Down Memory Lane: Harnessing Technology for early warning - Amateur Radio and the SAWDIS

Image:  Front cover of the RADAR publication.  (Click on images for larger view)

In 2009 I was approached by the University of Cape Town to participate in the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Research Project.  This project resulted in the first Risk and Development Annual Review (RADAR) publication for the Western Cape. This mammoth undertaking reflected eight years of post-disaster research across the province. The Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme would like to acknowledge the contribution made by the many individuals, groups and academics whose support and input made this first RADAR possible. We would specifically like to thank the many researchers and practitioners who contributed their time and input to the first post-impact studies from 2003-2007.  The Risk and Development Annual Review (RADAR) project was commissioned to investigate severe weather induced disasters experienced in the Western Cape province from 2003 – 2008.

Mr Anton Bredell,  Western Cape Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning  presented the foreword in RADAR.  

He explained:

“The Western Cape can be regarded as one of the most disaster prone provinces in South Africa. Since 2006, ten disasters were declared of which the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) classified eight as disasters. These disasters included mostly flooding events as
well as drought and the displacement of human beings. It is my pleasure to present the first Risk and Development Annual Review (RADAR) publication for the Western Cape. This publication is the first Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) report detailing disaster events and critical risk reduction issues for a wide range of public sector, emergency services and development planning professionals and practitioners. The project was guided by a Publication Advisory Committee (PAC) consisting of the PDMC, NDMC, Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) and the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Project (DiMP) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). During the 2009/10 financial year, the PDMC worked with university partners to strengthen applied disaster risk scholarship and capacity in the Western Cape. This initiative foresees a phased collaborative process from 2009 to 2012 that progressively engages the Province’s higher education institutions in disaster risk reduction research, as well as formal and non-formal education activities. The project seeks to provide an institutional mechanism that brings together the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), the PDMC and the four Western Cape higher education institutions in a venture that generates human and institutional capacity to reduce recurrent disaster risks. It also aims at generating provincially relevant applied research outputs in disaster risk science and management. During 2009 the PDMC obtained funding from the NDMC in order to compile a RADAR publication for 2010. This publication aims to provide a consolidated summary of major Western Cape disaster events that occurred between 2003 and 2008. This will enable a wide range of practitioners, both within and beyond the Western Cape, to access post-disaster event analyses and associated data for risk reduction planning purposes. The first edition will focus on the province’s changing risk profile – with specific emphasis on severe weather events from 2003 to 2008 and their consequences – and link this with future climate variability and climate change / adaptation. There is a section on the changing urban risk profile, with a reflection on people who were internally displaced in 2008. It is envisaged that future editions will cover other hazards that may cause disasters in the Western Cape. A special word of thanks to the UCT/DiMP for producing the first scientific publication of its kind in South Africa and for supporting the Western Cape PDMC in its endeavours to make the Province a safer place for all to live in. This surely is an excellent example of pioneering work pertaining to research and it sets the trend for enhancing all aspects of disaster risk reduction and related management initiatives in South Africa.”

Lets now have a closer look at Emerging resources – linking up with local ‘movers and shakers’ where amateur radio also plays a vital roll.

The Western Cape is rich in often untapped human resources. These are local people with kindness and compassion; residents who willingly give of their own time and apply their particular strengths and expertise for the good of their communities. They are also often the ‘movers’ in that they seek creative solutions to the risks they face, often without additional resources.
These efforts by volunteers and civil society groups across the province have strengthened the
capacity of local municipalities in general, and disaster managers in particular. This is especially
the case in far-flung rural areas that lack financial resources. Often building on humble
beginnings and working patiently and tirelessly, these dedicated individuals and groups have
grown from strength to strength over the last few years.
In the course of our research for RADAR, we discovered many exciting local initiatives. This
chapter offers a snapshot of six of them. Each is unique, drawing on a variety of strengths and
expertise and showing how local residents and disaster managers can work together effectively.
Of course, these case-studies are not the only instances of community members actively
engaged in disaster risk reduction in the province. However, they emphasize the value that is
added when risk management efforts are energized by local ‘movers and shakers’.

Harnessing technology for early warning:  Location Mossel Bay, Western Cape

Image: Location of Mossel Bay

 

Amateur Radio and the South African Weather and Disaster Information Service (SAWDIS)

Good emergency management before, during and after severe storms depends on access to real-time weather warnings.  This example from Mossel Bay shows how radio amateurs and HAMNET members, as well as the general public, can play an important role in reporting real-time weather and disaster information – and offer a key public information service during emergencies.
It also illustrates how members of the public, using their own equipment, can contribute
positively to disseminating critical information when and where it is needed most.

Aftermath of floods – SAWDIS is established

Image: Johan ZS1I at his SAWDIS and Amateur Radio Station Desk

For Mossel Bay radio ham Johan Terblanche ZS1I, the poor quality of public information available during the 2006/2007 floods convinced him of the need for a local public weather and disaster information service, and especially an early warning system. With the support of other amateur radio operators (known as radio hams) and the general public, he established the South African Weather and Disaster Information Service (SAWDIS) and associated Internet blog in October 2008. The blog provides up to the minute weather reports, weather maps, photographs, satellite images, and relevant information on disasters around the world. This approach of harnessing the Internet for local disaster risk management caught on quickly, and as an awareness of SAWDIS spread, additional external links have gradually been added to the blog, making it an increasingly valuable resource.

How does the SAWDIS work?

SAWDIS allows information to be exchanged effectively by using the Internet, commercial entities and amateur radio operators. This two-way information flow helps to promote and improve scientific methodologies as well as helping to interpret weather and disaster observations at grass roots level. The ‘high-tech’ element of SAWDIS relies on the APRS RF global system. This is a combination of networks and terrestrial and satellite links that move weather-related information around the world. In South Africa, many areas lack the necessary infrastructure and knowledge to benefit from this global information. This is where the ‘low-tech’ side of SAWDIS steps in. Amateur radio operators receive and share information, linking isolated and marginalised communities with real-time weather forecasts from satellites and other sources. SAWDIS currently receives neither funding nor sponsorship, and is built on the dedication, imagination and skill of its volunteers.

 

Final Comments by Johan ZS1I:

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (DiMP) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), the Publication Advisory
Committee (PAC) officials from the National Disaster Management Centre, Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre,

Now why would one write an article about yourself and also about a research project that was undertaken in the early two thousands?  

1.  Definitely not to brag or boast about it at my age as it is rather late to look for attention now.  Those who know me will know that I am not an attention seeker. Neither do I enjoy to be in the limelight.

2.  One reason is this "event" is now historically and forms part of my series of articles called "Down Memory Lane" that I publish on the ZS Link Network Blog to save it for future generations.

