I bought the DRAWS hat in the summer with the intent of using an FT817 for digital on a pi4 B.

I gave up then after getting gps to work, but never getting radio control.

I recently revisited for the holidays - installed fresh image ( current_image ) and tried again. Following the wiki:

on the "Third Boot" stage , it states:

"You must set your ALSA configuration for your particular radio at this time" - with no instruction on what that means or how to do it.  

I followed a video online and got "alsa-show.sh" to show different values, I assume for the FT817. 

Need help with: 

Do  need the radio connect with control cable and powered up during any of the DRAWS set-up?

I can't figure out if I am supposed to try to get draws_manager to run or not. I had it running in the past, but can't get it to run now and I read it is not compatible with current sensor files.
 So, do I need it? Are there ways to change the same values without the web interface (always fails to connect and went through other troubleshooting posted here, gave up).

Do I need GPS working up-front?  I can run gpsd, and it is listed as active an running, but no longitude or latitude shows up. I suspect DRAWS doesn't see the antenna.

Do I focus on getting draws_manager to run or get the gps to report data?

Maybe someone can point me to a step-by-step walk through, but I haven't found one. 

I appreciate any help. 

on the "Third Boot" stage , it states:
"You must set your ALSA configuration for your particular radio at this time" - with no instruction on what that means or how to do it.

I followed a video online and got "alsa-show.sh" to show different values, I assume for the FT817.

You are not providing any information about which HF or VHF/UHF
radio on the FT817 you are using.

Assuming you want packet on your VHF/UHF radio working, like any TNC
or sound card you need to set the FM deviation properly.

There is a section on how to set your deviation here:
https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/tree/master/deviation

You can run run draws-manager to help set that up.
Or you can set ALSA settings with the alsamixer program
Or you can run the setalsa-ft817.sh script

https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/DRAWS_ALSA.md

Need help with: Do need the radio connect with control cable and
powered up during any of the DRAWS set-up?

No but the DRAWS hat needs to be installed. The left mDin6 connector is
direwolf port 0.

I can't figure out if I am supposed to try to get draws_manager to run
or not.

This was brought up in the forums last week:

https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/topic/can_t_access_draws_manager/76528127?p=,,,20,0,0,0::recentpostdate%2Fsticky,,,20,2,0,76528127

# To install the latest version of draws-manager
cd
cd n7nix
git pull
cd manager
sudo su
./install.sh

I had it running in the past, but can't get it to run now and I read
it is not compatible with current sensor files.

That was fixed about 6 months ago

So, do I need it?

It is a nice tool to use.

Are there ways to change the same values without the web interface
(always fails to connect and went through other troubleshooting posted
here, gave up).

alsamixer
or
just run the script.
setalsa-ft817.sh

Do I need GPS working up-front?
I can run gpsd, and it is listed as active an running, but no
longitude or latitude shows up.

Not sure what you mean. gpsd is already running on the NWDR image.
If you want to verify the gps follow the examples under Check GPS

https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/VERIFY_CONFIG.md#check-gps

I suspect DRAWS doesn't see the antenna.

It helps to put your antenna close to a window.

Do I focus on getting draws_manager to run or get the gps to report data?

Maybe someone can point me to a step-by-step walk through, but I
haven't found one.

The "Getting Started Guide" found in the wiki is the step-by-step guide
you want to use. There are a number of links in that guide for other
documentation for example under '3. Third boot' there is a link for
verifying your installation.

https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/VERIFY_CONFIG.md

Be aware that you will probably need different alsa settings for the HF
radio FT817 and the vhf/uhf radio. Search the forum for your radio for
more hints.
https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/search?q=ft817

If I remember correctly I had to remove pin 6 on the mDin6 connector to
get audio working on the FT-817. This was discussed on the forum here:

https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/topic/33061161#4083

Thanks Basil.

HF to begin, I am new to digital modes and have worked with Windows and my IC-7300. In reality using on an FT818, but should be the same settings as 817 to start. I figured I can adjust settings for AZ25 once I get going.

I already ran through the "fix" for the new image version, which states the draws-manager web app is disabled:

https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/message/5111

I see from your post, there are other options to set the ALSA, I used the ft817 script and the values changed; I assume to some that another person used for their rig.

Tuning the FM for VHF/UHF can be done if I get that far. As of now, chrony isn't using the GPS for time (shows #? instead of #*). I thought that would be set up in the image already.

I am on separate PC responding, so I abbreviated some of the outputs to reduce typing.

