AIOC and AllStarLink with simple_usb Module about aioc HOT 83 OPEN

@G1LRO Thank you for your firmware update script. I flashed my AIOC to v1.3 using it.

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Hi @Murf , here is a video of a Boafeng sending DTMF to a Quansheng K5 connected via my Universal Radio Controller box (that includes the AIOC CPU).
The monitor is showing the ASL Asterisk CLI client receiving the DTMF and the action completing.
The K5 is running stock firmware.
The ASL is a fresh install, the only changes are the PTT and COS settings.
Not sure if this is very helpful to you exactly, other than to show you that it should work and to soldier-on.
73 Mark

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Oh wow I just found the solution already, I was on the right track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMoZEgm2ULo&ab_channel=chcmedia FYI

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Nice! So this is a first confirmed use for All-star link for me 🙂 Did you end up using the Virtual COS function of the AIOC?

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Well I tried to do what they did in that video and did not get the same results.
I assume Virtual-COS is a serial code to watch for instead of a hardware line?
The problem with the AllStarLink usbradio module is it only looks at the soundcard, not the serial port, I have left a comment asking him how he does it.
Ideally I would want to be using serial and sound, like any normal ham radio application would :)
For that I will need to add code to the module to do that as well.
Murf.

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Virtual COS essentially listens to the audio from the radio and tries to determine if there is a carrier (squelch disengaged). Currently this is done using very simple thresholding.
It asserts the volume down (iirc) key of the cm108 emulation, no serial codes required.

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Ah yes I saw that option in the ASL module code, cool I will see if I can get it to work!

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Oh.. I think I should be using v 1.3 RC1 not 1.2, correct Simon?

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Ooops, you are correct! My bad. It looks like the COS feature was introduced in the v1.3 version.

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Murf, is it possible to share your modified version of Allstarlink? I would love to test it with my AOIC.

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Simon rather than rebuild v1.3 rc1 with the CM108 Vendor and product ID , here is the changes to the ASL asterisk module :
Murf/ASL-Asterisk@91b621e

Only chan_usbradio.c needs changes

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Ok I see no difference with V1.3 :(

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UPDATE: and facepalm... I was using a Quansheng UV-K6, and have now swapped to a 'feng UV-5R and am progressing.

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And now OPERATIONAL :)
TL;DR
Use a Baofeng UV-5R, make sure you either 1) Set the Vendor/Product ID of the AIOC to 0d8c:000c OR Modify AllStarLink asterisk module chan_usbradio.c to use the normal AIOC IDs of 1209:7388.

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UPDATE: and facepalm... I was using a Quansheng UV-K6, and have now swapped to a 'feng UV-5R and am progressing.

What exactly didn't work? I think those should be very similar 🤔

And now OPERATIONAL :)

Nice! With virtual COS? Or are you using another way of detecting incoming voice?

Modify AllStarLink asterisk module chan_usbradio.c to use the normal AIOC IDs of 1209:7388.

Just curious, how did you do it? Using the python script? Note that the next time you use the script, you need to adjust the VID/PID to the new one, or it doesn't find the AIOC.

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For the Quansheng, when I run the radio-tune-menu option "F" which is supposed to turn on PTT, emit a tone, then turn off PTT, which it does for the Baofeng UV-5R, but for the Quansheng UV-K6 the PTT stays on and never goes off, and no tone is emitted.

For the Vendor/Product ID detection I didnt use the script as I could not get it to run. Modifying the ASL chan_usbradio module itself to look for AIOC IDs rather than CM108 IDs is what I did.
So no serial port involved at all, just pure CM108 emulation.

For COS I didnt really do anything to the AllStarLink config other than what the Youtube I linked suggested, which is basically just set carrierfrom=VOX in usbradio.conf

May I ask, what exactly did you base the CM108 emulation on? Was it the PDF that ASL use for modifying the CM108 hardware?

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Has anyone been able to successfully use the script? I have tried on both a linux and windows machine and each time it fails.

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Has anyone been able to successfully use the script? I have tried on both a linux and windows machine and each time it fails.