3.  Another and very important reason is that I am getting on in the years and this article serves to inform the younger generation that they have a responsibility to serve their local community in time of not only disasters but also when the opportunity arise to generally serve when there is a need for it. 

As the then Mr. Sicelo Shiceka, National Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs indicated:  "Historically households, communities and societies have continuously sought to protect their property and livelihood from extreme events and disasters. They investigated and found ways and methods to improve the sighting, positioning and building of their structures and ways to safeguard their economic activities against these destructive events. These search efforts tended to focus on threatening hazards and their impact on the communities and their livelihoods. However, as populations increase - with the consequence that the built environment increases in size - coupled with the effects of climate variability, there emerges greater pressure on the need for determining and addressing vulnerabilities and exposure to these extreme and disastrous events faced by societies."

4.  This article should be an example to the younger generation in Amateur Radio that there is always an opportunity where you can be of service to your local community.  We as Radio Amateurs have the resources to assist not only during severe weather events or disasters but also on a daily basis and not only in the Western Cape Province but throughout all the provinces of South Africa and even World Wide. I would like to see that radio amateurs increasingly become "movers and shakers" and be energized to assist their local community.

5. I trust that this article will kindle and energize radio amateurs anew to find ways to build  on humble beginnings like I did with SAWDIS and work patiently and tirelessly to grow from strength to strength but most importantly to be of assistance to local communities when the need arises. 

 

Example of the SAWDOS Blog Website looked like:  Click HERE

(Note:  The SAWDIS Blog name was changed to the South African Weather and Disaster Observation Service.  (SAWDOS)

 

Is the SAWDIS/SAWDOS Blog Website still functional and available?  Click HERE 

Johan Terblanche ZS1I

Mossel Bay

10 July 2024

What is in the Box?

 

Asking this question on the Amateur Radio 101 Group once again resulted in an interesting comment about me importing eggs from overseas as the current bird-flu epidemic resulted in very expensive eggs.  Well let me answer that by saying that I an not very fond of eggs.  So I definitely would not import eggs even if it was my favorite.  Now what was in the box?  Well once again this is not to brag or boast as I have said this many times in the past.  Let see what was in the above box.

It is a Tp-link VIGI Outdoor full color Pan & Tilt Network (non WiFi) Camera  Model C540 V2.  I hear some of you say how boring and what has this got to do with amateur radio!  Let me try to explain.  This camera will be used as:

• addition to my new private home security system.
  
• a weather observation webcam in the Heidrand, Mossel Bay area
• a fire observation webcam to observe fires in the Mossel Bay area as well as the Outeniqua Mountains
• a mobile webcam when operating an amateur radio field- or public event station.
• there is several other uses but this will have to suffice for the time being.
  

This camera will in all the above mentioned uses be incorporated and run via the AREDN Mesh Network in Mossel Bay.  I will have a choice to either run this camera via the Internet (world wide network and view)  or No Internet via the AREDN Mesh Network. (local network and only available to AREDN stations)  This will give me the option to decide on who see's what depending on the circumstances.  I did opt for the Ethernet version rather than WiFi camera for security- and stability reasons. Updates to follow once I setup the networks.

The images underneath were taken this afternoon while setting up the camera.  They were taken in the Shack and trough the window to just get an indication on the quality of the pictures and video.  I did not record a video yet, but will later make a video recording with the camera once it is installed. (Click on images for larger view.)

Down Memory Lane: Who remembers Chris ZS3B going Tuk-Tuk Amateur Radio Mobile in South Africa?

                                                    Chris Nagel ZS3B, ZS6BGH (SK)

With all the different activities in Amateur Radio like HOTA, SOTA, POTA etc, I was telling the Amateur Radio 101 Telegram Group about a well known Yellow Tuk-Tuk Three Wheeler that visited the Buffalo Rally in Mossel Bay in 1997.  No this was not an ordinary Tuk-Tuk.  It was the Tuk-Tuk of Chris Nagel ZS3B, ZS6BGH (SK several years ago) which was well known all over South Africa when Chris decided to hit the road.  I once meet up with Chris close to the Buffalo Rally gates in Mossel Bay.  Chris did not participate in the Rally, he decided to look out for radio amateur that might be at the rally.  Needless to say that I spend a few hours with Chris who told many stories of his Tuk-Tuk Adventures. I can remember one of his many stories.  He told me that on one of his trips through the Free State the Tuk-Tuk's front wheel bearings broke and he was left stranded along the road.  Thankfully a farmer stopped and told Chris that he is welcome to stay over on his farm until the Tuk-Tuk is fixed.  The farmer towed the Tuk-Tuk to his farm and in the morning he and Chris ordered a new wheel bearing.  Chris stayed a few days on the farm until the bearing arrived and no he did not stay in the farmers house but in the Tuk-Tuk seeing that it was also Chris's mobile home with a bed and all the necessary things needed. After fixing the bearing problem Chris went on his merry way.  As to all the amateur radio equipment he installed one can view the images.  I regularly spoke to Chris on HF.  Another interesting question that I posed to Chris when he was in Mossel Bay is:  "How do he protect himself man alone against crime?"  Chris was sitting in the Tuk-Tuk at the time and he reached to the roof  pulling out his 44 Magnum Six Shooter.  He indicated that thankfully he never experience any safety issues which necessitated the use of the shooter.

My son and I enjoyed a great few hours with Chris on the day.  Sadly Chris became silent key but the memories live on.  Till today I still miss that very pronounced voice of Chris.

Wonder if somebody will follow Chris in his footsteps by going Amateur Radio Tuk-Tuk Mobile in South Africa in the future?

Images courtesy ZS6PTA:  (Click on the images for larger view.)  

Revisited: Mossel Bay AREDN 5.8 and 2.4 Ghz Mesh Network once again active!! (Part 1)

The Mossel Bay AREDN 5.8 and 2.4 Ghz Mesh Network is once again active, but this time not only as an emergency data network.

Before you run away, read on,  you might be surprised about the new use for this Mesh Network. To those that might not know,  Mossel Bay "had" its own AREDN Mesh Network running from 2016 to 2020. 

What is AREDN all about?

By loading the AREDN®1 firmware in a outdoor wireless access point, you can join a ham radio network. It’s like the Internet but runs on ham radio frequencies, mostly in the 2.4, 3.4, and 5.8 GHz bands. By joining this network you can find and use all sorts of applications (known as “services”). Anything running on a server, like weather stations, web sites showing site conditions, email servers, etc can be provided as a service. There are also services that don’t rely on a browser: video streams, chat servers, VOIP PBXes, etc. The network can also be used to connect Winlink stations, Dstar and DMR repeaters, and Allstar devices. Pretty much any kind of service you can put on the Internet you can put on the AREDN hamnet, subject to the restrictions of the ham radio regulations.

