CQ, CQ, CQ…
Hello Everyone,
I’m excited to share with you that I will be presenting in the new few weeks a 2 1/2 hour session on building a personal hotspot with a Raspberry Pi computer and a DVMega radio board.
I’m still looking to secure a meeting location. I have a couple ideas, but would love your assistance if you know of a place.
I’ve made a bulk/club/reseller purchase on the DVMega boards and will have nearly a dozen available. You can also buy your own at HRO or GigaParts online, but I can assure you I will have a better deal for you in person.
We will spend about 15 to 20 minutes talking a little more about DMR, the technology, networks available and any limitations to setup a foundation.
Next we’ll demo a working hotspot and show you why you want one (assuming your were not yet sure you really needed one yet) and talk a bit more about the advantages of using a hotspot.
You’re invited to bring in your personal computer and your raspberry Pi computer with a 8GB or larger SD card (16GB recommended) and we will download or copy a Linux distribution onto your flash memory card.
I’ll show you how to remotely connect into your Raspberry Pi system from whatever computer you regularly use, or we can even just connect a monitor and keyboard (Your choice, not everyone has a laptop to bring).
We will install the MMDVM software, show you how to update your system to keep everything current and then walk through the configuration of your hotspot and radio.
I’ll share a codeplug and even talk about programming your own. We’ll talk about the problems you might encounter if everyone around you boots up a hotspot with the same settings! (Gotta watch out for that at an event like this).
I’ll demo some of the cool features available on Brandmeister and the sysop dashboard and show you how you too can be your own network sysop and you will leave this event with a working hotspot so you can enjoy whatever talkgroup you want, where ever you are!
Please, if you can host or know of a location, contact me right away. Everyone else, stay tuned as I hope to secure a location before the weekend is over!
This is a free event! You’ll get the most out it if you can bring a laptop, SD card, Raspberry Pi computer, Pi power supply and optionally an extension cord or outlet strip, a monitor with HDMI in and a keyboard. You can get a headstart by Googling MMDVMHost and/or contacting me about the DVMega radio board for the Pi. I recommend MicroCenter in St Louis Park for the Pi computer and MicroSD card. The Pi version 3 is what I’d use as it has WiFi built into it. If you already own a Pi2, that will do too.
Hope you can make it,
73, Talk to you soon on DMR
NØNKI – Eric Osterberg
Here’s a followup:
First secured location will be in Maplewood, Sunday March 19th. 2:15pm to 4:45pm https://goo.gl/maps/W9y3zB6SZgS2
I’m hoping to find a second location which will happen sooner than the 19th. Hopefully in just a couple weeks from now.
The DVMega can be ordered at one of these locations:
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-014297
https://www.gigaparts.com/dv-mega-for-raspberry-pi.html
https://www.amazon.com/DVMEGA-Singleband-DSTAR-Radio-Raspberry/dp/B015NLXS5O/ Or buy from me, keep reading below.
Yes, you will likely want a case, I do not have a recommendation, but I will have cases available and instructions on modifications so that the board and Pi will fit inside. I’ll likely provide cases already modified for 8 bucks and a case you can modify for $5.
Another case that’s a bit larger and easy to mod is at MicroCenter: http://www.microcenter.com/product/461222/Official_Raspberry_Pi_Case While at MicroCenter, it’s a great place to buy a class10 MicroSD card 16 or 32GB in size and grab your Raspberry Pi3 there too. They sell for just $29 bucks. Finally, you’ll need a power supply that provides at least 2+ amps at 5 volts. I’ll likely bring a couple loaner power supplies and I’ll talk about choosing the best supply.
I’m still settling on a price for the DVMega board. Likely about $110 cash or $120 with any other payment method. I’ll pay the sales tax based on your “billing address or the place where the transaction takes place” So I eat about 10% of that price. I’ve been through a tax audit and there’s no such thing as no sales tax… There’s only, “I’ll report and pay my sales tax myself for those out of state purchases you make.” What I’m saying is your purchase price will vary, but you can calculate your cost if you know your sales tax rate.
You’ll want an antenna like the rubber duck included with an MD-380 radio. I have 15 on order in case people don’t have a 380 or have misplaced one or otherwise. Most MD380’s were sold with two antennas. https://www.amazon.com/HYS-NA-771-430Mhz-Handheld-Antenna/dp/B014R66NXU You can order much shorter antennas, but there’s very little price advantage. I am not likely to have the antennas this month, but maybe for the March 19th session.