AllStarLink

I finally got my AllStarLink 3 node up and running. I had registered for a node number, and I had bought the pieces to have them ready to go. The little Pi Zero W boards I have wouldn’t boot, so I used a Pi 4 instead with the USB radio device.

Initial Installation on Pi 4

I started out with the official instructions:

  • Downloaded the image for the Pi
  • Installed the Pi Imager by deb file instead of just dding it to the device, since the imager conveniently allows pre-configuring:
    • user
    • locale
    • WiFi network

Configured the Cheap Ausinc UHF AllStar Radio Dongle

I purchased the hardware from Amazon a while ago. It has a USB-C port, and the cable is flipped for different modes:

  • one way to program the frequency via USB serial
  • other way to use the USB sound device for TX/RX The product description mentioned the different modes, but I didn’t recognize it. I learned about the flip from a video

I downloaded the srfrs.py Python script to the Pi, and used it to configure frequency and tone to protect default access to it:

./srfrs.py --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --frequency 438.1 --ctcss 94.8

Matthew, KC3WRY, suggested this frequency in the 70cm of the band. I was reading and wondering about 446.1 or 433 or so.

More Configuration and Confirmation

I followed another video for more configuration and confirmation of the settings from intro video.

I made another pass at web-based configs and asl-menu. I set it to be a SimpleUSB device in simplex mode, and I tuned the volume settings. I had no TX until I set “Change CTCSS From = no”. I don’t know what that setting does, but the tip came from the video. Then I could use the allmon3 web interface to connect up to Parrot+ node (55553) for testing, and it reported, “volume just about right.” I could connect and disconnect to nodes from the web interface. There are other commands in the web interface to say the time or id the node on demand.

I could send DTMF commands from my UV-K5 with the F4HWN firmware:

  • * starts DTMF entry, PTT sends the codes.
  • *1 <node number> disconnects from a node
  • *2 <node number> connects to monitor another node
  • *3 <node number> connects to transcieve to another node
  • other scripts, like “disconnect all” don’t seem to work yet.

The W3GMS admins granted me access to connect my node to the repeater, so I’ll have a chance to try it out there. I was also able to connect to K3IR.

985 Workbench: 2024-11-25

My Week in Radio

  • Took down my 2M antennas to straighten and resolder.
  • Catching up the radio blog with my recent experiences.
  • Trying F4HWN firmware on Quansheng radios
    • previous firmware, AUBSUK, for my Quansheng radio was skipping channels when I activated more than 1 scan list.
    • larger display with single VFO
    • rethinking my scan lists
    • the S-meter is calibrated differently from the other firmware
  • no questions, because I should just be reading the antenna book
  • FT Challenge coming up in 2 weekends. *** Others
  • KD3ACF, JT:
    • acquired a j-pole for the attic
    • new ham with an HT
    • magmount on the car, tested with WA3VEE from Manheim High School
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • 985 activities
    • Red Rose activities
    • Salem CCARS acitvity
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • trip to HRO
    • planning trips
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • working on an old receiver
      • re-capping
      • Hammerland hq140x
      • terrible, loud 120hz buzz, so ordered capacitors to replace them
      • cleaned
      • fixed
      • needs just a little more work, alignment
    • got over to KC3YSM, Steve’s place to help with his antenna
      • analyzed
      • Buckmaster OCF dipole
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • watching 10m
    • Croatia, Belgium
    • repairing the 160m/75m dipole, new balun
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • testing his 1-tube QRP transmitter
    • practiced some CW with a friend on 10m
    • found sweden and belgium lower in the band.
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • 985 net, simplex net
    • working on tower
    • helping Joe, W3GMS, assemble his new tower
  • KC3SCY, Luke:
    • lots of time off from school this week
    • 10m has been wide-open
    • spent some time on 40m SSB and AM
  • KC3VRW, Phil:
    • attempted to build a 10m inverted-V
    • MFJ tuner
    • trying tech HF frequencies