Why would one run an AREDN Network in you local community, town or city?

I can provide you with an abundance of reasons but this is not the aim of this topic.  However here is a few links how AREDN was used during the 2017 Knysna Wildfires. 

• Radio Amateurs gives wireless support behind the scenes.
• South African Radio Amateurs Poised to Support Communication as Wildfires Rage
• AREDN Group in South Africa Responds to Fire Disaster   

From the above links it is quite clear that AREDN is a very useful "tool" during disasters and emergencies.  In 2018 AREDN was again used during the Haarlem Fire in the George area. Since 2019 to date the extent of disasters and emergencies were of such a nature that there was no need to use AREDN.  Thankfully this area is currently not a disaster prone area but one can never say that disasters or large emergencies cannot happen.

Now what is the purpose of this article then?

Another "disaster" reared it's ugly head when the country was plunged into darkness as a result of Phase 6 Eskom Loadshedding.  Without going into great detail I deem it necessary to explain in short what Phase 6 entails for our overseas readers.

Stage 6 load shedding is the highest ever experienced in South Africa. This stage means that 5000 MW to 6000 MW of power must be shed in order to prevent the national grid from collapsing. If the power grid were to collapse, it would leave Eskom having to begin additional, unscheduled power cuts whenever needed, and outside of existing schedules. However, stage 6 load shedding means power cuts are scheduled over a 4-day window to take place twice a day at 4 hours a time.

Apart from not having electricity other services like Broadband  Internet, cellphone, landline etc. services experienced outages as generators run  empty and batteries cannot charge to capacity, while systems just crashed etc.  A real big mess!  Amateur Radio also experienced its share of "outages" as many hams do not have a power backup system.

In the Garden Route Area we have several VHF/UHF Repeaters, Simplex Radio Links, Networks that utilize Echolink, Zello and AllStar to connect to other worldwide networks via the Internet. If there is an Internet outage then this means that Echolink and Zello cannot be used and we as radio amateurs need to rely on HF Radio and local "stand alone" repeaters and simplex communications.  Not an ideal situation but in the event of a disaster this means of communication will have to suffice.

How do we solve this lack of Internet during power outages, disasters or emergencies?

This set me thinking and I dug out the AREDN Main Mesh Node from the dust and cobwebs today.  It   has been in storage since 2019. Reason for storage: For you know - "We might one day need old faithful again".  I am going to use the mesh node network as a second Internet backup service when there is an Internet/Cellphone outage for whatever reason. The Mossel Bay AREDN Mesh Network will run from 12v DC Battery Power which is then converted to 5v DC for the Raspberry Pi and Netgear Switch.

Yes, as mentioned before you can run any kind of service you run on the Internet,  you can also run it on the Mossel Bay AREDN Mesh Network. This would mean that local Mossel Bay VHF/UHF Repeaters, Simplex Links can be linked via AllStar with all the bells and whistles needed but not only that.  You can use your cellphone, laptop, desktop, I-pad, VHF/UHF Radio, repeaters and simplex radios to currently connect tot the following active running services:

1. Amateur Radio Emergency Comms Room
2. Amateur Radio News Bulletin Relays
3. Citadel Email Server and Client
4. Digital Radio Room
5. Echolink Relay/Listen Room (TX to be installed later)
   
6. Emergency JOC Room
7. FTP File Server and Storage Facility
8. General Voice Chat Room
9. Mossel Bay AREDN Mesh Network Web Page
10. Zello Relay / Listen Room (TX to be installed later)
     

Today 14 August 2023 I fired up the Mossel Bay AREDN Main Mesh Network and tested all the above service which ran flawlessly.

In Part 2 we will be looking at adding further services as can be seen in one of the images. Amongst the services to be added to the Mossel Bay AREDN Mesh Network will be two way bridges to AllStar Repeaters, DMR and Allstar Simplex Links. We are also able to link repeater backbones via 5.8 Ghz.  More on this in future postings.

Finally:

I plan to install and run a fully autonomous "back-up" Internet and Amateur Radio Communications System on the Mossel Bay AREDN Mesh Network via the GRHub Network in Mossel Bay.  The system could even be opened to the public on 2.4 Ghz during future disasters if needed.  This would be a great service that the public, first responders and radio amateurs can use for various reasons and purposes. I will also use it to link repeaters  and simplex links to the Mossel Bay AREDN Mesh Network via the GRHub Network in Mossel Bay. More about this in future postings

Herewith a few images:  (Click on images for larger view.)

 

Eskom Loadshedding Solutions - Raspberry Pi Router "Watchdog" Project: Testing Internet Connection (Part 1)

During Eskom loadshedding especially Stage 6,  I experienced several times that my GRHub Network Internet connection was lost before or after a spate of loadshedding.  Although my LTE router was on and all the necessary lights were on and blinking there would be no Internet connection.  I do not sit and watch the connection during or after a loadshedding period, I needed a automated “watchdog” for the Internet connection.  Now I know that many modern routers can be set to automatically reboot at a certain time, but my router does not have the future and this would not solve the current problem.  I looked at several projects using different module board to get the task done.  I did not want to fork out extra money as I already had a relay module, a Raspberry Pi Zero W and other items sitting on the shelf doing nothing.  Well the Pi and a few other goodies which I had on hand was chosen for this project. 

I was looking to create a project that will sense a chosen website on the Internet.  If the Internet was up and running the Python script would tell me that the Internet connection was successful and that no further input was needed.  If the Internet was down the script would tell me that the connection to the Internet failed and will the script reboot the Router.  It will automatically turn of the power to the Router, wait one minute to turn the Router back on.  After 60 seconds the power will be turned on and the Router will power up and reboot.  I also needed a log (txt) file where the shell output can be stored.  I decided to go the txt route with an entry under Crontab.  I can check relay_final.txt for print logs with time and date stamps. The shell output txt file will provide me with all the necessary info needed to do fault finding or want to know when the Internet was off and when it returned to the on state.  

The script that I wrote will be run every 30 minutes (can be set to your liking) automatically using Crontab.  It will go through the sequence and will do the necessary IP pinging  to confirm success or failure.

I am not going to go into great detail here as the Internet has more than enough info to construct such a project.  I did however compile three videos to illustrate the use of the project.  Please note I am not a professional You Tuber and I apologize beforehand for the quality of the videos.  The left hand handled the camera and the right hand was used to activate the computer software.  I will also post the two Python scripts that I created from info sourced from various Internet websites.  The log (txt) file containing the shell output will also be made available.   I am still busy with the project and further info will be made available in another post under Testing Internet Connection (Part 2)

Here is the videos and shell outputs from the Python Script for this project.

 

(Click on images for larger view.)

 

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

(Click on images for larger view.)

