Random Wire Review 83: March 29, 2024
Random Wire Review 83: March 29, 2024
Links «» Update on uninterruptible power for a hotspot «» Build notes for a hotspot with a Nextion display «» Gadgets «» User error with FTM-300DR
Contents
LINKS: System Fusion, WIRES-X, cost-effective HT for C4FM, and a Faraday-cloth antenna
UPDATE: Uninterruptible power for hotspot
BUILD: Nextion hotspot
GADGETS: HT stands, BeeStation personal cloud manager, DVstick 30
USER ERROR: APRS on FTM-300DR
TEASER: Packet with Kenwood TM-281A
1 — LINKS: System Fusion, WIRES-X, inexpensive C4FM radio, and a Faraday-cloth antenna
5 steps on how to set-up a Wires-x room using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection — “…use this guide if you want to bypass your local internet provider's restrictions on port forwarding & public IP address in setting-up a Wires-x room.”
Steps on how to set-up your own Wires-x PDN (Portable Digital Node) Station — “Using the WIRES-X Portable Digital Node function, you can operate a WIRES-X digital node station by directly connecting a compatible C4FM digital transceiver with a Windows PC.”
Yaesu FT-70DR 5W C4FM/144/430MHz Dual Band Digital Handheld Transceiver — This may be the most cost-effective, no-frills choice for operating a hotspot through Yaesu System Fusion. (Disclosure: I use a Yaesu FT-3DR handheld radio, not the FT-70DR.)
Super-portable, Tunable VHF Antenna — This build uses HVAC tape and lawn chair webbing to create an antenna you can roll up. Or, take this concept to another level by creating a Faraday-cloth J-pole antenna. I learned about this in episode 203 of the Ham Radio Workbench podcast.
2 — UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER FOR HOTSPOT
I looked at a few devices suggested by reader Gareth Howell. He suggested a UPS hat for the Raspberry Pi and a battery-powered supply for the RPi. Both of those approaches are intriguing and I look forward to experimenting with them. Thank you, Gareth!
I took a simpler approach. I ordered a couple of inexpensive USB power banks that put out sufficient amps to fuel an RPi. A piece of tape on the bottom of the RPi hotspot holds it in place on the power bank. I ran the little hotspot for 12 hours, including a two-hour drive during which the hotspot was actively used. After that test, the power bank still had 50% power available.
What would be even better is if these power banks allowed pass through charging. After my drive, I carried the assembly into my office and plugged the power bank into a charger, with the RPi still running. If it did not allow pass through charging, the RPi would have shut off, but it didn’t. I fully recharged the power bank without ever shutting off the RPi hotspot. That’s a win!
3 — BUILD: NEXTION HOTSPOT
Putting together a hotspot can be a pretty simple endeavor. In response to the issue I discussed a few weeks ago where my hotspot became corrupted, a friend suggested building a hotspot with a Nextion display. On his, he said, there is a menu choice available on the touchscreen display that allows for an orderly shutdown of the hotspot.
Parts for the Nextion hotspot
That seemed like a good idea so I ordered the parts to construct one. Here’s the list of materials, all sourced from Amazon:
$47.97: Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
$9.95: CanaKit power supply for RPi
16 Gb microSD card that I already had on hand
By the way, none of those links are affiliate links.
When I assembled this hotspot, I added heatsinks to the RPi 3B+ board, one on the CPU and one on the LAN chip, per RaspberryTips.com. I don’t think the C4Labs case provides a lot of ventilation so — fingers crossed! — the heatsinks should provide some thermal protection.
Hat configured as simplex board
I did encounter one frustrating problem. The MMDVM board I purchased is a duplex hat, but when I configured it for duplex operation, it would not stop transmitting, and what it was transmitting was just a hum with ticking sounds every second or so. Ham radio friend Ben AB7I mentioned that he was just operating his duplex hat as a simplex modem and it worked fine when so configured. Once I switched to simplex, the MMDVM board operated fine.
Fitment issues
So that was the initial test to make sure the RPi and MMDVM board worked. Then I ran into trouble fitting the MMDVM board into the C4Labs case. The AURSINC duplex board had squarer corners than the rounded openings provided in the case. I stared at this for a few minutes and realized the easiest fix would be to round the board corners. I’m sure my spouse did not expect me to raid her toiletries for her diamond nail file which worked perfectly in this application.
And then I discovered that the layer upon which the Nextion display should be situated was not configured right. (Clarification: something wasn’t right. It could have been the wrong display. I’m working with C4Labs on this problem.) The opening for the power receptable on the back of the display was offset in the case board, but the receptable (and consequently, the display) had to be centered for the overlying layers to fit properly. I mangled that case layer trying to get it to work and discovered an additional problem having to do with the coin battery compartment on the back of the Nextion display.
At that point, I reached out to C4Labs for help. They asked for photos so I took many detailed photos with my good camera, described each one, and sent them a link to the photo album. As I write this it’s the weekend and they are off duty. I may hear back before this issue is published, and if so, I’ll update this section of the newsletter. Bottom line: stay tuned!
4 — GADGETS
HT stands
A few months ago, I bought a stand for one of my everyday carry radios, a Yaesu VX-6R handie talkie. I like having it easily accessible during the day. Fast forward to the Mike & Key Amateur Radio Club hamfest on March 8, 2024 where I spotted a table covered in similar 3D-printed HT stands.
I introduced myself to Mike N3HAK and told him how much I liked his product. It provides a much more stable platform for the HT on my desk and the viewing angle is just right, at least for me. The 3D printing is good and so far, the stand has proven to be durable.
