Hey Craig, Thanks for posting the video. I'm new to packet/HAM but diving in head first :-) I currently have a home BPQ node running on a Pi4 and building a Direwolf/DigiPi with a Pi 3b for the car. The car setup was interesting since I needed a way to drop 12v to 5v and a way to shutdown the Pi gracefully. Came across a nifty board from Mausberry Circuits that works well. Now working on an ultra small stick to a back of an HT DigiPi with a Pi Zero W. Direction I'm taking is Pi Zero W with a UPS-Lite 1000mAh battery. Already bought a CM108 USB soundcard bare (no case) that i was thinking of soldering conductors directly to the bottom of the Pi 0 test pads. Ended up with this since I just couldn't find a sound card HAT that only had basic line in/out. Most on the market has tons of other crap I don't need. But after watching your video I sent a request for a FE-Pi to Budd. You mentioned in the video about sticky transmit with USB sound cards. Have you experienced this yourself? Also, my design has a Easy Digi planned. Did you find transformer audio isolation necessary for the Pi? Thanks again! Sorry for the winded message.
Wow great reply :). Short-attention span response: Boot the filesystem "read only", put "ro" in fstab. make things like home or /var/log tempfs filesystems (ramdiscs). Then you don't have to shut down. Just plug the Pi into a USB outlet that works on 12V. Use the powerbank battery when you're campin' or fishin, and don't leave the vehicle in accessory mode. The pi zero burns about 120mA... that's months on a car battery. Let me know if you get the FE-Pi from Budd -- he has limited stock and would like to save them for other projects he sells (be sure to check his packet project/product too!! great stuff!). Regarding sticky usb, i observed it first hand. maybe it's fixed now? there are a few threads on it. I don't use isolation in the truck, a couple of ferrites on the power cables on the radio side cleaned up engine noise. The pi destroys vhf while it's booting, after that, it's quiet.
@@KM6LYW So the nifty board from Mausberry Circuits took a dump on me after installing it in the car, no voltage out. I was afraid of this since after sales support seams non existent with those guys (not recommended). Now looking for a alternative or a UPS solution but coming up empty on finding something with necessary power management logic for triggered shutdown and startup. Your "Boot the filesystem "read only", put "ro" in fstab" recommendation is VERY interesting at this point. You having any issues with Direwolf / general digi operation with file system in RO state? Easy to mount RW when changes are necessary? Trying not to pepper your channel with questions. You have a recommended write up that covers changing Pi file system in RO and back or is it ask easy as RO in fstab?
@@KM6LYW Budd did reply to my email. Basically China is on holiday and he's waiting for their "butts to get back to work" :-) I made it on his waiting list and asked to check back in a week. Trying to get 2 FE-Pi boards from him since I got a fellow friend/packet obsessed ham who's in the same boat. I'll keep you posted on the adventure either way.
@@gabriel3714 just google "read-only raspberry pi". you can remount rw with "mount / -oremount -orw". direwolf has no problem so long as it can write to a ramdisc for the log. mount /var/log as tmpfs filesystem.
@@KM6LYW Howdy! Finally got my Fe-Pi from Budd. Working nicely as expected. I'm trying to make my build as small as possible and not wanting to waste the space with an Easydigi if possible. What FET did you use? There appears to be a few types. Thanks again for the videos!
Does anyone have a small/light weight alternative to the gigantic clip-on ferrite core I attach at the end of the video? I'm going to take this backpacking so the wife can text my daughter with her phone over Bluetooth. I need to shed the weight. Is there a small inductor I can use to limit VHF coming in, on what I presume is the ground line from the radio?
I am experimenting with the DRAWS HAT with this DigiPI SW. I know the GPIO's are definitely different. However I think through some foolin around, I might be able to get this hat to work work this. I cant see why it wouldn't. the DRAWS is just a stereo codec chip like is used in the NEXUS
Well today 18 October,2023, I received my Audio hat --, not the FE-pi called for in the your plans, I was not able to source this Fe-pi device... ended up with a Keystudio ReSpeak 2-Mic Pi HAT v1.0.. Any possible help to 1. Wire placement , 2. How would I be able to add the 1.3” monitor, which has yet to arrive.. I realize I could utilize a break out circuit board and jumpers to this breakout board.. however, in doing this will add to the Ugly Build look.. which I much prefer my project to look as similar to your posted pics and videos .., KF2MS
For the DigiPi image and support, a small Patreon donation is currently required. craiger.org/digipi . If a couple dollars is cost prohibitive, let me know. During the early stages of the project, I would prefer the user community to be passionate about this technology, so much so, to "endure" the Patreon signup process, which I know is a hassle.
how do you have this wired up to the ftm400? I am wanting to wire mine to an ftm 350. But it only has a data port. Are you using a data port on the ftm 400?