Which script?

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The script for v1.3 RC1 that allows the vid and pid to be changed

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The script for v1.3 RC1 that allows the vid and pid to be changed

No I could not get it to run either, errors in the file.
I just recompiled chan_usbradio.c with correct IDs

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What all is involved in recompiling the file? Once the file is compiled is it as easy as placing the file on your existing Allstarlink install or do you need to do a complete reinstall of Allstarlink?

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What all is involved in recompiling the file? Once the file is compiled is it as easy as placing the file on your existing Allstarlink install or do you need to do a complete reinstall of Allstarlink?

You will need to install build tools on the computer that you have ASL installed on, what OS is it? and distribution?
Then you will need to download the version of ASL you are using (for example I am using ASL V2 beta)
Once you can confirm you can build it (not install it) then edit the chan_usbradio.c file to make the changes, as shown above in previous posts.
then just copy the module "chan_usbradio.so" to /usr/lib/asterisk/modules/, and restart asterisk or reboot

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@Murf I am using the ASL Beta 2 ISO. I believe it's based on Debian 10.

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@Murf I am using the ASL Beta 2 ISO. I believe it's based on Debian 10.

Perfect, thats what I am using.

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Hi, @Murf Brett,

Is the modified 'chan_usbradio.c' (chan_usbradio.so) file available?. I have been struggling and only running Raspberry Pi on Linux and would like to try it. I have no major knowledge but can get the file to the correct directory. I would love to get my AIOC working on AllStar. Thanks in advance, or more information (laymans terms) on how to do it.
Ellis

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@Murf No problem. I will investigate further.

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@Murf
In the interest of my sanity....after losing far too many hours with permission errors and getting nowhere would it be possible to have a copy of your 'chan_usbradio.so' file as I believe it is only the equivalent of a library file.? I will try anything before assigning my AIOC cable to chirp and APRS and moving on from AllStarLink home repeater.
Yours Hopingly Ellis de M5AEI

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@Murf In the interest of my sanity....after losing far too many hours with permission errors and getting nowhere would it be possible to have a copy of your 'chan_usbradio.so' file as I believe it is only the equivalent of a library file.? I will try anything before assigning my AIOC cable to chirp and APRS and moving on from AllStarLink home repeater. Yours Hopingly Ellis de M5AEI

Assuming you are using a Pi, here you go
chan_usbradio.zip
Also here:
https://archive.org/download/chan_usbradio/chan_usbradio.zip

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@Murf Thank you, yes Pi. I will let you know how it goes.

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@Murf
Thanks again. All good first contact through to Hubnet today. AIOC V1.3. Pi4 8gb running ASL 2.0Beta. I am using Baofeng UV-82.
I have a bit of tweaking but works a treat. :-)

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Hi @Murf do you know if the SimpleUSB option been accomplished using the change in USB IDs and @skuep's virtual-COS? So just using a reconfiguration of the AIOC? It would be good to achieve this as SimpleUSB is much easier for novice users to do on AllStarLink.
It's not clear from the above thread, but it looks like USBRadio is the only config that's been made to work.
Cheers Mark

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Hi @Murf do you know if the SimpleUSB option been accomplished using the change in USB IDs and @skuep's virtual-COS? So just using a reconfiguration of the AIOC? It would be good to achieve this as SimpleUSB is much easier for novice users to do on AllStarLink. It's not clear from the above thread, but it looks like USBRadio is the only config that's been made to work. Cheers Mark

I think it is best to wait for the ability to change the ID's on the AIOC firmware itself, then no code changes will be needed for asterisk.
@skuep do you have an ETA on a working python script to set AIOC USB Vendor/Device IDs please?

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Hi @Murf I think the USB ID manipulation was delivered and closed on #46

So hopefully we are nearly there. I'm not skilled in the manipulation of the AIOC registers so it would be nice to have a canned script to perform the AIOC register mods to make it SimpleUSB compatible. (setting USB ID and Virtual COS)

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There was a script provided for RC1.3 but I have not had success using it. That said I have no python knowledge and I am relatively green with Linux.