When I got home from the hamfest, I thought about Mike’s stands and decided to add a couple more to my stable of gadgets. You can get them from Mike's Etsy store, BlackLodgeCreative, found at https://blacklodgecreative.etsy.com. The stands are very affordable. Random Wire℠ Recommended.
Each stand has a screw hole in the bottom in case you want to secure them to a shelf or table.
And Mike was thinking ahead when he chose to label the stands.
BeeStation personal cloud manager
Some weeks ago I mentioned the BeeDrive by Synology. This is a small, portable device for on-the-go backups. I did not mention Synology’s other product, the BeeStation, because a month ago it was not available in the United States. That has changed, though, so it’s worth a few sentences to alert you to this offering.
A 4-terabyte BeeStation costs $220. For that, you get a device that connects by Ethernet to your home network to provide a personal cloud storage instance. As long as the internet is “up” you’ll be able to access your BeeStation locally and remotely.
From the Amazon listing:
With a built-in hard drive and everything preconfigured, BeeStation is ready to replace your current cloud storage services right out of the box. Designed for people who want to store, sync, and share personal files and photos with minimal setup, BeeStation centralizes your data from phones, tablets, computers, external drives, and cloud services, allowing you to access them anywhere—without any subscription fees.
I think of the BeeStation as a network-attached storage (NAS) device for those of us who don’t want to be IT specialists. The BeeStation is much more of a plug-and-play solution.
Do I have one? No. Do I want one? Yes. I’ll put it on the wish list!
DVMEGA DVstick
My siblings and I really enjoy thoughtfully designed, well-crafted tools. Translation: I love a good gadget. I lean toward smaller gadgets, so when a friend told me the only “radio” he was taking on a long trip was the DVMEGA DVstick, I had to look into it.
After a few minutes of reading, I recognized that this was one of the small devices that I ought to be carrying in my briefcase or bag whenever I traveled. GigaParts had them in stock so I ordered one. It might arrive before the next issue of the Random Wire is published, and if so, I’ll report on it then.
I don’t have high expectations of exceptional audio quality or responsiveness. What I’m hoping for is a utilitarian product that works well enough to get the job done. Users report the DV Stick 30 works well for Fusion, DMR, and D-Star.
Compared to the weight and hassle of packing a bunch of radio gear on a trip, the diminutive DVstick might be a great solution. Fingers crossed.
5 — USER ERROR: APRS on FTM-300DR
I’ve configured quite a few Yaesu radios for APRS use, starting with my first HT, the Yaesu VX-8. So on a recent trip, as I waited in line to refuel my vehicle, I thought: how hard can it be? Without cracking open the manual, I proceeded to configure the Yaesu FTM-300DR for APRS with my call sign and SSID: KJ7T-9.
I got every step done I needed to get done…except one. I was receiving stations just fine. When I got home, I pulled up https://aprs.fi and looked for KJ7T-9. Nothing. Not a single packet received.
I’ve been in, and around, customer service for many years, long enough to know that most problems are actually the result of user error. Humbled by that realization, I figured I’d better look at whether I had properly configured the radio.
Given that the radio seemed to receiving a processing packets just fine, and knowing that I had configured it to beacon, the modem was on, etc., I had to pause and mentally walk through all the bit of information the radio needed in order to work right. Maybe my call sign didn’t get saved, I thought.
Out the door I went, starting the vehicle and the radio. I went into the APRS configuration and found the call sign dialogue. Opening it, I discovered my call sign was blank. I entered my call sign and SSID, then backed out. Once I was at the main screen, I repeated the process of going into the APRS configuration to make sure I saw my call sign, and again, it was blank.
After several more attempts and some serious head scratching, I downloaded the appropriate manual which told me to long-press the channel selector to save the call sign. Once I did that, the call sign and SSID saved. This morning, I operated the radio with APRS while I made a coffee run. Returning home, I saw my track when I pulled up aprs.fi.
As expected, user error was the problem. That being said, I find the Yaesu radios relatively easy to configure. I remember that first HT was a bear to get configured right and how frustrated I was that the menus seemed so illogically constructed. I think the menus are probably still built oddly, but now I’m used to it, so it wasn’t a heavy lift to get APRS up and running on the FTM-300DR.
6 — TEASER: Packet with Kenwood TM-281A
I recently picked up a like-new Kenwood TM-281A VHF mobile radio at the Mike & Key Amateur Radio Club hamfest. Looking through the documentation that came with it, it appears it was modified for MARS by the company that first sold it. It was a great deal that included the RT Systems software and programming cable.
I don’t have much use for another single-band mobile radio. However, I did want to add this venerable platform to my stable of radios. I like Kenwood radios, so it only took a few moments to push me over the edge at the hamfest, converting me from looker to buyer!
The teaser here is I want to use the radio for VHF packet work. I have a old Yaesu FT-1900R mobile radio and an MFJ 1270X TNC-X in a Pelican briefcase (model 1490), labeled as WINLINK IN A BOX. That package has been reliable. I want to add a second Winlink instance, this time with the Kenwood. My use case is having a spare packet station at my work office, just in case.
That’s a challenge, because while the Yaesu has a DIN plug in the back for data, the Kenwood does not. I’ll have to use the front speaker receptable with an RJ-45 cable, plus plug into the speaker output in the back.
I reached out to Ham Made Parts about a cable for using the Kenwood with a Digirig device. I’ve ordered the cable and a Digirig Mobile.
Those bits will be here in a week or two and I’ll see if I can get that second Winlink station set up properly!
