RTCM Voting Configuration
Voting allow us to have one repeater on a Premiere location while adding satellite receivers to improve Rx coverage.
Hardware needed
Main Site
The Main Site must be conformed by al least the following hardware:
- 01 Duplexer and antenna or a double antenna set (Tx/Rx).
- 01 Motorola MTR2000 repeater or:
- 01 Motorola Pro3100, Pro5100, Pro7100 (Rx).
- 01 Motorola Pro3100, Pro5100, Pro7100 (Tx).
- 01 Micro-Node RTCM board.
- 01 Garmin GPS model GPS18x LVC, 5m.
- 01 Raspberry Pi model 2A, 3A or 3B.
- 01 Reliable wired Internet connection with port forwarding capabilities.
- 01 Antenna (Rx).
- 01 Duplexer or a double antenna set (Tx/Rx).
Peer Sites
Each Peer Site must be conformed by al least the following hardware:
- 01 Antenna (Rx).
- 01 Motorola Pro3100, Pro5100, Pro7100 or MTR2000 (Rx).
- 01 Micro-Node RTCM board.
- 01 Garmin GPS model GPS18x LVC, 5m.
- 01 Reliable wired Internet connection.
Tuning Hardware
- Service monitor.
- Small screwdriver.
Configuration
Edit the voter.conf where 12345 should be your node number and each MainSite# / PeerSite# will define your sites. password# is the individual password for each site. It is important to notice that each site must have a different password.
nodeemp needed for Quantar, MTR2000 Pro 3100, Pro 5100, Pro 7100, Hytera RD626.
[general] port = 667 buflen = 500 password = secret_password utos = y [12345] MainSite0 = password0,transmit,master PeerSite1 = password1 PeerSite2 = password2 PeerSite3 = password3 PeerSite4 = password4,nodeemp plfilter = n txctcss = 100.0 txctcsslevel = 0 txtoctype = none thresholds = 255,110=5 ; linger=6 ; streams = 12.34.56.78:1667
RTCM
Log in using the serial port (57600 baud) or Telnet, the default user is admin and the default password is radios.
Firmware update
The VOTER/RTCM firmware is updated with a Windows program EBLEX C3 Programmer. Download from here. Put both the exe and the ini file in a folder.
If you are upgrading an RTCM be sure to use a .cry file that contains smt in the filename.
If you are upgrading a through-hole VOTER, do not use the smt files.
Save the .cry file in the folder with the .exe and .ini files.
Download the firmware here that is appropriate for your application.
Run the EBLEX Programmer:
- Fill in the target bootloader IP address (or the public IP, if your RTCM is behind a firewall) of the device.
- Factory BootLoader IP Address is 192.168.1.11
- Click File and load the .cry file you are going to program.
- Click the Capture Target button.
- Reboot the VOTER/RTCM with TELNET (r option), power cycle, or use the reset button. In a moment you should see text come up on the programmer that it captured the target.
- Click the Program button.
- In a few minutes you will see some more messages including a program complete message.
- Click the Reset LIA button. The VOTER/RTCM will restart with the new firmware.
- TELNET into your VOTER/RTCM and verify the new version is loaded with menu 98:
Garmin GPS
The Garmin GPS18x LVC should be connected thru the DB-15 port on the RTCM.
| RTCM - GPS18x LVC pinout | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RTCM | Direction | Garmin GPS18x LVC | |
| 6 GRX | <-- Rx Data | Green | |
| 7 GPPS | <-- Pulse Output | Yellow | |
| 8 GND | Ground | Black (2 cables) | |
| 13 +5V | V in | Red | |
| 14 GTX | --> Tx Data | White | |
Tuning
Don't disable COR in the RTCM/VOTER... it will cause it to disable the squelch and it will report an RSSI of 255 (full quieting) for all received signals.
