Provided by: svxlink-server_24.02-3build1_amd64 
NAME
svxlink.conf - Configuration file for the SvxLink server
DESCRIPTION
svxlink is a general purpose voice service system for ham radio use. This man-page
describe the SvxLink server configuration file format.
SvxLink look for configuration files in a number of places. First it try to find a user
specific configuration file. SvxLink will look for a user specific configuration file in:
$HOME/.svxlink/svxlink.conf. If no user specific configuration file can be found, SvxLink
will look for the system wide configuration file /etc/svxlink/svxlink.conf. The --config
command line option may also be used to specify an arbitrary configuration file.
FILE FORMAT
The configuration file is in the famous INI-file format. A generic example of how such a
file might look like is shown below.
[SECTION1]
VALUE1=1
VALUE2="TWO "
VAULE3="Multi "
"line"
[SECTION2]
VALUE1=2
This is a simple format that contain name=value pairs that belong to a section. In written
text, a specific configuration variable can be referred to as SECTION1/VALUE2 meaning
"configuration variable VALUE2 in section SECTION1".
The same variable name can exist in two different sections. For example VALUE1 in section
SECTION1 have the value 1 and VALUE1 in section SECTION2 have the value 2. Values
containing spaces at the beginning or end of the line must be surrounded by citation
characters (see SECTION1/VALUE2). Likewise with a multi line value (see SECTION1/VALUE3).
CONFIGURATION VARIABLES
Here is the description of all configuration variables that SvxLink understands. The
configuration variables are described section for section.
GLOBAL
The GLOBAL section contains application global configuration data.
MODULE_PATH
Specify where the SvxLink modules can be found. If MODULE_PATH is not specified,
the standard search paths for library files will be used. If that also fails a
hard-coded default will be used. What that default is depend on the architecture
but typically on a x86_64 system it is /usr/lib64/svxlink. Leaving this variable
unset should work in most cases.
LOGIC_CORE_PATH
Specify where the SvxLink logic core plugins can be found. If not set, a hard-coded
default will be used. What that default is depend on the architecture but typically
on an x86_64 system it is /usr/lib64/svxlink. Leaving this variable unset should
work in most cases. If this variable is set to empty, the standard search paths
for library files will be used (see man 3 dlopen).
LOGICS Specify a comma separated list of logic cores that should be created. The logic
core is the thing that ties the transceiver and the voice services (modules)
together. It contains the rules for how the radio interface should be handled. The
specified name of a logic core must have a corresponding section specified in the
config file. This is where the behavior of the logic core is specified.
CFG_DIR
Specify the path to a directory that contain additional configuration files. If a
relative path is specified, the path will be relative to the directory where the
main configuration file is at. All files in the specified directory will be read as
additional configuration. Filenames starting with a dot (hidden files) or not
ending in .conf are ignored.
TIMESTAMP_FORMAT
This variable specifies the format of the time-stamp that is written in front of
each row in the log file. The format string is in the same format as specified in
the strftime(3) manual page. The default is "%c" which is described as: "the
preferred date and time representation for the current locale". The environment
variables LC_TIME, LC_ALL and LANG will affect how this time format will look. For
example, setting LC_TIME="sv_SE.UTF8" will give you Swedish time-stamp
representation. Other examples of format specifiers are:
• %d - The day of the month as a decimal number (range 01 to 31)
• %b - The abbreviated month name according to the current locale
• %Y - The year as a decimal number including the century
• %H - The hour as a decimal number using a 24-hour clock (range 00 to 23)
• %M - The minute as a decimal number (range 00 to 59)
• %S - The second as a decimal number (range 00 to 60)
• %f - Fractional seconds in millisecond resolution (000-999)
The last one (%f) is a SvxLink specific formatting specifier.
Example: TIMESTAMP_FORMAT="%d %b %Y %H:%M:%S.%f" would give a time-stamp looking
something like: "29 Nov 2005 22:31:59.875".
CARD_SAMPLE_RATE
This configuration variable determines the sampling rate used for audio
input/output. SvxLink always work with a sampling rate of 16kHz internally but
there still are some benefits from using a higher sampling rate. On some sound
cards the filters look pretty bad at 16kHz and the amplitude response will not be
uniform which among other things can cause problems for the software DTMF decoder.
