Setting up Pi-Star for the Icom RP2C and D-Star Gateway operations

Backstory

Here in Maple Valley, WA, we have two repeaters, one for 2m analog and one for 70cm D-Star. They have shared Internet infrastructure, as well as a RasPi that was performing both EchoLink/IRLP and D-Star Gateway functions using EchoIRLP and ircDDBGateway, respectively. 

For a variety of good reasons, I have been planning on relocating both the 2m analog and 70cm D-Star repeaters. Relocating the 2m repeater is complicated for us, because of 2 other repeaters that are co-channeled (output on the same frequency) both north, in Vancouver BC, as well as south, in Longview WA. Comparatively, relocating the 440Mhz/70cm D-Star repeater is pretty trivial. We're not co-channeled and the range won't be an issue. 

Given I was going to be moving the repeaters, separately (at least temporarily), I had an opportunity to trying something a little different..

I set up the Icom ID-RP2C (D-Star repeater controller) with a purpose built Raspberry Pi image called Pi-Star, which is frequently used for people wanting to put small D-Star hotspots at home, or on the go.

This was the first time I used ircDDBGateway, so after working through the troubleshooting list like issues/concerns, I've come up with the following errors, which I think are the last pieces I needed to solve to get this Pi-Star operational for this repeater.

Here's my config and troubleshooting process for this setup.

About the Icom RP2C config, do first:

• Configure the RP2C with the challenging-to-find-and-really-expensive-if-you-buy-it "Utility for RP2C" from Icom. Default password to read is PASSWORD. (I would not recommend changing it because I haven't found a reset procedure for the RP2C if you forget it.)
• By default the RP2C is configured from Icom as 172.16.0.1 (against all normal IP-ing conventions), without a gateway, which is fine, since its' only talking to the Pi-Star, and, presumably, the Pi-Star is in the same switched network as the RP2C.
• By default, the Communications Settings port will be 20319. You need to change this to 20000.
• Don't forget to go into Option/Network Setup to change the Port after you change it from the default of 20319 to 20000.

My relevant settings changes

1. Control Software: Set Controller Software to : DStarRepeater.
2. Control Software: Set Controller Mode to: Duplex Repeater
3. After changes in each section on the Configuration tab, click Apply Changes.
4. --> Screen will refresh and give you more options to complete.
5. Radio/Modem Type: Set to Icom Repeater Controller ID-RP2C (DStar Repeater Only)
6. --> Screen will refresh and give you more options to complete.
7. Set Node Callsign to your base callsign for the repeater
8. Set Radio Frequency RX: to the frequency the repeater is listening for (aka, what you're transmitting to on your HT/mobile)
9. Set Radio Frequency TX: to the frequency the repeater is transmitting on (aka, what you are listening to on your HT/mobile)
10. Set Lat/Long, Town, Country (no drop down so...US, USA, United States, United States of America, America all acceptable)
11. URL for information about the repeater
12. Node Type: set to Public? Not sure what this is for but Public seems to be the right answer.
13. Choose the closest/appropriate APRS Host.
14. Set Dashboard Language to english_us for me.
15. Set Remote Password
16. Set Default Reflector to one we use around here.
17. ** --> Note: The radio buttons for Startup / Manual confused me. If you don't set it to Startup, ircDDBGateway won't start up without some manual intervention (that I didn't run across how to do)
18. Click Apply Changes.
19. --> Screen will refresh and give you more options to complete.
20. Set Dashboard Access to Public
21. Left ircDDBGateway Remote and SSH Access to Private
22. Turned AutoAP off. Unnecessary for me.
23. Turned uPNP off, since I'm managing access on the router manually
24. Click Apply Changes.
25. --> Screen will refresh and give you more options to complete.
26. Set pi-star user password so you don't expose the web interface to the internet with a default password.
27. Click Apply Changes.
28. --> Screen will refresh and give you more options to complete.
29. Go to Power, Reboot.
30. After the interface comes back, go to Expert, Quick Edit: ircDDBGateway
31. icomAddress is actually your Pi-Star's virtual IP on the 172.16.0.0/12 network, set to 172.16.0.20/24 (no gateway). Leave this alone.
32. icomPort is 20000, the port that the Pi-Star is listening on. Leave this alone.
33. repeaterAddress1 is your RP2C on the 172.16.0.0/24 network. Defaults to 172.16.0.1. Leave this alone, assuming you didn't fiddle with the RP2C.
34. repeaterPort1 is 20000. I think this was default as well. See folow-onnotes. Leave alone unless you want to do a bunch more work.
35. Add your ircddbPassword
36. Click Apply Changes.
37. Go to Power, Reboot.

Things that caught me up in this install:

• Inbound, iptables only allows a certain number (although a lot) of udp on private networks. Services sitting on 20000, 10022, 20001, 30001, 30051, 30061-30064, 40000. Sources from 41000-41010, 42000-43000, and 52000. So, the moral of the story here is that the web interface settings don't change iptables, so you can't use 20319 (the Icom RP2C default), or get creative otherwise without finding the script that setups and fixes iptables to allow the traffic.
• Thinking the RP2C is just some normal network device. I mean it is, but don't try to make it something you think you're going to touch on a regular basis. You're going to configure it, with an ethernet cable on the same switch, once or twice and never touch it again. Not worth trying to put it on a normal network with the primary interface of the Pi-Star.
• Just getting the four fields settled in ircDDBGateway.
• Making sure you've got DHCP handing the physical interface, eht0 everything it needs...IP, gateway, DNS...and not on the 172.16/12 network.

