Internet Linked Systems - An Introduction

There are quite a few systems that employ Internet Linking for International coverage. EchoLink, AllStar and IRLP are all available to Licenced Amateurs worldwide and may be accessed either directly, using a node or computer or by an Internet Linked repeater.

EchoLink is perhaps the longest established system and has thousands of users all over the globe. When you register for the service, you are given a node number, which is your identifier for the network. The concept is very simple - find a user/link or conference and connect to it in order to make contacts.

There are two ways to connect :

As a User with a PC.
The PC is connected to the EchoLink server and you use the sound card to make the QSO. Simply connect to the user you wish to communicate with and using the keyboard (usually the space bar) as a PTT with the on board mic and the PC speakers for audio. There is also an Android App for use with a smartphone or tablet.

The other way to connect is as a SYSOP, which involves using a node radio connected to the computer with an interface, which in turn is accessed with another radio (usually a handheld).

AllStar and IRLP are accessed in similar ways with only subtle differences. All methods are accessible via a repeater that is suitably equipped, Repeaterbook is a great Android App for finding a repeater to use. Access is gained by entering DTMF tones for various functions.

www.allstarlink.org

www.ukallstarhub.com

www.echolink.org

Broader Ramblings

Here's a brief review of the Broadnet BN01 handset and the Broadnet system in general.

The handset is typically Chinese in manufacture and operates on a trimmed down version of Android 4.4. As a phone it is adequate in so much as it was never designed to be a smartphone, however I run EchoLink,  Zello and Broadnet with no issues at all. Major apps such a Facebook will probably run but the screen and keypad may not be to everybody's liking.

Audio quality either through the speaker or earpiece is very good, with a loud output so ideal for outdoors or noisy environments.

Broadnet is a Voice over Internet PTT system, akin to the Airwave system favoured by Government agencies and the police here in the UK. It is available for download via Google Play for all Android devices and is free of charge for Licenced Amateurs after submitting a registration. All the features work with a smartphone or tablet, with the exception of the Broadnet/AllStar link, which requires a further registration and the Broadnet BN01 handset  (access to AllStar is not possible with the Android app).

Audio quality is superb - clear and reliable comms, providing you have a good data or wi-fi signal. Peer to peer calls and text messaging are available as well as group calls. There's not much else to say about the Broadnet system itself except to day that it works extremely well.

The BN01 handset is a little pricey. It has a PTT button and a pseudo antenna on top but it is essentially an Android phone with a PTT button. It has a conventional keypad as well as a touch screen. The touch screen is a little too small for exclusive use but I find using a combination of touch and key pad operation works sufficiently well. The screen resolution is poor but again, adequate for the purpose. The device has two SIM slots, SIM 1 being the 3g capable one with SIM 2 being GPRS only. SIM 1 is a standard sized slot and SIM 2 is micro SIM. The camera is disabled but I would think that it could be enabled with a software tweak. There is provision for a micro SD card so it gives extra storage, should it be needed.

The AllStar link is provided by a third party operator and utilises their server for access. There have been issues with this service, which is provided by an Amateur in his spare time as a service to other Amateurs, but it is now running very smoothly. The UK Net is a channel exclusively available to Amateurs and standard Amateur Radio operating procedure is observed.

I'm having immense fun with this handset and the Broadnet service and I also find it all very rewarding. There is almost constant activity on the AllStar UK Hub, so there is always someone to talk to and the regular participants are extremely knowledgeable and friendly and have tons of patience - new operators or those un-used to the system are welcomed and guided in a non-patronising manner.

CONCLUSION

The handset is pricey, but of reasonable quality. The Broadnet service is not without it's glitches but works in a generally stable way. The AllStar link is good, although the guy who hosts it is often too busy to attend to problems - but he does get round to sorting things out eventually (he is an amateur, has a day job and provides this service free of charge).

My advice is to try out the Android app first, then if you want AllStar? buy the handset (that's what I did and I'm glad I did).

73 de 2E0ENN

Broadnet Ramblings

http://www.broadnet.systems

Newbie Advisory Ramblings

Having been Licenced for two years now, I thought it would be good to share some of the knowledge I have gained, to assist anyone new to the Hobby.