In Part 2 I will future the Phyton Script Code, running the script as a Cron Job and the final installation of the project in a cabinet and then to the GRHub Network LTE Router and Power Source.

Part 1 of this project was brought to you by ZS1I as part of the current series,  "The Eskom Loadshedding Disaster and Amateur Radio".  This is to alleviate loadshedding issues that has a detrimental effect on the amateur radio hobby.  

Previous projects in this regard:

Eskom Loadshedding - This R50.00 Scrap Metal UPS keeps the lights on! 

Eskom Loadshedding - I needed either a UPS or Backup 220v Power Unit for my desktop computer in the Shack ASAP!!

Eskom Loadshedding - Foolproof Power Backup Controller Project for your Radio, Radio Link or Repeater (Part 1)

Eskom Loadshedding - I am no Prophet of Doom!!

Eskom Loadshedding - A solar panel charge controller for all seasons....especially if you cannot find a trusted one!

Eskom Loadshedding - Load-shedding in South Africa calls for Solar Power Supply V 1

Eskom Load-shedding in South Africa calls for a Simple Inverter Power Supply in the Shack

Eskom Loadshedding - Foolproof Power Backup Controller Project for your Radio, Radio Link or Repeater (Part 2)

Eskom Loadshedding - Beat the Eskom Loadshedding Blues with this DIY Internet Router UPS Project.

Eskom Loadshedding - KISS DIY Solar Panel Charge Controller

Eskom Loadshedding killed my Home Network Router? How to prevent this from happening to other equipment in future! 

Eskom Loadshedding - Prevent equipment damage in your Home and Amateur Radio Shack when power returns after an Eskom load shedding period.

Eskom Loadshedding - Update: 220v Time Switching Relay Unit to prevent equipment damage during loadshedding or power outages.

 

SVXLink using a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Computer (Latest: Revision 1)

Download the PDF file that contains the manual/guide HERE

How to install/setup:

1. Raspberry PI OS – Bullseye

2. SVXLink

3. USB Sound Card

4. Alsamixer

5. GPIO

6. Radio Interface

This guide will show you how to setup SVXLink on a Raspberry Pi computer. This guide assumes that you have limited knowledge of the Linux based Raspberry Pi OS.  (Click on images for larger view.)

 

We will install the Debian operating system to the Raspberry Pi and then the SVXLink firmware. Yes I know there are hundreds of videos and examples of how to install and setup a PI and SVXLink. I am going to explain what worked for me that resulted in a successful installation and working setup.

Please note this setup resulted in a fully working node running on a Raspberry Pi 3 (b) with Debian version: 11. (Bullseye)

 

To write the OS to an SD Card for the Raspberry Pi, I used a very nice and versatile piece of software called Raspberry Pi Imager. Using the imager is a simple way to image your microSD card with Raspbian, the official Raspberry Pi operating system, and other operating systems.

Note: You will need to be connected to the Internet the first time for the Raspberry Pi Imager to download the OS that you choose.

Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager to a computer with an SD card reader. Put the SD card you'll use with your Raspberry Pi into the reader and run Raspberry Pi Imager. Watch this 45-second video to learn how to install an operating system using Raspberry Pi Imager. Take note that I changed the settings of Pi Imager to include the following:

Image customization options - to always use

• Enable SSH (Use Password authentication)

• Set username and password - Username: pi Password: xxxxxx (you choose)

• Set locale settings – Time Zone: You choose Keyboard Layout: You choose

Note: I did not configure wireless LAN as I use the Ethernet connection.

Persistant Settings

• Play sound when finished

• Eject media when finished

• Enable telemetry

All selected.

Click Save

You are now ready to write the image to the SDCard. Ensure that you selected the correct storage (SDCard) as choosing the wrong drive will erase everthing on the drive you choose. Click on write. The image will now be written to the selected SDCard. After writing it will verified the firmware and then you will get a message that the write is completed and you can remove the SDCard. 

Before continuing install the following two programs to your windows computer:

• PuTTY – Used to access the Raspberry Pi

• Advanced Port Scanner -Used to obtain the IP address of the Raspberry Pi

I take a shortcut route and do not install a keyboard, mouse or HDMI screen to the Raspberry Pi. Insert the Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port.

You can now insert the SDCard into the slot of the Raspberry Pi. Bootup the Pi and wait till its finished. Ensure that your Windows computer is on the same Router as the Raspberry Pi. Open the Advanced Port Scanner program and set the correct IP scanning range just below the Scan button. Leave other settings as is. Click the Scan Button. The scanning will start. Wait till the program stops scanning. Now look for the columns Manufacturer and MAC Address. Under the Manufacturer column you will see Raspberry Pi Foundation and the MAC Address next to it. To the left in the IP column will be your raspberry pi’s IP address. Write it down as you will need the address for PuTTY to access the Pi headless.

Now open PuTTY and enter the IP address in the slot named Host Name or IP Address. Leave the port setting 22 and click Open. You will be greated with a new screen asking for your Login as: and Password: Enter the Username and Password that you set in settings of the Raspberry Pi Image. Once you logged in we can now change a few settings for the Raspberry Pi. At the command prompt type:

sudo raspi-config

enter

The configuration menu will open. I only make changes to two headings. You can always later access the config menu again and make changes. The two headings are Interfaces and Localisation. I selected the following settings:

Interfaces

Select VNC

Remote GPIO or Serial depending on how you going to interface your radio.

Localisation

Change -

• Set Locale

• Set Timezone

• Set Keyboard

• Set WLAN Country

The above settings is straight forward and I am not going to go into detail here.

Click OK and the menu will close.

Now open a terminal and type:

sudo reboot

enter

This will reboot the Raspberry Pi.

It is now time to access the Pi via Real VNC client from your Windows computer.

 

I use “VNC Connect” by Real VNC. Once installed open the program and a VNC viewer screen will appear. Right click and select New Connection. A new window will open. Just add your Raspberry Pi IP address in the VNC Server column. Leave the other setting as is. Click OK. A new window will open asking for your Raspberry Pi Username and Password. This is the same username and password that you used in PuTTY. Click OK. Another screen either Red or Yellow will open just click OK and you will see your Raspberry Pi main screen on you Windows Computer.

But the resolution and screen size of the Pi might not be correct. Lets fix this quickly.

Set VNC resolution for the Raspberry Pi

Step 1:

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

enter

as this file needs root permission to edit we use the command sudo. Nano is used for editing.

To run the Pi headless using VNC, I changed this in the boot config file.

# uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus

# overscan.

framebuffer_width=1900

framebuffer_height=1024

Step 2:

With the frame buffer set comment the following line out:

#dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d

Commenting out and rebooting got me full resolution via VNC. Use “ctrl+x” “y” “enter” to exit nano and save your changes. Now reboot the Pi.

sudo reboot

enter

Once rebooted it is not a bad time to set a static IP- address for the Pi, if you so wish. I did not setup a Static IP Address.