The true inaugural post...

Licensed: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dianasch/16518872722

Good day Internet! This is the inaugural post of my amateur radio blog.

I'm a ham radio operator and have been since 1987, when I got my Novice ticket in rural South Dakota (SD) at 14 years old. It's been a fun hobby, even though I took a break from roughly 1993-2013.

The name of the site comes from being creative with mnemonics for my US-based amateur radio call sign: KA0ZRW. See, typically it would be "Kilo Alpha Zero Zulu Romeo Whiskey". Zulu Romeo Whiskey is useful when on the air, since it's easy to understand each word and they don't sound like any other mnemonics for other letters. When I got my license when I was 14, I was looking for a way for people to remember my call easily, and after running through a few options I came up with "Zebras Running Wild". I like it because it creates an image in your mind. Kind of like when I say "don't think of rabbits", you automatically think of rabbits. :-)

I'm going to post my adventures in ham radio on this blog. If it happens to cross over into computing, information security, or other areas, I may cross post to other blogs I have. I like to keep like content on like blogs, but I'm just one person, so the thoughts are all mine, and so are the blogs!

Feel free to reach out or comment. I'm considering doing some YouTube content too, but haven't made it there yet. Trying to teach myself video editing in iMovie. If I get competent, maybe I'll end up there too.

73
Chris
KA0ZRW, "Zebras Running Wild"

Kenwood TK-890 Amateur Radio Mod (repost)

(Originally posted to LabRat.com)

I went to the Mike and Key Ham Fest down in Puyallup, WA in the spring of 2015. Before I showed up there, I had been thinking about a GMRS license and radios for the family. I picked up a Kenwood TKR-820 repeater, already programmed to the GMRS repeater frequencies.

Kenwood TK-790/890 control head options, basic and advanced.

I also picked up 4 Kenwood TK-890 radios. I got a "good deal". They didn't come with microphones, but I didn't see that as a big deal...while I was at the ham fest. Once I got home, I found out differently. This particular breed of radio, as a result of the genius of Kenwood, doesn't have a standard microphone plug. As a result, microphones cost $65+ each. And the aftermarket doesn't make them. Stupid. I found a lot of 7 on eBay, for a reasonable price, so now I'm in action.

Anyway, this is a repost of an article I found on a blogspot post about how to tune the TK-890 to the high end of the 70cm ham bands. That article has since disappeared and the blogspot site is no longer in existence...so, I'm reposting the content here. (Thankfully, PDF'ed the article!)

Original article:
(from Wirelessness blog from W6DTW, originally at http://sparqi.blogspot.com/2013/05/tk-890-amateur-radio-mod.html)

Over the past weekend a friend of mine asked if I would help him convert his Kenwood TK-890 mobile to work on the ham bands. I wasn't sure how successful we'd be, since most every online search came up with at best little information or at worst flat out statement saying "Nope, can't be done." As it turns out, it can't be done. Kudos to Time K for his notes posted to Radio Reference [cg, I also placed the relevant content at the end] which gave enough hints to make this happen.

In general this is how it went. My friend wanted his radio to work on the Bay-Net repeater system, which operates 443.225 with a +5 MHz TX split. TX was fine, but RX was giving a steady "beep-beep-beep..." which indicates PLL unlock.

In the PLL section, under the copper foil, [cg, for the record, mine weren't) are three adjustment pots: A = TC302, B = TC303, and C = TC301. (Don't ask why they're out of order.) According to the Service Manual, Pot A sets the PLL for the low end of the receiver range, Pot B set the high end of the receiver range, and Pot C sets the TX PLL. The goal is to monitor testpoint CV with a voltmeter and adjust for minimum voltage during RX and TX. This requires reprogramming the radio's test frequencies to match the band of interest, so you'll need the [KPG-44] software and [KPG-4] cable.

Once we had the PLL voltages minimized for RX and TX, I found that the radio's TX frequency was way off, so a frequency alignment was needed. This again required the [KPG-44] software - for some reason we couldn't get the radio in to Panel Test/Tune via the control head. It was easy enough with the KPG, once we realized you need to press "Enter" to lock the modified value.

Other things like adjusting the BPF and checking deviations should be done. In the end, the conversation was very easy and the radio is working well on the UHF amateur band.

[cg Adding this here, to make it more complete, and have information all in one place.]
From Radio Reference:
From ramal121:
"The VCO can be adjusted fairly easy with a volt meter. You just program your highest and lowest frequencies, monitor the VCO steering line voltage, check high and low (both TX and RX) and see if the voltage stays within specs. There are tweekers for both TX and RX to achieve this. And yes, if you lower your VCO's range, you will lose the top freqs, the VCO can only swing so far."

From Tim K: