Tag Archives: Hamshack Hotline

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – July 2023 edition

July 30, 2023 Jeffrey Kopcak

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Tom – WB8LCD and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Tom has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the Ohio section will need to use the mailing list link above. Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).

Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
Login
When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name. Click your Name. This will take you to the “My Account” page.
On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
Check the box next to “Division and Section News.” If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
Click Save
There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.” You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Hamshack Hotline is a private free to use VoIP telecommunications phone service put together for the ham radio community by hams. It is a way to enhance communication between ham shacks and even Emergency Operation Centers. I, and other Technical Specialists, have written many articles in the OSJ about this service. It’s a great use of technology to enhance communication, even if it doesn’t use RF.

Cracks started to show problems when Hamshack Hotline had a falling out with members of their board and support platform moderators. It’s their project and they can run it however they want. I no longer recommend nor support this project. Unfortunately, they are the largest ham-based telco provider.

Hamshack Hotline has many features including “RF Links” which are extensions that dial into a AllStar Link node. Termed RF links typically because the ASL node is connected to a repeater or simplex radio.

After linking my multimode system to Hamshack Hotline, some HH users reported being disconnected after 30-40 seconds. I didn’t experience disconnects using my extension and neither did the majority of users. Doing some troubleshooting, I had those users try other RF link extensions to see if they were disconnected after the same length of time. Users confirmed the same experience on other RF links. It wasn’t only limited to my configuration.

Back in March 2021, I opened a ticket with the HHOPS helpdesk identifying symptoms my users were experiencing. This ended up being an exercise in futility. Included in my what-I-do-know details, I listed callsigns and extensions of users on HH whom experienced disconnects. Those details could possibly be correlated to a specific HH server, device type, device model, or manufacturer. It was like I traveled to another dimension. The support person thought I owned all those extensions (and callsigns? – I guess) experiencing the issue. What a total waste of time. Ticket was closed by the helpdesk as an issue with the devices experiencing the problem.

Fast forward to March 2023, I get a support ticket from Hamshack Hotline saying my node is sending out “SMS beacons” across the network. “This can cause all phones that are sms RFC compliant to drop the call after approximately 30-45 seconds into the call.” Guess they found the cause of what I originally reported two years earlier. SMS (same standard as SMS text messaging) beacons sent by AllStar Link nodes caused phones on HH to hangup. It went on to indicate changes on a HamVoIP based AllStar node is a two-line configuration change. Changes for other software, such as native AllStar Link, is more involved.

I run a hub on Virtual Private Servers (VPS) in the, so-called, cloud. My system runs native AllStar Link. I’m unable to run HamVoIP since that distribution is for Raspberry Pi/ARM processors only. Additionally, recent major updates have further separated HamVoIP from AllStar Link. They’re almost two different systems. Not to mention HamVoIP has been accused of license violations. These made me uneasy about the future of the HamVoIP project and I’ve contributed to the ASL project. As a result, I moved my personal node from HamVoIP to native ASL.

Following provided instructions by Hamshack Hotline, reached out to them because I’m not running HamVoIP on my hub. I was put in touch with another person that had the “fix” for ASL. Two things were needed to disable SMS beacons: (1) create a private node for Hamshack Hotline connections. A private node in ASL are the reserved node numbers 1000 through 1999. I did this anyway on my hub. (2) Disable pushing CALLERID to the RPT module. RPT is the module that handles ham radio functionality in Asterisk. As one would expect, CALLERID contains unique data about the caller. When used with RPT, this is typically extension, node, or callsign information.

Having a decent level of experience working with Allstar configuring hubs, nodes, IAX clients, softphones, and desk phones, I knew messages were pushed to other connected nodes and devices. These exchanges show up as a list of connected nodes on a status page such as Allmon or Supermon, within apps, on a display, in logs, in the Asterisk CLI (command line interface), on the ASL website, etc. I didn’t have the need to know this exchange was done via SMS messages, but knew there was some mechanism used for reporting information to other connected nodes. I had seen references it was an “SMS message,” but never confirmed.

While working with the person provided by Hamshack Hotline, the comment was made: ‘this is ham radio, I don’t know why we’re using SMS text messages.’ Taken aback, said ‘that’s how the network knows about other connected nodes.’ This person, who came up with (at least) part of the solution to fix this SMS beacon issue, didn’t know or understand Asterisk clients exchanged information with other nodes. I’m always irked by required mandatory changes where they don’t understand what they are changing, the broader impact of said changes or to even ask the question and address concerns. I blew it off and gave their solution a whirl.

Below are Asterisk and AllStar Link extensions.conf examples. These are from various documentation sources showing different ways ID information is passed to the RPT module. 50394 is my hub node and used as an example node number.

AllStar Nodes:

exten => ${NODE},1,rpt,${NODE}

VoIP clients (IAXrpt, DVSwitch, Zopier, phones):

exten => ${NODE},n,Rpt,${NODE}|P|${CALLERID(name)}
exten => ${NODE},1,rpt(${NODE}|X)
exten=50394,1,Rpt,50394|X
exten => 50394,n,Rpt,50394|S|${CALLERID(name)}
exten => 50394,n,Rpt,50394|Pv|${CALLERID(name)}

As I’m working through the provided Hamshack Hotline configuration changes for ASL, I realize their proposed changes will cause problems. Omitting CALLERID means the connection exists but there is no indication of the call in RPT or facilities that use RPT. Users would will no longer see their connection on dashboards and sysops no longer have the control to disconnect individual HH users.

Lack of control and visibility is big problem for me as the sysop of a hub to see who is connected in case of problems. Users will dead key/forget to unmute, not press the # key when they are done talking, or some another innocent mistake – most of those happen during a single net – or someone is being a lid. I’ve used logs to validate reports and contacted users providing information about a situation which they’re likely unaware.

I raised my concerns to Hamshack Hotline about the solution not being good for sysops to control their systems. I was blamed (again) that my system ‘wasn’t working like the others’ because ‘no one else is having the same problems with these changes.’ My guess, results were confused with the HamVoIP distribution or that ASL v1 didn’t act the same as v2 (which I am using). Not having the time and being frustrated (but still respectful), I did not investigate further. Hindsight being 20/20, I had some false hope my feedback would be used to devise a better solution. I can’t be the only one voicing similar concern. In reality, they didn’t care.

Last day of Hamvention, traveling back home, I get a message from Hamshack Hotline that my RF link extension is in violation, been disabled, and in danger of termination if not corrected. Somewhere between March and mid-May, it became mandatory to participate as a HH RF link, I needed to provide a “clean” transmission (without SMS beacons). The insanity wheel began to spin all over again: here’s the solution. I’m on ASL. Contact this guy for the ASL workarounds. That doesn’t meet my requirements. Too bad. Ugggh.

Finally, a Hamshack Hotline Sr. Engineer provided some details but stopped short of offering alternative solutions or a middle ground compromise. He indicated specific issues were caused by different “flavors” and versions of AllStar Link. There can be multiple reasons that cause SMS messages to be sent, not only registering CALLERID with RPT. Admitted there was pushback from others complaining about call signs not showing up in “third party” software such as Allmon and Supermon.

Hamshack Hotline tracked the issue to “SMS RFC COMPLIANT” phones. “Newer phones are compliant.” Beacons being sent from Asterisk/ASL are (apparently) not RFC compliant. When a non-compliant SMS message is sent to a compliant phone, that phone simply hangs up or drops the call. “Older discontinued Cisco SPA phones are no longer RFC compliant” because the SMS RFC “changed” after the time those phone models were discontinued. Hamshack Hotline changed models of phones they support. Newer models follow the current SMS RFC specification. Lastly, did state I could submit a new RF link extension request if I ever change AllStar flavors.

It’s not only “third party” applications but the Asterisk RPT module doesn’t show the connection either. I provided examples of this. Presumably he is talking about HamVoIP being a working “flavor” of AllStar, which I cannot run on my servers. Hamshack Hotline admitted concerns were had by others and from all accounts, did nothing about those concerns. I mean at a minimum, reach out to the AllStar Link project in the hope of solving this problem globally for all current and future users whom want a HH RF link extension. ASL is open source and on GitHub. HH could even create a fix and do a pull request (request their code changes are brought into the main code repository) all on their own. I see no evidence this was attempted.

A middle ground solution could have been proposed to simply disconnect the ASL private node assigned to Hamshack Hotline extensions. It’s not great as other HH users could be confused as to why they no longer hear the net or conversations. I still lose logging. Suggest running HamVoIP on a separate Raspberry Pi and connect it over the Internet to the main ASL hub. Not great either as I am using VPS’ in a commercial datacenter for reliability, resiliency, and access to better resources. Though it wouldn’t be my first device not in the same datacenter. I’ve also heard of Raspberry Pi installations hosted in data centers for rent. Somehow, HH could make a note stating users may experience disconnects when using my node. Regardless, no alternatives were suggested or offered.

As I had family issues to tend after Dayton, my patience was razor thin but I don’t think it would have made one bit of difference. We came to an impasse. The Sr. Engineer stated my RF link extension would be reclaimed. I responded back to reclaim my phone extension as well. I have no desire to be a part of or further support Hamshack Hotline. This experience and complaints from users whom have received similar treatment, I do not recommend the use of Hamshack Hotline.

