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A "how-to" o­n joining our PMR446 gateway network using your radio as a PMR446 internet link and eQSO...

Please check before setting up a repeater that doing so is lawful in your Country. Please also remember you need to contact us (http://www.446user.co.uk/gateway_request.html) for a callsign before setting up a gateway o­n our server.

It is currently illegal to connect a 27mhz CB so, sorry, UHF only.

Please note that a PMR446 or LPD gateway must utilise CTCSS code 19. The principle of using CTCSS is to avoid interference (which is a real nuisance o­n eQSO). CTCSS 19 was chosen as a standard code so that all gateways would be operating o­n the same tone for consistency.

Please do not put a gateway in 446ENGLISH until you are sure it does not cause "bouncing" (this is where your gateway keys up during other peoples overs) - this means your squelch settling is set too low in eQSO.

Lastly, please read Using our eQSO server.

This is a public server but we do run it o­n our time and expense (each audio stream, and that means each person/gateway connected, uses 15kbs). Please bear that in mind. We do our best to make sure it all runs smoothly, but sometimes we do screw up and it goes offline. It's very rare, and we always post up a Server Status report in the forum if it happens.

eQSO was originally written by M0ZPD (Paul), and is a voice over-IP application that allows you to connect your radio to your PC as a PMR446 gateway and connect that gateway to our server via the internet and thereby to other users who have done the same.

Paul sent me the source code for eQSO at the end of 2003 and I have since been maintaining the suite and have been busy porting it to Linux.

The PMR446 build available to download here and o­n various other PMR446 websites is the correct version to use for PMR446.

As an example of what eQSO does, someone within range of my gateway link (about a 2 mile radius from my location in Greater London) can talk through my radio, over the internet, and out through another gateway rebroadcasting o­n PMR446 in, say, Belgium or Sydney Australia (on UHF CB). Anywhere in the world in fact. Someone within range of that second gateway can then communicate back and thus establish a conversation.

Anyone with a PMR446 radio which has a "VOX" setting to automatically activate the push-to-talk (most PMR sets) can set this up. There is no need to modify your radio at all. You just need this software and two cables - o­ne to go from your PC soundcard line out to your radio microphone in socket and o­ne from your radio speaker out socket to your PC soundcard line in socket.

Obviously the more gateways that come o­nline to the system, the more coverage there is. It's a similar system to that utilised by mobile telephone networks.

If you already know how to use eQSO or prefer to busk it then feel free, but bear in mind the following:-

1. Download the latest PMR446 version of eQSO from our downloads page.

2. To connect you must type in our servername "eqso.446user.co.uk" and the room ID "446ENGLISH" then press connect. If you download the gateway version from our downloads page, this is already pre-programmed as preset #1.

3. We would at least urge you to at least read the bottom few paragraphs of this text relating to setting up your VOX settings.

CONNECTING

To connect a radio to eqso you must download the gateway version of the software (see the downloads page here) as opposed to the PC user version. Once downloaded, we'll set up your sound card.

Double click o­n the volume control icon next to the clock o­n your taskbar and you should find yourself at the volume control window. If you have elected to use the mic socket o­n your soundcard (actually, we strongly suggest you use the line in instead as the speaker output of these PMR446 radios is quite hot) then you need to find the mic control and to prevent feedback you need to mute this. Similarly if you are using line in then you need to mute the line in volume control.
Next select the recording properties (options, properties then recording) and make sure that your chosen method of line in or mic is enabled and checked.

CONFIGURING THE SOFTWARE

Start up the software, fill in your callsign in the callsign box (or "ACS" if you've e-mailed us but want to get up and running immediately), put in the comments box a brief description of your gateway preferably based o­n the protocol we've adopted (copy the style of comment used by the Surrey repeater UK001-L). Make sure that the VOX box is ticked. Occasionally the server may drop momentarily (like when we need to reboot it), by ticking the auto reconnect box the software will attempt to reconnect to the server automatically. The speed, frequency and volume boxes are for the morse

identifier and courtesy tones, these are best adjusted to suit individual needs, just adjust each o­ne individually and click o­n apply until you are happy with each setting.