Some sound cards also sound very bad at 16kHz due to insufficient anti-alias
filtering or resampling effects. These, often cheaper, sound cards sound OK at
48kHz.
The downside of choosing a higher sampling rate is that it puts a little bit more
load on the CPU so if you have a very slow machine (<300MHz), it might not have the
computational power to handle it.
Supported sampling rates are: 16000 and 48000.
CARD_CHANNELS
Use this configuration variable to specify how many channels to use when opening a
sound card. For normal sound cards the only practical values to use are 1 for mono
and 2 for stereo. The latter is the default.
When using the sound card in stereo mode it is possible to use the left and right
channels independently to drive two transceivers. When using the sound card in mono
mode, both left and right channels transmit/receive the same audio.
LOCATION_INFO
Enter the section name that contains information required for transferring
positioning data to location servers. Setting this item makes the system visible on
the EchoLink link status page and the APRS network.
LINKS Enter here a comma separated list of section names that contains the configuration
information for linking logics together (see Logic Linking).
Common Logic configuration variables
A logic core is what define how SvxLink should behave on the RF channel. The SvxLink
server can handle more than one logic core and so can be connected to more than one
transceiver. When configured, a logic core is loaded at runtime as a plugin. See the
LOGIC_CORE_PATH configuration variable for more information on how SvxLink find the logic
core plugins.
The configuration variables below are common to all logic types. Configuration variables
that are specific to a certain logic core type are described below in a section of its
own.
TYPE The type of logic core this is. The documentation for the specific logic core type
you want to use describe what to write here.
RX Specify the configuration section name of the receiver to use. All configuration
for the receiver is done in the specified configuration section.
TX Specify the configuration section name of the transmitter to use. All configuration
for the transmitter is done in the specified configuration section.
MODULES
Specify a comma separated list of configuration sections for the modules to load.
This tells SvxLink which modules to actually load on startup.
CALLSIGN
Specify the callsign that should be announced on the radio interface.
SHORT_VOICE_ID_ENABLE
A basic toggle to enable the voice ID announcement during the short ID
announcements. Set value to "1" to enable the voice option, and "0" to disable.
SHORT_CW_ID_ENABLE
A basic toggle to enable the CW ID announcement during the short ID announcements.
Set value to "1" to enable the CW option, and "0" to disable.
SHORT_ANNOUNCE_ENABLE
A basic toggle to enable the custom announcement during the short ID announcements.
Set value to "1" to enable the announcement option, and "0" to disable.
SHORT_ANNOUNCE_FILE
The full path to a file to use for custom announcements broadcasted during a
routine short ID.
LONG_VOICE_ID_ENABLE
A basic toggle to enable the voice ID announcement during the long ID
announcements. Set value to "1" to enable the voice option, and "0" to disable.
LONG_CW_ID_ENABLE
A basic toggle to enable the CW ID announcement during the long ID announcements.
Set value to "1" to enable the CW option, and "0" to disable.
LONG_ANNOUNCE_ENABLE
A basic toggle to enable the custom announcement during the long ID announcements.
Set value to "1" to enable the announcement option, and "0" to disable.
LONG_ANNOUNCE_FILE
The full path to a file to use for custom announcements broadcasted during a
routine short ID.
CW_AMP Specify the amplitude of the CW that should be used during any cw traffic,
typically announcements. The amplitude is specified in dB. Default: -6.
CW_PITCH
Specify the pitch (frequency in Hz) of the CW that should be used during any CW
traffic, typically announcements. Default: 800.
CW_CPM Specify the Characters Per Minute of the CW that should be used during any CW
traffic, typically announcements. If both CW_WPM and CW_CPM is set, CW_CPM will be
used. Default: 100.
CW_WPM Specify the Words Per Minute of the CW that should be used during any CW traffic,
typically announcements. If both CW_WPM and CW_CPM is set, CW_CPM will be used.
Default: 20.
