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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/25/2025 11:59 PM, Ron VE8RT
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20250625215920.1990f3cc2afc67b13e091207@yknwt.ca">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Ron, VE8RT VE8TEA, in Yellowknife NT here.
I have a few questions, answers may be online but haven't turned up
yet.
The only working IGate (to my knowledge) in VE8 is the one I operate
VE8TEA. Its a simple R Pi, URDC II, and a Kenwood V71 XCVR, using an
oldler version of Direwolf. I'd like to update to a current version of
Direwolf to take advantage of FX.25
Other than doing a fresh install on the R Pi is there an easy way to
update to Direwolf 1.16 or higher?</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>As far as I know, you can just install the new version on top
of the existing version of DireWolf. (This definitely works on
the Windows version.)</p>
<p>That being said, I have not seen a significant improvement in
the success rate of APRS beacons after thousands of miles of
drive testing on both VHF/FM and HF/FSK with FX.25. (This was
with FX.25 enabled or disabled on the current version of the
UZ7HO Soundmodem.)</p>
<p>If you REALLY want to see a major improvement in APRS success
rates, use VARA instead of conventional AFSK AX.25
transmissions. In multiple tests I have done on cross-country
trips , beaconing on 30 and 40 meters alternately with AX.25
from the Soundmodem and VARA on the same
computer/soundcard/radio/mobile antenna, VARA is easily an
ORDER-OF-MAGNITUDE more reliable than 300 baud FSK AX.25.<br>
</p>
<p>Some road trip results are here on my website:<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://WA8LMF.net/VARA" moz-do-not-send="true"><http://WA8LMF.net/VARA></a><br>
</p>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20250625215920.1990f3cc2afc67b13e091207@yknwt.ca">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Another project is to have a field portable APRS, such as a R Pi based
battery powered terminal that includes keyboard for text messaging, and
screen, that could run Direwolf or similar. Is there a project or kit
available to do that?</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>In my opinion, these setups done on R Pis are a snare and a
delusion. By the time you piece together a Pi, various shields,
an external display of some sort, an external keyboard of some
sort, power supplies for both the Pi and for the display, and
come up with some sort of enclosure for this kludge -- you can
do the same thing for far less mess and clutter (and probably
cheaper) with an inexpensive Windows laptop or Windows tablet.
</p>
<p>I have grabbed 10" Windows tablets for under USD $100 that work
perfectly for this kind of thing, and have bought low-end Lenovo
"IdeaPad" Windows laptops for around USD $130 at Walmart at
holiday closeouts. These low-end machines (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD)
come with a standard load of Windows 11 that renders them
impossibly sluggish and practically unusable (5 minutes just to
boot!). </p>
<p>I wipe out the factory install and install the unofficial
Windows distribution called "Tiny 11". This version of Win 11
occupies ONE-THIRD the disk space of the standard base install
of Win 11. It leaves out the smartphone wanna-be apps, the
Microsoft Store linkages, the requirement for the TPM module
(I.e. will install on almost anything from the last 10 years or
so ), and the coercive pressure to create a Microsoft Account as
part of the install process, and the incessant attempts to sell
you stuff. It looks and acts more or less like a lite version
of Windows 10. Unlike the OEM Win 11 install, Tiny 11 just
flies on these low-end laptops. <br>
</p>
<p>[These cheap machines have a 720P half-HD display but will
output a full 4K (!) display through their HDMI port. (I use a
55" TV as an external 4K monitor. For APRS mapping, a large 4K
display is just fantastic.) The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 has 2 USB3
ports and one USB-C port. It has Bluetooth 5 and WiFi, but no
Ethernet port. Running on an external DC-DC power supply, the
machine only draws about 6 watts once the battery-charging
inrush is over.]<br>
</p>
<p>I have a pair of these cheap laptops in my radio trailer
"Studio B". I have not found any ham app that will not run on
this stripped-down version of Win 11. <br>
</p>
<p>The Tiny 11 ISO can be downloaded from <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="https://archive.org/details/tiny-11-b-2no-sysreq.iso"
moz-do-not-send="true"><https://archive.org/details/tiny-11-b-2no-sysreq.iso></a><br>
(Archive.org is the place that runs the Internet "Wayback
Machine".)<br>
</p>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:20250625215920.1990f3cc2afc67b13e091207@yknwt.ca">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Thanks, Ron VE8RT in DP22tk
</pre>
</blockquote>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap">Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com
MS Teams:: WA8LMF
EchoLink: Node # 14400 [Think bottom of the 2-meter band]
Home Page: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wa8lmf.net" moz-do-not-send="true">http://wa8lmf.net</a>
Live APRS Mapping on HF & VHF
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/map"
moz-do-not-send="true"><http://WA8LMF.net/map></a>
"Studio B" Ham Shack on Wheels
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="http://WA8LMF.net/Aliner"
moz-do-not-send="true"><http://WA8LMF.net/Aliner></a>
-- APRS over VARA --
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://wa8lmf.net/VARA/APRSoverVARA"
moz-do-not-send="true"><http://wa8lmf.net/VARA/APRSoverVARA></a>
-
</span></p>
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