pyrepeater

a software controller for radio repeaters on raspberry pi

tested with:

• Raspberry GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
• serial interface board from gmrstwowayradio.com
• FTDI USB -> Serial cable
• Retevis 97S

installation

1. Install Raspberry Pi OS 13

2. Install sox (audio) with sudo apt install sox

3. Blacklist the HDMI drivers sudo vim /etc/boot/firmware/config.txt and comment the following lines:

   # Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver
   #dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d
   #max_framebuffers=2

4. Blacklist the headphone driver sudo vim /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-alsa.conf and add the line blacklist snd_bcm2835

5. Reboot

6. Clone the repository into ~/src/

7. Install Python 3.11 & pipenv sudo apt install pipenv

8. Change to ~/src/pyrepeater/pyrepeater/

9. Run pipenv install

configuration

1. Replace the files in the sounds directory with WAV files crafted for your repeater.
2. Copy pyrepeater/.env.example to pyrepeater/.env and edit the settings to reflect your preferences (see settings below).

usage

1. Change to pyrepeater/pyrepeater
2. Run pipenv shell
3. Run python __init__.py

settings

the following ENV variables should be set in the .env file prior to entering the pipenv virtual environment

• SERIAL_PORT=/dev/ttyUSB0

  • the location of your serial device

• PRE_TX_DELAY=1.0

  • the number of seconds (float) to wait between enabling the serial pins and beginning the transmission audio

• POST_TX_DELAY=1.0

  • the number of seconds (float) to wait between ending the transmission and disabling the serial pins

• FCC_ID=WRXC682

  • currently unused (future: CW ID generation)

• SCHEDULE_TOH=False

  • currently unused (future: timed periods relative to top of hour or start time)

• ID_MINS=15

  • period of CW ID announcements in minutes (int)

• RPT_INFO_MINS=60

  • period of repeater info announcements in minutes (int)

• ID_WHEN_ASLEEP=False

  • send CW IDs when repeater is idle for a prolonged period

• RPT_INFO_WHEN_ASLEEP=False

  • send repeater info messages when repeater is idle for a prolonged period

• SLEEP_AFTER_MINS=10

  • after this many minutes of inactivity, put the repeater in sleep mode

• WAKE_AFTER_SEC=2

  • if repeater is asleep and becomes busy, wait this many seconds (int) before transitioning back to active state (prevents short key ups from disrupting sleep)

• MIN_REC_SEC=2

  • minimum seconds for a valid recording (WAV file will be deleted if it does not exceed this length)

roadmap

• repeater modes (day/night/net)
• ansible
  • systemd service
  • blacklist headphone jack modules
• single command install (ie. homebrew/ohmyzsh curl .....)