[arm-allstar] UCA222 info --was:RPi GPIO COS/PTT

Sat Jan 28 01:48:26 EST 2017

Hi Josh,

I've used UCA222 devices at Field Day for HF digital modes a couple of
years now and around the shack.  They have worked well for me, with far
superior audio quality to the bargain basement CM1xy fobs.

I've got one hooked to some JBL LSR305 monitors with a JBL PSW-1200, via a
10 foot USB extension cable. No problem. (And shockingly good audio!)

I've got medium-power (110W class) VHF and UHF gear nearby, high-power HF
in the other room.

The caveat I've found is to make sure to break-up USB ground loops, they
will cause major grief. I've found these isolators work very well. At
Field day, this isolator made the difference between being completely
functional and totally useless:

http://us.hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=69

73, David KB4FXC

On Wed, 25 Jan 2017, "Josh W4ZZK via arm-allstar" wrote:

> Just a note about the Behringer UCA222
> I'm an Audio Engineer and Production Manager in AL/MS/TN market, and
> have "played" with these little boxes for several years.  The newer
> 222's are quite better in manufacturing than the older ones.  Hard to
> believe, but since Behringer had been bought up by Music Group, their
> QC has went up some in this device's pro-sumer market... even by leaps
> and bounds in the commercial/professional sector.
> 
> Do note that these 222 boxes are VERY susceptible to RFI. For example,
> I attempted to use it as a "receiving" sound card for a few Online
> Streams at a local EMA office.... typical install scenario....
> computer, radios, and this box all were in a rather active RF
> environment. (HF VHF and UHF).  I don't know if I simply had a unique
> scenario on my hands, but there would be some times where it would
> "lose sync" with the computer, like I had disconnected the USB cable.
> That meant restarting the streaming app to regain sync.  Remoting in
> to the PC again and again to resync the device got old pretty quickly.
> Perhaps there were more RFI choking and eliminating I could have done,
> but I exhausted all feasible, and "affordable" options before going
> with individual $3 CM108 Cards, which work GREAT.  Maybe some way to
> bleed off transient voltage from active RF environments would work...
> I don't know.  But, in their normal operation, the little 222 boxes
> are halfway decent. Very simple audio interface. Would love to see a
> schematic of it, and know how we could go in the future with using
> that box.
> 
> Josh Hatton W4ZZK
> Muscle Shoals, AL
> w4zzkjosh at gmail.com
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 11:16 AM, "Doug Crompton via arm-allstar"
> <arm-allstar at hamvoip.org> wrote:
> > Jim,
> >
> >   The Raspberry Pi has no direct audio input, no A/D so anything direct
> > would not be possible. The USB works fine on the Pi with thousands of nodes
> > out there using it.
> >
> > The two approaches I mentioned (FOB mod and Nano) are both good choices.
> > The Nano gives you the option of using unmodified FOBS, like the ones you
> > have with blobs, for audio so don't throw them out. It also gives the
> > future option of using better, albeit more expensive, sound devices like
> > the Behringer UCA222. Devices like this give two channel input and output
> > which opens up a lot of new possibilities.
> >
> >
> >
> > *73 Doug*
> >
> > *WA3DSP*
> >
> > *http://www.crompton.com/hamradio <http://www.crompton.com/hamradio>*
> >
> > On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 9:29 AM, "Jim Kinter Jr. via arm-allstar" <
> > arm-allstar at hamvoip.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Thanks David, and my condolences.
> >>
> >> I have been curious for a while now why no one uses the built in audio
> >> system (not just this project)? Is it that buggy?
> >> A while back, I built a Pi Echolink (svxlink) link node (it used a USB fob
> >> as well), using VOX for COS and a GPIO for PTT.
> >> It worked for the most part, but sometimes the PTT would get stuck
> >> (Murphy's law- at the worst possible moment, like when still 1.5 hours away
> >> coming back from a hamfest in north Texas & it is deadkeying the local
> >> repeater--called the house and had daughter unplug the powerpole connection
> >> feeding the whole thing). That might have been an RFI thing causing it, as
> >> I had it in a plastic box, so I wonder if a metal enclosure/ferrites might
> >> have helped....
> >>
> >> I just think, why did they include such things (sound and GPIO) if they
> >> dont work? :-)
> >>
> >> thanks again, and Ill have a look at the Nano solution.
> >>
> >> 73
> >> Jim
> >>
> >>
> >> At 12:13 AM 1/23/2017, David Lang wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Sun, 22 Jan 2017, "Jim Kinter Jr. via arm-allstar" wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Greetings,
> >>>> I have been searching over the info on the site and mail list, and cant
> >>>> seem to find if any instructions are available for using the Pi's GPIO for
> >>>> COS/PTT yet.
> >>>> I have found where it said it will be included in a future release, and
> >>>> some other instructions with config settings, but nothing more definitive
> >>>> (which pins to use for what, config settings for those pins, etc).
> >>>>
> >>>> I friend of mine is using this setup on his repeater with URI, and Id
> >>>> like to use what I already have without spending $100 a pop on URIs per
> >>>> setup (I already have a few Pi's at my disposal)
> >>>> I had bought a half dozen USB sound FOBs, but all were blobbed (they
> >>>> were cheap, so I even attempted to mine down into one blob to see what I
> >>>> could see, probably effectively destroying the one FOB/losing $2).
> >>>>
> >>>> So is this capability available yet, and if so, where might I find more
> >>>> info?
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> It is not yet available, they have decided to not use the GPIO pins
> >>> directly, but to run things through an arduino nano, so it's a $20 option
> >>> instead of a $100 option.
> >>>
> >>> hardware details are available at:
> >>>
> >>> https://sites.google.com/site/radiofarmprojects/home/hamvoip
> >>> -nano-interface
> >>>
> >>> https://hamvoip.org/hamradio/Nano_Allstar_Interface/
> >>>
> >>> support for this is not yet in any release of the allstar software, but
> >>> they were planning a release in December that was postponed due to a death
> >>> in the community. They were planning to have this support either in that
> >>> release or within a couple of weeks after.
> >>>
> >>> David Lang
> >>>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >>
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> >>
> >> Visit the BBB and RPi2/3 web page - http://hamvoip.org
> >>
> >>
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> >
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> >
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