PHONETIC_SPELLING
Specify if the spelling of callsign and other words should be announced on the
radio interface using phonetic or non-phonetic spelling. "1" to use phonetic
sounds (legacy default), or "0" to use non-phonetic sounds. Note that this option
may not be available for all language packs.
TIME_FORMAT
Specify what format the time should be announced as, valid options are "12"/"24".
NOTE: may not work for all language packs
SHORT_IDENT_INTERVAL
The number of minutes between short identifications. The purpose of the short
identification is to just announce that the station is on the air. Typically just
the callsign is transmitted. For a repeater a good value is ten minutes and for a
simplex node one time every 60 minutes is probably enough. The LONG_IDENT_INTERVAL
must be an even multiple of the SHORT_IDENT_INTERVAL so if LONG_IDENT_INTERVAL is
60 then the legal values for SHORT_IDENT_INTERVAL are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12,
15, 20, 30, 60. If unset or set to 0, disable short identifications.
LONG_IDENT_INTERVAL
The number of minutes between long identifications. The purpose of the long
identification is to transmit some more information about the station status (new
voice mails etc). The time of day is also transmitted. A good value here is 60
minutes. If unset or set to 0, disable long identifications.
IDENT_ONLY_AFTER_TX
This feature controls when identification is done. By default, identification is
done every time the SHORT_IDENT_INTERVAL expires. If this feature is enabled,
identification will be done only if there has been a recent transmission. This
feature is good for nodes using an RF link to provide echolink to a repeater.
Often, in this situation, it is not desirable for the link to identify unless
legally necessary. Note that SHORT_IDENT_INTERVAL still have to be set for this
feature to work. That config variable will then be interpreted as the minimum
number of seconds between identifications. The LONG_IDENT_INTERVAL will not be
affected by this parameter.
EXEC_CMD_ON_SQL_CLOSE
Specify a time, in milliseconds, after squelch close after which entered DTMF
digits will be executed as a command without the need to send the # character. To
disable this feature, either comment out the configuration row or set it to a value
less or equal to zero.
EVENT_HANDLER
Point out the TCL event handler script to use. The TCL event handler script is
responsible for playing the correct audio clips when an event occur. The default
location is /usr/share/svxlink/events.tcl.
DEFAULT_LANG
Set the default language to use for announcements. It should be set to an ISO code
(e.g. sv_SE for Swedish). If not set, it defaults to en_US which is US English.
RGR_SOUND_DELAY
The number of milliseconds to wait after the squelch has been closed before a roger
beep is played. The beep can be disabled by specifying a value of -1 or commenting
out this line. Often it is best to use the SQL_HANGTIME receiver configuration
variable to specify a delay instead of specifying a delay here. This configuration
variable should then be set to 0.
REPORT_CTCSS
If set, will report the specified CTCSS frequency upon manual identification (*
pressed). It is possible to specify fractions using "." as decimal comma. Disable
this feature by commenting out (#) this configuration variable.
TX_CTCSS
This configuration variable controls if a CTCSS tone should be transmitted. Use a
comma separated list (no spaces!) to specify when to transmit a CTCSS tone. These
are the possible values: SQL_OPEN, LOGIC, MODULE, ANNOUNCEMENT or ALWAYS.
Commenting out this configuration variable will disable CTCSS transmit. The tone
frequency and level is configured in the transmitter configuration section.
• SQL_OPEN will transmit CTCSS tone when the squelch is open. This is only useful
on a repeater. On a simplex node it doesn't make much sense.
• LOGIC will transmit CTCSS tone when there is incoming traffic from another
logic core.
• MODULE will transmit CTCSS tone when there is incoming traffic from a module.
• ANNOUNCEMENT will transmit CTCSS tone when an announcement is being played.
Repeater idle sounds and roger beeps will not have tone sent with them though.
• ALWAYS will always transmit a CTCSS tone as soon as the transmitter is turned
on.
MACROS Point out a section that contains the macros that should be used by this logic
core. See the section description for macros below for more information.
FX_GAIN_NORMAL
The gain (dB) to use for audio effects and announcements when there is no other
traffic. This gain is normally set to 0dB which means no gain or attenuation.