There are currently two alternative ham radio telco solutions, Hams Over IP and AmateurWire. Based on prior knowledge, I’d imagine these systems could encounter a similar situation. I reached out to both for comment. Roger from AmateurWire responded indicating users have not complained about any similar issue but they have a smaller userbase of about 200 extensions. He indicated the situation would not be handled the same as Hamshack Hotline.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Computing, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – November 2022 edition

November 27, 2022 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
Login
When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name. Click your Name. This will take you to the “My Account” page.
On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
Check the box next to “Division and Section News.” If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
Click Save
There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.” You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Even though it happens once a month, Windows Updates are a pain. On “Patch Tuesday,” the second Tuesday of each month, Windows users hold their breath. Will my machine come back from the brink? Sometimes issues are bad enough where updates are released “out of cycle” or “out of band” meaning at other times during the month. This month was one example. An update caused more issues requiring a follow up patch to be released after 11/8. Depending on the operating system used, the pain came in different ways.

Performing a Windows 7 fresh install today, Windows Update will not work. It’s broken. The way updates were released and authenticated changed drastically from Service Pack 1 to the point Windows 7 went end-of-life. This installation procedure brings Windows Update to a working state, if you need to build a Windows 7 machine for some reason. Note: since Windows 7 has completely reached end-of-life, Microsoft is not releasing updates and it is recommended to use a supported operating system. Once you get past that, checking for updates 87.5 times and applying the 8,392 updates for the next 6 hours was always fun.

Windows 10 has streamlined updates where there aren’t nearly as many updates on a fresh install and the process doesn’t take nearly as long. Due to users putting off or just not applying updates on older versions of Windows, updates and reboots are now forced on users. Forced to the point where users claimed their machines rebooted while they were actively using it, loosing hours of work. Instead of the user choosing when to apply updates or do a reboot, they implemented a band-aid allowing the user to set when they’re likely to be using the computer. This does not help as options are severely limited. Then there’s the quality of updates. Crashes, Blue Screens of Death (BSOD), broken functionality, missing documents and files, printing problems, hardware and device issues are regular occurrences.

I heard on a podcast once, speaking of a botched Windows 10 update which removed ‘old files’ from users documents and pictures folders. Beta users reported the exact problem to Microsoft before the problem became widespread. The commentator made the remark that Microsoft’s attitude was: only a small number of users reported the problem, we’re not going further investigate or solve the problem. When Microsoft rolled out the update to all Windows users, the ‘small number of users’ became a very large angry mob of users. Microsoft didn’t invest the time to resolve, what they thought to be, a fringe case and resulted in a lot of negative press.

As hams, we often have Windows machines at remote locations (towers, buildings, club houses, shacks). Whether these are running Echolink, Winlink Express, Wires-X, or some other service that requires a Windows machine. An Echolink node can be run on a Linux-based solutions such as AllStar or SVX Link. Wires-X and RMS Express require Windows.

The out-of-control nature of forcing Windows Updates and reboots cases grief for the owner, admin, or Technical Committee. The machine will be left at a site logged in and running desired applications. When Windows Updates happen, often a reboot is required and the machine automatically reboots. If the admins follow good security practice and set a password for the account, after rebooting the machine will stop at the logon screen. Prompting someone to enter the correct password. While waiting for a log on, the service provided by the machine will remain offline until the program can be restarted. Nodes will be offline for any local users wanting to access those resources or remote users wanting to connect into the node.

The developer could create a Windows Service which are background programs able to start at boot. Services are not allowed to interact with the desktop since Windows Vista. Changing settings would be a problem if the program can’t interact with the desktop. Doing automatic logon isn’t a great option, even if the machine locks automatically after a minute. Need access to the machine? Just reboot it. Automatic logon would only be viable if the machine is secured in a locked cabinet or room.

Clubs have reached out and I’ve provided options for gaining control of Windows Update. One way is to disable Windows Update until someone is available to run updates manually. Disabling automatic updates will allow services to remain available while providing the flexibility of doing updates when an admin is available.

Disabling updates does not mean ‘never run updates.’ This is to control when updates happen and have scheduled downtimes. An admin must remember to run updates on a regular schedule – during a club meeting or site visit, for example. Not updating the system can have consequences including the network connection being disabled due to machine compromise in situations where the machine is on the site’s shared Internet, a corporate network, or school’s Internet connection.

The first place I search when looking for Windows suggestions, tips, and tricks is TenForums as they have good tutorials. There are SevenForums and ElevenForum for the respective OS versions. There one will find a tutorial How to Enable or Disable Automatic Updates for Windows Update in Windows 10. Windows 10 Home has no built-in way to disable automatic updates and requires a program like Wu10Man to manage settings. The program is open source.

The second option in the post is for clubs running Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise editions. In these versions there is a built-in way of disabling updates by way of the Local Group Policy Editor. No additional software required, my favorite.

To open the Local Group Policy Editor, start by pressing the [Windows key] + [R]
For Open, enter: gpedit.msc
Click OK
In the Local Group Policy Editor left pane, navigate to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Update
On the right pane, double-click Configure Automatic Updates
To disable automatic updates, select Disabled
Click OK
Close the Local Group Policy Editor

For other configuration options of Automatic Updates, see steps 5 & 6 in option #2.

Going into Start -> Settings -> Update & Security, Windows Update will say in red “Some settings managed by your organization” and “Your organization has turned off automatic updates.” Though “Last Checked” will show a recent time, it will say “You’re up to date” regardless if updates are available for the system or not.

To manually update Windows, click Check for updates in that same Settings window. Windows Update will begin by checking for updates. Then download and install available updates.

Leave plenty of time for updates to finish. Reboot when required. Log on, apply other program updates, and restart necessary programs. Programs that should start after log on can be added to Startup Items. Machines with Solid-State Drives will apply updates in about a half-hour. Spinning drives, especially slower ones (4200/5400 RPM), will take much longer to apply. SSD and MVMe drives will apply updates quicker due to their much faster read/write speeds. Gain control over Windows Updates to gain control of nodes and services going down randomly until the Tech Committee can arrive on site.

WTWW, a shortwave station run by hams, gained a following in the community for carrying ham radio related content – original programming, simulcasted live shows, and podcasts. As of November 9, 2022, it has gone silent. According to a report by Amateur Radio Newsline, “Ted Randall, WB8PUM, cited difficulties in meeting the station’s ongoing expenses. Based in Lebanon, Tennessee, WTWW provided a wide range of programming at 5.83 MHz along with music and amateur-radio content at 5.085 MHz.”

The station went on the air in 2010. The flagship show “QSO Radio Show” broadcast live from Hamvention for many years going back to the Hara Arena days. The station ceased transmissions on shortwave but has plans to remain online with broadcasts available on their website. They hope followers make the transition from shortwave to web content.

I discovered another service like Hamshack Hotline and Hams Over IP, called AmateurWire. It was started around the same time as Hams Over IP. AmateurWire is available for general amateur use. In correspondence with the administrator, Roger – KE8LCM, this is an experiment for him learning how to run a VoIP service.

My direct extension on AmateurWire is 1140 if you would like to reach me. There is a trunk between AmateurWire and the Hams Over IP service, meaning users of each service can dial users on the other service. To reach a Hams Over IP user from AmateurWire, prefix the Hams Over IP extension number with 304. My DVMIS extension is 9004 which has links to Hamshack Hotline, Hams Over IP, and 12 other ham radio networks.

‘Tis the season for Santa nets! Get children, grandchildren, and neighborhood kiddos in touch with Santa! The Santa Net is held every evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas on 3.916 MHz at 8:00PM eastern time.

If HF is not available, the DoDropIn Echolink conference is hosting the Santa Watch Net on Christmas Eve! It begins at 6:00PM eastern on the 24th and runs about 4 hours.

Based in Colorado, and available on Echolink, is Santa on the Air. It runs now through December 9th. Times vary, see their QRZ post.

Third party traffic is always on the nice list for all Santa nets!

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – September 2022 edition

September 24, 2022 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
Login
When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name. Click your Name. This will take you to the “My Account” page.
On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
Check the box next to “Division and Section News.” If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
Click Save
There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.” You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

I was cleaning out my E-mail inbox, apparently no one else does this, and came across a request from a couple years ago. Mike – AB8MW contacted me wanting to know if it was possible to run multiple copies of Fldigi at one time. The scenario would be one copy for HF and one for VHF/UHF. For example: an EmComm event where they might want to monitor HF frequencies in addition to local VHF/UHF using a single PC.

Starting multiple copies of Fldigi & Flmsg will open multiple windows. Regardless of how many windows can be opened, all use the same user configuration directory to store settings. Mike wanted Fldigi to retain settings for each use. Settings such as soundcard inputs/outputs and rig control (if used). One radio might be using a SignaLink/RIGblaster/other soundcard interface and have no rig control. Another radio maybe using virtual audio cables (typical for SDR radios) and Hamlib for rig control. When multiple Fldigi & Flmsg windows use the same settings directory, last window closed wins. When the program is restarted, those settings are loaded. Additional Fldigi & Flmsg windows have to be configured all over again. Not convenient, especially with many uses on a single PC, in a pinch, or during a real operating event.

