SP9UOB

Ham radio projects

dsDIGI - APRS digipeater based on the dsTNC hardware

dsTNC board

dsDIGI is another project from my dsXXXX series, i.e. playing with Microchip dsPIC processors. The hardware is described on the dsTNC page; here I will focus on the software only.

Configuration

After loading the dsDIGI firmware and connecting to a computer over the serial port at 57600,8,n,1 the system greets you with the configuration screen: 

CONFIG MODE
Press ? for help

Typing ? and pressing enter shows the list of configuration commands: 

=====================================================
dsDIGI config help:

alias [digi alias] - set WIDEn-N alias (default WIDE1)
alt [meters] - set altitude
bcn [TEXT] - set beacon text
bfreq [mm] - set beacon frequency to mm minutes
bpath [PATH-1,PATH-2,...] - set beacon path
call [CALL-SSID] (example: call SP0ABC-1) set Your callsign
digi - boot in digi mode
kiss - boot in KISS mode
lat [dd.ddddd] (example: lat 50.23445) set Your latitude (negative for south)
lon [dd.ddddd] (example: lon 18.87532) set Your longitude (negative for west)
speed - set UART speed (one of 9600,19200,57600,115200)
show - show current config
symbol [SS] - set APRS symbol
telemetry [0,1] - transmit telemetry 0-off, 1-on (default off)
txdelay [dd] - set txdelay [10 ms units]
txtail [dd] - set txtail [10 ms units]
txtest [0,1,2]- generate tx test pattern 0 - off, 1 - 1200 Hz, 2 - 2200 Hz

A short description of the commands:

Digi mode

To get back into configuration mode (after selecting digi or kiss mode), press the space bar while the system is starting. In digi mode the unit receives and decodes frames, showing among other things the bearing and distance to the received station, e.g.: 

PKTS = 1
SQ9CIE-4 to APND14-0 via OK2ULQ-1* UIv pid=F0
=5023.16N/01924.93E_262/009g012t040r000p002P002h99b10324lU2k
From SQ9CIE-4 to APND14-0 VIA OK2ULQ-1

Position w/o timestamp + mess: 50°23'10''N 19°24'56''E SYMBOL= /_
Dist = 56 km  bearing = 78 degrees
  262/009g012t040r000p002P002h99b10324lU2k

PKTS = 2
SR6NKB-0 to APMD-0 via OK0BBF-2*,OK2ULQ-1* UI  pid=F0
!5015.41N/01725.74E#PHG3828 Biskupia Kopa PZK OT 11 WIDE1-1
From SR6NKB-0 to APMD-0 VIA OK0BBF-2,OK2ULQ-1

Position w/o timestamp: 50°15'25''N 17°25'45''E SYMBOL= /#
Dist = 88 km  bearing = 269 degrees
   Biskupia Kopa PZK OT 11 WIDE1-1

PKTS = 3
SR9DZB-0 to APNU18-0* via SR6NKB-0*,OK2ULQ-1*,WIDE2-1 UI^ pid=F0
!5047.09N/01843.01E#APRS Zborowskie/Silesia

From SR9DZB-0 to APNU18-0 VIA SR6NKB-0,OK2ULQ-1,WIDE2-1

Position w/o timestamp: 50°47'06''N 18°43'01''E SYMBOL= /#
Dist = 57 km  bearing = 5 degrees
  APRS Zborowskie/Silesia

The digi also transmits its status: uptime, number of received frames and number of repeated packets. At the moment the software handles the WIDE1-1 path; if you need a different one - let me know :-) I also plan to add a bootloader so that the software can be upgraded without a programmer, but that task has a rather low priority :-)

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