Yah, Yaesu makes a break-out cable that fits the Din-10 jack, exposing ground audio in, out, and PTT. Does the 350 have the same din-10 jack on the back?
@@jameslee522 Cool, do they make a breakout cable for that plug? you want to use GND, PTT, RX96, and Packet-data-input. RX96 is non-EQ'd audio from the radio, packet data input is the mic-audio-input.
@@KM6LYW Awesome, I'll give it a try. Not sure if they make a breakout cable for it. But I bough a standard 8 pin mini din and will cut it in half. I knew you had a digi pi connect to your 400. But I didnt know if you used the mic jack or the data port. Thanks for your help!
@@jameslee522 copy that - let us know how it goes! I use the "data port" on the back of the FTM400 and FTM100 ... the breakout cable from yaesu is expensive... like over 40 bucks.
Well, I've studied a lot of this and seemed to have determined that the Pi is used as a TNC. So, my question, if you have a radio with a TNC in it, like the Yaesu FT5DR , is there a cool way to use that radio with an external keyboard (even if it were a cell phone?) ? > The radio does have bluetooth. Seems like the bluetooth is underused ? Audio in only ?
yes, I drive a yaesu FT1DR, which has much of the same stuff. The USB port and bluetooth are useless unfortunately. You'll need to break out mic/headphone/ptt/ground wires and hook them between the radio and DigiPi. The Yaesu HT's also require a special capacitor/resistor in the wiring harness (see your manual). it works.
If the 857D has USB audio and CAT control, yes! you don't need to build an audio card. We need a list of USB-powered radios. ft991, ic7300, ic705..... ?
Hi Craig, If Possible Would you please be willing to do a new Video on Perhaps wiring up a Audio Cable for the Good Old Faithful Baofeng Radios? Sure be happy out there to see this video if you was to? 73
that's a great idea -- radio harness video. tho, to cut to the chase, just get a baofeng (or kenwood) speakermic and cut off the speakermic... there's all the conductors you need.
@@KM6LYW Hi Again Craig. Yes if it wasn’t to hard would you consider making a Video on How to Make a Baofeng or any HT that uses them Same K Plug Types than other HT can use. Wiring it up to use the PTT Switching Circuit, Be an Excellent Educational Video. Looking forward to seeing it Craig 73 Craig
rpi2 should work. cat control will work with USB serial adapter, either using RTS signal or cat-control if radio is supported by hamlib. In any event, checkout the direwolf "PTT" line for direwolf.conf in the direwolf manual for more info.
Hi Craig. Was wondering if you could answer this?? I have a APRS - K1 Audio Cable. If I was to buy the Digirig Baofeng Cable off there website, which has the Grounded would this work rather than making the PTT Switch Circuit? This way use the Fei-Pi onboard Audio Plugs instead make it a tidy Project What’s your thought?
digipi will work with the digirig (with a tweak), but ultimately you need it, or a FET to do the switching. digirig uses the serial port RTS signal for PTT and the digipi/fet solution uses a GPIO pin.
The display looks fantastic, I have the drivers for mine added successfully (tested) but struggling to get Direwatch working. Any chance of more detailed instructions to get it going.
Disable the kernel drivers if you haven't already. Direwatch and the Linux kernel spi display drivers are mutually exclusive, you can't use both. Flip through these instructions, skipping the kernel-driver installation, and you should be set. It's essentially what I did. learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-mini-pitft-135x240-color-tft-add-on-for-raspberry-pi/overview
My replies keep getting deleted, are we not allowed to post links? Anyways, I think I found a new source for the same board (wb7fhc dot com) "The good news is that we now have all the files and are having the Fe-Pi sound cards made for us. You can order your Nexus DR-X with or without the sound card." On the Nexus DR-X order page, you can purchase Fe-Pi sound cards individually for $24
Hey Craig, it's not clear which pins you've soldered on the stacking header and sound card, is it 5, 12, 16, 26, gnd and a 5v? Actually don't worry, I soldered them all and it works fine.