FX_GAIN_LOW
The gain (dB) to use for audio effects and announcements when there is other
traffic. This gain is normally set to something like -12dB so that announcements
and audio effects are attenuated when there is other traffic present.
QSO_RECORDER
The QSO recorder is used to write all received audio to files on disk. The format
for this configuration variable is <command>:<config section>. The specified
command is used to activate or deactivate the QSO recorder. If the command for
example is set to 8, 81 will activate the recorder and 80 will deactivate it. The
command may also be left out. It will then not be possible to control the QSO
recorder using DTMF commands. Even if the command is left out the colon must always
be specified. The config section point out a section in the configuration file
that holds configuration for the QSO recorder. Have a look at the QSO Recorder
Section documentation for more information.
Example: QSO_RECORDER=8:QsoRecorder
SEL5_MACRO_RANGE
Define two comma separated values here to map the Sel5 tone call to your macro
area. E.g. if you have defined: SEL5_MACRO_RANGE=03400,03499 then all incoming Sel5
tone sequences from 03400 to 03499 are mapped to the macros section (refer to
Macros Section, next chapter). Other sequences but the one defined under
OPEN_ON_SEL5 are ignored so it can be used to call other stations via the repeater
without a repeater reaction.
ONLINE_CMD
Define a DTMF command that is used to switch the node between online and offline
mode. When in the off-state, the transmitter will not be turned on by any event. If
a module is active when the node is brought offline, it will be deactivated and no
module activation will be allowed in offline mode. No other commands than the
online command will be accepted in the offline state.
If the command for example is set to 998877 then 9988771 will set the node online
and 9988770 will set it offline. If a module is active or if the
ACTIVATE_MODULE_ON_LONG_CMD is used, the command must be prefixed with a star to
work as expected. The star means "force core command".
ONLINE Set to 0 to make SvxLink start offline. Settable at runtime. Default is 1 (online).
STATE_PTY
Using this configuration variable it is possible to specify a path to a UNIX 98 PTY
that SvxLink state events is published to. The published events is in a simple text
format using a space separated list of values. SvxLink will create a softlink to
the actual slave PTY. For that reason, SvxLink must have write permissions in the
directory where the softlink should be created. Monitoring the PTY output is as
simple as doing a cat /path/to/pty after starting SvxLink. See STATE PTY FORMAT for
more information on the format of the state messages.
Example: STATE_PTY=/tmp/state_pty
DTMF_CTRL_PTY
Using this configuration variable it is possible to specify a path to a UNIX 98 PTY
that allows a dtmf control of each single SvxLink logic. SvxLink will create a
softlink to the actual slave PTY. For that reason, SvxLink must have write
permissions in the directory where the softlink should be created. Sending commands
to the PTY is as simple as doing a echo '*1#' > /path/to/pty after starting
SvxLink. The device works bidirectional, received dtmf characters (from Rf) are
output via this interface.
Example: DTMF_CTRL_PTY=/dev/shm/dtmf_ctrl
CTCSS_TO_TG
Use this variable to specify a comma separated list of pairs of tone frequencies
and talk groups. When one of the tone frequencies is detected, the corresponding
talk group will be associated with the received audio. This can be used for example
by ReflectorLogic to automatically switch to a talk group when one of the specified
tone frequencies is received. You also must configure CTCSS_FQ for all receivers to
open the squelch on the same tone frequencies. Otherwise it will not work.
Example: CTCSS_TO_TG=127.3:9993,136.5:9995
CTCSS_TO_TG_DELAY
The delay for reporting detected talkgroup from when a CTCSS tone is detected. If
the squelch close before the delay time has expired, no talkgroup will be reported.
Default: 1000.
Example: CTCSS_TO_TG_DELAY=0
Simplex Logic Section
The Simplex Logic section contains configuration data for a simplex logic core. The name
of the section, which in the example configuration file is SimplexLogic, must have a
corresponding list item in the GLOBAL/LOGICS config variable for this logic core to be
activated. The name "SimplexLogic" is not magic. It could be called what ever you like but
it must match the namespace name in the SimplexLogic.tcl script. The configuration
variables below are those that are specific for a simplex logic core.