BASIC SET UP

A reasonable radio is always a good start. There are lots of Far Eastern offerings but I would advise a radio from either Yaesu, Kenwood or Icom. The cheaper options may look tempting but reliability and build standards are not great - better to pay more and get a decent radio to start with. If you just want VHF and UHF you will need something equipped with CTCSS for repeater access and preferably a DTMF microphone.

You will need a decent PSU to power it. Check the radio handbook for current requirements - my Icom IC-E208 delivers 55 watts maximum on VHF and a 15 amp PSU is recommended. My advice is to use a good PSU with a 30 amp output in case you want to power a higher powered radio, such as my Yaesu FT897. Current draw on that radio at 50 watts is around 15 amps, so a 30 amp PSU will cope.

Antennas - for VHF and UHF gain is important as the signals are line of sight so height is equally important. A good collinear, up as high as possible is the answer. HF antennas are a different matter - depending on your location, an end fed wire might be useful, although an off centre fed dipole works very well but room is needed for installation.

A good SWR/Power meter is a good addition to the shack (suitable for the frequencies you use) and one for HF and another for V/UHF, or a combined one would be needed. An antenna tuning unit for HF work would be needed, unless your radio has one already built in. More technical equipment (such as an oscilloscope or frequency counter) is not vital although useful when conducting maintenance or building projects. An antenna analyser is also useful for fine tuning those antenna projects or for diagnosing problems with existing antennas. A dummy load for testing purposes is also a worthwhile purchase - make sure it is rated for the power output and frequencies you intend to use. Very important is a quality multimeter for checking current,  resistance, voltage, reactance and capacitance - many are available and are reasonably priced.

Feeder for the antenna is a major factor. Thin coaxial cable such as RG58 is only really suitable for short runs (a couple of metres) or mobile installation, due to the amount of signal loss. RG8 is less lossy but something quite thick (and relatively inflexible) like RG213 is best suited for longer feeder runs. Whilst on the subject of feeder, it's only as good as the connectors on the end. Always go for the best connectors you can find.

That's about all you need to know to get started. The rest you will learn as you go along.

Before you pick up the mic for that first QSO, spend some time listening. You will soon pick up the correct transmitting procedure by listening in to QSO's and your style will develop. Keep your overs reasonably short to begin with and as you build confidence you will be able to "ragchew" like a veteran!

Most of all, refer to your Foundation Licence Training and the books that you used - there is invaluable information and there will always be someone on air to guide you. Most, if not all, operators will recognise a Foundation call sign and will be happy to point you in the right direction - that was what I found when stumbling over words and thinking of things to say. Keep a pad and pen by the radio and make notes of call signs and details so you can refer to them during your QSO.

There you have it - a brief guide to setting up a basic station and remember HAVE FUN!

73 de 2E0ENN

Antenna and other Ramblings

I just thought I would show you the current antenna arrangements at home.

The main HF antenna is a 7.6m end fed wire, utilising a 9:1UN-UN. it's suspended at 6m agl on two fibreglass poles, in an inverted L format, due to the lack of space in the garden.

The main U/VHF antenna is an X510 collinear, the base of which is around 7m agl. It's 5.4m long and has massive gain.

Attached to one of the poles, via a right-angled bracket is an NR770 dual hand mobile antenna, complete with ground plane kit. This is used for local comms on U/VHF and, unbelievably, has an almost flat SWR on both bands.

For mobile U/VHF use I have an SG7900 Super Gainer dual band antenna. Ideally I would have drilled a hole in the roof and "hard mounted" the antenna but the design of the roof won't allow that, due to a feinforcing bar across the middle of the roof. I have it mounted on a triple magmount and it's as solid as a rock.

For Mobile use of DMR I have another dual band antenna mounted at the rear.

The radios used are :

HF/U/VHF BASE
Yaesu FT 897D with the wire and X510
Icom IC-E208 with the NR770

U/VHF MOBILE
Kenwood TM-G707 with the SG7900

DMR MOBILE
Connect Systems CS700 with smaller antenna.

Regular readers will know of my interest in Internet Linked systems. I operate a SYSOP EchoLink node, using a Baofeng handheld, ZLP Minipro interface and a Lenovo Windows XP laptop. I have a number of handhelds to "excite" the node, but I tend to stick with an Alinco DJ-V57 or my trusty Yaesu FT60.