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Hi @skuep , please do you have a moment to draft a script to configure the AIOC for AllStarLink as described above?

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You are correct. It's a pretty advanced feature with some caveats, that's why there is no canned script available yet.

import sys
import hid
from struct import Struct
from enum import IntEnum, IntFlag

class Register(IntEnum):
    MAGIC = 0x00
    USBID = 0x08
    AIOC_IOMUX0 = 0x24
    AIOC_IOMUX1 = 0x25
    CM108_IOMUX0 = 0x44
    CM108_IOMUX1 = 0x45
    CM108_IOMUX2 = 0x46
    CM108_IOMUX3 = 0x47
    SERIAL_CTRL = 0x60
    SERIAL_IOMUX0 = 0x64
    SERIAL_IOMUX1 = 0x65
    SERIAL_IOMUX2 = 0x66
    SERIAL_IOMUX3 = 0x67
    VPTT_LVLCTRL = 0x82
    VPTT_TIMCTRL = 0x84
    VCOS_LVLCTRL = 0x92
    VCOS_TIMCTRL = 0x94

    
class Command(IntFlag):
    DEFAULTS = 0x10
    RECALL = 0x40
    STORE = 0x80


def read(device, address):
    data = device.get_feature_report(int(address), 5)
    address, value = Struct('<BL').unpack(data)
    return value

def write(device, address, value):
    data = Struct('<BL').pack(address, value)
    device.send_feature_report(data)

# AIOC is searched for on the system using these values
aioc = hid.Device(vid=0x1209, pid=0x7388)

magic = Struct("<L").pack(read(aioc, Register.MAGIC))

if (magic != b'AIOC'):
    sys.exit(-1)

print(f'Manufacturer: {aioc.manufacturer}')
print(f'Product: {aioc.product}')
print(f'Serial No: {aioc.serial}')
print(f'Magic: {magic}')

if True:
    # Load the hardware defaults
    print(f'Loading Defaults...')
    write(aioc, 0, Command.DEFAULTS)

if True:
    # Set USB VID and PID (use with caution. Will need changes above to be able to re-configure the AIOC)
    vid = 0x1209 # Set VID here
    pid = 0x7388 # Set PID here
    write(aioc, Register.USBID, (vid << 0) | (pid << 16))
    print(f'Now USBID: {read(aioc, Register.USBID):08x}')

if True:
    # Store settings into flash
    print(f'Storing...')
    write(aioc, 0, Command.STORE)

This should do the trick. You can set the VID/PID to whatever values you like in the commented lines. After the script has stored the settings on the AIOC, you need to disconnect and reconnect it to your computer. Note that this requires the v1.3.0 pre-release firmware flashed to the AIOC beforehand.

One important thing: If, for some reason you want to run the script again (e.g. reverting back the AIOC to defaults), you need to change the VID/PID to the new values in the commented line at the top. Otherwise the script will not find the AIOC (because it expects it to be at 0x1209/0x7388). In addition, you should remove all other CM108 devices, that could have the same VID/PID in order for the script not to confuse it with an AIOC.

Second thing: In another issue, we found some problems in conjunction with running the script on Windows. This has to do with Windows being a bit more accurate with what commands it can send to the AIOC (or any HID device). I hope I can find a nice solution for this in the future. For now, you need to use Linux or a Raspberry Pi.

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Thanks for this @skuep it's really helpful. Can we confirm that the script also enables the Virtual-COS function at the same time?

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Sorry, I forgot to include it, I will update it later

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I was wrong, I think virtual COS should be enabled by default on the CM108 volume up or down button.

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Thanks @skuep it does appear the virtual COS is on by default following my initial testing. So far so good.

To help others trying to configure, I have set these in the SimpleUSB tune menu.:

COSFROM Mode (currently "usbinvert")
PTT Mode (currently active LOW)

I found the radio went into PTT on boot up of the AllStarLink so had to change the PTT mode. The COS mode in SimpleUSB is also inverted by default.

I think there are other settings to change to optimize performance, this is just a get-you-going.