TYPE The type for a simplex logic core is always Simplex.
MUTE_RX_ON_TX
Set to 1 to mute the receiver when the transmitter is transmitting (default) or set
it to 0 to make the RX active during transmissions. One might want to set this to
0 if the link is operating on a split frequency. Then the link can accept commands
even when it's transmitting. The normal setting is 1, to mute the RX when
transmitting.
MUTE_TX_ON_RX
Set to 1 to mute the transmitter when the squelch is open (default) or set it to 0
to make the TX active during squelch open. One might want to set this to 0 if the
link is operating on a split frequency or if it's connected to some full duplex
device. The normal setting is 1, to mute the TX when the squelch is open.
RGR_SOUND_ALWAYS
Set to 1 to always send roger sound after squelch close, even when no module is
active.
COMMAND_PTY
Using this configuration variable it is possible to specify a path to a UNIX 98 PTY
that can be used to send commands to a SvxLink logic core. SvxLink will create a
softlink to the actual slave PTY. For that reason, SvxLink must have write
permissions in the directory where the softlink should be created. Sending
commands to the PTY is as simple as doing a echo 'THE COMMAND TO EXECUTE' >
/path/to/pty after starting SvxLink.
Valid commands:
• CFG <section> <tag> <value> -- Set a configuration variable. Only a few
configuration variables support being set at runtime. Example: CFG
RepeaterLogic ONLINE 0.
• EVENT <event name> [<arg> ...] -- Call an event handler (TCL function). It is
important to specify the correct TCL namespace for the function to be found. If
no namespace is given, the namespace of the current logic core will be added,
e.g. "manual_identification" is the same as
"RepeaterLogic::manual_identification" if the logic core namnespace is
"RepeaterLogic". To call a function in the root namespace, the function name
must be prepended with "::". Example: EVENT ::playNumber -42.5.
Example: COMMAND_PTY=/dev/shm/repeater_logic_ctrl
Repeater Logic Section
A Repeater Logic section contains configuration data for a repeater logic core. The name
of the section, which in the example configuration file is RepeaterLogic, must have a
corresponding list item in the GLOBAL/LOGICS config variable for this logic core to be
activated. The name "RepeaterLogic" is not magic. It could be called what ever you like
but it must match the namespace name in the RepeaterLogic.tcl script. The configuration
variables below are those that are specific for a repeater logic core.
TYPE The type for a repeater logic core is always Repeater.
NO_REPEAT
Set this to 1 if you do NOT want SvxLink to play back the incoming audio. This can
be used when the received audio is directly coupled by hardware wiring to the
transmitter. What you win by doing this is that there is zero delay on the repeated
audio. When the audio is routed through SvxLink there is always an amount of delay.
What you loose by doing this is the audio processing done by SvxLink (e.g.
filtering, DTMF muting, squelch tail elimination) and the ability to use remote
receivers.
IDLE_TIMEOUT
The number of seconds the repeater should have been idle before turning the
transmitter off.
OPEN_ON_1750
Use this configuration variable if it should be possible to open the repeater with
a 1750Hz tone burst. Specify the number of milliseconds the tone must be asserted
before the repeater is opened. Make sure that the time specified is long enough for
the squelch to have time to open. Otherwise the repeater will open "too soon" and
you will hear an ugly 1750Hz beep as the first thing. A value of 0 will disable
1750 Hz repeater opening.
OPEN_ON_CTCSS
Use this configuration variable if it should be possible to open the repeater using
a CTCSS tone (PL). The repeater will activate after the specified number of
milliseconds on detection of any of the CTCSS frequencies specified in the receiver
configuration.
OPEN_ON_DTMF
Use this configuration variable if it should be possible to open the repeater with
a DTMF digit. Only one digit can be specified. DTMF digits pressed when the
repeater is down will be ignored.
OPEN_ON_SEL5
Use this configuration variable if you want to open your repeater by using a
selective tone call that is often used in commercial radio networks. Example:
OPEN_ON_SEL5=03345 opens your repeater only if that sequence has been received. You
can use sequence lengths from 4 to 25.
