Estink MMDVM Hotspot,Support PI-STAR, digital amateur mode DMR, D-STAR, P25 and YSF, with antenna + 8G TF card, suitable for Raspberry Pi,built-in WiFi

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Most importantly I hope that eventually it will work and we can use one of the hotspots to say direct thankyou. We next need to apply our offset (in my case +275 Hz) to the main MMDVMHost application running on the Pi-Star. This is done through the expert configuration.

I was also pleased to find that I could use the cross-mode capabilities of the hotspot to go from YSF to DMR, NXDN and P25 systems as well as from DMR to YSF and NXDN systems. Hight BER% also cause by the BIG OFFSET of your REPEATER RADIO , or your Digital RADIO, consider this reason first. You’ll also need software to image the Pi’s SD card. The Raspberry Pi Imager will work if you don’t already have one. If got exception , use Manual flash https://www.bi7jta.org/blog/mmdvm-2/manual-flash-firmware-fm-20201214-stable-86#scrollTop=0 How to Upgrade firmwareThe forwarding station (eg. ft-7900) is set to Rx 9600bps. Please refer to the manual for the operation process BER too high possible cause by RXLevel Attention: BER too high also possible cause by Repeater frequency (such as offset 500Hz, 1KHz, not control in Pi-Star) works with internal connections to RX/TX DF2ET, see https://www.florian-wolters.de/blog/2017/04/02/interfacing-tait-tb7100-and-mmdvm/

Thank you and Jason for your help. I'm sure I will have more questions in the future. I recently discovered the Colorado HD and Pi-star Talk Groups on Brandmeister and will start to use them. Perhaps you are on those groups. Have spoken with Andy Taylor MM0MWZ recently on TG 31672 (Pi-star chat). Also, some cross-mode capabilities exist, from DMR to YSF (DMR2YSF) for example.There’s no need to buy multiple digital radios. I noticed after a while, that my BER percentage of my MMDVM_HS_Hat and Pi-Star setup was significantly higher than other users, at around 3.5%. I know from setting up GB7KH that getting this correct takes patience. I also happen to know that the design of the MMDVM_HS_Hat uses inexpensive TCXOs to provide frequency and timing references. As such, some calibration can do wonders for the BER on DMR. A lot of hotspots come with little screens on them. In the limited time I’ve had the Zumspot, I really don’t look at the screen at all so I didn’t include one as part of my build.

Building the MMDVM node:

This whole thread is interesting because I suspect that many hams that would love to experiment with digital radio like DMR, YSF, D-Star, P-25 etc are frustrated by the complexity that various products, write-ups, forums and products expose. Or you may prefer to SSH into the Pi-Star with your preferred SSH client – I use PuTTY. Either option will work here. After following this article you will be able to put together a multimode amateur digital repeater or high powered hotspot that can be connected to the internet for world wide digital communication. Through proper coordination, given digital’s IP connectivity and features, Ham radio operators around the world can build fully connected systems, allowing remote parts to have access to RF communication. A connected digital environment allows us to leverage MESH networks like Broadband Ham Net or ARDEDNin events where the internet may not be reliable. Think about it, the ham community can build a large network that has the ability to be “offline” and still allow for clear digital voice communication. How cool would that be! If its easy and cheap to build and can be done in areas with no internet, that’s helping humanity. Baby steps though, lets just get this digital node built. 7 Items needed: On the virus front things are ramping up steadily, getting supplies in is getting problematic, we're ok for the moment but we are also in early stages of thing ramping up. 12 weeks to go, before we can possibly start to integrate again, then review they say so maybe not then. Radio does not work on transmitting DMR (What I tested it on), with any combination of settings. The FTM-350 will receive DMR OK. (AE0CP)

Power down the Pi if it’s already running. Insert the SD card and plug in the network cable before powering it on. NOTE: FIRST WHEN YOU GOT THE BOARD ,KEEP THIS POT DEFAULT! DO NOT ADJUST THE RV2 POT ON THE BOARD, UNLESS YOU HAVE RESEARCH ENOUGH KNOWNAGE ABOUT MMDVM PROJECT. The Pi-star software on the Raspberry pi provides a control panel to configure internet data sources be they YSF,DMR or D-star that will be passed via the MMDVM board.I can let you know that you were spot on. The boards arrived, they weren't as shown in the pictures so definitely clone boards without markings. The build quality wasn't that great either but they work and I have tested both boards on a single Pi Zero (can't buy them here at the moment for ready cash). The boards also cover YSF too so that's ok. DMR Gateway is a part of the MMDVM_Host suite created by Johnathan Naylor (G4KLX) to add features and functionalities to the DMR side of the MMDVM. If you have never configured a commercial DMR Repeater before, its important to know for the most part, DMR repeaters are “Dumb” devices in the grand scheme of a network. At a high level, there is not much to configure; Frequency, Color code, Network master IP and config (if there is one) and maybe a couple personalized settings. A DMR Master device is where the logic and smarts are housed. The master is responsible for handling network call/sms routing, access control, and other features specific to a brand or network. Motorola IPSC and Brandmeister both approach IP networking features on DMR differently for example. When it comes to configuring an MMDVM DMR repeater/hotspot, it’s not much different from a commercial repeater. You configure basic settings like, frequency, color code, and which Master server to connect to and that’s it. If you need any special settings changed for your MMDVM DMR repeater like the callsign, its location, or static talkgroup settings, you do so on Brandmeister because its the master. (assuming your using Brandmeister)

The purpose is make repeater radio generate side receive a best digital spectrum. If your BER% verylow ( less than 0.5), I not suggest to trun RX Potentiometer. Through a series of bridges and gateways between these voice infrastructures, users of the different over the air digital technologies can communicate with each other. There are differences between how the private conversations and group conversations are structured ("Rooms" in YSF versus "TalkGroups" in DMR, for example) but techniques have emerged for getting them to work together.

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply. I think the key message I get from your response is that the MMDVM board has it own dedicated firmware and, if I am correct, it is that that facilitates the specific digital mode encoding\decoding that the hotspot can provide. So which digital ecosystem do you choose? DMR? D-STAR? YSF? An obvious first step is to find out what format is most popular in your area. Finding an Elmer who has already figured out hotspots and digital systems is also a good idea. Personally, I’ve found YSF easier to understand since you don’t need code plugs and programming the radio is fairly simple.