a call sign
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If configured, clicking on a
call sign will bring up the
QRZ page
Hardware Support With PiStar
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PiStar (http://www.pistar.uk)
● Custom RPI software, free and open
source.
● Lots of dongles, boards, and USB
sticks supported. 32 devices as of Oct 2018
Pi-Star supported modems: https://amateurradionotes.com/pi-star-notes.htm#supportedradios
→
PiStar Software Features
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PiStar New Features As Of Aug 2018
● YSF 2 DMR
● YSF 2 NXDN
● DMR 2 YSF
● DMR 2 NXDN
● POCSAG
Pi-Star Digital Voice Software - http://www.pistar.uk
Digital Modes As Of Aug 2018
● DMR
● D-Star
● P25
● NXDN
● Fusion (YFS, FCS)
● YSF2DMR,YSF2P25,YSF2NXDN
(bridge)
● DMR2NXDN, DMR2YSF (bridge)
● POCSAG (Post Office Code Standardization
Advisory Group – data to pager)
Network Portals and Dashboards
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Great way to see “what is going on” - in the Internet side
BrandMeister Dashboard (DMR) Self Help and more
● https://brandmeister.network
Xreflector
● http://xreflector.net/neu3/
DMR Plus CCS7
● http://www.mw0mwz.co.uk/ccs-live.php
DAPNET (Paging)
● https://hampager.de/#/
Get Started Quickly:
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Need:
Digital Radio (Fusion, D-Star, DMR, NXDN, P25) base, mobile, HT
WiFi Internet Connection (Pi ZeroW needs a 2.4Ghz AP; Pi 3 can use 2.4 or
5Ghz)
Acquire:
ZUM Radio ZUMspot Kit - HRO https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015993
Case: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016096
Read/Follow:
Well Done Guide: https://www.toshen.com/ke0fhs/pi-star.htm
ZUMSpot Board - Reference Links
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● MMDVM - https://github.com/g4klx
● ZUMSpot - (hamradio.com)
● MMDVM_HS_HAT rev 1.5 - tindie.com N5BOC Store
● Raspberry Pi - https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/
● Pi-Star - http://www.pistar.uk
● Support/Latest Info - https://www.facebook.com/groups/pistar/
● Initial Setup Videos W1MSG-https://youtu.be/B5G4gYDdJeQ
● BrandMeister Network - https://brandmeister.network
● KG5EIU Photo Gallery - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm3gQNuo
● DAPNET - Decentralized Amateur Paging Network https://hampager.de/#/
Thank You! Comments And questions?
Don – KI5AIU
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Thanks again to KF5ZBL - Bill KG5EIU - David