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I have finally managed to get the python script to run (hint for when using the ASL2 pi image, command is python3 scriptfilename.py, and I needed pip3 install hid==1.0.4)

Unfortunately it does not work:

root@asl2-46471:/home/repeater# python3 aioc_params.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "aioc_params.py", line 42, in
aioc = hid.Device(vid=0x1209, pid=0x7388)
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/hid/init.py", line 130, in init
raise HIDException('unable to open device')
hid.HIDException: unable to open device

root@asl2-46471:/home/repeater# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 1209:7388 Generic

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UPDATE: I got the python script to work, I had to:
yum install hidapi
as well as do it on another linux box

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That's odd.. it should work on the raspberry pi. Did they do some fundamental changes to the ASL image? Is "root" really the root user (uid 0) or is it a regular user just named root? You could try using sudo with the python3 command, just to be sure...

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So you changed the USB IDs on your other Linux system and now it works on the ASL image? Hmmm.. still smells a bit like permission problems.

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I am have resolved the COS issue, it was hardware problem elsewhere.

I am able to use SimpleUSB rather than Usbradio. To do this I have amended the USB ID info to the CM108 settings, it then works on simple usb. set carrierfrom = usbinvert and ctcssfrom = no . Also set invertptt = 0

This uses the Virtual-COS Simon has written into the AIOC to avoid using USBradio and Vox, I tried USBradio before with David's modified library for the AIOC but couldn't make it work,
Hope this helps

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I'm struggling with the python script on a fresh raspbian 11 (Bullseye) install. getting the same 'unable to open device' error:

`Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/admin/aioc.py", line 42, in <module>
    aioc = hid.Device(vid=0x1209, pid=0x7388)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/dist-packages/hid/__init__.py", line 130, in __init__
    raise HIDException('unable to open device')
hid.HIDException: unable to open device
`

Now i think this has something to do with permissions as I tried the commands in this article https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=278341

It made the python script work perfectly for several times. Until, when I put the commands into a script and ran it again, it's all broken and I can d work out how to get it going again.

I have deleted the /etc/udev/rules.d/92-viia.rules created by these commands and tried running from scratch, no joy.

Any Ideals folks?

I'm looking to publish a robust how-to article with automated downloadable scripts written, so I need to get to the bottom of why this is being difficult.

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I have used the simplusb settings following, and everything works except DTMF is not detected.
carrierfrom = usbinvert
ctcssfrom = no
invertptt = 0

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I had this issue and had to change the ID from another linux host (Intel nuc). Pi would not work.
…

Interestingly I have one Pi set up (v11 Bullseye) where this works consistently no problem, but all the new images I am trying won't work so there is a solution somewhere. @skuep any ideas?

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I have used the simplusb settings following, and everything works except DTMF is not detected. carrierfrom = usbinvert ctcssfrom = no invertptt = 0

DTMF was working for me, but the virtual-cos was dropping between numbers so you have t send quickly. I tested with the Asterix CLI as in this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCZsMFrVJlM&t=1485s

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I had this issue and had to change the ID from another linux host (Intel nuc). Pi would not work.
…

Interestingly I have one Pi set up (v11 Bullseye) where this works consistently no problem, but all the new images I am trying won't work so there is a solution somewhere. @skuep any ideas?

Can you try running the script with sudo?

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I have used the simplusb settings following, and everything works except DTMF is not detected. carrierfrom = usbinvert ctcssfrom = no invertptt = 0

DTMF was working for me, but the virtual-cos was dropping between numbers so you have t send quickly. I tested with the Asterix CLI as in this vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCZsMFrVJlM&t=1485s

Nice! I think the thresholding detector on the AIOC needs some tuning still. There are ways to manipulate the timeouts using the script as well, but I have not had time to define the registers for that yet.

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I have used the simplusb settings following, and everything works except DTMF is not detected. carrierfrom = usbinvert ctcssfrom = no invertptt = 0

Is invertptt = 0 special (different from default)? From what I can tell from e.g. https://allstarsetup.com/modify-a-cm108-sound-fob/ invertptt should have the same polarity on the AIOC.