Questions

  • W3QP, Tim: Follow up on battery measurements for the TSA, Watt-hours instead of Amp-hours.
    • bigger batteries have bigger thermal events.
    • Wh is the amount of potential power.
    • Wh doesn’t require doing the math to consider voltage in combo with Ah.
    • 18Ah at 12V.
    • The nominal voltage for the cells is less.
    • Expected usable volts are even less, so Wh is less than just V*A.
    • Nominal voltage can be different across different battery chemistries.
    • Nominal voltage may not be obvious.
    • 11.1 Nominal voltage might be 12.6V at peak charge.
    • Volts and Amps are important for application, but Watt-hours is better overall for capacity.
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • tinkering with Hartley oscillator: mica capacitors, ceramic capacitors, what’s the difference of all the different capacitors?
      • WA3KFT, John:
        • ratings: capacitance, voltage.
        • The “dry electrolytic” is a paste, not oil.
        • main purpose is filtering AC converted to DC.
        • filtering some frequencies
        • ceramic capacitors are pretty stable, until overheated.
        • mica capacitors are small capacitances, pF. used for frequency stablizing.
        • variable air capacitor
        • oil filled are higher capacitance and used for low frequencies in power supplies, etc.
      • WA3VEE, Ron:
        • film capacitors
          • different dielectric
          • used for audio.
        • paper capacitor
        • dielectric is anything that separates the plates.
        • air capacitors
      • W3QP, Tim:
        • silver mica are maybe lower loss than ceramic
        • multi-layer capacitors for higher currents
      • W3DIB, Greg:
        • negatives of certain capacitors:
          • some dielectrics leak
          • tantalums can dead-short, like in a power supply.
        • saw a cool video of people building filters for cheap radios in places with heavy RF to keep them working better.
      • WA3VEE, Ron:
        • they leak when they get overheated.
        • leads to the plate have a little resistance so generate heat.
        • capacitor can have a vent that leaks under pressure.
      • NA3CW, Chuck:
        • capacitors are deceptively complex
        • all components have some bit of capacitance, inductance, resistance.
        • vacuum dialectric for especially high voltage.
        • lots of trade-off characteristics
        • some are piezoelectric (microphone), like a condenser microphone
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • homework: does a capacitor allow current to flow through it? KC3SQI, Wayne:
  • solar telescope demos on December 11 at some park

Antenna Maintenance

The home-brew yagi blows around in the wind a bit, so I brought it down this morning as it started to snow, so I could straighten and tighten the elements. I realigned it for the 985 repeater, and checked it to be giving -96dBm.

I also resoldered some radials on the 1/4-wave ground plane antenna that go knocked loose in the tree.

antenna  yagi  985  w3gms  fm  vhf 

985 Workbench: 2024-11-18

My Weeks in Radio

  • QRP on a couple Hawaiian islands
  • Not much 2m activity on the islands
    • added some repeaters and scanned
  • POTA
    • no summits
    • all successful activations via FT8/FT4
      • allowed me to use pskreporter to study my propagation on different bands, even if other stations didn’t answer my call
    • practiced some CW on the beach when I didn’t get out the computer
    • mostly turned up to 8W
    • mostly 10m-30m and everything in between
    • challenging to be on an island where you have to go thousands of miles or you reach no one.
    • 6 parks and 2 trails on 2 islands:
      • inside Diamondhead caldera
      • atop steaming Kilauea
      • rocky lava fields
      • sandy beaches
    • reached:
      • west: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Russia, China, South Cook Islands, Samoa
      • east: North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Dominican Republic, Argentina
    • antennas:
      • 40M EFHW where I had room,
      • 21.5M-long EFRW with less room
      • vertical whip and coil attached to a fishing pole for a less conspicuous setup on some beaches
  • It may be time to start cobbling together an allstar node.