How can you possibly think this is a simple and easy "fix" project. Honestly, I started and gave up. I guess I just don't have the DIY time to do this.
@@craig9309 Which I don't have. I wanted to try and get this to work on HTs. I spend 99% of my time in UHV/VHF with EMCOMM and as a Technician, I don't do HF except the few times I've tried 10 meters. Thanks anyway.
Hey Craig, Thanks for posting the video. I'm new to packet/HAM but diving in head first :-) I currently have a home BPQ node running on a Pi4 and building a Direwolf/DigiPi with a Pi 3b for the car. The car setup was interesting since I needed a way to drop 12v to 5v and a way to shutdown the Pi gracefully. Came across a nifty board from Mausberry Circuits that works well. Now working on an ultra small stick to a back of an HT DigiPi with a Pi Zero W. Direction I'm taking is Pi Zero W with a UPS-Lite 1000mAh battery. Already bought a CM108 USB soundcard bare (no case) that i was thinking of soldering conductors directly to the bottom of the Pi 0 test pads. Ended up with this since I just couldn't find a sound card HAT that only had basic line in/out. Most on the market has tons of other crap I don't need. But after watching your video I sent a request for a FE-Pi to Budd. You mentioned in the video about sticky transmit with USB sound cards. Have you experienced this yourself? Also, my design has a Easy Digi planned. Did you find transformer audio isolation necessary for the Pi? Thanks again! Sorry for the winded message.
Wow great reply :). Short-attention span response: Boot the filesystem "read only", put "ro" in fstab. make things like home or /var/log tempfs filesystems (ramdiscs). Then you don't have to shut down. Just plug the Pi into a USB outlet that works on 12V. Use the powerbank battery when you're campin' or fishin, and don't leave the vehicle in accessory mode. The pi zero burns about 120mA... that's months on a car battery. Let me know if you get the FE-Pi from Budd -- he has limited stock and would like to save them for other projects he sells (be sure to check his packet project/product too!! great stuff!). Regarding sticky usb, i observed it first hand. maybe it's fixed now? there are a few threads on it. I don't use isolation in the truck, a couple of ferrites on the power cables on the radio side cleaned up engine noise. The pi destroys vhf while it's booting, after that, it's quiet.
@@KM6LYW So the nifty board from Mausberry Circuits took a dump on me after installing it in the car, no voltage out. I was afraid of this since after sales support seams non existent with those guys (not recommended). Now looking for a alternative or a UPS solution but coming up empty on finding something with necessary power management logic for triggered shutdown and startup. Your "Boot the filesystem "read only", put "ro" in fstab" recommendation is VERY interesting at this point. You having any issues with Direwolf / general digi operation with file system in RO state? Easy to mount RW when changes are necessary? Trying not to pepper your channel with questions. You have a recommended write up that covers changing Pi file system in RO and back or is it ask easy as RO in fstab?
@@KM6LYW Budd did reply to my email. Basically China is on holiday and he's waiting for their "butts to get back to work" :-) I made it on his waiting list and asked to check back in a week. Trying to get 2 FE-Pi boards from him since I got a fellow friend/packet obsessed ham who's in the same boat. I'll keep you posted on the adventure either way.
@@gabriel3714 just google "read-only raspberry pi". you can remount rw with "mount / -oremount -orw". direwolf has no problem so long as it can write to a ramdisc for the log. mount /var/log as tmpfs filesystem.
@@KM6LYW Howdy! Finally got my Fe-Pi from Budd. Working nicely as expected. I'm trying to make my build as small as possible and not wanting to waste the space with an Easydigi if possible. What FET did you use? There appears to be a few types. Thanks again for the videos!
I Run the Mobilinkd tnc2, but this is what I need for additional digipeater in my area, can't wait to build.ty
Is there a video like this on how to put together the audio injector zero?