Set Static IP-Address (Optional)

Open a new Terminal window. We will setup a static IP- address by editing the dhcpcd.conf file. See the example near the bottom of the file. You can use "nano" editor. To save and exit the editor, press ctrl-x and answer Y to save:

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

enter

# Example static IP configuration:

interface eth0

static ip_address=192.168.0.10/24

#static ip6_address=fd51:42f8:caae:d92e::ff/64

static routers=192.168.0.1

static domain_name_servers=192.168.0.1 8.8.8.8

Enter the IP address allocated to the PI by your router under {static ip address=}

Enter your routers IP address under {static routers =}

Enter you routers IP address under {static domain_name_servers=}

Now is a good time to reboot your Raspberry.

sudo reboot

enter

Your Raspberry Pi is now ready to use once the reboot has been completed.

However it is always a good thing to keep your OS up to date. On the top right side of you Pi screen an icon will show up from time to time to inform you that there are updates for your Pi. Click on the icon and install the updates. However you can also use a terminal.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade ;( Optional - You going to need a big cup of coffee for this one to finish.)

enter

Updates / Upgrades will start. Reboot once finished.

sudo reboot

enter

Congratulations you should now have a working Raspberry Pi with Bullseye (32 bit) OS installed!!

 

We can now install SVXLink. Open a Terminal Window. First we need to update apt and then install the SVXLink packages and server. Lets get cracking!!

Load Packages

sudo apt update

sudo apt install g++ cmake make libsigc++-2.0-dev libgsm1-dev libpopt-dev tcl-dev libgcrypt20-dev libspeex-dev libasound2-dev libopus-dev librtlsdr-dev doxygen groff alsa-utils vorbis-tools curl libcurl4-openssl-dev git rtl-sdr libcurl4-openssl-dev cmake libjsoncpp-dev

Create SVXLink user and add to groups

sudo useradd -rG audio,plugdev,gpio,dialout svxlink

Download the software from Github and compile ( Note: Takes 30 - 45 min to compile)

git clone http://github.com/sm0svx/svxlink.git
mkdir svxlink/src/build
cd svxlink/src/build
cmake -DUSE_QT=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr -DSYSCONF_INSTALL_DIR=/etc -DLOCAL_STATE_DIR=/var -DWITH_SYSTEMD=ON ..

make -j4
make doc
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

Download Sounds files and install 

Change to directory:

cd /usr/share/svxlink/sounds/

Enter

sudo curl -LO https://github.com/sm0svx/svxlink-sounds-en_US-heather/releases/download/18.03.1/svxlink-sounds-en_US-heather-16k-18.03.1.tar.bz2

Enter

sudo tar xvjf svxlink-sounds-en_US-heather-16k-18.03.1.tar.bz2

Enter

sudo ln -s en_US-heather-16k en_US

Note:  I used 18.03.1 as the version 19.09.99.1 would not tar with tar.bz2.  Important:  Ensure that the download using curl downloads  the sound files.  It takes a least 50 seconds.  If it ends after just 10 seconds you will get and error.  If this happens go to  cd /usr/share/svxlink/sounds/ and delete the file in the folder with sudo rm svxlink-sounds-en_US-heather-16k-18.03.1.tar.bz2  Once deleted go back to using the sudo curl -LO...................  command and try the download again.  I was successful on the second attempt. 

That’s it you have SVXLink installed as well as the sound files.

 

Time now for some blacklisting:

Open a new terminal

Create a file using nano or any text editor and save in /etc/modprobe.d

cd /etc/modprobe.d

sudo nano alsa-blacklist.conf

enter

Enter the following line

blacklist snd_bcm2835

Save the file

Shutdown the machine

sudo shutdown now

enter

Switch everything OFF.  It is now time to connect your USB Soundcard dongle to one of the USB ports of the Raspberry Pi. We need to set it as the default audio device. First we need to configure the Raspberry Pi NOT to load Broadcom’s Sound Chip (BCM2835)

It is now time to set the USB Sound Card as the default audio device. First we need to find the USB Sound Card device ID. Then we will edit the alsa.conf file.

Start your Raspberry Pi. with the new USB Souncard dongle fitted.

Once the Pi has booted, open a new terminal

sudo arecord -l

enter

The output in the terminal window should be:

**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****

card 0: Device [USB PnP Sound Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]

Subdevices: 0/1

Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

open nano and edit the alsa.conf

I use nano to edit the alsa.conf file:

sudo nano /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf

enter

Edit the lines defaults.ctl.card and defaults.pcm.card. In my case I had to change the number at the end of the line from “0” to “1” as arecord listed my sound card as Card 1, Device 0 and changed it when I removed the BCM2835 sound chip setting explained supra.  Depending on the sound card you use you might not have to change anything. 

default1.ctl.card 1

default.pcm.card 1

Use “ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter” to exit nano and save your changes.

Now reboot the Pi

sudo reboot

enter

After the reboot, head back to terminal and run alsamixer, verify the USB Audio device is set as the default playback/recording device. You can connect speaker/headphones to the USB Sound card and played an audio file in Chronium to verify that the audio output is working.

sudo alsamixer

enter

Once alsamixer opens press F5 to show all the volume controls. I set the Speaker / Mic / Mic (Capture slides to 19 and ensure that all three slides reflect 00.  If it shows MM then just click on MM and it will go to 00.  The Auto Gain Contol must be turned off (MM) muted. In my case I experienced a distortion error with the Auto Gain Control on. (00) 

Now press F6 to bring up Sound Card listing and select 0 or 1 USB  Audio Device  depending on your card number.  Mine was 1 but yours might be 0. Move to 1 or 0 and press enter to select your card.

Once selected press Esc to exit the mixer.

Now it is time to save the alsamixer settings

sudo alsactl store

enter

Next we’ll edit the svxlink.conf file for the initial setup. It is always a good idea to make a copy of the svxlink.conf as backup in case you want to revert back later to the unedited file.  This is optional.  I did not make a backup.

sudo nano /etc/svxlink/svxlink.conf

enter

Under the [GLOBAL] section:

uncomment: “CARD_CHANNELS=1”

Under the [SimplexLogic] section:

RX=NONE (this is temporary)

CALLSIGN=YOUR CALLSIGN

DEFAULT_LANG=en_US 

Under the [Rx] section:

AUDIO_DEV=also:plugw:0 ;(recall our USB Sound card was Card 0)

Under the [Tx] section:

AUDIO_DEV=also:plugw:0 ;(recall our USB Sound card was Card 0)

Save your changes and exit nano Using“ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter”

Next we need to edit the ModuleEchoLink.conf file once again using nano. It is always a good idea to make a copy of the ModuleEchoLink.conf as backup in case you want to revert back later to the unedited file.  This is optional.  I did not make a backup.

sudo nano /etc/svxlink/svxlink.d/ModuleEchoLink.conf

enter

Make the following changes to the ModuleEchoLink.conf file

Uncomment line 5 “Allow_IP=192.168.1.0/24“

;You may need to adjust the IP for your network subnet as used by your router

 CALLSIGN=CALLSIGN

PASSWORD=ECHOLINK PASS WORD

SYSOPNAME=CALLSIGN

LOCATION=CITY, STATE

Lastly uncomment the line “DEAFULT_LANG=en_US” to set the language to English

We also need to change the SERVERS setting.

