raspberry pi and amateur radio
TRANSCRIPT
Raspberry Pi and Amateur Radio
Radio related things to do with your Raspberry Pi
Kevin Hooke KK6DCTJuly 2016
http://www.raspberrypi.org/
Amateur Radio + Raspberry Pi
General Radio stuff:SDR radio (RTL dongle and rtl_sdr / rtl_tcp)
ADS-B Aircraft transponder reception (RTL dongle and dump1090)
Amateur Radio:Cheap Desktop PC replacement (for Logging, internet, QRZ lookups)
Weak Signal Propagation (WSPR / WSPRryPi)
DSTAR Access Point (DVAP dongle and other add-on boards)
Packet Radio - h/w (Pi TNC) and s/w (Direwolf) TNC solutions
Packet Radio BBS / Personal mailbox (PiLinBPQ)
Packet DX Cluster (DX Spider)
DIY Projects: Remote antenna rotator, antenna switches
Raspberry Pi what is it?
How does it differ from an Arduino?
Arduino: a microcontrollerProgrammable, can control external devices, circuits through analog and digital I/O pins
does one thing, usually repeatedly
Image from: SparkFun Electronics from Boulder, USA - Arduino Uno - R3, CC BY 2.0https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26785892
Raspberry Pi what is it?
ARM microprocessor based
Usually runs a flavor of Linux (e.g. Raspbian)
Uses SD Cards for disk storage
GPIO and I2C I/O pins for interacting with hardware devices
Raspberry Pi B+
Image from: Lucasbosch - CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34179985
Pi 1 & 2: USB ports (for keyboard, mouse), HDMI out, Ethernet
Pi 3: WiFi, Bluetooth
A general purpose single-board computer
Did I mention?
$35
Warning: Hobby time-sink alert!
From this point onwards:You will most likely spend a bunch of time installing and tweaking Linux related stuff
We'll skip a lot of specifics here, but there are plenty of resources online, e.g.https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/
http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/
http://elinux.org/RPi_Hub
many more
All ideas here I've blogged in detail (some step by step):https://www.kevinhooke.com/?s=raspberry+pi
I'll be happy to help anyone with specific questions after the meeting, or via email: [email protected]
Raspberry Pi Getting Started
Download an OS https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads
Burn to an SD card
Several options to choose from, Raspbian is the default option
Connect an HDMI monitor and keyboard/mouse for initial setup
Once setup, you can run it 'headless' (no monitor), use ssh (Linux/OS X), or putty (on Windows) to access remotely over your network
sudo raspi-config : several useful config options
Raspberry Pi Setting Up
Menu driven config options:
Let's look at a few ideas!
Raspberry Pi Radio Stuff
Install: sudo apt-get install xlog
Logging Apps: xlog
Install: sudo apt-get install cqrlog
Logging Apps: CQRLog
RTL USB TV receiver
Install osmocomSDR software:http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr
rtl_sdr
rtl_fm : fm receiver
rtl_tcp : sdr server can be accessed remotely, eg from SDR# on a PCe.g. allows Pi + dongle + antenna can be remotely located = avoids long coax feed
RTL dongles + Raspberry Pi
$23 fromhttp://www.nooelec.com/store/sdr/nesdr-mini-2-plus.html
Step by step setup:https://www.kevinhooke.com/2014/07/26/installing-rtl-sdr-and-dump1090-on-a-raspberry-pi-to-receive-ads-b-signals/
ADS-B: Automated position report transmissions from airplanes, location/speed/heading/flight/airframe id 1.090 GHz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_dependent_surveillance_%E2%80%93_broadcast
Online flight tracking (eg FlightAware.com and others) collect reception data from hobbyists
Multiple approaches, dump1090 is easiest
Needs rtl-sdr installed first
Original version: https://github.com/antirez/dump1090
Updated version: https://github.com/MalcolmRobb/dump1090
To pull source and build:git clone https://github.com/MalcolmRobb/dump1090.git
cd dump1090
make
RTL dongle: ADS-B Reception
dump1090 --interactive
Running dump1090
dump1090 --net
WSPR: Weak Signal Propagation Reporting
Raspberry Pi+ WsprryPi software https://github.com/JamesP6000/WsprryPi + TAPR QRP shield ($29)https://www.tapr.org/kits_20M-wspr-pi.html
+ wire antenna (e.g. dipole)
WSPR: WsprryPi + TAPR QRP TX Shield
TAPR QRPi shield ($29)
https://www.tapr.org/kits_20M-wspr-pi.html
20 dBm / 100 mW TX output
LPF + BPF + 10 dBm power amp (20 dBm output)
WSPR: WsprryPi + TAPR QRP TX Shield
See docs for other apps and modes:SSBNFMAMSSTVCW
First attempt: Didn't get any spots using a RPi 1(WsprryPi s/w was updated to support Rpi 2?)