CLOSE_ON_SEL5
Use this configuration variable if you want to close your repeater by using a
selective tone call that is often used in commercial radio networks. Example:
CLOSE_ON_SEL5=03345 closes your repeater if that sequence has been received. You
can use sequence lengths from 4 to 25.
OPEN_ON_SQL
Use this configuration variable if it should be possible to open the repeater just
by keeping the squelch open for a while. The value to set is the minimum number of
milliseconds the squelch must be open for the repeater to open.
OPEN_ON_SQL_AFTER_RPT_CLOSE
Activate the repeater on just a squelch opening if there have been no more than the
specified number of seconds since the repeater closed.
OPEN_SQL_FLANK
Determines if OPEN_ON_SQL and OPEN_ON_CTCSS should activate the repeater when the
squelch open or close. If set to OPEN, the repeater will activate and start
retransmitting audio immediately. No identification will be sent. If set to CLOSE,
the repeater will not activate until the squelch close. An identification will be
sent in this case.
IDLE_SOUND_INTERVAL
When the repeater is idle, a sound is played. Specify the interval in milliseconds
between playing the idle sound. An interval of 0 disables the idle sound.
SQL_FLAP_SUP_MIN_TIME
Flapping squelch suppression is used to close the repeater down if there is
interference on the frequency that open the squelch by short bursts. This
configuration variable is used to specify the minimum time, in milliseconds, that a
transmission must last to be classified as a real transmission. A good value is in
between 500-2000ms.
SQL_FLAP_SUP_MAX_COUNT
Flapping squelch suppression is used to close the repeater down if there is
interference on the frequency that open the squelch by short bursts. This
configuration variable is used to specify the maximum number of consecutive short
squelch openings allowed before shutting the repeater down. A good value is in
between 5-10.
ACTIVATE_MODULE_ON_LONG_CMD
This configuration variable activate a feature that might help users not aware of
the SvxLink command structure. The idea is to activate the specified module when a
long enough command has been received. The typical example is an EchoLink user that
is used to just typing in the node ID and then the connection should be established
right away. Using this configuration variable, specify a minimum length and a
module name. If no module is active and at least the specified number of digits has
been entered, the given module is activated and the command is sent to it. To be
really useful this feature should be used in cooperation with
EXEC_CMD_ON_SQL_CLOSE.
For example, if this configuration variable is set to "4:EchoLink" and the user
types in 9999, the EchoLink module is first activated and then the command 9999 is
sent to it, which will connect to the ECHOTEST server.
IDENT_NAG_TIMEOUT
Tell repeater users that are not identifying to identify themselves. The number of
seconds to wait for an identification, after the repeater has been activated, is
set using this configuration variable. A valid identification is considered to be
a transmission longer than the time set by the IDENT_NAG_MIN_TIME configuration
variable. We don't know if it's really an identification but it's the best we can
do. Setting it to 0 or commenting it out disables the feature.
IDENT_NAG_MIN_TIME
This is the minimum time, in milliseconds, that a transmission must last to be
considered as an identification. This is used as described in the IDENT_NAG_TIMEOUT
configuration variable.
ReflectorLogic
The ReflectorLogic is used to connect to an SvxReflector server. The SvxReflector will
distribute all audio to all connected nodes. To actually send audio to the reflector from
a logic core, set up a link between the two logics using LogicLinking. More than one logic
core can be connected.
SvxReflector also offer traffic separation using talk groups so that multiple QSOs can be
ongoing through the same reflector server without interfering with each other. The set of
talk groups that a node monitors for activity is configurable so that a talk group can be
automatically selected when it's active. After a configurable timeout the node will return
to monitor all configured talk groups if there is no activity on the currently selected
talk group. Which talk group to select for outgoing traffic for a node can be set to a
default and/or selected using DTMF commands. The DTMF commands are entered through the
logic linking definition associated with the reflector. So if a command prefix of 9 have
been specified for a link, selecting talk group 888 will be achieved by entering the
command 91888#.
TYPE The type for a reflector logic core is always Reflector.
