W0CHP.net

After many, many months of development and testing, W0CHP-PiStar-Dash now runs the Bullseye version of Raspberry Pi OS.

W0CHP-PiStar-Dash will still install and run on existing Pi-Star installations (running Raspberry Pi OS “Buster”). however, if you’d like to run the more modern and supported Bullseye, you will need to install the WPSD Disk Image. It is based on Pi-Star v4.1.6 with W0CHP-PiStar-Dash pre-installed.

Update 10/7/22:

Network move complete; all systems operational.

Beginning October 5, the various resources hosted on the W0CHP.net network will experience intermittent, and some extended outages and downtime.

The network is moving to a different physical location, but will retain the same asynchronous fiber connections speeds, IPs, etc.

I anticipate the outages lasting no more than 48 hours. Once fully complete, I will update this post accordingly.

Resources that will be affected

• This very website
• Connectivity to the XLX-493 reflector/gateway and its web-based dashboard.
• The W0CHP.net Git Repositories
• The installer program for W0CHP-PiStar-Dash will not be available (hosted on the above Git repo).
• Various backend resources that enable the auto-updates to occur on W0CHP-PiStar-Dash installations.

Greetings gracious hams! As some of you know, I operate the XLX493 Reflector. Currently, it supports both DMR and YSF protocols. However, I do not posses the necessary hardware for trans-coding the D-Star protocol.

And since my reflector has been getting more traffic lately, I’m putting a feeler out there to other hams who run a D-Star-enabled reflector to see if they’d be gracious enough to peer with reflector (more specifically, Module E, since it’s the busiest module.

I keep/use a hotspot in my truck, and I’ve always wanted a way to manage/switch/connect/disconnect from reflectors, talkgroups, etc., hands-free; using only my voice.

I’ve begun work on a small project to allow me to do just that. And no, this is not an April Fool’s joke. 😆

Check it out…

For some time now, I’ve yearned for a way to quickly link to various XLX reflectors and modules on DMR, as well as unlink from modules to “mute” a busy reflector/module.

Recently, I’ve witnessed two networks suffer from loops, caused by mis-configured hotspots. Now while Pi-Star has some rudimentary checks in place (simply a warning message for hotspots configured as “Public Nodes”), I’ve improved W0CHP-PiStar-Dash to help prevent these loops even further.

A very nice gentleman from India, Bejoy (VU3BOJ), had contacted me recently; informing me that he was unable to access my various web resources. The poor guy was attempting to install my W0CHP-PiStar-Dash software, but to no avail.

Moreover, Bejoy mentioned that his local friends with different ISPs were also unable to access my resources. This bothered me, so I investigated.

The original Pi-Star (still) uses myriad HTML tables for layout (non-tabular) data. That’s a Bad Thing^™ And since my W0CHP-PiStar-Dash software is a fork, it inherited lots of that legacy garbage. However, I’ve begun the conversion from HTML tables for layout, to proper HTML(5) and CSS.

This is a UI/UX project that will be completed in phases as I get to them.

My XLX493 MultiProtocol Reflector is now peering/bridged with BrandMeister. What this provides, is a direct and easy link into XLX493, Module “E - W0CHP-PiStar-Dash”.

All you need to do is talk on TalkGroup 3170603 in BrandMeister, and you’ll automatically be connected due to the bridging/peering.

This is a very simple way to connect to the reflector if you’re looking for W0CHP-PiStar-Dash support, or just general chat about the software.

The FreeDMR network has finally provided proper JSON for their talk groups!

Thusly, I have added their sortable/seachable/downloadable (and mobile-friendly) list to my consummate Digial Radio Lists.

Enjoy!