Others

  • W3JAM, Jeff: Jerry Sevic (w2fmi) books on transformers and baluns
  • KC3TMZ, Matt:
    • Lives in a park
    • Built a dipole and analyzed it
      • really good SWR: 1.048:1
      • 20 ft into the tree
      • reached California on 20m
      • ran into ARRL Sweepstakes
      • dipole in a tree is a lot of work
      • playing with Inovato Hamclock
  • WA3VEE, Ron:
    • worked ARRL Sweepstakes a bit
    • cleared the bench
    • may have gear to sell soon
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • avoided ARRL Sweepstakes
    • enjoying 10m
    • some 10m AM as well
    • spent time in Honolulu and enjoyed the Diamondhead years ago
  • KC3RFG, Jim:
    • had a balun fail
  • KC3YSM, Steve:
    • getting an HF antenna up with help from Chuck and Bill
    • George lent the launcher
  • KC3TYX, Vic:
    • Sweepstakes: 75 contacts
    • VaraC for keyboard chat on HF
      • lost settings and had to setup again
  • W3QP, Tim:
    • found the 4th edition of the balun book on archive.org
    • winding 2 wires around the toroid is a lot like winding coax
    • winding 4 wires in opposite directions will give more bandwidtch
  • NA3CW, Chuck:
    • learned lots from W2FMI book
      • W2FMI tested everything extensively
    • got Steve’s antenna in the air…through the vines, thorns, etc
    • normal nets, including PMA AM net.
    • working on an ultimate transmatch tuner
  • KC3OOK, Bill:
    • helped with Steve’s antenna today
    • 2m band opening on Sunday: PA to Ottawa on DXView
  • W8CRW, CR:
    • 985 breakfast
    • showed wife around 10m tech area
  • AF3Z, Jim:
    • built a Hartley transmitter for 1929 AMA event
      • 1 tube
      • 1-2W
      • worked 5 stations over 80 minutes
  • KV3JGB, Matt:
    • 985 breakfast
    • launched an antenna with help from 985-ers after breakfast
    • starting cwops
  • W3MFB, Mike:
    • just chatting locally on the radio
  • W3FES, Fred:
    • building out a new, larger ham desk
  • W3MOW, Mike:
    • quiet week

Questions

  • KC3TMZ, Matt:
    • setting up shack in the garage, and ordered a hamclock. wifi is a bit weak. can he extend with a yagi?
      • W3CRW, CR:
        • years ago, had a yagi antenna for wifi, and it worked
        • wifi extender/repeater does even better
      • W3DIB, Greg:
        • trench fiber instead of cat5/6.
          • isolated from electrical storms
        • if you don’t need a ton of bandwidth, try wifi halow bridge on 900mhz.
          • 4Mb
        • yagi antenna may pull in noise from others
      • KB3ZIM, Bob: Adam, KB3ZUV, another 985-er, is working on a similar project
    • flying with HTs?
      • WA3VEE, Ron:
        • bring a good copy of your license printed from cores
        • batteries must be carried on, not checked
      • KB3ZIM, Bob:
        • batteries are the concern
        • check size with the airline
      • KC3WWC, John:
        • wonderous bag of radio gear
          • HT
          • 10Ah lifepo4
          • QRP radio
          • antenna wires
          • if you check any gear, separate out the batteries to carry
      • WA3VEE, Ron:
        • sent link to website
        • limit 8wh, do the math.
        • precheck helps smooth the screening
      • W8CRW, CR:
        • CR has more trouble with carrying powertools since they’re not marked than HT
  • KB3ZIM, Bob:
    • wants to get a wire for 160M in the air.
    • could be a long wire with a tuner
    • what’s a good length for a random wire
    • W3QP, Tim: lots of tables out there
    • KC3WWC: google “udel random wire”
      • always choke and counterpoise to avoid common mode current
    • KB3ZIM, Bob:
      • google “ham radio secrets”
        • talks about tuning the counterpoise
      • could try a super-slinky
  • W3DIB, Greg:
    • recently got on RF instead of
    • has anyone reverse-engineered the serial connections for Yaesu
    • W3QP, Tim: could use wireshark to look at serial traffic through usb serial adapter
    • KC3WWC, John: there’s cat and drivers for everything
    • W3DIB, Greg: this is a lesser radio without cat control, so he’s looking to control all the comms himself