DNS_DOMAIN
The domain of the SvxReflector server to connect to. To make this work, the DNS
domain have to be configured with SRV records for all reflector servers serving
that domain. For example, if the domain is example.org, there must be one or more
SRV entries in the DNS with the name _svxreflector._tcp.example.org. Each SRV
record contain information about hostname, port, priority and weight. The priority
determine in which order SvxLink will try to connect to the servers. The weight is
used to give different servers with the same priority a probability for how often
it will be selected.
HOSTS A comma separated list of hostname:port pairs of the reflector servers. IP address
also work. If port is not specified the value of HOST_PORT will be used as a
default. If DNS_DOMAIN is also specified, the values in the HOSTS list will be
added to the list looked up in the DNS. The order of the entries depend on
HOST_PRIO, HOST_PRIO_INC and HOST_WEIGHT.
HOST_PRIO
The priority value to use for entries in the HOSTS list. The priority determine in
which order SvxLink will try to connect to the specified servers. See also
HOST_PRIO_INC. Default: 100.
HOST_PRIO_INC
The value with which to increase the priority value for each entry in the HOSTS
list. The first value will be the one specified by HOST_PRIO. Default: 1.
HOST_WEIGHT
The weight value will determine how often a server will be selected in comparison
to servers with the same priority. This variable is only useful when one want to
set the weight in relation to other SRV records looked up in the DNS. The weight
values for entries in the HOSTS list will always be the same.
HOST_PORT
The default TCP/UDP port number used by the reflector server. The client do not
need to open any ports in the firewall. Default: 5300.
CALLSIGN
The callsign of this node. The callsign also serves as the username when
authenticating to the SvxReflector server.
AUTH_KEY
The authentication key, or password, used when authenticating to the SvxReflector
server.
JITTER_BUFFER_DELAY
A jitter buffer is used to prevent gaps in the audio when the network connection do
not provide a steady flow of data. Set this configuration variable to the number of
milliseconds to buffer before starting to process the audio. Default: 0.
DEFAULT_TG
The node will select this talk group on local incoming traffic if no other talk
group is currently selected. Default: 0 (no talk group).
MONITOR_TGS
A comma separated list of talk groups which the node will monitor for activity when
no other talk group is selected.
It is also possible to mark talk groups as more prioritized than others by adding
one or more plus signs after the talk group number. More plus signs mean higher
priority. While a talk group is selected, and there are activity on a talk group
with higher priority, the higher prio talk group will be selected unless there have
been local activity on the node.
Example:
MONITOR_TGS=112++,240,2403+,2403123
will monitor the TGs for Sweden, Sweden district 3 and a specific TG #2403123.
Traffic on talk group 2403 will be prioritized and 112 will have the highest
priority.
TG_SELECT_TIMEOUT
The number of seconds after which a selected talk group will be unselected. The
node will return to talk group 0 (no talk group) and start monitoring the
configured talk groups again. The value must be larger than zero. Default: 30
seconds.
TG_SELECT_INHIBIT_TIMEOUT
Talkgroup selection is inhibited when there is activity on the local frequency that
does not activate a talkgroup. Only activation due to remote activity (monitoring)
is inhibited. A talkgroup can be activated as usual by using any method for local
activation. This feature make it possible to conduct a local QSO without being
disturbed by remote reflector traffic.
Use this configuration variable to set the number of seconds of inactivity before
the node will go back to monitoring remote talkgroup activity. The default value is
taken from TG_SELECT_TIMEOUT if this variable is not set. Setting a value of 0
will disable the feature entirely.
ANNOUNCE_REMOTE_MIN_INTERVAL
The minimum number of seconds between announcements of the same TG for remote TG
activations. If the same TG is remotely activated repeatedly it will not be
announced until at least the number of seconds specified in this configuration
variable have passed.
NODE_INFO_FILE
The configuration file to use for sending information regarding this client to the
reflector server. This is not a required configuration. It is mostly free-form JSON
but the general structure should be kept so that SvxLink and the reflector server
can fill in dynamic information about the node like signal strengths for receivers.
Use the default node_info.json as a template. You can add more information rather
freely but don't change the overall structure.
MUTE_FIRST_TX_LOC
Mute the first transmission after selecting a talk group due to local activity.
