I have been working these past few weeks on the construction of a new VOIP network and 2M RF node to add to the GRHub Network in Mossel Bay. As you should know by now I am not a "cheque book" radio amateur that just buys what is needed, plug everything in and there you go. No I like to tinker, homebrew and to experiment. This new node is as far as I know the first VOIP node in South Africa that use some equipment that dates back to the 1980's and 1990's. Yep you read correctly. Although VOIP was invented in 1995 there are still older equipment that can provide far better performance than new equipment. However this topic is not about the construction of the new node. I will in future go into great deal on how I constructed this node and what equipment I used.
The new node was tested over the past few days to ensure that all the current functions work as expected. This morning Curtis ZS6CMO obliged and connected to the new node. We did a quick connect and audio test which was successful. I would like to thank Curtis for assisting me with the tests. I later decided to connect the new node to the UK Hubnet this morning to see if there is any "fish out there". Low and behold it was not long before Andy VK6KQ (Australia) called and Marko ZS1NEU returned his call via RF on 2 Meters FM. The two of them had a great QSO and was later joined by John VK6LWB (Australia) and Andrew 2W0INY (UK). Marko was mobile and I was stationary mobile with only a 2m handheld on hand. In my opinion the audio quality and reception was just as good as the ZS1I-L AllStar Node that is currently the main node in operation.
Thus far I am quite impressed with the functionality of the new node. The node is still in a test phase and I will provide full details in a future post in this regard. The node is still open and on the workbench and I still have to complete several final construction features as well as further setup of the software.
I would like to invite radio amateurs to use the node when it is reflected in Echolink. It will be weekdays on test between 09h00 - 16h00 SAST.
The node particulars are:
- ZS1I-R GRHub Network, MSB, ZA
- Node Number: 929614
- Connect via Echolink or RF 145.550 Mhz 88.5 hz CTCSS
- This node is currently not connected to the AllStar Node Network
- The node timeout after 5 minutes if there is no activity and you need to reconnect.
- Currently only one station can connect at a time. This will be changed in future.
- Further modules with great functionality will be added in future. One such future is the ability to leave and audio message via the QSO Recorder on the mailing list.
What will the new node be used for? Well that is an open question that I cannot answer at this stage but I can assure you that this node will be the "heartbeat" of the GRHub Network. I am also working on another experimental VOIP node that will if successful be easy and cheap to build. I envisage that this node concept will allow fellow radio amateurs to obtain their own node to be used in the shack, mobile or portable. Lookout for this node.
Finally I would like to thank the following radio amateurs for their support and willingness to assist me in testing this project. Although I only mentioned a few here you are most welcome to join in on the fun:
Curtis ZS6CMO, Thys ZS1TBP, Marko ZS1NEU, Andy VK6KQ, John VK6LWB and Andrew 2W0INY.