Does anyone have a small/light weight alternative to the gigantic clip-on ferrite core I attach at the end of the video? I'm going to take this backpacking so the wife can text my daughter with her phone over Bluetooth. I need to shed the weight. Is there a small inductor I can use to limit VHF coming in, on what I presume is the ground line from the radio?
any newer soundcard hat will work?..i search Raspberry Pi Zero Wifi and surprised with expensive price....it no longer for poor ham people like me
line level cards are best. fepi and audioinjectorZ. usb audio dongles possibly. rpilocator.com
I am experimenting with the DRAWS HAT with this DigiPI SW. I know the GPIO's are definitely different. However I think through some foolin around, I might be able to get this hat to work work this. I cant see why it wouldn't. the DRAWS is just a stereo codec chip like is used in the NEXUS
Well today 18 October,2023, I received my Audio hat --, not the FE-pi called for in the your plans, I was not able to source this Fe-pi device... ended up with a Keystudio ReSpeak 2-Mic Pi HAT v1.0..
Any possible help to 1. Wire placement , 2. How would I be able to add the 1.3” monitor, which has yet to arrive.. I realize I could utilize a break out circuit board and jumpers to this breakout board.. however, in doing this will add to the Ugly Build look.. which I much prefer my project to look as similar to your posted pics and videos ..,
KF2MS
Is there a way to get the image file without registering. I have a feeling that this digipi image cost money when i sign up.
For the DigiPi image and support, a small Patreon donation is currently required. craiger.org/digipi . If a couple dollars is cost prohibitive, let me know. During the early stages of the project, I would prefer the user community to be passionate about this technology, so much so, to "endure" the Patreon signup process, which I know is a hassle.
how do you have this wired up to the ftm400? I am wanting to wire mine to an ftm 350. But it only has a data port. Are you using a data port on the ftm 400?
Yah, Yaesu makes a break-out cable that fits the Din-10 jack, exposing ground audio in, out, and PTT. Does the 350 have the same din-10 jack on the back?
@@KM6LYW it has a mini din 8 pin. 1.packet data input 2.GND 3.PTT 4.RX96 5.RX12 6.SQL 7.serial data output 8.serial data input
@@jameslee522 Cool, do they make a breakout cable for that plug? you want to use GND, PTT, RX96, and Packet-data-input. RX96 is non-EQ'd audio from the radio, packet data input is the mic-audio-input.
@@KM6LYW Awesome, I'll give it a try. Not sure if they make a breakout cable for it. But I bough a standard 8 pin mini din and will cut it in half. I knew you had a digi pi connect to your 400. But I didnt know if you used the mic jack or the data port. Thanks for your help!
@@jameslee522 copy that - let us know how it goes! I use the "data port" on the back of the FTM400 and FTM100 ... the breakout cable from yaesu is expensive... like over 40 bucks.
Well, I've studied a lot of this and seemed to have determined that the Pi is used as a TNC. So, my question, if you have a radio with a TNC in it, like the Yaesu FT5DR , is there a cool way to use that radio with an external keyboard (even if it were a cell phone?) ? > The radio does have bluetooth. Seems like the bluetooth is underused ? Audio in only ?
yes, I drive a yaesu FT1DR, which has much of the same stuff. The USB port and bluetooth are useless unfortunately. You'll need to break out mic/headphone/ptt/ground wires and hook them between the radio and DigiPi. The Yaesu HT's also require a special capacitor/resistor in the wiring harness (see your manual). it works.
Will this run on Pi zero W or do I need a Pi zero 2W?
PiZero2W. you can use the original PiZero, but you can't really use FT8/js8call/sstv/fldigi, ax25/packet/aprs modes work fine.
@@KM6LYW Thank you! If building with a display, what case do you recommend?
Can I just plug my rig expert 2000 (On the FT-857D) into the Pi Zero using the USB connection and forgo this circuit?
If the 857D has USB audio and CAT control, yes! you don't need to build an audio card. We need a list of USB-powered radios. ft991, ic7300, ic705..... ?
Hi Craig, If Possible Would you please be willing to do a new Video on Perhaps wiring up a Audio Cable for the Good Old Faithful Baofeng Radios? Sure be happy out there to see this video if you was to? 73
that's a great idea -- radio harness video. tho, to cut to the chase, just get a baofeng (or kenwood) speakermic and cut off the speakermic... there's all the conductors you need.
