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ircDDB Call Sign Routing

Thu Mar?2,?2017 4:54?pm (PST) . Posted by:

edmontonfireradio

Using Call Sign Routing via a Raspberry Pi D-STAR Hotspot

Written by Jeff VE6DV

I have been working with several people who are setting up their raspberry pi D-STAR Hotspots for ircDDB call sign routing. Personally I am a fan of the Maryland D-STAR image for Raspberry Pi but you can also configure D-STAR Commander and I believe the Western D-STAR Image for call sign routing as well.

For those that are not aware, call sign routing is a way for people to talk directly with one another and not tie up a busy reflector. Call sign routing can be done through ircDDB enabled repeaters but really shines when using a raspberry pi personal D-STAR Hotspot. There are a couple of ways to do routing. The newest is called ccs7. In theory you would enter a person's 7 digit dmr-marc ID just as you would dial a phone number and the network would route your transmission to their last known location. I say in theory because I have yet to get CCS7 routing to work. In my case it will allow me to link to the other station but once established they can hear me but I can never hear them. All of the proper ports have been forwarded to my raspberry pi but no matter what troubleshooting steps I take it just doesn't work. Talking with other people I find their experience is very similar. Making matters worse, when trying to troubleshoot the problem one can never contact the people in charge of CCS7 or the CCS7 server owners. If there is a problem best of luck to you because you are on your own.



The other method of using call sign routing with a raspberry pi D-STAR Hotspot is provided by www.ircddb.net http://www.ircddb.net/. Once configured you enter the call sign of the person that you want to talk with into the UR field of your radio. When you key your mic the network will look up that person in the database and direct your transmission to their last known location. This method is very reliable and in my case works every time without fail as long as the person you wish to talk with is known on the ircDDB network. There is one thing you must be aware of. If you aren't careful their last known location might be a repeater where another conversation is already taking place, so use routing with caution.


To avoid causing interference to another conversation in progress I suggest first making contact on a reflector. Once contact is established unlink your Hotspot from the reflector and then use call sign routing to continue your conversation. This avoids any of the downfalls of call sign routing. Also by using call sign routing you won't tie up a reflector keeping other people from being able to use it. I like to compare this method of operating to calling someone on a busy high profile repeater and then moving your conversation to a simplex frequency allowing other people to use the repeater.

Here is a brief demonstration showing how ircDDB call sign routing works. We are both using the Maryland D-STAR image and a Raspberry Pi 3B - https://youtu.be/kqJwo1lmL88 https://youtu.be/kqJwo1lmL88 . Thanks to Justin, KB7CSW for helping with the demo.

When used properly call sign routing can be a great tool to keep in touch. But like any tool, when used improperly it can cause a lot of grief for everyone involved.

Setting up ircDDB on your personal hotspot.

Before you can use ircDDB routing you will need to have a unique call sign for your D-STAR hotspot. The reason for this is you will be setting up your hotspot as a gateway on the ircDDB network. You can't route TO your personal call sign THROUGH that same personal call sign. It would have to be to your call sign through your gateway call sign. In Canada where I am located it is as simple as requesting an additional call sign from Industry Canada (now known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada). In the United States most people apply for a club call sign from the FCC. Once you obtain the call sign for your hotspot you will first need to register the call as a gateway on ircDDB.net. Once approved (usually within 24 hours) you can then register this call on the US Trust system as you would any call sign for D-STAR access. If you do not register on ircDDB first before registering on the US Trust, your gateway registration will be denied.

While waiting for your registration forward the following ports in your router to your Raspberry Pi.
20001-20014 dplus (UDP)
30000-30065 dxtra, DCS, XRF (TCP & UDP)
40000-40005 g2 (UDP)
9007 ircDDB (TCP)


After receiving your ircDDB registration register the new call sign on the US Trust server just like you did for your personal call sign. Now you can configure your hotspot with the new gateway call sign. Follow the setup instructions as provided with your D-STAR image. Don't forget to also fill out the ircDDB tab in the Config Gateway section with the password sent to you from ircDDB via email. Be sure to select the proper ircDDB server for your area as specified in that same email. Once you finish the configuration save the changes and reboot. Your new gateway will login to the server and you should see your system as being online on the ircDDB website. Finally configure your radio to use your new gateway and you should be good to go. Key your mic while watching the ircDDB Live page and you should see yourself show up on the list a few seconds later. If you only see a instead of your call sign on the live page you will want to send the command VIS ON (meaning visibility on) in the UR field of your radio. You should now see your call sign show up on the ircDDB Live page every time you key the mic of your radio.

I hope this brief guide helps you to enable and use ircDDB call sign routing using your raspberry pi D-STAR hotspot. If you would like to give routing a try feel free to contact me once you are configured on ircDDB. I can usually be found on REF030C or you can send me an email to setup a schedule and we can make sure it is working properly. My email is good on QRZ.

73 - Jeff VE6DV