Following the check GPS link you provided:

To clarify what I meant by it "running"

systemctl status chronyd returns: active(running), but no indication of a GPS as a selected source.

gpsmon show data scrolling at bottom, but no latitude/longitude/speed/altitude values (all zero)

Antenna has a clear view of sky.

cgps show no values in the boxed area, lots of "n/a"

underneath, this refreshes every second:

{"class":"TPV","device"":"/dev/ttySC0","mode":1,"time":"changes-everysecond", "ept":0.005}

running chronyc sourcestats give:

GPS 0 0 0 +0.0000 2000.000 +0ns 4000ms
PPT is same
then several web sources listed.

Maybe the chrony not set up to take PPT?

chronyc tracking shows a web server for the Reference ID


I am going to run through the complete installation again, using the ft817 script.

For "Third Boot" on the walk-through it may be helpful to edit the statement "You must set your ALSA configuration for your particular radio at this time" with instruction on how to do that, which seems to be either with draws-manager, or with alsamixer, or by running a script.

Thanks again for your help. I think if folks have experience setting up Pis to run digital modes without the DRAWS hat, a lot of the tools are already understood.

-S

I already ran through the "fix" for the new image version, which
states the draws-manager web app is disabled:
https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/message/5111

That is an old post and is no longer relevant as the DRAWS sensor
overlay has been fixed in the latest Linux kernels since last August.

The following post describes what you need to do to get draws-manager
running with the latest NWDR18 image.

https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc/message/5311

As of now, chrony isn't using the GPS for time (shows #? instead of
#*). I thought that would be set up in the image already.

Chrony has been working with the DRAWS GPS for a long time.
It can sometimes take up to 15 minutes to get a satellite fix.

Do you have a CR1220 battery installed?

I am on separate PC responding, so I abbreviated some of the outputs
to reduce typing.

Learn how to ssh to your RPi and cut & paste into an email or forum post.

systemctl status chronyd returns: active(running), but no indication
of a GPS as a selected source.

What version of DRAWS do you have?
Need the output of: udrcver.sh

gpsmon show data scrolling at bottom, but no
latitude/longitude/speed/altitude values (all zero)

You do NOT have satellite fix yet.

Maybe the chrony not set up to take PPT?

chrony, gpsd and the DRAWS gps ARE setup properly on the NWDR images.

Hi Again, Thanks for sticking with me.

Much progress.

New install using "current_image.img"

Yes on battery, tried a new one too.

udrcver.sh (in /bin or /n7nx/bin, same result):

Found a DRAWS HAT ID EEPROM Name: hat Product: Digital Radio Amateur Work Station Product ID: 0x0004 Product ver: 0x0108 UUID: 07ca235a-b510-43c0-8ec5-86e5b78e646f Vendor: NW Digital Radio

systemctl status chronyd:

chrony.service - chrony, an NTP client/server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/chrony.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Sun 2020-12-20 15:16:44 EST; 42min ago
Docs: man:chronyd(8)
man:chronyc(1)
man:chrony.conf(5)
Main PID: 611 (chronyd)
Tasks: 2 (limit: 4915)
CGroup: /system.slice/chrony.service
├─611 /usr/sbin/chronyd -F -1
└─623 /usr/sbin/chronyd -F -1

Dec 20 15:16:44 drawspi chronyd[611]: Frequency 6.813 +/- 0.645 ppm read from /var/lib/chrony/chrony.drift
Dec 20 15:16:44 drawspi chronyd[611]: Loaded seccomp filter
Dec 20 15:16:44 drawspi systemd[1]: Started chrony, an NTP client/server.
Dec 20 15:17:17 drawspi chronyd[611]: Selected source 50.205.244.107
Dec 20 15:17:17 drawspi chronyd[611]: System clock wrong by 152.053096 seconds, adjustment started
Dec 20 15:19:49 drawspi chronyd[611]: System clock was stepped by 152.053096 seconds
Dec 20 15:30:38 drawspi chronyd[611]: Selected source 23.157.160.168
Dec 20 15:41:26 drawspi chronyd[611]: Selected source 50.205.244.107
Dec 20 15:44:13 drawspi chronyd[611]: Selected source GPS
Dec 20 15:44:13 drawspi chronyd[611]: Selected source PPS

gpsmon now shows data! Yaaay!


