With the TNC3 off the menu for now, what is the best small TNC to Bluetooth into for Radiomail?
I’ve seen Pi Zero running Direwolf suggested.
I plan to use a Kenwood D74A. It has a KISS TNC but I don’t think it can be accessed by iOS.
Thanks and 73 de N8XS
I'm going to e a BT to serial on a kpc3+ when I can get one.
What’s a tried/true BT serial adapter for iOS?
Don't know I've never had one. I have a iphone to try when I get one.
There are no Bluetooth serial adapters that work with iOS. Apple did not
enable the Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP).
The only reason a Mobilinkd TNC3 works is because he invented a custom
protocol that carries serial data over Bluetooth Low Energy.
- Wes W8WJB
iPhone will detect a USB sounds card like the digirig when connected to
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter
This could potentially be used with an internal software modem for packet (or even Vara if someone ever reverse engineer that protocol). The issue is always PTT. Depending on the sound card vendor, there might be a way to drive or might require some adaptation.
Looks like connecting a USB serial device might work as well. Needs more research.
I have the Lightning to USB3 adapter and I have a variety of devices
that appear as a USB serial device. However, I'm not exactly sure how I
would go about testing whether it gets recognized by the iOS kernel, short
of writing a small app to query IOKit. As rare as this setup is, it seems
unlikely that an app currently exists in the App Store that can use serial
devices such as this.
I do see, though, that the API I use to detect serial devices in QTH.app
(IOServiceAddMatchingNotification) in macOS does now show as being
supported in iOS 16.
- Wes W8WJB
Matt,
Thanks for adding to this thread. I was not aware of QTH.app but will definitely check it out. I started into digital ham radio with my trusty 2015 era MacBook Pro but hit too many roadblocks so moved to Windows for its SDR support. This will get it back into play.
-73- Mitch N8XS
Keep in mind that iPhone/iPad does not supply any power to the USB adapter. You need to keep a power adapter plugged in as well, which kinda makes this a mess of wires.
I’ve tried several different sound devices and they were all recognized by iOS. Not sure about serial devices.
-Scott, NS7C
Ohh ok. Never really got into Mac/IOS much. I only have this old phone to
use Facetime over my local network for certain folks. Still going to try
it to use for Linux and maybe my Moto phone.
Try Get Console from the App Store.
I tried it briefly this morning with a Mobilinkd NucleoTNC plugged into the
USB3 adapter. At first, it complained about a device requiring too
much power, but I plugged it in to power via the Lightning port and that
message went away.
However, Get Console could not see any serial devices. I think Get Console
is only designed to work with the RedPark MFI adapters.
I will try and build a test iOS app to query IOKit when I return from
vacation.
- Wes W8WJB
Would this be a possible portable solution?
- Raspberry Pi with BLE radio to Radiomail on iPhone
- Vara FM/HF running in Wine accessible via IP over WLAN
- Direwolf via IP over WLAN for packet / x25?
- Radio audio / control over IP over WLAN from Raspberry Pi to a compatible radio? i.e. IC-705
- Assumes all devices connect to a common WLAN SSID
I just started thinking this through but unfortunately never setup a Raspberry Pi for anything ham related in the past. I am thinking of repurposing one for some trial and error.
What you describe is very doable. Basically a headless device that can run some of the necessary modem and radio control. In that case you won't need BLE, because RadioMail can connect via TCP/IP to DireWolf TNC, Vara FM/HF modem and rigtctld for CAT control as necessary.
You may want to consider alternative to Raspberry Pi. For example https://www.bee-link.com/catalog/product/index?id=304 is quite capable in a very small package, runs on 12 V and runs on intel processor not arm which I'm assuming makes Wine emulation easier (I don't know that for a fact)
You probably need to add a sound card in the mix. I've had good luck with the excellent DigiRig.
Attached photo of my setup running Vara FM. I use the same setup for Vara HF with my IC-705 in which case I can skip the DigiRig because the IC-705 has a built-in USB sound card.
Thanks for the reply WH6AZ.
I did not realize that Radiomail can do IP to everything. I missed the beta window so I am only one day 1 or 2. That's great news.
Good point on a regular x86 PC. Many others are more familiar with Raspberry Pi but regular Linux on x86 is more comfortable for me. Edit: Oh, I see it runs Windows on 4GB or RAM. Interesting.
I haven't figured out what radio(s) I plan to use. My portable rigs are Kenwood D710 and the IC-705. I thought I would be able to use my TH-D74 for packet VHF but later learned it did not support BLE. I incorrectly assumed an iPhone would support BLE and the older Bluetooth standard.
Yes, it comes with Windows 10 pre-installed. I got two of those. One I left stock Windows so I can run is as a headless server for the Winlink gateway software as my private test stations. The other I'm running linux as a field computer. I like the form factor, no fan, and 12 V is really nice.
I have heard whispers of a BLE to wired serial device. A dongle like that
would allow the iPhone to access the D74's KISS TNC.
But mobilinkd is coming out with the TNC4 early in Q1 (maybe) which will
also get the iPhone back in the game with a small footprint.
It sure would be nice to use the radio AND the TNC in that Kenwood though...
Mitch N8XS
@WH6AZ, Thanks for the tip. I picked up a Bee Link Mini PC on Amazon.
What linux distro did you settle on for this hardware? I am hoping I won't need any externally sourced device drivers to get it up and running.
Also, do you happen to know if Bee Link provides an OEM Windows installer if you wanted to switch back and stay licensed? I don't see anything on their website available for download.
Went with https://ubuntu-mate.org because I liked how MATE worked on my GPD Pocket. Working fine so far but i can't say if it's the best distro for it or not.
As far as restoring Windows, it's an electronic license so other people mention that if you register it with your Microsoft account, you have access to it later. I did attempt that but was lost in Microsoft admin stuff, so at the end I just blew the install knowing that I would not want to go back to Windows anyways. If you google around you might find someone more tenacious who succeeded at that.