985 Workbench: 2024-10-28

My Week in Radio

  • R1CBU 0.26.0 firmware for my X6100
    • I continue to maintain a fork of the code that modifies the database to show boundaries of US privileges and recommended usage.

Questions

  • W3MFB, Mike: increased tower height, switched to 60ft of new coax. 35W 1.9:1 SWR, so worse than it was before. UHF is bad too. Checked it with NanoVNA. Seeing 1.3:1 SWR. Trying an analog SWR meter. Using Yaesu 991A. Showing 2:1 SWR. SWR goes up with different power.
    • NA3CW, Chuck: Test the tester. SWR shouldn’t change with power. Could be something heating.
    • W3QP, Tim: He does see different SWR at higher power due to reflections from his car. Shorter coax is better, but stay away from quarter wavelengths.
    • W3JAM, Jeff: Test the tester. Hearing him fine on the input, so it’s good.
    • AF3Z, Jim: RF, common mode current, into the meter can cause erratic behavior.
    • NA3CW, Chuck: RF on outside of the feed line is sometimes hard to avoid, and can cause reading issues. Grabbing line at different places will cause readings to change.
    • W3QP, Tim: Some antennas recommend at least a turn of cable at the antenna to choke.
    • KC3OOK, Bill: 1.2 to 1.3 is a 0.9% loss.
    • W8CRW, CR: is that antenna tune-able.
    • W3MFB, Mike: may try ferrite beads at a height he can reach.
  • W3MOW, Mike: Looking at Electric Vehicles. Who knows a reputable electrician to run power? Drop him the email you find on QRZ.
  • KC3TMZ, Matt: Getting noise with random wire on G90. 71ft 9:1 wire. How does one run the counterpoise?
    • KC3MFB, Mike: 17 ft, opposite direction, if at all.
    • KC3RFG, Jim:
      • try different places.
      • choke at the radio, especially if you don’t
      • run a counterpoise
    • W3QP, Tim:
      • There is always a counterpoise, so provide one so you can control it.
      • Number of turns or number of beads will be effective at different frequencies.
    • NA3CW, Chuck: There’s an article on 985 website.
    • KC3NZT, Harvey:
      • The further from a balanced antenna, the more it’ll force a counterpoise, and that means your coax, so changes around your antenna (body) can change things as well.
      • Run the counterpoise opposite a sloper or flat topper,
      • you can get some gain in the direction of the counterpoise.
    • KC3TMZ, Matt: Propagation to light/dark places?
    • W3MFB, Mike: wire runs NE-SW, and it doesn’t matter for direction too much.
    • KC3NZT, Harvey: Do you hear them? How do you know you’re not getting to them?
      • Can hear them, but they don’t hear him. Did manage Belarus once.
      • Do they have other stations calling them? Is it a pile-up?
      • He’s getting beat for only 20W.
      • Don’t get discouraged. It takes some technique.
    • W3MFB, Mike: Don’t worry about 20W. Don’t call QRP.
    • W3QP, Tim: Operates a lot of 10W. Propagation depends on radiation pattern. EFRW can have weird patterns with spiky lobes.
    • KC3TMZ, Matt: lots to learn, will take a recording from Ron.
  • KC3WWC: Headed to Hawaii for a couple weeks and taking radios for all bands. What should I expect/try while traveling?
    • W3QP, Tim:
      • SOTA from volcanos!
      • salt water will give a great boost for DX.
      • lots of asia
  • WA3VEE, Ron: the virtues of broadcastify

Yagi Pole Upgrade

I added some sections to the flag pole to reach 37 feet, and I increased elements on the home-made yagi from 2 elements to 4 elements. Upon adding elements, I needed to stretch the driven element a couple millimeters longer to tune it. In testing, I’m seeing about -100 RSSI listening to W3GMS on a Quansheng. It was about -105 RSSI when mounted lower and only 2 elements.