I was able to start ax25 and see a direwolf PID.

tail -f /var/log/direwolf/direwolf.log gave:

Dec 20 15:45:19 drawspi direwolf[1421]: KISS protocol set TXDELAY = 50 (*10mS units = 500 mS), port 1
Dec 20 15:45:19 drawspi direwolf[1421]: KISS protocol set TXtail = 10 (*10mS units = 100 mS), port 1
Dec 20 15:45:19 drawspi direwolf[1421]: KISS protocol set Persistence = 32, port 1
Dec 20 15:45:19 drawspi direwolf[1421]: KISS protocol set SlotTime = 20 (*10mS units = 200 mS), port 1
Dec 20 15:45:19 drawspi direwolf[1421]: KISS protocol set FullDuplex = 0, port 1
Dec 20 15:45:23 drawspi direwolf[1421]: Now connected to IGate server noam.aprs2.net (167.114.2.176)
Dec 20 15:45:23 drawspi direwolf[1421]: Check server status here http://167.114.2.176:14501
Dec 20 15:45:28 drawspi direwolf[1421]: [ig] # aprsc 2.1.5-g8af3cdc
Dec 20 15:45:28 drawspi direwolf[1421]: [ig] # logresp W4NKS verified, server T2CAWEST
Dec 20 15:46:38 drawspi direwolf[1421]: [0L] W4NKS-11>APUDR1,WIDE1-1::W4NKS :20 15:46:38 EST W4NKS mesg_beacon test from host drawspi on port udr0 Seq: 0~


Using ./btest.sh -P udr0 I can get the radio to switch to transmit and hear the signal on a hand-held (on 144.39), but no raw packet shows on aprs.fi.I am not too worried about that right now. Enough for one day.

*** Running as user: pi ***
Send a message beacon
Sent: /usr/local/sbin/beacon -c W4NKS-11 -d 'APUDR1 via WIDE1-1' -l -s udr0 :W4NKS :20 15:46:38 EST W4NKS mesg_beacon test from host drawspi on port udr0 Seq: 0


Thanks again for now.











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Much progress.

Great to hear.

udrcver.sh (in /bin or /n7nx/bin, same result):

Found a DRAWS HAT ID EEPROM
Name: hat
Product: Digital Radio Amateur Work Station
Product ID: 0x0004
Product ver: 0x0108
UUID: 07ca235a-b510-43c0-8ec5-86e5b78e646f
Vendor: NW Digital Radio

You have the current latest version of DRAWS hat.

systemctl status chronyd:

Instead of using systemctl try using this script for a more complete
look at gpsd/chrony status.

cd
cd n7nix/gps
./verify_time.sh

gpsmon now shows data! Yaaay!
I was able to start ax25 and see a direwolf PID.

Good

tail -f /var/log/direwolf/direwolf.log gave:

Indicates you are not receiving any packets.
Assuming you tuned your radio to the APRS 2M frequency 144.390 you
should be seeing plenty of received packets.

Check squelch setting on radio and you may have a SQL/COS problem and
you will have to remove pin 6 from your mDin6 connector.

Read the first part from this link:
https://github.com/nwdigitalradio/n7nix/blob/master/docs/RADIO_APP_NOTES.md

Using ./btest.sh -P udr0 I can get the radio to switch to transmit and
hear the signal on a hand-held (on 144.39), but no raw packet shows on
aprs.fi.I am not too worried about that right now. Enough for one day.

Check deviation config, and distance to a working APRS gateway.

Also AX.25 tends to eat the first 2 transmitted packets after a
reset. It thinks they are TNC control packets. So always send 3 packets
after a power-on or ax25-restart.

*** Running as user: pi ***
Send a message beacon
Sent: /usr/local/sbin/beacon -c W4NKS-11 -d 'APUDR1 via WIDE1-1' -l -s udr0 :W4NKS :20 15:46:38 EST W4NKS mesg_beacon test from host drawspi on port udr0 Seq: 0

Hi Basil, I'm back at it.

So close. After pulling the #6 pin (and breaking the key off... oops), I can now see all sorts of APRS signals streaming in with:

tail -f /var/log/direwolf/direwolf.log

However, transmitting with:

./btest.sh -P udr0

shows up in this log, and the radio transmits, but still no reports on APRS.fi.

My hand-held, with a rubber duck, get reported just fine. The SSIDs are indeed different, -7 on the hand held and, according to the log, -11 for the DRAWS-817.

By 'check deviation config' I assume you meant this?

pi@drawspi:~/bin $ ./alsa-show.sh
==== List All sound card device names (3)
card 0: b1 [bcm2835 HDMI 1]
card 1: Headphones [bcm2835 Headphones]
card 2: udrc [udrc]

======= DRAWS
===== ALSA Controls for Radio Transmit =====
LO Driver Gain L:[-6.00dB] R:[-6.00dB]
PCM L:[-16.50dB] R:[-16.50dB]
DAC Playback PT L:[P3] R:[P3]
LO Playback CM [Full Chip]

===== ALSA Controls for Radio Receive =====
ADC Level L:[-2.00dB] R:[-2.00dB]
IN1 L:[Off] R:[Off]
IN2 L:[10 kOhm] R:[10 kOhm]
CM L:[10 kOhm] R:[10 kOhm]

Any further suggestions?

I know it's holiday time, I am in no rush and really appreciate your help.

-S






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