Amateur Ham Radio Register a new P25 or NXDN or YSF Reflector

P25: This process is quite simple, create your new P25 Reflector using the software available at this Git Repo. Once you have your reflector running, submit a change against this file to have your new host included in the Pi-Star P25 Host list.

NXDN: This process is quite simple, create your new NXDN Reflector using the software available at this Git Repo. Once you have your reflector running, submit a change against this file to have your new host included in the Pi-Star NXDN Host list.

Note: Please stick to the standard port nubers of 41000 for P25 and 41400 for NXDN unless you really have to change it, the Pi-Star software includes a firewall that restricts outbound conections to the required ports.

PiStar Fix Most Issues - Backup | Factory Reset | Restore (fix)

PiStar Fix Most Issues -  Backup / Factory Reset / Restore (fix)

1.) Configuration (login)
2.) Backup/Restore  "Backup"
- Repeat twice:
3.) Download Configuration (save once)
4.) Download Configuration (save twice)

Pi-star color hex code for the dashboard

Looking to re-color the dashboard. I know how to do it, but would like, if anyone has, a schedule of colors for the dashboard? I tried using Color Hex ( https://www.color-hex.com/color-palettes/popular.php), but the color didn't come out right. Therefore i believe, i am not doing it right (big shocker there).

this site, which gives a very good representation of what's shown.
https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_picker.asp

see examples - click read more

When was my Pi-Star last booted

Here is an alias for the SSH client to display when the Pi-Star was last booted:

Pi-star Dark Mode Dashboard

Just wanted to share my settings for my version of dark mode for the dashboard. I used the css tool in the expert settings. I just found this easier on my eyes. 

Pi-star Cron jobs in V4.1.2

Cron jobs in V4.1.2 are working well now that Andy has added all the scripts necessary to connect in all the modes.

The simplest d-star example would be to go to the telnet console and type in:
sudo pistar-link ref030_c 

to unlink type: sudo pistar-link unlink

for YSF it's: sudo pistar-ysflink ysf21080
for BM it's: sudo pistar-bmapi addtg 3100 0
for TGIF it's: sudo pistar-tgifapi link 31665 0

Type in the script name alone to see what all the options are.
Other modes are available such as NXDN and P25.

Automatically connecting to weekly nets makes these command line options useful. First backup your pistar config and if possible your SD card just in case.

Next go to the pistar dashboard -> Configuration -> Expert -> System Cron What you will see is the existing system wide cron job. 

After the last line which currently ends with "/etc/cron.monthly" add and edit the following:

Pi-star Port Forward

If anyone needs to access the Pi-Star Dashboard outside their network (not in the same location) you can forward the ports in the router to help with this. This way it does not change anything in the Pi-Star files.First thing is to have your router set the static IP. This way if you take your equipment with you (hotspot) then you wont have to worry about the IP address. I will do a right up for that at a later date. 

Pi-star Changing default Auto AP SSID and password

Changing default Auto AP SSID and password


I had searched high and low to find out how to change the default Auto AP SSID and password. I finally figured it out. To make life easier I wanted to share it here.

1. Go to the SSH login page on your Pi-Star

2. Log into your SSH page...my username is pi-star and password is "raspberry" as lower case


3. Change file system from RO (Read Only) to RW (Read Write)...type “rpi-rw” and hit return. System is now in Read Write mode

4. Type “sudo nano /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf” and hit return...Now you have the config file that starts your Auto AP with its defaul SSID and password...Be careful when you edit this. You could make your Pi-Star inaccessibile via your new Auto AP SSID and password...Make sure you know your new default SSID and password for Auto AP...
 

Pi-star Hot-Spot Fallback Mode - WPA Password?

 Hot-Spot Fallback Mode - WPA Password?

On a Windows, Mac, or Linux-based computer (not the hotspot) that has WiFi enabled, look in the WiFi settings to find the Pi-Star access point, and then select it to connect to it:

• If you're starting Pi-Star for the first time, it'll be named "Pi-Star-Setup."
• If this isn't the first time, but you need to connect to a new WiFi network, it'll be named using the hotspot's hostname, by default, "pi-star" (or whatever you changed it to in the General Configuration section).

Enter the Pi-Star Auto AP password: raspberry.

JumboSpot or Hotspot Pi-Star How do you lower the RF TX power

How do you lower the RF TX power

I have a Raspberry Pi 3 ( think it is the B version) I purchased a MMDVM hotspot that I need to configure. I can attach it to the system board. I found this document but I am wondering if the code in the steps is valid. I want to run DMR and YSF for now. I am just wondering if I can skip some of those steps, or if some one as coded a good template in a batch or ssh file (new be to Linux) you can put in your settings and then configure your hotspot. I see from the pistar page that you can bring up a web browser page (HTML, PHP, etc) to do the configuration.

Also on my MMDVM hotspot board, it has four pins / prongs that hang down an are low enough to make contact with the pins on the interface connector. I am just wondering if I need to insulate those pins / prongs, or since it is toward the middle, does it matter?

Pi-star security consideration

The Universal Plug-and-Play service is scary as heck! I always disable it on any devices I have connected to my network for exactly the reason Martin ran into.

Many people don't understand what the difference is between the Public and Private options in Pi-Star. The fact that Pi-Star is poorly documented is a big part of the reason for that.

I only have DMR enabled on my Pi-Star hotspots and I have 4 different sets of Public/Private radio buttons. Each one performs a separate function. With the exception of the Public/Private radio buttons for "Node Type", the rest are for automatically modifying the firewall policy on Pi-Star and controlling the UPNP commands that are sent to your firewall/router. Pi-Star runs a built-in host-based firewall called "iptables" which is the de-facto firewall in most Linux distributions.

Manually Edit Pi-Star Hosts File - How to edit Pi-Star DMR_Hosts.txt file

Manually adding or overriding repeaters and reflectors in the hosts files

Pi-Star updates the lists of reflectors and repeaters stored in the hosts files (/usr/local/etc) nightly, but there may be times when you want to use one that isn't listed or override an incorrect entry. In this case, you can add it manually to the override hosts file in the /root directory, which is the root user's home directory. Once you've done this, you can run a regular Pi-Star Update without losing your changes.