| RTCM Settings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Option | Parameter | Value | |
| 3 | VOTER Server Port | 667 | |
| 4 | Local Port | 0 | |
| 5 | Client Password | yournodepassword# | |
| 6 | Host Password | yourhostpassword | |
| 7 | Tx Buffer Length | 4000 | |
| 8 | GPS Data Protocol | 0=NMEA | |
| 9 | GPS Serial Polarity | 0=Non-Inverted | |
| 10 | GPS PPS Polarity | 0=Non-Inverted | |
| 11 | GPS Baud Rate | 4800 | |
| 12 | External CTCSS | 1 = Non-Inverted | |
| 13 | COR Type | 0 = Normal | |
Level Settings
Setting the audio levels for the RTCM/VOTER is pretty straight forward. Just follow these steps:
Step 1 - Rx Level
- Ensure you have a connection to your host Asterisk server/chan_voter instance. Some internal settings on your RTCM are pooled from your PTTLink server.
- Create and select an analog channel with CSQ signaling with minimum power (1 Watt) on your repeater.
- Using a service monitor send a 1 kHz @ 3 kHz on-channel, full-quieting signal in to the repeater's Rx.
- Set SW2-4 ON, LD5 will indicate (by brightness) if the Rx level is too low, and LD4 will indicate (by brightness) if the RX level is too high. So the idea is to tune R36 so that there is minimal brightness on both LD4 and LD5 (like a null, more or less). Alternatively, the "97" command from the console menu gives a more graphical method of setting the Rx input level.
- Now change the modulation from 1 kHz tone to 800 Hz followed by 1.8 kHz and verify that the deviation level doesn't change as the tone frequency changes. Changing levels indicates a pre/de-emphasis issue.
If you are using the built-in "offline repeat" functions, fail the connection to the host Asterisk server, and make sure your repeat audio performs the same as above.
Step 2 - Switches SW2-2 and SW2-3
- Calibrate Squelch and Diode. With the receiver connected and its antenna removed, turn ON switch SW2-3 and next switch SW2-2. In the next few seconds the "Receive Signal Indicator" (LED 3, Green) will flash On and off, then (hopefully) on steady. This indicates that the squelch calibration has occurred successfully.
If unsuccessful, the LED will flash either fast to indicate that the discriminator noise level is too high, or slowly to indicate that the discriminator noise level is too low.
Step 3 - Squelch Level
Squelch adjustment (R22) needs to be properly set. Make sure that:
- 12 - External CTCSS is set to 0=Ignore
- 13 - COR Type is set to 0=Normal
- Adjust R22 until the Receive Signal Indicator (LED 3) is On.
- Then advance R22 clockwise until LD3 is no longer On. That is the minimum squelch setting.
- You probably will want to crank it up at least another turn clockwise, because if you leave it there it will open on a REALLY low level signal.
- After proper setting has been achieved, return the "External CTCSS" configuration to its original setting.
Step 4 - Tx Level
- Enter to CLI and type the following command:
rpt fun yournodenumber *904
- Now set the Tx Level pot to get 3 kHz out of the transmitter (No PL) measured on your service monitor.
- Type the command again to turn off the test tone.
rpt fun yournodenumber *904
RX/TX Buffers are NOT Both Millisecond Values
You might assume an RX buffer (in voter.conf) of 120ms would be equivalent of a TX buffer (in the RTCM) of 120ms. That is not the case.
The Tx buffer is a number of 125 microsecond intervals, where the Rx buffer is in milliseconds.
If you follow the buffer setting instructions, you should be fine, in most cases.
Single mode configuration
The RTCM may be configured and used as a simple radio interface, if multi-receiver voting/simulcast is not desired for the radio.
Set the PPS Polarity (main menu item 10) to "2 - NONE". This will indicate to the RTCM that it is not to operate in Voting/Simulcast mode.
Fix issues with Mix Clients and Voted Clients
If you have packets issues with Mixed Clients Make sure buflen in voter.conf. it is at >=160 and see if that fixes it.
RTCM Simulcasting
The RTCM/VOTER boards do support simulcasting, however, there are a bunch of quirks that one needs to be aware of.