Why would someone want to run multiple copies (or instances) of Fldigi programs? Some operators use HF and VHF/UHF differently, including sound interfaces and rig controls. Instead of switching around configurations depending on band, have two instances configured, one for each radio. Other reasons could be a single all-band all-mode radio is used but have very different operating styles, personalities, or users – like in a club setting. Operating styles could be EmComm and contesting, or using different macros. Monitoring multiple repeaters or multiple HF frequencies during an EmComm exercise would be desired or any combination of these examples. Creating separate instances will allow each to have its own configuration settings.

Keeping separate settings is very doable, but it takes some work. There are additional issues when adding Flmsg (or other Fldigi programs) to the mix as one would use for NBEMS. Flmsg & Fldigi use a local IP port (often referred to as a “socket”) to facilitate communications between programs. The default IP and port for Flmsg to Fldigi is 127.0.0.1:7362. 127.0.0.1, also referred to as loopback or localhost, is a reserved IP address. This IP address is used by programs to communicate with other programs and services running on the same system. In Flmsg, when the operator hits AutoSend, it’s a crapshoot which Fldigi window will transmit the message when multiple windows are open. A message intended for VHF could go out over the HF radio. Not good, as that causes unnecessary confusion to other stations. Each pairing of Fldigi & Flmsg needs a unique set of IP ports.

According to the author of the Fldigi suite, Dave – W1HKJ, port/socket parameters for Fldigi, Flarq, Flmsg and Flamp are specified on the command line. Other TCP ports are configured in the Fldigi Configuration options under Misc -> TCP-IP sessions. There is some overlap between command line options and graphical interface options including KISS, ARQ, and XML settings.

When AB8MW originally contacted me, we worked out the configuration details over E-mail and he was going to get it working. I, of course, said ‘I am going to write this up’ and never did. That is until I came across those messages and finally sat down to document a procedure. My procedure outlines changes needed to run multiple instances in a NBEMS operational situation for both Fldigi and Flmsg. This might be useful for those participating in the upcoming October SET. This will also work for Fldigi instances without the use of Flmsg. The posting is on my site: Running multiple instances of Fldigi and Flmsg.

My write up labels one instance for “HF,” a second instance for “VHF/UHF.” There is no limit on how many instances can be created. I’ve heard stations using as many as six. The problem becomes manageability. When a setting is to be changed universally, it has to be done independently for each separate instance. When a new version is installed, shortcuts must be updated manually.

Multiple copies of Fldigi & Flmsg transmitting messages independently

My process creates separate directories for both Fldigi and Flmsg to save their settings. Copying of existing configuration settings is accomplished, if desired. Then creating and customizing shortcuts to use specific configuration directories. Finally, making unique configuration changes for each instance.

Running multiple instances of Fldigi programs is completely doable. It takes a little effort to configure the directories, IP ports, and settings. Once configured, clicking AutoSend in Flmsg will send that message to the paired Fldigi instance. I even show how to send messages received on HF to the VHF instance and vice-versa. No more guessing if it will go out over the correct radio!

If you were an early adopter of Hamshack Hotline and no longer have a green light for the HH extension, you probably need to make a configuration change. Another symptom, when the phone is rebooted, the phone gets stuck on “Checking DNS” and never moves past that screen.

Back when HH first started, the domain name wizworks.net was set by HH in the configuration file loaded onto everyone’s phones. The US server was hhus.wizworks.net. Since then, they transitioned to using the domain hamshackhotline.com, where the US server was changed to: hhus.hamshackhotline.com. The hhus.wizworks.net DNS record has been removed and is now invalid (NXDOMAIN). If a HH configured phone or device has stopped working around the end of August, check the registration domain.

In a web browser, go to:
http://<IP Address of phone>/admin/advanced/
Click the “Ext 1” tab – or whichever extension Hamshack Hotline is configured
Under “Proxy and Registration” look for: (1) Proxy & (2) Outbound Proxy
If they show: hhus.wizworks.net, change both to:
hhus.hamshackhotline.com
Click Submit All Changes

Cisco SPA phone configuration changes for Hamshack Hotline

The phone will reboot and be back online again after about 60 seconds. Verify the Hamshack Hotline extension is now green. Green means the phone was able to register successfully with the Hamshack Hotline server. If that doesn’t work, having trouble, or not sure, open a ticket with the Hamshack Hotline Help Desk.

I discovered this issue after powering down the shack due to storms. When I powered the phone back on, it stayed on the “Checking DNS” screen. I figured something fried during power off or the power supply was dying. There was no change after changing network cables and power sources.

I found the phone was getting an IP address by looking at my router/firewall and seeing an IP address handed out by DHCP. This meant it was accessing the network and I could do a packet capture. Packet captures capture network data for analysis and troubleshooting. These shed light on network problems such as DNS issues, firewall blocked traffic, packet size/MTU, retransmissions, etc. A capture won’t show problems with the application itself because it just looks like regular traffic/packets on the wire. Captures are often run on routers or firewalls as they are passing the traffic to and from the Internet or other networks. A switch with ‘port mirroring’ can send copies of data to a separate Ethernet port. A device connected to the mirror port, such as a PC with Wireshark, captures the traffic.

For my phone not finishing its boot, I identified the issue immediately in the capture. The phone was requesting the record for hhus.wizworks.net. The DNS server responded with “no such name.” That means the DNS record for hhus.wizworks.net, which ties the name to an IP address, does not exist. It was removed, as my phone worked previously.

Packet capture: first line is the DNS query for hhus.wizworks.net. Second line is the response “no such name”

Since my phone had an IP address, I could access its web-based configuration making the changes above. I probably could have guessed the new domain name. However, I was even luckier. I setup Hamshack Hotline on my softphone a couple of months earlier and their documentation had the new server name. Simply changing domains from “wizworks.net” to “hamshackhotline.com” was the only change I made.

A while back they told everyone to re-provision their devices. I thought I did. Thinking later, I probably didn’t because I configured additional extensions on my phone. Either way, making that change resolved my issue and my phone is operational once again.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – June 2022 edition

June 26, 2022 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
Login
When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name. Click your Name. This will take you to the “My Account” page.
On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
Check the box next to “Division and Section News.” If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
Click Save
There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.” You’re all set!

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

As Technical Coordinator for the Ohio Section, I oversee the section’s group of Technical Specialists. The Specialists and I are here to promote technical advances and the experimentation side of the hobby. We encourage amateurs in the section to share their technical achievements with others in QST, at club meetings, in club newsletters, at hamfests, and conventions. We’re available to assist program committees in finding or providing suitable programs for local club meetings, ARRL hamfests, and conventions within the section. When called upon, serve as advisors for RFI issues and work with ARRL officials and other appointees for technical advice.

Technical Specialists are a cadre of qualified and competent individuals here for the “advancement of the radio art,” a profound obligation incurred under the rules of the FCC. TS’s support myself and the section in two main areas of responsibility: Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) and Technical Information. They can specialize in one or more areas or be generalists with knowledge in many technical areas. Responsibilities range from serving as consultants or advisors to local hams or speaking at local club meetings on popular topics. In the Ohio Section, there are 14 qualified specialists able and willing to assist.

RFI/EMI (electromagnetic interference) includes harmful interference that seriously degrades, obstructs, or repeatedly interrupts a radio communication service such as ham radio or public service agencies. RFI sources range from bad power insulators, industrial control systems, other transmitters or poorly made transmitters, personal devices like computers, monitors, printers, game consoles, to grow lights, failing transformers, and poorly made transformers – including one’s hams brag about getting from China for a few dollars. Our Technical Specialists can offer advice to help track down interference or locating bozo stations. Technical information is wide-ranging, everything from antennas to Zumspots.

How can we help? The knowledge and abilities of YOUR Technical Specialists are really quite impressive. Here are examples:

Antennas (fixed, portable, and emergency operation type) and feedlines
Antenna systems such as towers, guying, coax, and baluns
RF and tower safety
Grounding
Propagation
Electronics and circuits
Tube technology, aka boat anchors
Voice and data modes – including D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, NXDN, P25, APRS, IGates, packet, MT63, FT8/4, Olivia, PSK, and using programs like Fldigi
NBEMS – Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System
Computers, Windows and Linux, Raspberry Pi
Embedded devices
Networking: IP networks, AMPRNet, routers, firewalls, security, mesh, and microwave
Repeaters, controllers, and high-profile systems
Internet and VoIP linking systems – Echolink, AllStar, HamVoIP, DVSwitch, and PBX/Asterisk
RFI detection from power lines and consumer devices including working with governmental agencies to track down interference
Professional certifications such as Motorola Certified Technicians, Certified Journeyman Electronics Technician, General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL), and Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) affiliations

This impressive list of qualifications is an available resource to all in the Ohio Section. Looking for guidance in one or more of these areas? Need a program for your club meeting? How about a technical talk or forum at a hamfest? Assistance or direction on a project? My contact info is near my picture and on the arrl-ohio.org website. I’ll assist getting you in touch with an appropriate Technical Specialist.