The courtesy tones, force id and id if idle are again user preference settings. Courtesy tones plays the (default) letter k in morse at the end of each over over the radio, force id plays your callsign in morse at intervals set by the server (usually every 10 mins) again over your radio as does id if idle. This makes a useful range transponder so you can test your repeater yourself by keying transmit o­n another radio and waiting for the morse letter "k" to be beeped back at you by the repeater a few seconds later.

Squelch settling is another control that may need fine tuning to your own particular set up, this is the amount of time that the software prevents you from sending audio down the internet after your PTT has switched off. This prevents "tail chasing" which is the crunch of static heard after you drop the PTT button.

This causes all the other gatway links currently connected in the room to "bounce" each other in a continuous loop, so it is vital that you get this correct. If in doubt, set it high (1500ms) and reduce it slowly as you get used to the software over the next few days. If your gateway starts "bouncing" you'll know that you have decreased it too far.

NOTE The eqso software needs shutting down and restarting after each adjustment is made to the squelch settling.

Next step is to click o­n the rig-keying button, you will then be presented with another window. Here you must first select the method with which you are keying the radio. You can use either the VOX setting or the continuous tone setting. Vox simply triggers the PTT o­n receiving a voice signal (the same as your radio does with it's own VOX setting, but this time for transmission). We recommend the continuous tone setting because VOX can get a bit choppy if people leave long pauses in their overs! The continuous tone mixes a sub-audible tone o­nto the audio received from the internet, which keeps the vox unit keyed up during pauses in received audio.



The default frequency of 80Hz has been found to be satisfactory in most cases, though the audio level of this tone may need increasing. I use a volume setting of 5000 o­n my Goodmans Tracker Mark II.

Check out Dr Rob's article o­n building a com-port keyer for even snappier overs!

FINE TUNING AND TESTING

Now to get o­n air and fine tune things. Connect to room 446ENGLISH and our server eqso.446user.co.uk and wait for someone to start talking. Or transmit and ask for assistance from anyone in the room. If all is well when someone else transmits in the room your radio should go into tx and using a separate receiver you should be able to adjust the level of the transmitted audio using the output slider until the audio is clear and undistorted. If not go back and check your connections and settings.

Next preferably in the off-air room (to avoid causing disruption) set the squelch o­n your radio to a suitable level to prevent any noise breaking through. Using your other radio start transmitting and you should see your repeater callsign highlighted in the window and be able to monitor your audio levels o­n the VU meter. Using the mic slider level o­n the software and the radios volume control set the audio peaks o­n the VU meter to about half way up the meter MAX, and definitely not into the red as audio distortion will occur.

When you are happy with these settings check that when your radio stops transmitting that your callsign does not momentarily become highlighted again. If it does it means that your squelch settling is not set correctly and that the "crunch" of noise that occurs when your radio stops transmitting is being sent down the internet. Increase the squelch settling time by 100ms a time until you stop this from happening. Don't think it's strange if you need a squelch settling time of 2000ms or more - some radios do require this. Anything less than about 2250ms is fine - the server has an internal setting of 2250 anyway so anything less than this will not affect other users.

Setting VOX/Silence levels: Set silence fully to the left, put vox slider right at the top. Turn o­n vox, talk into the mic while moving the vox slider down until the server acknowledges you are talking. You will lock the room up while you are doing this so be quick! Now be quiet and move the silence level to the right until the server says you have stopped talking.

Clicking o­n the "See who's o­n the system" button will launch the monitor application and show you a tree of all the servers, gateways, rooms and PC users currently o­n the network.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them o­n the forum.

Hope to hear your PMR446 gateway radio o­n the air soon,

Dean
(Last revision date October 2004)