SERVERS=europe.echolink.org ;(IMPORTANT: SVXLink will not connect or allow other stations so connect with servers.echolink.org. Change the address to europe.echolink.org or an Echolink server closest to your location)

Other changes in this file relates to you station information. You can change this to suite your needs.

Save your changes and exit nano Using“ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter”

sudo reboot

enter

Next on the list is to configure the ports on your router for your router/firewall for the Raspberry Pi. Due to the wide variety of Routers I will not go into detail on how to configure the ports and firewall. You need to consult your owners manual for you specific router as well as the Echolink manual. Echolink relies on the following ports:

5198 UDP, 5199 UDP, 5200 TCP

Check open Ports

sudo lsof -i -P -n

enter

More info on the opening of ports can be found further down in this manual.

We are now ready to connect everything together to do some basic tests of the SVXLink installation.

• The USB Sound Card should already be connected

• Connect Power Cables to the Raspberry Pi and the Radio if you have one connected to he Pi

• Optional: Connect your interface board between the radio and the Raspberry Pi if you have installed an interface board

• Optional: Connect the Radio Cable from the Interface board to the radio

Open up a new Terminal window. We are going to provisionally start SVXLink with the following command. The command hereunder will only be used to test start SVXLink.

Enter in a terminal window

sudo -u svxlink svxlink

enter

If all went well you should get a message “event handler script successfully loaded” and SVXLink should be waiting for input or a connection. Go ahead and tune a second transceiver if an interface and radio is connected, to the same simplex frequency the SVXLink radio is set to. If no interface or radio is connected you can use a set of earphones that is plugged into the speaker socket of the USB Sound Card dongle. In SVXLink use this command to have the server ID itself (*#).  Note the command *# at this stage will not work via the radio as we must still setup the GPIO pins.  You will see Tx1 Turning the transmitter On and after a few seconds Tx1 Turning the transmitter off.

*#

enter

SVXLink should key up the SVXLink Radio and you should hear the identification transmission on your second monitoring transceiver. If using headphones you should hear the ID on the phones. You may need to go back and adjust the speaker level using alsamixer. For me setting the speakers to approx 55% seems to work well.

Do the test below only if you have and interface and radio installed.  If it does not work just go ahead to the setting up the receive Rx.

Now open Echolink on your cell phone using a proxy and connect to your Echolink station. If all went well you should hear the Echolink ID the incoming connection on your monitoring transceiver. Additionally, you should be able to key up Echolink on your cell phone, transmit, and hear the transmission on your monitoring transceiver.

You now have SVXLink with the Echolink module setup and working on the transmit (TX) side of SVXLink. We still need to setup the receive (RX) side of SVXLink.

Setting up SVXLink is not difficult. Your need to be accurate in executing commands and not be in a hurry.

Now onto setting up the receiver (RX) side of SVXLink but first a few handy commands to use.

Remember that we always start and stop SVXLink the correct way.

Start and Stop SVXLink and Start and Shutdown the Raspberry PI

sudo systemctl start svxlink

sudo systemctl stop svxlink

Now I am sure you will get tired of starting svxlink manually every time. Lets fix this to allow svxlink to start automatically always after rebooting the Pi. Once you entered this command you must not start svxlink with the command: sudo -u svxlink svxlink anymore!

Select a new terminal and enter the command underneath at the command prompt

sudo systemctl enable --now svxlink

enter

sudo reboot

enter

The pi will reboot and svxlink will automatically startup after the Pi has finished rebooted.

Now let’s look at how to shutdown the Pi

Once you stopped SVXLink and you want to switch off the raspberry pi you need to shut down the Pi as prescribed. Never just pull the plug!! You have been warned.

Here is the correct way to shut-down your Raspberry Pi in a terminal window.

When using the command line or a terminal window, you can enter the following to do a clean shutdown:

sudo shutdown -h now

enter

or

sudo halt

enter

or

sudo poweroff

enter

If you use the GIU option click on the Pi emblem (left top corner) Click on Shutdown. New window will open. Click on Shutdown. The Pi will now shutdown.

Now lets shut-down SVXLink and then reboot the Raspberry Pi.

Were you successful in shutting down SVXLink and rebooting the Pi. If not, try again.

Setup the final receive (RX) side of SVXLink

We need to go back to svxlink.conf and enable RX under die Simplex section. Remember we put in None when we first edited the svxlink.conf file. We need to change the none now to Rx1.

sudo nano /etc/svxlink/svxlink.conf

enter

Under [Simplex]:

Rx=Rx1

Save the changes and exit nano using“ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter”

Go ahead and reboot the Pi

sudo reboot

enter

Once the Raspberry Pi reboot open a terminal and start svxlink as we have done before

sudo -u svxlink svxlink

enter

You might receive the following error:

Starting logic: SimplexLogic

Loading RX: Rx1

*** ERROR: Open capture audio device failed: Device or resource busy

*** ERROR: Could not open audio device for receiver “Rx1”

*** ERROR: Could not initialize RX “Rx1”

*** ERROR: Could not initialize Logic object “SimplexLogic”. Skipping…

*** ERROR: No logics available. Bailing out…

Why do you receive this error? Svxlink.service was starting when the Pi booted and already opened the Mic port on the USB Sound Card. Issuing the “sudo -u svxlink svxlink” command was starting a second svxlink processes. That’s why I earlier indicated that you must not use the “sudo -u svxlink svxlink” command once SVXLink auto starts from boot. Lets reboot the Pi.

sudo reboot

enter

Open a terminal window and lets check the svxlink service. The service should be listed as “active” in green. Here is the command to check the service.

sudo systemctl status svxlink

enter

Once you confirm that the service is “active” press “q” to quit when you are done reviewing the service status.

Now lets “tail” the svxlink log and see if the service is running and the Echolink Module is loaded.

tail -f /var/log/svxlink

enter

Use “ctrl + c” to stop the tail process.

