DMR.Tools: Backend server work started
I’ve broken ground on the backend server for DMR.Tools and ProgramRadios.com.
I’ve broken ground on the backend server for DMR.Tools and ProgramRadios.com.
I got firmware updates through WebUSB working for 1st and 2nd gen TYT radios last night.
2020 has been a hard year. With family medical issues, a dying (and now passed) dog, the end of 2020 was particularly rough.
There’s one bright point - I soft launched DMR.Tools, specifically to help my first user.
Some new updates for ProgramRadios/DMRTools involving encryption keys.
Today was my last day working for “M”, the corporation I’ve worked for the last two years.
I’ve learned a lot and met some incredible people, but I’ve been itching to work for myself, and it’s time to commit to that fully.
Open Research Institute (ORI) has sponsored us (M17)!
Check us out on their projects page, and keep reading to see why this is good for M17.
I’ve added mrefd reflector support to pyM17, so now you can talk to existing M17-REF reflectors using Python.
Code and details after the break.
A reflector for a mode like M17 is something like a chat server - it has rooms or channels, called “modules”, and whoever talks in one channel gets broadcast out to all other nodes in that same channel.
These channels can also be linked with channels on other reflectors, which allows for creating vast networks of audio conferences for linking ham radio clients together around the world.
I’ve never actually used a reflector like mrefd, but someone on IRC reported constant “connect” messages being printed to the screen attempting to link to M17-POL, but no packets being sent.
60x timelapse videos of building a TR-9 below the break.
One of the beta testers for my FCC itinerant business radio licensing guide pointed out that the equivalent license through BuyTwoWayRadios would have cost $1600.
Holy smokes.
M17 (the project) have designed a radio called the TR-9 that speaks M17 (the protocol).
Only SP5WWP has built one so far, and he’s getting all the fun software development so I have to catch up and build one too so he can’t hog the fun parts.
I’ve been videoing the build process (Youtube).
I spent a bunch of time on the ProgramRadios and DMR Tools source today.
These are web based radio programming tools for DMR radios - there are no competitors, and I have a pretty slick programming paradigm that hasn’t been seen before - makes it a lot easier to create, manage, and update large complicated codeplugs. They’re also nearly ready for beta testers, so get on my mailing list if you’re interested.
Biggest improvements:
I’ve just created a site to list places and people with test equipment that they’re willing to allow other ham radio operators to use.
The idea is to support radio homebrewers by making good quality test equipment more available, and possibly restart the elmering community.
It’s at https://rflabs.tarxvf.tech/ but keep reading to understand the motivation behind its creation.
M17 is a new protocol for ham radio operators, aiming to compete with DMR and D-STAR.
M17 is still under development, so this is a short post about one aspect of the design - handling direct calls.