Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Ideas, technical topics, help and discussion for ATV repeater builders
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G8GKQ
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Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by G8GKQ » Wed May 25, 2022 8:12 pm

I have added the facility to sound an "Announce Bleep" when a signal is detected and the repeater is switching to it.

For those of you already running the controller, go into the SSH Console Menu and perform an update (202205250); no need to take the factory reset config file and lose all your settings. Then, if you want to enable the "Announce Bleep", manually edit the config file by adding this text:

Code: Select all

# Announce bleep info
announcebleep=on
announcebleeplevel=85
announcebleeppitch=600

Ideally between the K info and the Carousel info, at about line 138.

Then restart the repeater software and it should be there.

Comments here please!

Dave, G8GKQ

KA5BBC
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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by KA5BBC » Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:57 pm

Is the team developing this in a position to consolidate all of the information spread across the forum, wiki, and CQ TV in to a single resource with information on compatible hardware and build guide?
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV

g8gtz
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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by g8gtz » Tue Sep 13, 2022 4:53 pm

Hi Andy,

All the documentation is on the wiki which we believe is current and correct - if you find any errors, let us know.

73

Noel
G8GTZ

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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by KA5BBC » Tue Sep 13, 2022 6:32 pm

I can't find anything on known working or compatible hardware, HDMI switches etc,
Andy, KA5BBC/MM0BQV

G8GKQ
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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by G8GKQ » Wed Sep 14, 2022 9:06 am

Andy

The only non-specific hardware involved is the Seamless HDMI switch. These are transient on Amazon.co.uk.

The one that worked for me was an "HDMI Multiviewer Switch 4x1, PORTTA HDMI Quad Multi-Viewer Seamless Switcher 4 in 1 Out with Loop, Audio Extractor to Stereo, 1080p, 5 Viewing Modes for Security Camera, Gaming Consoles"

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y7W596B/ ... 11_TE_dp_1

Any HDMI switches that cost less than £50 (or $50) are unlikely to be suitable. The CQ-TV 275 article (pp 11 - 14) is the best summary.

There will be an article in CQ-TV 277 describing the Portsdown-based HDMI DVB-S2 H264 transmitter.

Dave, G8GKQ

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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by G8GKQ » Thu Nov 02, 2023 3:44 pm

I have just published an update (202311020) to the BATC Repeater Controller. This fixes a few small bugs:
  • The CW ident was sometimes corrupted at the start or the end of the callsign. I have added an "inter-word space" at the beginning and the end of the ident and the K so that the corruption happens during the silent time.
  • I have corrected minor problems with the audio switching during ident,
  • I have corrected a bug where if a signal dropped during the ident the K would not be played and the carousel would not immediately restart.
  • The Front Panel Shutdown and Rack Shutdown button lines now have pull-up enabled.
The audio corruption was caused by the Raspberry Pi audio software not seamlessly mixing the background (very low level) keep-alive noise and the playout of the wav file containing the CW. Note that the HDMI audio output from the controller is at a 32k bitrate, the same as the Ryde receivers.

To load the update, open an ssh terminal, type "stop" and then type "menu". Select "5 Update" and follow the instructions.

Dave, G8GKQ

g0mjw
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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by g0mjw » Fri Nov 03, 2023 8:43 am

Hi Dave

Well done. I was thinking on Tuesday the CW ident on GB3HV is a bit loud relative to typical station audio levels. Is that something that can be adjusted? Also does it completely mute the station audio and if so is that necessary?

Mike

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Re: Update to BATC Repeater Controller

Post by G8GKQ » Fri Nov 03, 2023 10:22 am

Hi Mike

The CW audio level can be adjusted in the config file: https://github.com/davecrump/atv-rptr/b ... C1-L136C16. I'll try to remember to adjust it before the net next Tuesday.

The audio on GB3HV/A is switched by HDMI, so can't be mixed, however the audio on the real GB3HV is switched by i2c-controlled analog switches, and I believe that it is set up to overlay the CW ident on the incoming audio.

Dave

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