What about carrierfrom=usbinvert? The AIOC sets the Volume UP or DOWN button (not sure) when the carrier is received. I think that is the other way around by default in ASL?

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I had this issue and had to change the ID from another linux host (Intel nuc). Pi would not work.
…

Interestingly I have one Pi set up (v11 Bullseye) where this works consistently no problem, but all the new images I am trying won't work so there is a solution somewhere. @skuep any ideas?

Can you try running the script with sudo?

everything is run Sudo.
this is relatively simple to reproduce by installing a fresh Raspbian bullseye and running the script.

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Nice! I think the thresholding detector on the AIOC needs some tuning still. There are ways to manipulate the timeouts using the script as well, but I have not had time to define the registers for that yet.

I think the COS overhang needs to be extended a bit as it does flap a bit between words. this causes a problem on ASL. So good news there's a register for it. I would go to say 600ms or so to start with.

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Hi @skuep please can you help with advice about an environment that will support the Python hid library functions? I've been struggling for days to get this to work on Rasbian Bullseye, since this is the OS that end users are likely to use (an an RPi 3 etc since they have it already for ASL). I'm running into one error after another.

I'm very happy to help where I can, as being able to run the script is essential for any user looking to take advantage of the v1.3 features.

Sorry to be a pain but it's difficult to find experts in this specialist area.

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ng for me, but the virtual-cos was dropping between numbers so you have t send quickly

None of my DTMF codes show up at all.

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Hi all,
Just an update...I am successfully running a AIOC Cable AllStar node using Vox and USBradio on a Pi 4. My radio is Baofeng UV-82 and has battery eliminator. DTMF works fine using Quansheng K5 with regular connects and tests to HubNet. I've been delayed with the update due to an annoying noise issue. It turned out to be the monitor into the Pi, it is now sorted out and I have clear audio. Thanks again murf for the your file.
I may look at PTT control once its sorted out, at the moment it works perfect so no rush.....
73 Ellis M5AEI

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@Hadgee did you have any trouble running the python script to set the new USB ID's and using the HID drivers? I can't seem to get it to work on my Pi 3b.

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@G1LRO I only tried it once and it didn't work, also on a Pi 3b. I didn't want to mess with my ASL image on the Pi 4 as I had lost it once. So essentially using @Murf 's modified chan_usbradio.so file so no USB ID modification needed. The only issue I have had was the vox triggering and staying on tx which turned out to be very noisy monitor/HDMI lead. So quiet now its headless.

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I definitely need to test the script on a Raspberry Pi. Sounds odd to me, that it doesn't work. But currently I don't have a lot of spare time for this project, so it might take a while.

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Hi @skuep do you mind if I set up another issue for the HID on Pi problem? That way me may be able to call upon some specialist expertise on that specialist area, I think this item #61 is pretty much completed. I'd also like to log another issue to extend the virtual-COS overhang period.

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Hi @skuep do you mind if I set up another issue for the HID on Pi problem? That way me may be able to call upon some specialist expertise on that specialist area, I think this item #61 is pretty much completed. I'd also like to log another issue to extend the virtual-COS overhang period.

Yeah, b feel free to open those issues 👍

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I've provided a documented/scripted software download for the process of using
AIOC and AllStarLink (Simple_USB) on the Raspberry Pi so I think this issue can be closed @Murf .

https://g1lro.uk/?p=676

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Thanks @G1LRO I was having a few problems getting ASL 2 beta to work properly, so i started from scratch with the HamVoip image and it literally worked out of the box.
Great work, @skuep lets close this.

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Oops i spoke too early, I am getting no CTSS at all, tried all 3 settings:
ctcssfrom=no
ctcssfrom=usb
ctcssfrom=usbinvert

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@Murf I don't think you'll get CTCSS to work through the speaker port of the radio, it's all filtered out by then. CTCSS can be used on the receive settings of the radio to secure the channel, then the AIOC will just use it's virtual-COS when the RX audio arrives.

so set the ctcssfrom to no and rely on the squelch/ctcss settings on the radio.

