New AllStar HamVoip SD Card compiled and implemented on the ZS Link Network System

The new AllStar HamVoip SD Card has been compiled and implemented on the ZS Link Network System iro the 49355 HamVoip Node.  Now why would one implement a new SD Card if the one in use was still working.  Well it is quite simple.  As the ZS Link Network expand, certain changes need to be made to accommodate certain functions and setups.  I tried to alter certain settings using the old card but was not successful to change certain files for the new setup.

What changes did I implement on the new SD Card?

• Changed the following settings in the simple-tune-menu: 

• • Change RXONDELAY value to -100.  Rxondelay delays the valid COS signal and is used to stop cyclic keying or ping-pong which can sometime happen.  If you bring up simpleusb-tune-menu and select the "V" view mode.  You can see both the COS input and COS composite displays.  To understand how rxondelay works set it to some high value like 20 or 400ms.  When you transmit to your node you will see the COS input immediately go keyed and the 400ms delay of the composite.  Setting this value to high would cutoff the beginning of a transmission as it delays the actual COS beyond the real COS signal.  The default is 0 and this would be appropriate in most all cases except in the case of the Aasvoëlkop Repeater with a fairly long squelch tail.  In my case -100 did the trick. 
  • Change RXAUDIODELAY value to 5.  Rxaudiodelay is primarily used for squelch tail elimination. It delays the audio in a buffer so that a drop of COS can cutoff a portion of the audio before the COS drops thus eliminating the tail of the transmission where a squelch crash would take place. Since all radios are different this value is adjustable. Valid values are from 0-24 in 20ms increments. Typical values in most cases would range from 5-10 or 100-200 ms. If is obviously not mandatory to use this, some people actually like squelch tails. The default is 0. If you have a way to monitor your node through another node or maybe iaxrpt you can listen when you drop TX on the node you want to adjust and move this value up until the tail is gone. Unless the tail is unusually long you should be able to eliminate it.
  
  
• Repeater / Simplex Settings (rpt.conf): 
  
  
  Go to Repeater / Simplex Node Settings
  Look for duplex = 1
  Change the 1 to 0
  duplex 0
  
  
  
  This means half duplex with no telemetry tones or hang time. I entered this during the setup of the 49355 HamVoip node on the new SD Card. 

• Turn off link connect and disconnect announcements:    
  

         When running a link network we need to turn off those ridiculous connect and disconnect                     announcements which can last a long time and also interrupt the use of the link system.

 

         I edited the following to get rid of the annoying connect/disconnect telemetry messages.

         In rpt.conf look for:

         holdofftelem=1  (Disable courtesy tones) ( 0 = default, 1=Disable)

         telemdefault=0  (Do not make announcements)

         ; 0=voice telemetry off

         ; 1=voice telemetry on

         ; 2=only your telemetry actions

 

• Updated the 49355 Favorites.ini file. Discarded all the old and non-active nodes and added the new and active nodes.
• Tested the AllStar build in DDNS
• Added and setup a dynamic DNS for node 49355 running on a Raspberry PI using Arch Linux.
• Setup a Static IP Address for HamVoip Node 49355.
• Activate Connection Log for HamVoip Node 49355.
• Rewrite the Crontab -e file for HamVoip Node 49355. 

      The following Crontab entries were add:

1.  Auto Connect to the Pretoria Repeater (Monday to Saturday)
2.  Auto Connect to the Aasvoelkop Repeater (Sunday to Saturday)
3.  Auto Connect to the Still Bay Repeater (Sunday to Saturday)
4.  Auto Connect to the East Coast Reflector in the USA (Sunday to Saturday)
5.  Auto Connect to the SARL News Bulletin (Sunday Morning)
6.  Auto Play pre-recorded ZS-Link Network Announcements (Various times of the day)
   

The new SD Card has been in operation for the past week without any issues.  With the old card I did experience some issues which have been fixed by using the new card.  So far I am quite please with the performance and stability of the 49355 ZS Link Hub Network Node.  All the effort and time spend compiling the new card from scratch was a great idea and asset to the network.

Enjoy using the new 49355 HamVoip HUB Node  another valued addition to the SCP ZS Link Network, brought to you by the Southern Cape Link Network Group.