2-Element Yagi on the Flag Pole

Tilt-up Flag Pole

I figured out to do a tilt-up flag pole against the house reaching 25 feet into the air. It sits on a stake in the garden, and is secured to the house with paracord in an eyelet and hook screwed into the side of the roof.

2-Element Yagi

I built a new 2-element yagi using an online calculator It tuned OK with the banana-clip adapter directly connected to the driven element. I first tuned the dipole, and then added the reflector element. As predicted, it shifted the tuning slightly, so I trimmed the driven element to retune. The nice thing is that the spacings and sizes of the original elements don’t change as you add more director elements, so I calculated it with 2 or 3 directors, but put none in for the first iteration. I can add more elements later.

I gave it a try to reach 985 with the TYT TH-9800 running 50W. It was scratchy, but copy-able. I have more flag pole sections ordered to make it a little higher.

985 Workbench: 2024-10-14

My week in Radio

  • I saw aurora for the first time, and I got some nice photos.
  • I visited K3IR tower sight in Mount Joy during PA QSO party
    • I listened to people contesting, but didn’t participate.
  • TYT TH-9800: 50W into the tape measure yagi, tried it on the roundtable, still have work to do
  • I threw my main 71-foot EFRW higher into another tree.
  • I watched my flagpole and yagi in the wind
    • walked it down while I had a kid here to help
    • scoping a new location for it as a tilt-up attached to the house
    • collecting pieces for some experiments in engineering

Questions

  • W8CRW, CR:
    • National Electronics Museum is hosting a class for general license.
    • How far from the mast should a vertical yagi antenna be installed?
    • Can it be installed 45-degrees to be used for both horizontal and vertical?
      • WA3VEE, Ron: some have had success at 45 degrees for satellites.
      • KC3SQI, Wayne: 45-degree will lose you 1.5dB
  • WA3VEE, Ron: what is the ideal thickness for a bus-bar to which you’re mounting a lightning arrester.
    • KC3RFG, Jim:
      • 1/4-inch minimum. thicker won’t hurt anything.
      • mechanically strong (bolted) instead of soldered
      • woven ground strap is best, but 6AWG stranded is good.
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • avoid inductance, so use strap or bar, not wire
      • no right angles, no coils, no spirals
  • KC3RFG, Jim: Hearing ignition noise on HF on battery or on truck power. How best can one eliminate that noise?
    • KC3SQI, Wayne: Remove the mast from the coax and see if you still have the noise. If it’s still there, then it’s coming from power cables. Try a better ground directly to the battery. On vehicles that rust, bolts don’t ground so well after a while, so then you get lots of grounds connecting back through the antenna.
    • KC3KZB, Aaron: go for a short ground, and keep ground wire away from ignition wires
  • KC3SQI, Wayne: What’s the mechanical strength for 1.5-inch conduit?
    • WA3VEE, Ron: See Ugly’s Electrical Reference.
    • KC3RFG, Jim: that’s right.
  • KC3WWC. John: I like that I can build my transformers and cut, measure, and test wire antennas, Is it practical to build, iterate, expand a homebrew yagi?
    • NA3CW, Chuck:
      • blatant plagarism: they’ve been around for a long time.
      • modeling programs, manuals, existing antennas.
      • different goals: gain, bandwidth, front-to-back ratio examples in the antenna book
      • software
      • moxon antenna: 2 element yagi with bent ends, massive front-to-back ratio
        • great for direction-finding: forward to get in the neighborhood, then reverse to find the null where it disappears
        • not much gain though
  • W8CRW, CR: Is there a program for windows to map out a computer network?
    • W3DIB, Greg:
      • there are lots of tools to probe and fingerprint machines to try to disclose the host OS.
      • also ping, angryping, etc.