I'm also getting reliable DTMF operation on the ASL.

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I've provided a documented/scripted software download for the process of using AIOC and AllStarLink (Simple_USB) on the Raspberry Pi so I think this issue can be closed @Murf .

https://g1lro.uk/?p=676

Nice, I like it! Couple of suggestions:

• The HID interface for configuring the AIOC might change in the future, due to some issues that we have with windows hosts. The 1.3.0 firmware is a preview firmware and things might break. Just a heads up
• Did you modify the binary file to change the COS timeout? In that case I recommend to mark the firmware like so: aioc-firmware-1.3.0-rc.1-g1lro.bin and make it obvious to the user that you are using a "custom" firmware.

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Sorry i meant DTMF

I remembered thare are some issues with DTMF due to the default COS timeout being too low.. Not sure though, should be all in this issue here.

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I've provided a documented/scripted software download for the process of using AIOC and AllStarLink (Simple_USB) on the Raspberry Pi so I think this issue can be closed @Murf .
https://g1lro.uk/?p=676

Nice, I like it! Couple of suggestions:

• The HID interface for configuring the AIOC might change in the future, due to some issues that we have with windows hosts. The 1.3.0 firmware is a preview firmware and things might break. Just a heads up
• Did you modify the binary file to change the COS timeout? In that case I recommend to mark the firmware like so: aioc-firmware-1.3.0-rc.1-g1lro.bin and make it obvious to the user that you are using a "custom" firmware.

Hi Simon, I haven't modified your binary firmware, I've just supplied the Python scripts for the user to run with the extra parameter that will extend the COS. When the firmware goes to GA then I'll just change the link to the correct bin file, I think everything else will be OK.

If/when the HID mechanism is changed then I can update that process too. It's all fairly easily scripted, but for now I'm prescribing a Raspberry Pi image to do the updates as that's a stable machine environment.

For @Murf and the DTMF issues, I have not experienced any of these and use DTMF to join nodes on ASL etc, I can also see the DTMF properly reported in the Asterisk command-line console. I wonder if this is a problem with the sending device, I happy to pop a video across if that will help.

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@G1LRO The node radio is a Baofeng UV-5R and the radio I am trying to DTMF to it from is a Quansheng UV-K6(8)

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@G1LRO The node radio is a Baofeng UV-5R and the radio I am trying to DTMF to it from is a Quansheng UV-K6(8)

@Murf It might not be your node. I have two Quansheng UV-K6(8) on different firmware. IJV and Egzumer. Only the Egzumer works with my node for DTMF. Try another firmware it might help.
73 Ellis M5AEI

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@Hadgee I have tried multiple firmware, and even an Icom and a Yaesu handheld, same thing on all of them, just the occasional "*" is recognized, nothing else.

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I've provided a documented/scripted software download for the process of using AIOC and AllStarLink (Simple_USB) on the Raspberry Pi so I think this issue can be closed @Murf .
https://g1lro.uk/?p=676

Nice, I like it! Couple of suggestions:

• The HID interface for configuring the AIOC might change in the future, due to some issues that we have with windows hosts. The 1.3.0 firmware is a preview firmware and things might break. Just a heads up
• Did you modify the binary file to change the COS timeout? In that case I recommend to mark the firmware like so: aioc-firmware-1.3.0-rc.1-g1lro.bin and make it obvious to the user that you are using a "custom" firmware.

Hi Simon, I haven't modified your binary firmware, I've just supplied the Python scripts for the user to run with the extra parameter that will extend the COS. When the firmware goes to GA then I'll just change the link to the correct bin file, I think everything else will be OK.

I see.. I was just thrown off by the following

Virtual-COS timer fix.
 
This section is not needed if you are running the installation after 4th May 2024 as the change is already in the software download.

If/when the HID mechanism is changed then I can update that process too. It's all fairly easily scripted, but for now I'm prescribing a Raspberry Pi image to do the updates as that's a stable machine environment.

That's a good choice in my opinion for now.

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