[arm-allstar] Streaming audio from command line/shell script with Allstar disabled

[Seth Miller]

Thanks Danny, that is actually a clever yet simple solution that I think
will work for me. Duplex=0 seems to disable Allstar adequately when in DMR
mode and I can simply delete any user functionality other than the ability
to run the 'disable DMR mode' script to return the system to Allstar. The
only downside is the need to restart Asterisk at each mode change but I
don't see why that would cause any particular problem.

FWIW I've found that you must also set 'linktolink=yes' for the rpt
localplay function to work properly when duplex=0. I'm going to test some
more but with that configuration I believe that I will be able to
functionally disable Allstar but retain the ability to stream audio and ID.
Thanks!

BTW if anyone is aware of a way to prevent the 'RPT ENA' voice message when
COP 2 (system enable) is issued I'd like to know. It seems that this is
hard-coded and you'd need to re-compile to get rid of it.

Thanks again Danny.

73,

Seth


On Sun, Nov 22, 2020 at 10:49 PM Danny K5CG <k5cg at hamoperator.org> wrote:

> Hi Seth,
>
> I don't know if this is the answer or even part of a solution, but think
> about...
>
> Something we do here for our club repeater is we have a "net mode" for
> RACES etc. The way we do that is to have multiple copies of rpt.conf
> (actually named rpt.normal and rpt.netmode). The rpt.conf "file" is
> actually a symbolic link that points at one or the other text file as
> commanded by a DTMF command that runs a shell script to create the symlink
> and reload asterisk.
>
> So rather than disable asterisk, why not reload it with a configuration
> that suits your needs. One for analog mode, and one for DMR mode, which
> might be to only send ID and nothing else.
>
> Perhaps even duplex=0 could be key to make the node into a simplex node
> while in DMR mode.
>
> Please let me know how you do eventually solve it.
>
> Thanks
> 73
> Danny
> K5CG
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Seth Miller via ARM-allstar" <arm-allstar at hamvoip.org>
> > To: "ARM Allstar" <arm-allstar at hamvoip.org>
> > Cc: "Seth Miller" <N6PLmail at gmail.com>
> > Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2020 9:28:43 PM
> > Subject: [arm-allstar] Streaming audio from command line/shell script
> with Allstar disabled
>
> > I have a challenge, maybe someone can help: (sorry if a little
> long-winded)
> >
> > I have built a mixed-mode Allstar/DMR repeater using an MMDVM-based DMR
> > controller in conjunction with a Pi running HamVoIP. Switching mode from
> > Allstar to DMR is accomplished with a macro that among other things
> > disables Allstar (with COP command 3) so that there will be no activity
> > while in DMR mode. This all works well except for one minor issue (which
> is
> > really the fault of the MMDVM software but hoping to use Allstar to
> > resolve.)
> >
> > First some background:
> >
> > The underlying problem is that the CW ID system in the MMDVM software is
> > very crude in that you can set a 10-minute ID, but if the ID time expires
> > during a DMR transmission then the ID will simply be skipped/ignored
> (since
> > you obviously can't CW ID over a digital transmission without
> disruption.)
> > The result of this is that when the system is busy you can exceed the
> > 10-minute amatuer ID timing requirement by a significant amount, perhaps
> a
> > very long time if the system is busy. Not the end of the world but I'd
> > prefer to operate legally if possible and I theoretically have
> everything I
> > need to do so in the Allstar controller.
> >
> > One way to solve the issue is to use Pi GPIO and some simple logic, i.e.
> > monitor PTT from the MMDVM controller and if the ID time has expired
> while
> > the transmitter is busy then wait until the transmitter naturally drops
> to
> > send the ID. This can be accomplished relatively easily since the MMDVM
> > board has an external inhibit line which will prevent TX permit (a DMR
> > thing) to a mobile while the CW ID is being broadcast. This has the minor
> > negative effect of delaying TX permit to a mobile for a few seconds but
> is
> > clearly much better than crashing an ongoing DMR transmission.
> >
> > Whew... OK, with that out of the way my actual problem is: simply sending
> > the ID. With system disable (COP 3) in effect I cannot send an ID from a
> > shell script using rpt localplay, and streaming audio using Asterisk
> alone
> > apparently requires using AGI which is not a trivial task. I understand
> > that there are other less intrusive ways of limiting Allstar activity but
> > none are as complete as COP 3 and I need a total cessation of all Allstar
> > activity while in DMR mode. I could of course momentarily re-enable
> Allstar
> > and then send an ID, but doing so causes Alice to recite 'RPT ENA' which
> > takes too long and I can't figure out any way to suppress the undesired
> > voice message.
> >
> > Any suggestions? Basically I need a way to stream an audio file to the
> > Allstar USB interface while system disable is in effect, or find a way to
> > bypass the 'RPT ENA' message, or use AGI, or find some other utility to
> > stream the ID. Or trigger an external IDer with GPIO I guess but that is
> > pretty inelegant.
> >
> > Thanks for any ideas,
> >
> > Seth   N6PL
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