TAPR QRPi Shield
20m wire dipole
Weatherproofbox
10000 mAhUSB battery
WSPR: WsprryPi + TAPR QRPi TX Shield
Second attempt: RPi 2
TAPR QRPi Shield
20m wire dipole
Weatherproofbox
10000 mAhUSB battery
WSPR: WsprryPi + TAPR QRPi TX Shield
4/30/16: 20m : 100 mW 2180 miles to W4DJW in South Carolina!
WSPR: WsprryPi + TAPR QRP TX Shield
DSTAR Access Point (DVAP dongle & others)
DV Access Point USB DongleRequires DSTAR radio
From:http://www.dvapdongle.com/DV_Access_Point_Dongle/Home.html
DVMega
- various models, some require DSTAR radio- AMBE3000 takes analog input and converts to DSTAR data signal
From:http://www.dvmega.auria.nl/AMBE3000_shield.html
Packet Radio and Raspberry Pi
Lots of options!ax25 networking stack support in LinuxAlready installed or easily installed on Linux distros
Provides basic tools like call: axcall 1 kberr
Direwolf (Packet soundcard modem / TNC)Also supports APRS beacons, iGates https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf
LinPac (Packet terminal app) http://linpac.sourceforge.net/overview.php
PiLinBPQ: BPQ32 Packet BBS http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Documents/InstallingLINBPQ.htm
Hardware TNC boards: TNC-Pi
Checkout Joe DeAngelo AG6QO's site on setting up the WINTBB Raspberry Pi BBS: http://ag6qo.com/PiPBBS.html
Prebuilt SD Card images for Packet
Don't need to install apps yourself, prebuilt OS images (SD Card):F6BVP: Xastir, FPAC, LinFBBUses TNC-Pi by default
http://f6bvp.free.fr/AX25_BBS_Node_RaspBerry_Pi_install.html
HALDigital: https://sourceforge.net/p/haldigital/wiki/Home/Prebuild Raspbian image with ax25, Direwolf, etc
Menu driven configuration
If you want more flexibility/options, can still install all parts yourself
Direwolf soundcard modem
Soundcard Packet modem (Linux and Windows versions)https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf
AWESOME documentation
Easy setup
KISS app support
AGWE app support
APRS / Smart Beaconing / GPS board support
APRS iGate
Direwolf and PiLinBPQ
Raspberry Pi + Direwolf + PiLinBPQ:Low cost / low power packet BBS and CHAT station
Portable Packet BBS? Add USB battery packs
BPQ32: ax25 Node Windows and Linux versionshttp://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Documents/BPQ32.html
PiLinBPQ: Raspberry Pi versionAdd on apps: BBS, CHAT, other integration
Direwolf and axcall/LinPac
Raspberry Pi + Direwolf + axcall/LinPacLow cost / low power packet station
Portable Packet station? Add USB battery packs
Linpack: http://linpac.sourceforge.net/overview.php
Direwolf and APRS: Xastir
APRS client: http://xastir.org/index.php/Main_Page
Direwolf and APRS: YAAC
YAAC Yet another APRS Client: http://www.ka2ddo.org/ka2ddo/YAAC.html
Example Pi Packet setup
Example Pi Packet setup
HT radio
Soundcard interface
Pi + Direwolf
Add USB batteries for portable setup
Left:Pi 1 (headless)
PiLinBBS
Right:Pi 3 + 7 touchscreen
Axcall into BBS
(WiFi hub is for ssh into Pi for demo, not needed as part of setup)
Future Project: RTL SDR and Direwolf
Self-contained Pi SDR Packet station?
Setup:RTL USB dongle
rtl_sdr / rtl_fm
Direwolf soundcard modem
(see Direwolf docs for instructions)
Self-contained SDR packet station for < $60 ?
What about transmit?RPiTX: https://github.com/F5OEO/rpitx
QTCSDR: https://github.com/ha7ilm/qtcsdr
Demos and Questions