If you’re lucky you will see the EchoLink Module load and connect to the EchoLink server:

Tue Nov 29 15:37:38 2022: SimplexLogic: Loading module "ModuleTclVoiceMail"

Tue Nov 29 15:37:38 2022: Found /usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/svxlink/ModuleTcl.so

Tue Nov 29 15:37:38 2022: Module Tcl v1.0.1 starting...

Tue Nov 29 15:37:38 2022: SimplexLogic: Event handler script successfully loaded.

Tue Nov 29 15:37:39 2022: EchoLink directory status changed to ON

Tue Nov 29 15:37:40 2022: --- EchoLink directory server message: ---

Tue Nov 29 15:37:40 2022: EchoLink Server v2.6.105

Tue Nov 29 15:37:40 2022:

Tue Nov 29 15:37:40 2022: ECHO4: Frankfurt, Germany

Tue Nov 29 15:37:40 2022:

Now you might find that you have a lot of errors relating to DNS and failed lookups for the EchoLink servers. The log would show the Pi eventually connecting to EchoLink and then disconnecting. Lets see if we can fix it by editing the svxlink.service file and adding a ‘sleep’ delay of 30 seconds resolved the issues. This will allow the Pi to complete the boot process before starting the svxlink service. Now lets stop the svxlink service.

sudo systemctl stop svxlink

enter

Now edit the svxlink.service file. Important:  Change/add the BOLD lines as below. Be sure you add the ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 30 BEFORE THE OTHER ExecStartPre lines. Else the sleep delay won’t be effective.

sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/svxlink.service

enter

[Unit]

Description=SvxLink repeater control software

Documentation=man:svxlink(1)

Requires=svxlink_gpio_setup.service

After=network.online.target remote-fs.target time.target

After=svxlink_gpio_setup.service

[Service]

EnvironmentFile=/etc/default/svxlink

PIDFile=/run/svxlink.pid

ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 30

ExecStartPre=-/bin/touch /var/log/svxlink

ExecStartPre=-/bin/chown $RUNASUSER /var/log/svxlink

ExecStart=/bin/sh -c ‘/usr/bin/svxlink –logfile=/var/log/svxlink –config=$CFG$

ExecReload=/bin/kill -s HUP $MAINPID

Restart=on-failure

TimeoutStartSec=60

#WatchdogSec=

#NotifyAccess=main

LimitCORE=infinity

WorkingDirectory=/etc/svxlink

[Install]

WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the changes to the file and exit nano using“ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter”.

Now reload the systemctl daemon, start the svxlink service, and reboot the Pi.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

enter

sudo systemctl start svxlink  (Might take a while to execute)

enter

sudo systemctl status svxlink (To check if svxlink is loaded)

enter

To exit use Ctrl Z

sudo reboot

enter

After the Pi reboots. Open up the terminal again and tail the svxlink log. It should have successfully connected to EchoLink.

tail -f /var/log/svxlink

enter

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ tail -f /var/log/svxlink

Tue Nov 29 15:49:30 2022: SimplexLogic: Loading module "ModuleTclVoiceMail"

Tue Nov 29 15:49:30 2022: Found /usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/svxlink/ModuleTcl.so

Tue Nov 29 15:49:30 2022: Module Tcl v1.0.1 starting...

Tue Nov 29 15:49:30 2022: SimplexLogic: Event handler script successfully loaded.

Tue Nov 29 15:49:31 2022: EchoLink directory status changed to ON

Tue Nov 29 15:49:32 2022: --- EchoLink directory server message: ---

Tue Nov 29 15:49:32 2022: EchoLink Server v2.6.105

Tue Nov 29 15:49:32 2022:

Tue Nov 29 15:49:32 2022: ECHO4: Frankfurt, Germany

Tue Nov 29 15:49:32 2022:

Tue Nov 29 16:00:00 2022: SimplexLogic: Sending long identification...

Tue Nov 29 16:00:00 2022: Playing Long voice ID

Tue Nov 29 16:00:00 2022: Tx1: Turning the transmitter ON

Tue Nov 29 16:00:06 2022: Tx1: Turning the transmitter OFF

Tue Nov 29 16:18:47 2022:

Fine tuning Alsamixer to get the best RX and TX Audio

 

00 = Unmuted  MM = Muted

Go ahead and make some test transmissions. Make small adjustments to the speaker and mic volume level on the Pi using “alsamixer”.

I found that I got an error stating that I was over modulating - ect ect.

I had to change the settings in alsamixer. Well this did not solve anything until I noticed that the automatic gain control in alsamixer was on.

Lets fix this!

alsamixer

enter

Press F6: Select Sound Card, and choose yours from the list, the bcm2835 ALSA we disabled and should not be present. I use a USB Device and this was listed as:

USB PnP Sound Device Select and press enter

You can play around with the settings but the main culprit was the on audio gain control. The Auto Gain Control wants to be off, select the gain control and press M (or click on 00)  to toggle so it displays [MM] for mute. Press Esc to exit and save the settings with:

sudo alsactl store

enter

This will store your settings until the next time you changed them.

As always when you make changes to files or the alsamixer it is a good practise to reboot the raspberry Pi.

sudo reboot

enter

After rebooting the error was no more and the audio quality both incoming and outgoing was good.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed SVXLink!

Now the fun begins. You will need to configure SVXLink to match the interface you use between the node and the radio. That’s if you going to connect an interface and radio to your node. This could be either via serial port or GPIO via the Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry Pi GPIO Configuration for Radio Interfacing using SVXLink Software

 

GPIO (General Purpose IO) is used to access hardware pins that are made available for example on and embedded system. Before starting to use a pin in SVXLink some setup need to be done in the operating system. With the standard distribution of SVXLink there is a pair of scripts that help with setting up and talking down the GPIO pins. The scripts are named svxlink_gpio_up and svxlink_gpio_down. The configuration file, which can be found among the other SVXLink configuration files (typically in etc/svxlink ), is called gpio.conf.

We have successfully installed the OS (Bullseye) and SVXLink and SVXLink Sounds. It is now time to setup the GPIO connection pins.

Ensure that you have the following hardware equipment connected:

• Reliable Internet Connection (I use an Ethernet Connection)

• Raspberry Pi 3 b

• Compatible USB Sound Card

• Interface between the Raspberry Pi and Radio

• Some circuitry to interface PTT from 3V TTL GPIO on the Pi for your specific radio.

• Preferably some “carrier-detect” (COS) output from the radio, and a 3V level shifter circuit to tell the Pi when a signal is received. (VOX type detection is possible but less reliable and not a good option if you going to connect this node to a Hub Network.)