Cisco SPA-514G desk phone for Hamshack Hotline and Hams Over IP

Many in our section have a Hamshack Hotline extension. Hamshack Hotline is a Voice over IP system using the same technology, called a PBX (Private Branch Exchange), many businesses utilize for their phone systems. Recently, another similar service appeared called Hams Over IP (HoIP, IP as in IP address). It’s not as catchy or easy to rattle off as HamShack Hotline. Best I’m able to tell, the service started around the time of Dayton. Unfortunately, like many clubs that have formed and split over the years, political issues at HH mounted and led to the formation of another service. Hams Over IP formed out of some former Hamshack Hotline admins and engineers. It’s obvious from their site, this was rushed as they really only have a ticketing system and Discord linked on their site as of this writing. A Wiki can be found by searching the interwebs. BLF monitor and BLF bridge monitors are available too.

If you want to read the dirt and s-slinging, those can be found on their respective social media pages and sites. A post (group membership required) in the non-affiliated Hamshack Hotline groups.io stated “A few months ago Hamshack Hotline dismissed a number of directors of their corporation and several moderators of their facebook and discord server for reasons that remain unknown. When that happened I heard from the impacted parties as well as other supporters to create our own network, and thus Hams Over IP was born.” HoIP will continue to co-exist with HH though, they are two completely different and separate networks. Existing HH extensions and trunks will continue to work as they have in the past. Here comes the “but.” Those on the HHUX (experimental) server will be repurposed with a HoIP extension. One user posed they received an email from HH about the server change. Reading between the lines, the owner of the HHUX server was one of those dismissed. Their server was removed from the HH network, taken with them in the turmoil, and brought over to HoIP.

Regardless of the political landscape, I have a Hams Over IP phone extension: 100095. HoIP doesn’t (at least at this time) have a way to put a URL in the browser to configure a desk phone, such as a Cisco SPA, like HH does. It took a little effort to get my Cisco phone configured as there appears to be IP banning mechanisms on the server for failed registrations and those using VPNs.

Like HH, HoIP has “RF Link” extensions. These are reverse autopatch extensions connecting into an Asterisk server, most often an AllStar node connected to a repeater or Internet hub. The Hams Over IP extension into the Interlink System I maintain is: 15010. Same controls are used for RF links, *99 to TX and # to unkey/RX. A system like mine is a way to bridge not only HamShack Hotline and Hams Over IP but other networks: AllStar Link, Echolink, DMR (HBLink, BrandMeister, and TGIF), D-STAR, M-17, NXDN, P25, System Fusion, and Wires-X.

Both HamShack Hotline and Hams Over IP are now using PJSIP where one extension can ring multiple devices (up to 5, I’ve heard). Back when HH started, it was a requirement for an approved Cisco phone to be brought onto the network before one could receive credentials for the “unapproved devices” or experimental server used for soft phone apps like Groundwire or other VoIP hardware devices. Each device would have a different extension. Calling one extension would only ring that device, not any others. Both my HamShack Hotline (4293) and Hams Over IP extensions will now ring my Cisco SPA-514 in the shack and Groundwire on my smartphone. I’m unsure about consolidating extensions, might want to open a ticket with HH to find out if that’s possible.

DroidStar for iOS is fini – done, no more. Development will continue on the Android and Windows versions. DroidStar is a smartphone app allowing hams to connect to ham radio digital and VoIP networks using only an app. Late last year, changes to the app removed the built-in vocoder (voice encoder). iOS, or iPhone Operating System, is a tightly controlled ecosystem of Apple mobile devices (phones, tablets, smartwatches, TV, etc.). Anyone doing development or app validation knows you cannot load an app on an Apple device out-of-nowhere. It must be loaded through the Apple App Store. A testing and feedback program called Test Flight is available to developers who pay for an Apple Developer account, $99 currently.

Most iOS users never use Test Flight as it is a beta program. The program allows users to test apps and provide feedback to the developer before an app is qualified and published in the App Store. Apple doesn’t want developers to forever use Test Flight circumventing the scrutiny and validation of the App Store. Test Flight apps have a limited lifetime of 90 days. The app can be made available again, though users have to rejoin the new beta version in order to have access to the app for another 90 days. This is the mechanism DroidStar was using making a version of the app available to iPhone users – and not through the App store.

Development of the app has come to an end, at least for now. Posted on the project’s Github page by the developer, the older MacBook Pro used for development is no longer eligible for the latest macOS version. Apple requires an iOS Software Development Kit (SDK) version only supposed by later versions of macOS. There are no planned upgrades to support this development effort. There is a chance someone else could maintain an iOS version as the project can be forked for continued development.

With July around the corner, my favorite event, 13 Colonies Special Event will be on the air July 1st (9 am) – July 7th (midnight). TM13COL will be making a return again this year as the third bonus stations in addition to WM3PEN and GB13COL. A station does not need to work all 13 colonies to receive a certificate. The three bonus stations do not need to be contacted for a clean sweep. Good luck!

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Presentations

Ham radio VoIP and K8JTK Hub DVMIS Presentations

March 8, 2021 Jeffrey Kopcak

Presentation on Ham radio VoIP (Voice over IP) modes and the K8JTK Hub Digital VoIP Multimode Interlink System which integrates many Ham radio modes, both analog and digital.

Framework

The framework I chose to use for the presentation slides is called reveal.js. It is an HTML framework meaning it will run in any HTML 5 capable browser. Looks a little better than a PowerPoint presentation.

Navigation

Useful navigation keys in the presentation. In addition to navigating with the keys below, you can swipe (tables/smartphones) or use the navigation arrows on screen in the lower right.

Toggle full screen: press [F11].

Advance to the next slide: press [n] or [SPACEBAR].

Go back to the previous slide: press [p] or press and hold the [SHIFT] key while pressing the [SPACEBAR].

Display presentation overview: [ESC] then use the arrow keys or mouse to select a slide. [ESC] again will exit overview mode.

Links

Clickable links are colored in brown text.

Presentations

Three variations are available: presentation version is viewable in a browser. Printable version for printing or saving in a different format (Chrome, Chromium, and variants compatible only). Finally a PDF version.

They may take some time to load because I left original images untouched and some were a couple MB in file size.

Slides

The presentation is around 60 minutes in length.

Version 3

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

This presentation was given at the following meetings:
West Chester Amateur Radio Association on 7/6/2023 & 11/7/2024

Version 2

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

This presentation was given at the following meetings:
West Chester Amateur Radio Association on 5/6/2021.

Version 1

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

This presentation was given at the following meetings:
Portage County Amateur Radio Service on 3/8/2021.

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – December 2020 edition

December 27, 2020 Jeffrey Kopcak

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Scott – N8SY and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Scott has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the section will need to use the mailing list link above.
Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).
Go to www.arrl.org and logon.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

One of the things I’ve been working on during my time at home is the Digital VoIP Multimode Interlink System (DVMIS), also called the K8JTK Hub. About a year-and-a-half ago, I came up with this bright idea to setup a system that would interlink many different ham radio VoIP (Voice over IP) modes for interoperability and experimentation. Through trials and tribulations, it’s experiencing some success, caught the interest of some nets, and a podcast.

Many digital modes sit on their own island and are restricted from crossing over to the analog world or to other digital networks. Some may say this is for quality-of-service but does nothing for interoperability or the ability to link and communicate across different systems. Original D-STAR DPLUS reflectors banned analog connections. My Hub supports ham radio experimentation by allowing hams to discover ways of utilizing a system that can link different modes. Utilization of ham radio spectrum is a priority through the use of hot spots and repeaters. Connections without RF are not a priority. Hamshack Hotline was provisioned because of use in Emergency Operation Centers. Many times, I’ve been asked about stations that don’t have access to RF hotspots or radios. They still have options including the Echolink app on Android and iOS devices, Hamshack Hotline phone which can be purchased for $30 (I’ve heard deals as low as $5 for a compatible phone), or the DudeStar app. The servers are hosted in a Chicago data center to provide resiliency against hardware, power, weather, and Internet outages, but still be fairly inexpensive.

All this is possible through integration of open-sourced packages including: AllStarLink which is a world wide network of Amateur Radio repeaters, remote base stations and hot spots accessible to each other via the Internet and/or private IP networks. Built on an open-sourced PBX system called Asterisk, Jim Dixon – WB6NIL (SK) built the apt_rpt module emulating functionality of a repeater controller. Jonathan – G4KLX authored programs that support D-Star, DMR, System Fusion, P25, and NXDN which are utilized in MMDVM devices like most hotspots. DVSwitch is a suite of applications for provisioning and operating Amateur Radio digital voice networks maintained by Steve – N4IRS and Mike – N4IRR. The DVSwitch Mobile app was designed to operate analog and digital modes utilizing an Android phone in conjunction with server applications running on a Linux server or Raspberry Pi. The ASL to DMR documentation (groups.io account required) got me started experimenting with these applications and ultimately lead to the build out of the system. XLXD is a multiprotocol reflector server for D-STAR by Jean-Luc – LX3JL & Luc – LX1IQ. Skip – WB6YMH & others maintain thebridge, an Echolink compatible conference bridge.

