Hi everyone, just a quick introduction.
Tony, VK3JED here, located in central Victoria, Australia.
I've been following the M17 Project since late 2020, when I discovered it by accident via one of the DVSwitch mailing lists. I've been involved in the community since in a few ways - testing software and hardware, promoting M17 at hamfests and club meetings, and supporting other users on the M17 Discord, Facebook and other social media.
Equipment wise, I have the following:
Gateways
BI7JTA duplex hotspot with hand built MMDVM stack (no Pi-Star or WPSD) running on a Pi 3B. The reason for the unusual configuration is because the hotspot is an analogue and digital hotspot, with an AllStar node driving a SHARI for the analogue side. I had to use the ASL 2.0 beta image, then install the MMDVM software on top from source.
BI7JTA V3F4 MMDVM with external radios on a Pi 3B, configured as a repeater. This runs a heavily hacked version of Pi-Star, as it dates back to the first M17 capable version of MMDVMHost and M17Gateway. While I've upgraded software components, I haven't replaced the system with anything like WPSD (yet). Currently, the repeater is running into a dummy load. I have to install its antenna and update the licence paperwork.
M17 radios
BI7JTA V3F4 MMDVM running M17Client. This was my first operational M17 radio setup. The radio used with this MMDVM is a FT-818 in 9600 PKT mode.
Module17 (Rev 0.1e). Also configured to work with the FT-818. Uses the same interface cable as the MMDVM.
TNC3 with experimental firmware.
SDR++ (Rx only). Very useful for testing M17 transmitters, because SDR++ has a very good M17 decoder with reference lines that allow you to check deviation. I usually use a PlutoSDR as the RF front end.
I also have a RT3S, but need to get it modified. I don't trust my fine motor coordination.
Anyway, I should be able to help others get on the air.
