One of the things I thought about when I became a ham was the other hams in my community. I got licensed with about a dozen other people who all have at least their Technician's license, and many of them live in the same community as me. I have always wanted to do a project for the ham community around here, and I believe I might have a solution.
Introducing AllStar!
This summer I have been given the opportunity to do an internship at my college's IT department. It is my hope that I can secure employment here once I graduate! My internship oversees the installation and documentation of a brand-new phone system which uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. So far, I have to say I'm pretty impressed! Our incoming calls can be placed in a queue if we are busy and people can call the IT HelpDesk via Microsoft Teams - how amazing!
This internship also dusted off an idea for an old project I've wanted to do for a long time - start an AllStar node for my town. Just like VoIP, ham radio uses the RoIP protocol, or Radio over Internet Protocol. In layman's terms, a radio talks to another radio which is connected via a computer with an internet connection. Another computer on the opposite end of the world can receive this radio-relayed message, send it to a connected radio, and out to the hams in that part of the world. Yes, I did say world.
AllStar utilizes the Asterisk PBX protocol, which is really interesting to read up about. It can run on a Windows computer or even a Raspberry Pi. I have a Raspberry Pi 3B I got one Christmas that I was originally using as a retro gaming system. Since I have an NES Classic, I immediately found a new use for this. A few nights ago, I stayed up past midnight installing and playing with Asterisk on the Pi, and I have to say, it's pretty cool! I won't go into detail on setting up a node - you can follow the AllStar tutorial available on their wiki page. It's quite simple if you are around Raspberry Pis often.
An Old Friend
The Motorola SM50 is the radio fit for this job. Many other hams who have created AllStar nodes have used these, and they're a dime a dozen on eBay. They have a 16-pin accessory port with all of the needed pins for connecting to an AllStar node. Mine was originally rated for 450 to 470MHz, but I rebanded mine to transmit in the 440 MHz range. I won't go any higher or lower, since I've heard that these radios begin to lose performance if you reband it too far out-of-band. The antenna connector is a mini UHF, but Amazon and other online marketplaces sell adapters, or better yet, pigtails that can convert the mini UHF to an SO239 connector.
You might have seen a recent post on here about the 2-channel Motorola UHF I was given by another ham. After realigning and reprogramming it for the ham bands, I have decided to use it for this purpose. With only 2 channels, it might seem limited, but these radios can put out up to 40 watts on the 440MHz band. To save the finals though, I'll probably only run it on low power. After all, UHF is better suited for urban communications, specifically around the city limits of Maryville. The PCB is copyrighted 1994 if that tells you anything.
NOOOOOO You Can't Do That! AllStar's Cheating! It's not true ham radio!
This section is for the naysayers. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but here is mine on AllStar systems. I think AllStar does NOT take away from ham radio, in fact, it promotes it and combines computer science with ham radio. As a computer science major, I see this as a complete win.
Now, if you would've asked me 5 years ago when I was first licensed what I thought of AllStar, I would've said it was utter BS. Ham radio through the internet? Aren't we a wire-free hobby, let alone an internet-independent one? However, as I've matured in the hobby, much of this resentment has turned into curiosity, and if you know me, I had to get to the bottom of things.
One ham who got me started and interested in the RoIP protocol was Ben, 2E0BMT/G5REV. Ben has an awesome tutorial up on YouTube that walks you through creating your own RPi-based AllStar node. I have found this video series, the "Idiot's Guide to Building an AllStar Node" quite helpful in my own adventure. Ben also clarifies why AllStar is actually beneficial to the hobby and why those with only a Technician's, Foundation, etc. license might want to build one. Long story short, it can get you around the world without using HF, and I think it's just as cool as making a QSO on HF!
You should also go check out Ham Radio Crusader as well! Freddie Mac, the Ham Radio Crusader, is an up-and-coming ham who just got back into the hobby. He is a huge proponent of AllStar, discusses how it works in-depth, and even shows you thoroughly how to get started and build your own node!
I could go on and on about the benefits of having an AllStar node set up, but I'll let you be the judge of that - what are your views on AllStar and RoIP? Comment below!
Pi-Radio Interface
This is the challenging bit of creating an AllStar node - creating a sound/PTT interface between a radio and the computer. Many hams choose to go DIY and purchase USB soundcards based on the CM108, and some buy theirs prebuilt. I am going with the DIY version because, well, money's tight and I want to learn. I might have to buy a pre-made one in the end though :(
The CM108 is not difficult to modify - if you know how to solder SMD. Looks like I'll need to train my hands a bit more before I do the modification. I ordered two fobs from Amazon in case I messed up on the first try. If I get it right on the first try, I have an extra sound card I guess! I might make another one and sell it to another ham who wants to get started in the hobby, not quite sure yet, or use it as a giveaway on the KE0SBX YT channel.
The CM108 has at least 4 GPIO pins on it, only 2 are used for COS and PTT. It's very tricky to solder SMD as I mentioned before, but luckily for us, these pins are on the edges of the chip, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Instructions for building these fobs can be found here: https://allstarsetup.com/how-to-modify-a-cm108-for-allstar/.
70cm Activity
It's dead.
No, seriously, there's no 70cm activity around my area. Except for a DMR repeater that no one - and I mean no one - uses. It's actually pretty sad.
However, it is my hope that this can change. Maryville has at least 12 or 13 licensed hams within city limits and we have a few hams who pass through here along the highway. In fact, highway 71 is less than a mile away from my house! 70cm is perfect for a city like Maryville since we have a lot of houses and structures. 70cm is excellent at penetrating obstacles due to its shorter wavelength. A 5W HT like my Baofeng is enough to cover the entirety of the city, both on 2 meters and 70 centimeters.
As the node gets up and running for a few months, I'd like to add some more capability to it, such as SkywarnPlus and other add-ons. Hopefully, this will attract the local hams to use the node. I'm not doing this for profit either - hams are not-for-profit people. I'm doing this solely on the crusade for curiosity and exposure to new technologies. Isn't that the spirit of amateur radio, after all?
Conclusion
As I write this, I can't help but smile at the fact of helping out my fellow hams in the community, at least that's what I hope I'm doing. Even if only 2 or 3 of us use it, I'm going to keep it up once I'm done. It's added infrastructure to the ever-evolving ham radio network, and as I mentioned before, it's a great way for hams, especially new hams in general, to make contacts without having to use an HF station - not saying that HF is a bad thing!
I'm also really glad I found a use for my RPi instead of letting it sit in a box and collect dust. The retro gaming idea was cool, but I have a Pi Zero as well that can easily emulate the games of yesterday (more on that project in the future!).
To be honest, this is probably the most active I've been in our community's ham radio scene since I've been licensed. I know many, if not all of the licensed hams here and it is my hope that this project can bring our small but mighty community closer. Heck, I REALLY hope it can inspire those who don't have a ham license to get one!
I hope this post has inspired you to create an AllStarLink node. While we can't necessarily rely on AllStar in the event of an emergency without the internet, I believe that things like this are a lot of fun as well as an excellent learning opportunity and experience.
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