Originally, hosted on 2 servers, after troubleshooting some issues, it was more reliable to host everything across 3 VPSes (Virtual Private Servers) running Debian Linux. Parts of the system can go down and individual parts will continue to function. Aside from the VPSes, a Raspberry Pi with a Northwest Digital Radio DV3000 provides D-STAR audio transcoding to the system. Wires-X is available through the use of additional remote hardware. Wires-X is proprietary to Yaesu radios and repeaters. Wires-X is not available through open-source implementations such as YSFReflector or MMDVM without additional devices. I’d like to get the DV3000s in a reliable data center but doing so is prohibitively expensive. AllStar Link is the “Hub” that provides connectivity and linking control between all networks.

Putting all of this together provides a system with access to ten different networks and eight different modes! Any user on one network can communicate with users on other networks. Access is available through these nodes and connections:

AllStar Link: 50394
DMR: Brandmeister Talk Group 3172783
DMR: TGIF TG 31983
D-STAR: XLX983A (A = Analog Bridge. Pi-STAR = DCS983A, OpenSpot = XLX983A)
Echolink: *DVMIS* conference 600008
Hamshack Hotline: 94026 (*99 – TX, # – RX)
NXDN: TG 31983
P25: TG 31983
YSF: K8JTK-Hub 31983
Wires-X: K8JTK-ROOM 40680 (available upon request)

Dashboards:

Building this system has not been without problems. Luckily, I’m able to work around known issues. In order from least frustrating to most frustrating: all programs use IP addresses and ports to communicate, keeping all of that straight was a challenge initially. Using IPs allows for great flexibility utilizing network links such as private networks and VPNs. Dependency hell as a result of additions and changes to programs made a constant deployment from one day to the next an issue. XLXD changed its implementation to include YSF which then conflicted with the port used for the YSFReflector. Changing the YSFReflector port required propagation to Pi-STAR host files and OpenSpot DNS. DVSwitch has been rewritten two times since I’ve implemented it and they’ve released another round of changes. Data center provider choices resulted in issues with packet loss. Moving the servers to another provider yielded much better results. The previous provider finally acknowledged and supposedly resolved the issue a year after it was reported, and after I moved.

Use of physical hardware for D-STAR. OP25 software codec can transcode D-STAR but “you won’t be happy” to quote a post in the forums. D-STAR looooves IP addresses. DNS is great for switching IP addresses easily (like when moving data centers or spinning up different servers). However, D-STAR relies only on IP addresses. As a result, reflector IP changes take about a day to propagate to online hotspots/repeaters. Using AMBEServer with the DV3000 on a remote device resulted in very choppy audio. After some time, had the idea to move Audio Bridge to the same device as the DV3000 then use IP routing to send audio to and from AB. Worked great.

In order to compile AllStar Link from source takes a lot of time to get right and includes A LOT of dependencies. Finally, one that drove me crazy was the chan_echolink module for AllStar which provides Echolink connectivity natively to AllStar. When load testing with many connections, something was making stations sound as though they were transmitting underwater. After observing patterns, determined it was audio originating on the Hub being sent out to Echolink connections. Incoming audio from Echolink stations was OK and audio sent to all other nodes was also good. The problem seemed intermittent until I consulted groups.io and further determined chan_echolink has audio quality problems when more than three EL stations are connected simultaneously. Not ideal for a hub. Best workaround was to implement an Echolink Conference server. Then only allow chan_echolink connection to that conference server. Echolink users would then connect to the same conference server. This issue took a lot of time and a lot of hair pulling but implemented a workable solution that offers a quality system. Root cause is still unknown as an AllStar developer hadn’t chimed-in with any suggestions or possible reasons.

The DVMIS hub hosts a couple nets. Tuesday nights at 9pm eastern, since about the first-time stay-at-home orders were put in place, is the Amateur Logic Sound Check net. The net encourages checkins to utilize as many modes as possible during the net to test equipment. If you haven’t seen the Amateur Logic podcast, it has been going for over 15 years and they release two shows monthly. The regular podcast has segments about technology and Ham Radio. “Ham College” is an educational show for those wanting to get licensed or upgrade. The guys asked me to put together a segment for the show. My segment can be found in episode 149. A huge thanks goes out to the ALTV crew and everyone checking into the net which helped me identify and resolve system issues. They’ve also been great in keeping up with all the changes over the last 9 months. At the end of December, I’ve been testing with the West Chester Amateur Radio Association – WC8VOA to add digital modes to their net on Monday evenings at 8pm.

Around the time my segment was airing on ALTV, Brandmeister did not approve of the linking method and linking to other networks. Brandmeister uses the MCC standard and they manage talkgroup IDs consisting of 3, 4, or 5 digits. 6- or 7-digit IDs are repeater IDs and user IDs respectively, and can be used however the assigned owner would like. The BM TG in the ALTV episode is now 3172783 and is correct in the listing above.

The Hub is open for all to use in testing equipment, software, or linking up with friends. I keep status updates listed on the page linked at the beginning of this article. For this and any linked system, please remember a couple practices. When keying your radio, pause a second or two to allow all links to rise, otherwise the first couple words maybe lost. Pause a minimum 3-5 seconds between transmissions to give time for links to reset and other stations to break in. Do not “tailgate.” Enjoy and join the nets to get a feel for the Interlink System’s capabilities.

Slow Scan TV has become big over the last couple years due to ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) events. One of the longer events will have begun before OSJ publication: starting December 24 at 16:40 UTC and continue through December 31 ending at 18:15 UTC. Dates are subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments. Images will be downlinked at 145.800 MHz +/- 3 KHz for Doppler shift and the expected SSTV mode of operation is PD 120. Radio enthusiasts participating in the event can post images they receive at the ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/. After your image is posted at the gallery, you can acquire a special award by linking to https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ and follow directions for submitting a digital copy of your received image. Even an HT can receive images from the space station. If you would like to receive images using MMSSTV on Windows, head over to my tutorial.

Congratulations to Scott Yonally – N8SY who won his election as Great Lakes Division Vice Director! Since he cannot hold more than one elected position at a time, he will be stepping down from his current Section Manager position when he assumes the Vice Director position on Jan 1. I wish him nothing but the best in his new role as he has done a lot for the Ohio Section during his tenure. We will then welcome Tom Sly – WB8LCD who will be appointed the new Section Manager for Ohio!

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, Presentations

K8JTK Hub DVMIS Presentations

November 13, 2020 Jeffrey Kopcak

Presentation on the K8JTK Hub Digital VoIP Multimode Interlink System which integrates many Ham radio modes, both analog and digital.

Framework

Navigation

Useful navigation keys in the presentation. In addition to navigating with the keys below, you can swipe (tables/smartphones) or use the navigation arrows on screen in the lower right.

Toggle full screen: press [F11].

Advance to the next slide: press [n] or [SPACEBAR].

Go back to the previous slide: press [p] or press and hold the [SHIFT] key while pressing the [SPACEBAR].

Display presentation overview: [ESC] then use the arrow keys or mouse to select a slide. [ESC] again will exit overview mode.

Links

Clickable links are colored in brown text.

Presentations

They may take some time to load because I left original images untouched and some were a couple MB in file size.

Slides

The presentation is about 10 minutes in length which aired on the AmateurLogic.TV podcast on 11/13/2020 for episode 149. It includes additional slides referenced in the video segment.

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

Segment:

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Computing, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – May 2020 edition

May 24, 2020 Jeffrey Kopcak

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Scott – N8SY and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Well, this stay at home thing seems to have run its course – beginning week 11 soon. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know by now Dayton Hamvention was canceled this year. First time ever in its history. Weekend events that had the resources were virtualized such as Contest University. Some vendors and manufactures ran Dayton specials regardless of the lack of a physical showing. Technical Specialist Bob – K8MD pointed out that one of the retailers ran a special on D-STAR repeater components for $299 apiece. That meant a full stack (controller, 2m voice, 440 voice, 1.2G voice, and 1.2G data) could be purchased for about $1,500. Wow. Just ONE of those items cost about that much retail. Is ICOM feeling the pressure from the Yaesu repeater giveaway, DMR, or is D-STAR II around the corner? Hmmm…

Unfortunately, I’m starting to see on-the-air happenings return to previous levels. I guess that means people are returning to work, going out more, and returning to their normal. For me, I knew early on I wanted to utilize the hunker-in-place order to knock out some long-standing projects and “to-dos” of mine. Others had the same idea.

Among my list of annoying issues was a problem with one of my Fedora systems. As I’ve written about in the past, I made the switch to Fedora Linux as the primary operating system on my desktop and laptop. Fedora is a cutting-edge operating system and employs a very aggressive release and end-of-life schedule. The project releases a new version twice a year in April and October. When a new version drops, they mark the version two behind it as end-of-life. Fedora 30 released in April of 2019 means Fedora 28 went end-of-life one month after that date, May 2019. No bug fixes, no package updates, no security enhancements. And everyone complains about Microsoft ending life of a 10-year-old OS. Well, I knew what I was getting into.