985 Workbench: 2024-10-07

My Week in Radio

  • I saw some antennas at the Ham Fest, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy any. I’ll build.
  • I passed extra at the Ham Fest
    • I guess enough workbench discussion sunk into my brain.
    • Found I can download and search a copy of the entire ULS database like some of those other helpful websites that show available callsigns.
  • POTA along the Susquehanna River.
    • Normal FT8 to get to 10 contacts.
    • 1 CW contact, and it wasn’t painful.
    • I tested out my newest printed EFHW antenna winder.
  • Running and comparing Meshtastic and APRS more
    • Why use it?

Other News

  • WA3VEE, Ron, PA QSO Party this weekend.
  • KC3SCY, Luke, switched his loose couple radio from diode to cat whisker.
  • KC3ZSJ, Gary, is playing with new antennas.
  • W3FES, Fred, has a new FT-60R
  • AF3Z, Jim, is headed to Cornwall Ranger Station for PA QSO Party

Questions

  • KC3SZO, Chris: How can I overcome some terrain in the way of my RF?
    • WA3VEE, Ron: Antenna in the attic
    • NA3CW, Chuck: VHF isn’t exactly line-of-sight, so there is hope.
    • KC3WWC, John: Lower YAGI inside had advantages over a higher outside ground plane quarter wave.
  • AA3LH, Leon: Let’s confirm repeater settings for this old radio and new antenna going in the car.
  • KC3WWC, John:
    • I could change my callsign now.
    • I’ve only used this one for a year, so not super-attached.
    • For contesting, I see the benefit of a shorter call, so I might ultimately consider phonetic and morse weight.
    • How did you choose your vanity call? What strategies should I consider?
    • NA3CW, Chuck: initials.
    • W8CRW, CR: initials.
    • AA3LH, Leon: initials, and wanted an “A” call.
    • AF3Z, Jim: assigned by FCC. Consider how it sounds in CW.
    • WA3VEE, Ron: assigned, and sounds cool.
      • He also has K3DTS for the campus location of his old club.
      • quick and simple for CW
      • 1-by-1 is for special events.
      • easy to understand, so stay clear of confusing letters; V, C, Z, etc.
      • sound in sideband: normal or phonetic.
    • KC3OOK, Bill: assigned.
      • catching phonetic for DX
      • NA3NA was catchy.
      • KC3QQD is funny: Quack Quack Duck
    • Callsign ideas:
      • KD3FN
      • KB3VI
      • KC3VI
      • AA3WW
      • AA3KK

985 Workbench: 2024-09-30

My Week in Radio

  • I moved the tape-measure yagi to the top of a 25-foot flagpole in the backyard.
    • 10 W, but not quite doing it.
    • There’s still too much of a hill.
  • I upgraded the X6100 baseband, stock firmware, and 3rd-party firmware.
  • Some CW
    • barely got 2 CW contacts hunting POTA, but I got into their logs
    • heard AF3Z on 40m out on his trip
    • morsle app to practice copying CW words and call signs
  • I redesigned and printed a new antenna winder.
  • I heard some AM and some RTTY during contests.
  • I cleaned up and organized all the radio stuff from the move instead of contesting.
  • I’m going to try for my extra ticket at the next Ham Fest.

Others’ News

  • KB3RFG, Jim: all the bands open today in lots of directions
  • NA3CW, Chuck: lot’s of AM fun
  • AF3Z, Jim
    • spectated some RTTY contesting
    • 10m CW conversations
  • WA3VEE, Ron: LMR400 (KMR400) coax is lowest loss practical

Questions

  • KN3I, John: How does one make an AM rig sound good? Carrier power, modulation, etc.