YSF – K2IE

New YSF Capabilities on XLX020

The Yaesu Fusion radios have a new capability when used with Pi-Star and an XLX reflector. You can now use the transmit DGID to talk on any of the enabled modules. Here is how it works.

Configure your Pi-Star instance to enable WiresX Passthrough.

Use the Wires-X function of your radio to connect to the XLX reflector of your choice. For example, XLX020 is #66396.

Set your transmit DGID to the number representing the module you wish to talk on. For example, Module A is DGID 10. Module D is DGID 13. See this link for the full list of modules.

Thanks to all those behind XLX and Pi-Star for making this feature available. YSF and XLX are now better than ever!

Realignment of Modules on 020 Reflectors

We’ve realigned the module usage on the 020 Reflectors. This means that CNJHAM can now be found on XLX020D, XRF020D, and REF020D. Similarly, REF020A is also now reachable via XLX020A, and XRF020A.

Remember, XLX020 is a multiprotocol reflector. You can connect via D-Star, YSF, or DMR protocols.

The Peanut access that used to connect to XLX020C now goes to XLX020A.

73 de K2IE

Pi-Star, XLX, and YSF

If you thought that the big amateur radio news of the day is that Andy Taylor has pushed Pi-Star 4.1.0 to general release, I’ll have some other news for you in a moment. But first things first.

If you’re already running a 4.1.0 RC (release candidate), please logon to your pi-star device via ssh and issue the following commands:

sudo pistar-update
sudo pistar-upgrade

If you’re running a pre-4.1.0 system, you’ll need to:

Backup your configuration
Download the 4.1.0 image from the Pi-Star website
Unzip the downloaded file
Burn the .img file to an SD card
Copy the zip (don’t unzip) of your configuration backup to the SD card
Boot the new image

The bigger news today is that Andy has pushed the new G4KLX YSFGateway code into the Pi-Star image. This means that you can now directly connect to XLX020 and change reflector modules from your Fusion radio using Wires-X Passthrough commands.

You’ll have to enable the WiresX Passthrough slider on the Yaesu System Fusion Configuration section of the Pi-Star web gui. If you have an FT-70DR or another radio with an upper case only display, enable the UPPERCASE Hostfiles slider in the same section.

The process may vary a bit between radio models. The general idea is that you first initiate a Wires-X sequence to connect to XLX020. Next, you exit Wires-X mode and initiate another Wires-X sequence to connect to the module of your choice. If you just want to talk on module A, the 2nd connect is not necessary as you’ll default to module A.

Some radios, such as my FT-70DR, do not pull down a room list and you have to manually enter the module number. In that case, use 04001 for module A, 04002 for module B, and so on.

Have fun with this great new feature that makes the most of Pi-Star, XLX, and Yaesu Fusion.

73 de K2IE

XLX020 Supports Direct YSF

XLX020 has upgraded to Luc (LX1IQ)’s latest xlxd (2.3.1) software. We now support direct connections via the Yaesu YSF protocol.

Luc is in contact with the distributors of Pi-Star and the OpenSpot to have this capability added to the dashboards. In the meantime, there is a simple change that you can make to your Pi-Star configuration to connection to XLX020.

You’ll have to be willing to edit your Pi-Star /etc/mmdvmhost file. Look for the [System Fusion Network] stanza. You’ll need to change the GatewayAddress to xlx020.k2ie.net and the GatewayPort to 42000. You’ll also need to change LocalPort to 0.

[System Fusion Network]
Enable=1
LocalAddress=127.0.0.1
LocalPort=0
GatewayAddress=xlx020.k2ie.net
GatewayPort=42000
Debug=0
ModeHang=20

See on you Fusion!

73 de K2IE

The “020” Reflectors

D-Star users have long known about REF020. Reflector 20, as many call it, is one of the original D-Plus Reflectors. A number of repeaters in the New Jersey/New York/Pennsylvania region link to it, including powerhouse K3PDR in Philadelphia and NJ2DG in Martinsville, NJ. It was recently relocated to the cloud by its operator (Scott KB2EAR) when when the site where the server was housed became unavailable. Historically, the busy channel tends to be REF020A.

During the weeks that Reflector 20 was down, I started exploring D-Star smart groups as a way to get together on the air with some of the folks that I talk to regularly. Smart Group CNJHAM was created on the QuadNet array.

Smart Groups can be a bit confusing on repeaters if you don’t know what group is being used as you come into range. My friend Ray <W2RJR> is playing with a low profile Pi-Star based repeater so we decided that repeater use would be simpler if it could connect to a reflector. Then the only destination route needed is CQCQCQ. So XRF020 was born.

Initially, there were challenges getting XRF020 getting listed in the right directories. You see, there is supposed to be one XRF directory that is authoritative, but not all gateway systems seem to pull data from the same place. Pi-Star uses one list, OpenSpot another, and DV4mini yet another. OpenSpot listed XRF020 right away. DV4mini uses the XLX list and you could have an XRF and XLX using the same number, which is “interesting”. Pi-Star took weeks to list XRF020 until I went to the “top guy”. Then it was handled immediately. Once I learned that XLX reflectors self-register, XLX020 was born.

CNJHAM - Our Central New Jersey smart group conference
REF020 - The original D-Plus Reflector 20 operated by KB2EAR
XRF020 - An XRF Reflector that speaks D-Plus and DCS as well as DExtra
XLX020 - A multiprotocol reflector that bridges digital modes

Here is the lay of our digital land.

Smart Group CNJHAM is where a few of us in the Central NJ area meet up daily. It is more or less our local digital intercom, but you are welcome to stop by and say hello. You can also say hello via XRF020A and XLX020A, as well as REF020D. They are all linked. The NJ2DG-C repeater is linked to REF020D, so you can get in that way too.

         CNJHAM <==> XRF020A <==> XLX020A <==> DMR/YSF
                        |
                     REF020D

If you’re an REF020 user, then you’ll want to know that REF020A is linked fulltime to XLX020C. You can connect to the XLX side of things via DMR, D-Star, or YSF. You can also get in via PA7LIM’s Peanut.

             REF020A <==> XLX020C <==> DMR/YSF/Peanut

See you in 020 land.