Fedora 31 released at the end of October, 2019. I usually wait 2-3 months for the major problems to be ironed out and updates made available before I upgrade. When I tried to update to 31, I ran into a problem. Using the Fedora 31 Live CD or doing the automatic upgrade, the boot process would hang on this line:

A start job is running for Monitoring of LVM2 mirrors, snapshots etc. using dmeventd or progress polling

This process neither finished loading nor failed to load after any amount of time. Off to the Internet I went. Searching “Fedora 31” and the message above brought me to a couple bug reports and forum posts about the same message. Unfortunately, none of the suggestions got me past this problem. Due to life and other responsibilities, I put it aside secretly hoping Fedora 32 would have fixed my problem, saying I would upgrade from 30 to 32. I saw Fedora 32 beta was available (now a full release) and downloaded the Live CD. Problem still existed. Darn!

Since this occurred during the boot process of both the Live CD and after upgrading a previous installation, I couldn’t look or pull stored logs easily to see if those provided any clues as to why the process was hanging. Live CD images are the lifeline go-to when the installed OS on the hard drive wont boot. In addition to installing the OS, they are used as a rescue method to repair a borked install. I couldn’t get the Live CD to boot so I was in trouble if this system ever became unbootable because I’ve never *cough* have done something that *cough* *cough* caused my system to become unbootable…

Storage server supporting RAID (Wikipedia)

The forum post above gave me a clue and I started exploring this as being an issue with my RAID array. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks. It’s a technology that combines multiple physical disks into logical units for redundancy, performance, or both. I tried messing around in the BIOS disabling other arrays, that didn’t work. I thought maybe something in the RAID information written to the disk was causing a problem. Backed up everything on the array and deleted it. Deleting a RAID array destroys all data on those disks!! When I recreated the array, the Fedora 31 Live CD booted! Problem solved!!? Yeah, no. It would boot successfully once then hang on subsequent reboots or after being installed to the hard drive.

After screwing around with it even more, I finally searched “Fedora 31 Intel RAID array LVM2 dmeventd” and found this bug report and how to work around the exact issue I was having. Whoo Hoo! Problem solved, well workaround provided. It took a while to get there. Simply searching a message, error, or problem may not return the most relevant search results for your issue. You might have to dig at it a bit by gathering other information to determine the real reason or peel back the right layer to discover the correct answer.

Work around involved masking the lvm2-lvmpolld.service via kernel load parameters and at the command line after install. Masking creates a link to the Linux blackhole /dev/null device so the service cannot be started by systemd or dependencies. The service is a polling system for the Logical Volume Manager (LVM). After all that, I was finally able to get Fedora upgraded to 31! Just in time as version 30 was about to go EOL. I noticed the data consistency validation scan no longer automatically occurs on the arrays, which is likely related to disabling the service. I initiate it manually every couple of weeks. The problem of not being able to boot has an active bug report that’s assigned. Hopefully gets attention from a developer and fixed.

Windows 7 Users: Take Heed

It’s become more imperative that you move to another operating system like Windows 10, Linux, or utilize a 3rd party patching service like 0patch. Unlike Windows XP’s end-of-life, there were not too many critical issues shortly after EOL. Microsoft did release patches for ‘really bad’ issues. XP, and any OS, always have an unknown number of undiscovered security problems. We were not so fortunate to run with Windows 7 as long without discovering major problems. There have been a number of significant critical issues each month since Windows 7 went EOL that affect Windows 7, 8, and 10, for which Microsoft has not (and likely will not) patch Windows 7.

My February OSJ article has information about how issues can affect ‘all versions of Windows’ and information on 0patch. March OSJ article covers upgrading to Windows 10 for free and check my Linux information article for choosing a Linux distribution. A reader previously tried to argue that exploits resided in browsers. Since the last official update for Windows 7 in January, these critical exploits are largely operating system based: ActiveX, Windows Installer, Graphics Interface, font rendering, and shortcut handling (.lnk files) with many being 0-day, meaning they are actively exploited in the wild. Could be a result of someone that has physical access to the machine, an application the user thinks are legitimate or an app that comes bundled with crapware/malware, or polled by an infected device on the network.

This month alone, 111 security holes were patched, 16 being critical, in supported Windows operating systems. Makes you wonder why anyone is still using a Microsoft Windows OS. Lack of software support and learning curve are probably the biggest. I have a few uses for Windows, ugh – thank you streaming services and your stupid ‘copy protection.’ Microsoft is looking at ‘containerizing’ the Win10 operating system. The belief being when a software component fails to update or creates a problem, it doesn’t affect other parts or crash the entire operating system – separate containers that only affect themselves. Or maybe Microsoft should focus on getting the operating system stable instead of “feature updates” no one cares about. </end rant>.

AmateurLogic.TV Sound Check Net

One of the nets created since the stay-at-home order is the Amateur Logic Sound Check Net. Amateur Logic.TV is a long-running monthly podcast featuring the latest in ham radio. There have been 5 nets so far. I became involved with the net because they wanted the ability to link D-STAR and DMR users to their EchoLink net. I was able to offer up my Digital Voice Multi-mode Interlink System Hub. Started utilizing only those three modes but quickly expanded to incorporate all. Users have checked in using all the modes each week, including Wires-X.

Previous net announcement with NCS K8JTK!

The AmateurLogic guys are using a local repeater in Mississippi connected to an Echolink node. I connect to their Echolink node and transcode audio to and from other modes: AllStar Link, Hamshack Hotline, D-STAR, DMR, YSF, and Wires-X. It has performed well as it mostly lives in the cloud and has data center level resources. Users and sponsors of the net have been impressed with how well it works and grateful to experiment with many modes to reach the net – one of the few, if not only, taking Hamshack Hotline checkins.

I was net control MC for a couple of their nets. It was my longest and most amount of checkins with about 40 at nearly 2 hours for a net. The net is on Tuesdays at 9pm eastern and should be running for at least a couple more weeks. Net can be reached by connecting to any of my hub nodes or checking ALTV social media for other connections. Everyone is welcome!

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Computing, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – March 2020 edition

March 29, 2020 Jeffrey Kopcak

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Scott – N8SY and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Now that we’re all sequestered to our homes, what the heck do we do to not go iNsAnE? Idle down time is an opportunity to learn something new, catch up on lingering projects, or improve operating skills – all while staying sane. Improve operating skills can mean getting on the air, making conversation with new friends, checking in on our brethren, or practice being a better operator.

Ideas for learning something new: study for a license or upgrade, learn a new mode or Morse Code, configure your station for digital modes and get on the OHDEN net, make or update a DMR code plug, setup a hot spot, configure a Raspberry Pi to learn Linux or Python, make an APRS RX IGate with an RTL-SDR, setup Hamshack Hotline, make an AllStar node, or learn about MakerSpaces and how we can draw like-minded people into the hobby.

Free time is a good time to tackle the “I’ll get around to it” tasks, aka “the to do list.” That maybe fix/repair/replace a broken antenna, spring cleaning of the shack, selling or getting rid of unused equipment, organize or clean out junk piles, install that new radio, configure the new radio, figure out a lingering problem, clean out old data files and documents on a computer, phone, or cloud storage account, or purge and clean out email messages.

Pirates

While everyone has downtime, not everyone is using it for good. I’ve received reports since the imposed staycation of what can be described as pirate “preppers” appearing on local repeater systems and simplex frequencies. Preppers, as they are often referred, sometimes called survivalists, “is a movement of individuals or groups who actively prepare for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international.” Survival preparations range from job loss to stockpiling supplies to building self-sufficient structures. They appear to be “testing” and asking for text message signal reports from their buddies. The have also been holding informal nets on simplex frequencies. It’s funny they want to communicate off-the-grid but are using the grid to receive text messages. Obviously, they don’t present a call sign and do not properly identify. One can only speculate that they obtained a wonderful (read: crappie) BaoFeng radio for a couple bucks, figured out how to program it or are passing around a codeplug someone found or programmed for them.

When these stations appear, first kindly remind them they are using a licensed service and obtaining a license is easy. Provide them resources for obtaining a license through the ARRL study manuals, an online resource like HamExam or Ham Test Online. While they maybe illegally transmitting now, encouraging them to take a license exam will strengthen numbers and get them legal regardless.

If, after repeated attempts of encouragement to become licensed, they continue to appear on frequencies, politely ask them to immediately stop transmitting. Keep calm, cool, and collected on the air. DO NOT become irate. Continuing to transmit in this manner qualifies as willful or malicious interference. Do not engage them further. Contact the repeater owner or control operator and see if disabling the repeater is an option. If shutting the repeater is not desired, see if the owner wants you to document incidents. If they do, you are the repeater owner/control operator, or they are using a simplex frequency, record audio as part of documenting process. The FCC requires specific information that includes dates, times, and frequency(ies). Audio recordings dramatically strengthens the case. A VOX activated recording program with logging, such as Scanner Recorder, and feeding the audio into the computer from the radio’s speaker jack makes this easy. Scanner Recorder automatically logs the date and time of the recordings. Verify the audio is clear and understandable by doing a sample recording.

Locating the offending station will take some work. Contact someone who has access to direction finding equipment. Some of our Technical Specialists have access to this equipment. KerberosSDR is a low-cost direction-finding alternative option which employs four RTL-SDR devices. There are a number of YouTube videos on setting up and using the KerberosSDR on their site. It might be “good enough” but not as good as professional equipment.