First we need permission to access the gpio file

sudo gpasswd -a svxlink gpio

enter

Now let’s edit the gpio file

Before you make changes to the gpio.conf file, you must stop svxlink and stop the gpio setup.

sudo systemctl stop svxlink

enter

sudo systemctl stop svxlink_gpio_setup

enter

Below is an example how to configure gpio17 for PTT and gpio10 for COS in:

sudo nano /etc/svxlink/gpio.conf

enter

###############################################################################

#

# Configuration file for the SvxLink server GPIO Pins

#

###############################################################################

# GPIO system pin path

# RPi/odroid/nanopi/pine64 = /sys/class/gpio, orangpi = /sys/class/gpio_sw

GPIO_PATH=/sys/class/gpio

# Space separated list of GPIO pins that point IN and have an

# Active HIGH state (3.3v = ON, 0v = OFF)

#GPIO_IN_HIGH=""

# Space separated list of GPIO pins that point IN and have an

# Active LOW state (0v = ON, 3.3v = OFF)

# COS SETUP INTERFACE BOARD:

GPIO_IN_LOW="gpio10"

# Space separated list of GPIO pins that point OUT and have an

# Active HIGH state (3.3v = ON, 0v = OFF)

# PTT SETUP INTERFACE BOARD:

GPIO_OUT_HIGH="gpio17"

# Space separated list of GPIO pins that point OUT and have an

# Active LOW state (0v = ON, 3.3v = OFF)

#GPIO_OUT_LOW=""

# User that should own the GPIO device files

#GPIO_USER="svxlink"

# Group for the GPIO device files

#GPIO_GROUP="svxlink"

# File access mode for the GPIO device files

#GPIO_MODE="0664"

 

Important Note: Take specific note of the # sign in front of statements. If there are open (no #) in front of statements. You will receive errors and Svxlink will not start. 

Save the gpio.conf file.

Save the changes to the file and exit nano using“ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter”.

Another file that needs to be configured for GPIO is the svxlink.conf file. Below is an example how to configure GPIO in [Tx1] and [Rx1]in:

sudo nano /etc/svxlink/svxlink.conf

enter

[Tx1]

TYPE=Local

TX_ID=T

AUDIO_DEV=alsa:plughw:1

AUDIO_CHANNEL=0

#AUDIO_DEV_KEEP_OPEN=0

LIMITER_THRESH=-6

PTT_TYPE=GPIO

PTT_PORT=/dev/ttyS0

PTT_PIN=gpio17

 

[Rx1]

TYPE=Local

#RX_ID=?

AUDIO_DEV=alsa:plughw:1

AUDIO_CHANNEL=0

#AUDIO_DEV_KEEP_OPEN=0

LIMITER_THRESH=-6

SQL_DET=GPIO

GPIO_SQL_PIN=gpio10

SQL_START_DELAY=100

 

Save the svxlink.conf file.

Save the changes to the file and exit nano using“ctrl + x” | “y” | “enter”.

Reboot svxlink (the svxlink_gpio_setup will be started automatically).

sudo reboot

enter

Ensure that SVXLink has started:

sudo systemctl status svxlink

enter

If SVXLink has not started start it with the following command:

sudo systemctl start svxlink

enter

The PTT and COS will now be active and the relevant LED’s on the interface board will be active in TX and RX.

FUNCTION      RASPI PIN      GPIO

PTT =                11 (real pin)      17     

COS =               19 (real pin)      10

Basic SVXLink Commands

The following comments have been used supra.

How to start and stop SvxLink in Raspbian

sudo systemctl start svxlink

enter

sudo systemctl stop svxlink

enter

Monitor the system via the svxlink log

tail -f /var/log/svxlink

enter

Check the Status of SVXLink

sudo systemctl status svxlink

enter 

Ctrl Z (to exit)

 

Useful Commands:

Start and Stop SVXLink now and always after reboot

Note: This has been set. If not then you can use these commands to enable and disable SVXlink after reboot to automatically enable and disable SVXLink Only use these commands if they have never been set.

Enable

sudo systemctl enable - - now svxlink

enter

Disable

sudo systemctl disable - - now svxlink

enter

Save Alsamixer Settings

sudo alsactl store

enter

Check open Ports

sudo lsof -i -P -n

enter

The options used here are:

• -i: If no IP address is specified, this option selects the listing of all network files

• -P: inhibits the conversion of port numbers to port names for network files

• -n: inhibits the conversion of network numbers to host names for network files

This way, it will list open ports in the Linux terminal:

But, this also shows us a lot of extra ports that the computer does not actually listen to.

You can list the listening ports by piping this output to the grep command and matching the pattern "LISTEN", like this:

sudo lsof -i -P -n | grep LISTEN

enter

This will only show the ports our computer is actively listening to and which service is using said open port.

Congratulations!! You have now installed and setup the following:

• Raspberry Pi OS Firmware

• SVXLink Firmware

• USB Sound Card Firmware

• Alsamixer Sound

• GPIO Pin Setup

• Interface between the Radio and Raspberry Pi

The basic installation to run SVXLink on a Raspberry Pi is now done.

The SvxLink Server is a general purpose voice services system, which when connected to a transceiver, can act as both an advanced repeater system and can also operate on a simplex channel. One could call it a radio operating system since it sits between the hardware (transceiver) and the applications (modules) and handle basic system services as well as input and output.

SvxLink is very extensible and modular. Voice services are implemented as modules which are isolated from each other. Modules can be implemented in either C++ or TCL. Examples of modules are:

• Help – A help system

• Parrot – Play back everything that is received

• EchoLink – Connect to other EchoLink stations

• DtmfRepeater – Repeater received DTMF digits

• TclVoiceMail – Send voice mail to other local users

• PropagationMonitor – Announce propagation warnings from dxmaps.com

• SelCall – Send selective calling sequences by entering DTMF codes

Hope to hear you soon via SvxLink.

Enjoy SvxLink!!

PS/ There might be future post updates related to SVXLink. Feel free to return to the GRHub Network Blog to view them.

 

 

Recognition and References:

Contents for this manual comes from several web-sites that assisted me in getting the SVXLink Server up and running. It worked for me!

I would like to mention the following people/websites:

1. Raspberry Pi Site

2. PuTTY Site

3. Advanced Port Scanner Site

4. Real VNC Site

5. PacHams.com

6. SVXLink GitHub

7. Tobias Blomberg SM0SVX

8. Justin Wilson NP2WJ

9. Peter Lindquist SM5GXQ

10. John Pumford-Green GM4SLV

11. linuxhandbook.com

12. Curtis ZS6CMO

13. Pakistan Amateur Radio Society

14. g7smy.co.uk

15. Thys ZS1TBP

16. Various Forums – to many to mention here.

Please visit the GRHub Network Blog by clicking HERE

Compiled by Johan ZS1I

Mossel Bay

South Africa

8 February 2024