• Repeater controller based on the Asterisk PBX
• Add-on module to Asterisk adds repeater functionality by HAMVOIP
• All RF is standard analog FM
• Control by DTMF codes
• Can be grafted onto almost any radio stack
• Create many links – scheduled, ad-hoc
• Supports Echolink on the repeater
First Rule of AllStar:
If you don’t want to interact with AllStar, then don’t. The repeater will work just fine without doing a thing.
Second Rule of Allstar:
Your normal FM radio works with AllStar – no special equipment
needed. If you can talk on the repeater, you can use AllStar.
Basic Allstar Commands
AllStar adds and removes links based on DTMF commands starting with a * (star)
ALWAYS announce your DTMF dialing intentions with VOICE before performing the touch tones. “This is (my callsign) dialing node (x)”
*3(NODE) Connect a node
*1(NODE) Disconnect a node
*70 Announce all connected nodes
*76 Disconnect all nodes
*83 Read the Weather forecast for York County (UHF Repeater)
What’s a Node?
• It’s just a number, like a short telephone number
• It is NOT a DMR ID
• Most nodes are a five-digit number
• Newer AllStarLink numbering is an “extension” to your existing node rather than assigning new numbers
• 43211, 432111, 432112, etc…
• 46018, 460181,460188, etc…
• Look up nodes by callsign, location, etc. at https://www.allstarlink.org/nodelist
• See what is linked at http://stats.allstarlink.org
• Find nodes by location on the map at https://stats.allstarlink.org/maps/allstarUSAMap.html
Basic Operational Courtesy
• Avoid quick-keying. This is ALWAYS a good practice, but it’s much more important with network-connected nodes. When it is your turn to speak press your PTT, then take a deep breath and wait before speaking.
• Leave at least a second after you hear the telemetry tone of the last
transmission before you key up.
• Repeaters will have different courtesy tone lengths and hangtimes.
• Listen before you transmit after linking – be courteous about interrupting an in-progress QSO on a remote system.
• Be smart about linking up a big Allstar network mesh or a busy net
• Always unlink when you’re done, and don’t link many big networks together through our repeaters.
• If you are using fldigi or other data modes on AllStar for any purpose, always disconnect from any nodes that are not participating by issuing an unlink all nodes DTMF *76