Do not indicate to the other station they are being tracked or located as they will likely cease transmissions, preventing an accurate location fix. Multiple readings and triangulation techniques will be utilized to pin-point the origin. If a location is determined, DO NOT engage. Document the findings and file a complaint with the FCC. Local authorities will likely be of little help unless one is active in the ham community and really understands the situation.

Windows 10 Free Upgrade

I ran into my neighbor, John WG8H, who is a long-time friend of my dad, at a local hamfest before they were all canceled. He said ‘I read your article on Windows 7 but couldn’t find anything about taking advantage of the Windows 10 free upgrade.’ I found references online that indicated the upgrade was still active and available but had not gone through the process recently. Figured the ‘out of support’ messages that appeared in Win7 would instruct a user how to do this. They did not.

Officially, the free upgrade program has ended. However, this process gave me an upgraded version of Windows 7 to Windows 10. It’s really in Microsoft’s best interest to have as many machines upgraded as possible. Check this forum post for more details or if you run into issues. As always, backup first! On a Windows 7 machine you wish to upgrade, it must have Internet access.

Go to: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
Under “Create Windows 10 installation media,” click Download tool now
Signed in with an administrator account, run the downloaded Media Creation Tool on the local machine. “Run as administrator” will not work and it will tell you to sign into an administrator account first.
When the tool starts up, accept the license agreement
On the “What do you want to do?” screen, select Upgrade this PC now
Click Next
Follow the rest of the on-screen prompts to completion

I was testing on a machine that had an unsupported Win10 driver. If this message appears where drivers are not supported in Windows 10, I clicked Confirm and it proceeded. Upgrade these afterwards.

When the upgrade to Windows 10 is complete:

Click Start
Click Settings (gear)
Click Update & Security
Click Activation
Confirm the resulting window shows “Activation: Windows is activated with a digital license.” If activation failed, there was not a valid key installed on Windows 7 prior to upgrade.

Click Windows Update and apply updates – including the cumulative optional updates.

To tie the activation to you and the PC requires signing into Windows 10 with a Microsoft account. On the Settings home screen, click Accounts and follow the links to create a Microsoft account or login to an existing account. Otherwise, try following Reactivating Windows 10 after a hardware change if activation fails after a reinstall or hardware change.

It might be possible to update a Win7 machine that does not have Internet access by selecting the Create installation media option when prompted in the Media Creation Tool. Though I did not validate this.

K8JTK Hub Interlink System

Anyone wanting a place to meet-up for checking on friends and fellow hams or looking for something to do can use a system I’ve been working on the last few months. Currently, it offers 6 full-time ham radio VoIP modes interlinked for interoperability. Ways to access the system:

EchoLink: K8JTK-R 233196
AllStar Link: 50394
Hamshack Hotline: 94026
DMR: Brandmeister TG 31983
D-STAR: DCS/XLX983 A
YSF: K8JTK Hub 17374

Since I’m working from home, I’ve linked up my Wires-X room: K8JTK-ROOM 40680

More information or updates on the system: http://www.k8jtk.org/ham-radio/k8jtk-hub-digital-voip-mutimode-interlink-system/

Thanks for reading, stay sane, and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – January 2020 edition

January 26, 2020 Jeffrey Kopcak

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Scott – N8SY and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

What the heck is Hamshack Hotline? As you might have guessed by the name, it may have to do with a Ham’s shack and phone calls. Good guess because that is correct! Hamshack Hotline, often abbreviated HH, is a free VoIP telecom phone service put together for the ham radio community by hams. Similar services to Hamshack Hotline offer regular telephone service via VoIP (Voice over IP) but charge monthly, per minute (albeit small) fees and regulatory fees. Hamshack Hotline offers a way to enhance or augment communication between hamshacks, Emergency operation centers, National Weather Service Skywarn spotters, club members, and allow experimentation with VoIP devices and protocols.

John – K1WIZ got together with some ham buddies and decided it would be neat to experiment with an IP PBX service and started Hamshack Hotline in February 2018. An IP PBX service is an Internet based Private Branch Exchange. PBX’s were on-premise solutions used by businesses to provide internal communications. This allowed employees to pick up their desk phone handset, headset, or activate the speakerphone, dial an extension, say 2-4 digits typically, and connect to another employee’s desk phone. This was very useful during times when making outside calls was very costly. There wasn’t always “free calling.” Companies and households would be charged per call or per minute. A local PBX would interface with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) provided by a national, regional, or local telephony carrier allowing employees to make calls to any other phone number. Today, PBX services are almost all IP or packet-based systems and providers are cloud based meaning the Internet provides connectivity. Advantages include cheaper service, more features, and more connection options including mobile phone connectivity with an app.

Built on Asterisk, the same platform used for AllStar Link in Ham Radio and Small-Medium Business (SMB) phone systems, Hamshack Hotline offers traditional telephony functionality like full duplex phone calls, direct extension dialing, voice mail, notifications, Email notifications of voicemails, device flexibility, and FAX. There is no PSTN access through Hamshack Hotline. An amateur radio license is required limiting access only to licensed radio operators. A hard phone (also called a Desk Phone) which interacts with a configured phone service provider or providers and an Internet connection is required. Yes, the Internet is required to use system features and to make calls – as with any IP phone service. Wired is somewhat more reliable when cellular circuits get overloaded, though any Internet IP connection can be used as connectivity. When using Hamshack Hotline over costly bandwidth connections (such as cellular or 4G) during a call, data is always being exchanged at about a rate of 66 KBits/sec each direction, for a total of 120 KBits/sec. This includes quiet periods or when the phone is on mute. Data is constantly flowing during the duration of the call.

Architecture of Hamshack Hotline has changed over the years as popularity has grown. There were around 650 lines two years ago and 850 at the beginning of last year. HH Phone book shows just under 1,400 lines as of this writing. Most are located in the US with 3-5 new lines added per day. All servers are “trunked” together, meaning all can dial extensions on other servers and be connected. Today there are 4 servers: HHUS serves the US and Americas, HHEU for Europe, and HHAP in Hawaii serving Asia Pacific. These servers are for approved and supported devices of the service.

The fourth is HHX run by Jeff – VA3ISP and is the “experimental” server. Experimental requires much more knowledge of PBX and VoIP systems. It offers the ability to integrate unsupported endpoints like Polycom, Grandstream, and softphones using an app called Groundwire on Android and iOS. Credentials to the experimental service are provided and that’s it – no Help Desk or device support. To use the experimental service for a softphone, a hard phone line MUST be established on the network first.

Like traditional phone services, Hamshack Hotline offers Bridges which are similar to round-table conference or web conferencing services. They offer simultaneous full-duplex conversation, as opposed to half-duplex of most ham radio operations. Bridges can be public or private requiring PIN access to an executive board conference, for example. Both Hamshack Hotline and AllStar Link are Asterisk based. Allstar nodes can be connected as an “RF link” using Asterisk dial strings. AllStar can be connected to RF transmitters for ham radio and can act as radio-less hub nodes. A phone user in an EOC or local weather office can connect, listen, and interact with RF connected users through AllStar Link.

… It is Hamshack Hotline you’re looking for

Before we get too far down the road and I start hearing the cries of ‘this is not ham radio.’ Hamshack Hotline does not intend to replace any communication methods. Most hams stop at ‘when something uses the Internet, it’s not ham radio.’ It’s ham radio to me if it’s putting out RF. Hamshack Hotline doesn’t put out RF at its core so it doesn’t fit my definition of ham radio. Intent of this service is to “augment” methods by conserving primary communication channels – keeping them clear, placing back channel and managerial chit-chat offline. Aside from a way to chat with friends, the service is geared toward public service events and incidents where Emcomm is needed (flooding, power outage, weather events) and Internet communications are still possible between two endpoints. Additionally, it can automatically send voicemail blasts or paging instructions for an EOC activation, coordinate Skywarn activities, or simply notify members of regular club meetings. It also benefits those who are restricted from antennas in condos, apartments, or HOAs. Hamshack Hotline works well over ham radio MESH networks if there is an Internet route in and out of the network.

Section Technical Specialist and ARES Data Manager, Jim – W8ERW, has mentioned Hamshack Hotline many times in his OSJ articles. He has encouraged its use across the Sandusky and Seneca county areas. Hamshack Hotlines are installed in both EOCs and a conference bridge setup for event coordination. The phone bridge was used to coordinate events leading up to State Emergency Tests (SET) between team members. A curated list of import Hamshack Hotline extensions and bridge extensions is published and available to members as a quick reference.

Many of your Section Technical Specialists are on Hamshack Hotline: Bob – K8MD (who told me about HH initially), Tracey – W8TWL, Jim – W8ERW, and myself – K8JTK. Extensions can be found in the phonebook.

Ham Shack Hotline setup is easy and reasonably cheap. If you are thinking of joining, create an account on the HHOPS Helpdesk system and read through the Knowledgebase articles. There are some key articles that touch on issues such as satellite-based Internet connections and high latency connections which function poorly or not at all with the service.