@@KM6LYW Hi Again Craig. Yes if it wasn’t to hard would you consider making a Video on How to Make a Baofeng or any HT that uses them Same K Plug Types than other HT can use. Wiring it up to use the PTT Switching Circuit, Be an Excellent Educational Video. Looking forward to seeing it Craig
73 Craig
I love the .357 156g bullet in the scene LOL.
.40S&W :).. they make great weights when holding down soldering projects :)
Lol, it’s so funny how many ham people also love guns, reloading and guitars. Now tell me you like IPA’s too hahaha
Great project, congrats! But I have a question, can i use It on old RPI2 controlling a latest Chinese uSDR over Cat? PU4BZT
rpi2 should work. cat control will work with USB serial adapter, either using RTS signal or cat-control if radio is supported by hamlib. In any event, checkout the direwolf "PTT" line for direwolf.conf in the direwolf manual for more info.
@@KM6LYW I'll try It! Thanks a lot !
Huge thanks to Stephen Smith, W9GPI for translating my sketch(y) wiring diagram into a real document! craiger.org/patreon/digiwire.png
You can buy the rpizero w with headers already installed for $14
Hi Craig. Was wondering if you could answer this?? I have a APRS - K1 Audio Cable. If I was to buy the Digirig Baofeng Cable off there website, which has the Grounded would this work rather than making the PTT Switch Circuit? This way use the Fei-Pi onboard Audio Plugs instead make it a tidy Project What’s your thought?
digipi will work with the digirig (with a tweak), but ultimately you need it, or a FET to do the switching. digirig uses the serial port RTS signal for PTT and the digipi/fet solution uses a GPIO pin.
Are there any other types of Fe-Pi available so I can get one working as well.
Fe-Pi Audio Z v2 [x] 1 Fe-Pi Sound Card without kit WB7FHC ($24)
www.wb7fhc.com/order-nexus-now.html
Audio Injector Z Amazon ($20)
www.amazon.com/Audio-Injector-Zero-sound-Raspberry/dp/B075V1VNDD/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=audio+injector+pi+zero&qid=1629236893&sr=8-1
The display looks fantastic, I have the drivers for mine added successfully (tested) but struggling to get Direwatch working. Any chance of more detailed instructions to get it going.
Disable the kernel drivers if you haven't already. Direwatch and the Linux kernel spi display drivers are mutually exclusive, you can't use both. Flip through these instructions, skipping the kernel-driver installation, and you should be set. It's essentially what I did. learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-mini-pitft-135x240-color-tft-add-on-for-raspberry-pi/overview
DigiPi SD Card Developer Image - early access to the KM6LYW Radio Patreon team! patreon.com/km6lyw (docs: craiger.org/patreon/)
Great project! Thanks! May you mention the replacement audio cards that can be use instead the FE-PI Audio Z?
Did you happen to find an equivalent substitute?
@@mx201er Nothing yet!
My replies keep getting deleted, are we not allowed to post links?
Anyways, I think I found a new source for the same board (wb7fhc dot com)
"The good news is that we now have all the files and are having the Fe-Pi sound cards made for us. You can order your Nexus DR-X with or without the sound card."
On the Nexus DR-X order page, you can purchase Fe-Pi sound cards individually for $24
Hey Craig, it's not clear which pins you've soldered on the stacking header and sound card, is it 5, 12, 16, 26, gnd and a 5v? Actually don't worry, I soldered them all and it works fine.
You can solder them all as you discovered, but the essential pins for the FE-Pi Audio Z2 are 3, 5, 35, 38, 40, 12. pinout.xyz/pinout/fe_pi_audio_z_v2
If I build the entire Nexus X hardware will your builds work with it? Thanks!
Possibly, digipi image will drive the first audio card, use a few gpio pins and usbserial for cat control.
How can you possibly think this is a simple and easy "fix" project. Honestly, I started and gave up. I guess I just don't have the DIY time to do this.
Brian, it's infinitely easier if you have a "USB" connected radio. All you need is a Pi and a USB cable. No soldering.
@@craig9309 Which I don't have. I wanted to try and get this to work on HTs. I spend 99% of my time in UHV/VHF with EMCOMM and as a Technician, I don't do HF except the few times I've tried 10 meters. Thanks anyway.
I am not very good at building things like this. I was wondering if anyone wanted to make some cash and build one for hire.