For DMR I use a DV4 mini stick, connected to a Samsung Windows 10 laptop and to "excite" I use either a TYT MD380 or Hytera PD365. The MD380 is also sometimes connected to the X510 to access GB7RR DMR repeater.

I have a new toy in the shack, it's a Runbo X1 mobile phone with a fully functional 70cm transceiver and I can access GB3GR, GB3FJ, and GB3LC from home but it is most often used to excite the EchoLink node.

A quick rundown of the operating conditions, hope it was interesting.

73 de 2E0ENN

Ramble On

The first week of the New Year is upon us and, following a very mild few weeks, the WX is turning decidedly more chilly.

South Kesteven A.R.S. held their AGM, and I'm pleased to say that I was retained as Club Secretary, as was Andrew in the post of Chairman. Two new Committee posts were created and filled by Stewart and Konrad. Exciting times ahead for the Club, with a new club base and shack and an in house training facility set up for all Licence levels.

Speaking of training, I intend to study for my Advanced Licence and have set a goal to attain that by the end of 2016. With hard work and sage guidance I should be in with a chance.

The seasonal festivities have curtailed much in the way of radio - not much to report, other than the DV4 Mini is still (surprisingly) working well.

I'm becoming more confused with developments in the word of DMR, the politics and arguments continue to blight an otherwise interesting arm of the Hobby. As soon as I get used to one change, along comes another and it's getting hard to keep up. I might just lower my involvement until the situation stabilises, then it will be a bit more pleasurable.

I've given up on the AllStar node project as there is a lot of difficult stuff to do to get it to run properly and my knowledge of Linux and the other software involved, let alone the Raspberry Pi, is not enough. I still have the Pi and a USB sound card fob so I'll have to have a think about how I'm going to use it radio-wise.

I've started using a couple of VoiP and PTT apps with my PC and smart phone. Broadnet Systems run a PTT app which is free to use for Amateurs. I also use Zello with a Bluetooth PTT mic and they effectively turn your device into a kind of walkie talkie. Check them out as they can be fun to use.

73 2E0ENN

Frequency corrected Ramblings

The DV4 Mini saga continues. I initially set the dongle up with a Raspberry Pi and had limited success in setting it up for reliable use. Experiments with beta software and my XYL's Windows 8 laptop proved marginally more successful so I bought a second hand Windows 7 netbook for use with the dongle. After upgrading the firmware and using the latest beta release it was working, but not 100%.

The issue I had was with the Master Server, the GB server was not shown in the list, so I initially connected via a German server as I was informed that all the servers were hosted in Germany anyway. In the meantime the DMR Plus network in the UK had changed its allegiance to the Brandmeister host as used on the Continent and renamed itself "Brandmeister UK". There was a small adjustment needed for the host table on the laptop and once that had been addressed I connected to the Brandmeister server and, hey presto,  it's now working perfectly. The latest software has a "meter" for setting the offset on the frequency used for access via the dongle. You simply key the mic for about 10 seconds and watch the indicator. This has green, yellow and red sections and the idea is to adjust the offset until you get mainly green and no red showing on the indicator when transmitting.

It is very easy to overload the dongle, it's very susceptible to excess RF, even one Watt can overload it. To combat this I have wrapped the dongle in copper tape and the laptop with the dongle is in an upstairs room - away from where I would usually operate from. To access the laptop I use Chrome  Remote Desktop on my Android phone and it works a treat. No excess RF and no need to be sat in front of the laptop - happy days.

I now have a Raspberry Pi doing nothing so it will be utilised on an AllStar node. It's not as straightforward to set up as an EchoLink node so there's a bit more reading to be done and I suspect a small amount of experimentation no doubt. Work is in progress on that project and I hope to be able to report on it soon.

I have rekindled my interest in Data modes and have been having a great time on 20, 40 and 12 metres. Some good QSO's having been logged. Now I've mastered the software and macro settings it has been much more fun. I must do more with this mode as it's immensely satisfying.

Next week sees the South Kesteven A.R.S. fish and chip Xmas supper. Looking forward to munching on fish and potatoes with lashings of ginger beer in the Club meeting room!

I hope all readers have a jolly mighty fine Christmas.

73 de 2E0ENN ⛄✌