First, purchase a supported phone or phone adapter. All can be found used on Ebay. The device must be UNLOCKED and factory reset. This is very important! Sometimes passwords are used to keep users out of messing with the configuration of their deployed phone in a business setting. Clearing those passwords are a low priority, if at all, before the equipment is removed, refreshed and resold. This will result in tracking down the seller for the password or, worst-case, loss of investment if the phone cannot be unlocked. A list of supported devices is listed in the Hamshack Hotline Knowledgebase here. If you don’t have an account, the list as of this writing with recent used pricing:

Cisco SPA-112 – 2 Line Analog Telephone Adaptor – $30-40
Cisco SPA-303 – 3 Line voip desk speakerphone – $30-50
Cisco SPA-504g – 4 Line voip desk speakerphone – $30-60
Cisco SPA-514g – 4 Line voip desk speakerphone – $30-90
Linksys/Cisco SPA941/942 – $20-30
Cisco SPA525G etc – $50-100+

K8JTK Hamshack Hotline – Cisco SPA-514g phone

The Facebook group and Mattermost chat service often have deals from members who want to resell hard phones to hams and is a place to obtain community support. Some phones feature Power over Ethernet (PoE), Gigabit Ethernet passthrough, or a color screen. A little research is required depending on desired features.

When the phone arrives, a ticket requesting provisioning of an extension is required. Open a New Ticket and select “HHUS (USA) New Line Request.” You will need to provide phone model, your call sign, the MAC address of the phone, and your location information for the map. A MAC address is a unique identifier of each network interface device. Technologies used in networking have unique MAC addresses including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 4G interfaces. It’s easiest to take a picture of the MAC address sticker on the phone. If there is no sticker from the manufacturer, the MAC address can be found in the phone’s setup menu. Press the button on the phone that looks like a document, select item 10 Product Info, then 5 MAC Address. The web interface is another way. With the phone connected to the network, in a browser enter: http://<ip-address-of-phone>/ or http://<ip-address-of-phone>/admin/ . These may vary depending on phone model. If all else fails, look at the MAC, IP, or DHCP table in your router when the phone is connected to the network. Submit the ticket and your line will be provisioned with the next available extension number. The Helpdesk system is almost always shutdown during the holidays to give the support staff time off. Plan accordingly.

When the line is provisioned, a TFTP file will be created on their Helpdesk server with your phone’s MAC address. TFTP is an old way of sending a file to a device and often used as a boot configuration file for devices. This file configures the phone for use with Hamshack Hotline. The HHOPS representative will let you know when the file is created and instruct you to follow the provisioning guide for that phone in the Knowledgebase. A URL will be entered into a web browser similar to this:

http://<ip-address-of-phone>/admin/resync?tftp://apps.wizworks.net/spacfg-$MA.cfg

This tells the administrative web interface of the phone to resync phone functionality against the “spacfg-” file found at that Internet address. “$MA” gets expanded by the phone to fill in its own MAC address, that way each file remains unique on the server. It is not recommended to provision a device using TFTP over the Internet because of the lack of encryption and authentication, but it is effective. If the download completes successfully, the phone will reboot and you will be on the Hamshack Hotline system!

In general, you do not need to make configuration changes in your Internet router such as port forwarding. However, if you have more than the basic router/firewall provided by the ISP, you will have to make configuration changes and should have an idea of those changes. The need for changes will become obvious when you enter the URL from the provisioning guide and the phone doesn’t reboot after a couple minutes. A TFTP helper and/or port forwarding may need to be enabled for the incoming configuration connection. Once the phone is configured, these provisions can be disabled as the phone will use the locally stored configuration on subsequent reboots. If you want to re-provision the phone at a later time, the same router/firewall changes will need to be re-enabled. Communication is handled by the phone reaching out and establishing connections with Hamshack Hotline servers. If any outgoing connections are allowed by your firewall, there will be no need for additional router/firewall changes for normal operation.

Once connected to Hamshack Hotline, what can you do? Check the phonebook or map for stations you know and give them a call! Over the air RF Links can be dialed and attempt to make contact over RF. RF Link configurations require *99 to transmit and # to stop transmitting via the phone’s keypad. Extension 94000 connects to Brandmeister DMR talkgroup 31688. A DMR radio or ID is not required to transmit. Your audio will be heard where other users monitoring the talkgroup can respond. Lastly, there are public bridges where you can meet other Hamshack Hotline users. Extensions 300, 302, and 314 are “Public” bridges 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

I purchased a Cisco SPA-514g after Dayton 2018 and have been on the system ever since. My extension is 4293 if you want to test your setup or chat. It’s best to email me for a sked or leave a voicemail. The 514 phone is capable of 4 lines. In addition to Hamshack Hotline, I configured a line to access my AllStar node. It allows me to dial in, monitor, and control my node while freeing up radios to monitor other frequencies.

The Hamshack Hotline service went through growing pains as it became popular rather quickly. In response, they reconfigured and added servers to the network. Since then, I have not noticed any connectivity problems. Instructions in the Knowledgebase are mostly complete, though in some cases there are errors. They don’t seem to be in a hurry to update the documentation. While troubleshooting is a valuable learning process, it’s frustrating assuming the documentation is correct only to find out it is not correct. I try to keep in mind that Hamshack Hotline is a ham radio project. All infrastructure and support are provided by volunteers who have fulltime jobs and families.

The project has a tri-fold brochure to hand out at a club or Emcomm group meeting to drum-up interest in giving Hamshack Hotline a try. Shoot me an email or leave a voicemail at x4293 to test your Hamshack Hotline or to chat!

2020 ARRL Great Lakes Convention

The Great Lakes Division Convention and Hamfest 2020 sponsored by the Toledo Mobile Radio Association will be here soon. It is a two-day event with ARRL Great Lakes Convention Forums on Saturday, March 14, 2020 followed by the Toledo Hamfest on the 15th. I’ve been asked to give two presentations back-to-back on Saturday. Tentatively, the first on the Raspberry Pi and how it became a popular device with makers followed by NBEMS philosophy. I’m very proud of both presentations. The NBEMS philosophy has been presented as training in the Ohio Section and adopted by other ARES groups in other Sections. Details, locations, times, and tickets are all available on the convention’s website. Hope to see you there!

Oh, IRLP…

On the topic of VoIP systems, the Internet Radio Linking Project (otherwise known as IRLP) has been a pay-to-play system. They use a PGP key system to authenticate and allow users on the system. According to their FAQ, there are two ways to obtain PGP keys to the IRLP system: “IRLP PGP keys are only assigned to users that support IRLP, either by purchasing IRLP hardware or by making a donation to the project.” I had some experience with IRLP and felt I could build a node from scratch. I inquired about making a financial donation to the project to obtain a key and was told “no.” O.. OK. Sometime later, I purchased hardware in the form of an SD card from the IRLP website with the approved operating system and my legally assigned PGP key, great! I played around with that for a while but was more intrigued with AllStar. The AllStar distribution I choose offered a way to setup an IRLP node using a legitimate PGP key – though they warned this may not be sanctioned. I setup my IRLP node on the AllStar/HamVoIP distribution and was good for a little over a year. Well, this was “no Bueno” to the IRLP folks and they had enough. Sometime around the first of the year, IRLP removed PGP keys from the system for nodes who were not using approved IRLP hardware, including myself.

Most reasons given for taking such action are outlined in a posting to the IRLP Groups.io Message board. Non-IRLP connections reduced their ‘security policy.’ If the policy is to have a closed network with only approved hardware on the system, mission accomplished. ‘Links were non-RF links.’ Some might have been, mine was an RF link. This one got to me: “HAMvoip also seems to have created an informal network of passing around IRLP Boards so folks could surreptitiously obtain keys without buying the IRLP hardware. Then harvesting the PGP keys for use in an unauthorized software package such as HAMvoip.” I WILL NOT condone, support, or have any remorse for those who fraudulently obtained or generated keys to the system, if this was indeed taking place. No one has yet outlined the details of how these fraudulent keys were generated and installed. From my experience, I obtained my legally generated PGP key when I bought my SD card. It had to be created from administrator who, I’m presuming, authorized that key on the IRLP system because I did not create any key and my private key remains unchanged. If I had to jump through that hoop to be approved by an administrator, how were others getting around that? No details. IRLP was able to revoke my legitimate [public] key system-wide. This argument seems suspicious.

I’m a little more than miffed that I paid their tariff to access the IRLP system and now am blocked until I rebuild my node with only approved hardware. Only then I can obtain a new, valid key to the system. It is true that I did not follow, to the letter, using only approved IRLP hardware and software. That’s their right to revoke my access, as it is their system.

Some replaced old or aging IRLP hardware with other systems or Raspberry Pi computers acting as repeater controllers. Others, like myself, wanted to have more linking flexibility and options. As it turns out, when IRLP removed keys for non-IRLP hardware from the key ring, without ANY advanced notice, they brought down a repeater during an emergency EOC net. Response was basically: you were doing something we didn’t like “So you should not have been surprised” (link, same as above). Showing disregard for emergency communications and banning experimentation – two foundational pillars of the Amateur Radio service – there is no reason to support this type of behavior. I would actively remove IRLP from all communication plans and utilize more open linking systems.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Jeffrey Kopcak, MBA – K8JTK

Tag Archives: Hamshack Hotline

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Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – December 2020 edition

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Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – May 2020 edition

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Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – March 2020 edition

Pirates

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Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – January 2020 edition

2020 ARRL Great Lakes Convention

Oh, IRLP…

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