AllstarLink Adventure

AllstarLink

While watching the BATC CAT24, I was inspired by the talk from Martin G8KOE on AllStarLink and its use for Talkback for ATV. I resolved to find out a little more about this. AllStarLink is a network of Amateur Radio, repeaters, remote base stations, and hot spots that are accessible to each other via VOIP  (Voice over Internet Protocol).

AllStarLink runs on a dedicated computer (including the Raspberry Pi) that you host at your home, radio site or in the cloud. It is based on the open-source Asterisk PBX running their app_rpt application. This I think is the key as the sound quality is amazing. App_rpt makes Asterisk a powerful system capable of controlling one or more radios. It provides linking of these radio “nodes” to other systems of similar construction anywhere in the world via the internet using VoIP

As of the end of December 2024, AllStarLink has 36,275 users and 37,351 nodes.

What also appealed to me was that I only needed an FM handheld (in addition to my Node) to access AllstarLink, and I could move around the network using DTMF tones from my Radio’s keypad.

AllstarLink has several getting started guides and I followed the one for the Raspberry Pi here https://allstarlink.github.io/user-guide/pi-detailed/.

The Build.

It took me a little while to get up and running and I started back in October, however, I unexpectedly went into the hospital). After some careful research, I ordered myself a SHARI PiHat (52Pi case) using a Pi5 from Kits 4 Hams.

Two weeks ago, I finally built the Kit. I am amazed at the quality of the sound from AllstarLink and how easy it appears to be to use.

Making the kit was fun. I had never had to solder an SA818 chip before. It has a castellated design and was fun to solder. Also, having to solder two connections on a Raspberry PI5 was a bit nerve-racking.

However, its result has been easy and fun to use.