This feature is good to have enabled for a number of reasons. One reason is to
suppress short openings of a talk group when someone just make a single
transmission to test the local node. Another reason is for to allow someone to
submit DTMF commands to the node without disturbing the reflector network. An
example is that someone activates a talk group using CTCSS but then immediately
select another talk group using DTMF. In that case no transmission will be made on
the first talk group. This feature is enabled by default.
MUTE_FIRST_TX_REM
Mute the first transmission after selecting a talk group due to remote activity.
This feature can be enabled to let local node users enter DTMF commands without
disturbing an active talk group. As an example, the local node monitors a talk
group that is active. However, no one on the local node participates in the QSO and
a local user want to select another talk group. With this feature enabled it is
possible to do that without transmitting into the reflector network while entering
DTMF commands.
This feature is not enabled by default since it is a bit unintuitive. If a local
user hear a call and want to answer that call, he must first make a short
transmission to "open up" the local node. This is easy to forget.
TMP_MONITOR_TIMEOUT
This configuration variable determines after how many seconds a manually added
temporary talk group monitor will time out. Set to 0 to disable this feature.
Default is 3600, one hour.
UDP_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL
The number of seconds between UDP heartbeat messages sent to the reflector server.
This configuration variable can normally be left at the default value but if you
get frequent disconnects due to UDP heartbeat timeout it may help to lower this
value. Default: 15
QSY_PENDING_TIMEOUT
Set to the number of seconds to enable following a QSY request on squelch activity.
That is, after a remote QSY request, during the configured number of seconds, it
will be possible to follow a QSY request by just pushing the PTT instead of having
to use DTMF commands. Note that the timer starts when the QSY request is received
so the time it takes to play the QSY announcement is also included in the timeout
time. A good value is within 10 to 15 seconds. Default is -1 (disabled).
VERBOSE
Set to 0 to suppress reflector leave/join printouts.
It is also possible to set audio codec parameters using the same configuration variables
as documented for networked receivers and transmitters. For example, to lighten the
encoder CPU load for the Opus encoder, set OPUS_ENC_COMPLEXITY to something lower than 9.
QSO Recorder Section
The QSO recorder is used to record all received audio to files on disk. All audio from
receivers, modules and logic links are recorded. Announcements are not recorded.
REC_DIR
Use this configuration variable to specify in which directory to write the audio
files. A good place is /var/spool/svxlink/qso_recorder.
MIN_TIME
If the duration of the recorded content for a file is less then MIN_TIME
milliseconds, the file will be deleted when the file is closed. Default: 0 (empty
files will be deleted).
MAX_TIME
Setting this configuration variable will set an upper limit for the file size of a
recording. No more than MAX_TIME seconds of content will be recorded to a single
file. When the maximum time have been reached, the file is closed and another file
is created. Note that it is not the maximum time that the recording has been active
that we are setting a limit for but rather how much content that have been recorded
to the file. If nothing is recorded, the file can stay open indefinitely. Default:
0 (no limit)
SOFT_TIME
To not get abrupt breaks in recordings it is possible to set a soft break time.
Let's say that MAX_TIME is set to 3600 seconds (one hour). If we set SOFT_TIME to
300 seconds (five minutes) the QSO recorder try to close the file on a squelch
close somewhere between 55 and 60 minutes. In this way we may avoid getting
transmissions split up between files. Default: 0 (no limit)
MAX_DIRSIZE
Specify the maximum total size in megabytes of the files in the recording
directory. If the limit is exceeded, the oldest files are deleted. The directory
size is checked upon file close so the size may grow temporarily past the limit
with at most the size of one recorded file. Only files which have a filename
starting with "qsorec_" will be considered for deletion. If using an ENCODING_CMD,
make sure that the "qsorec_" prefix is not removed from the target filename unless
you really want the MAX_DIRSIZE feature to skip them. Default: 0 (no limit)
DEFAULT_ACTIVE
If this configuration variable is set to 1, the QSO recorder will be activated by
default when SvxLink start. Default: 0 (default inactive)
TIMEOUT
If a timeout is specified, the activation state of the QSO recorder will return to
the value specified in the DEFAULT_ACTIVE configuration variable when the node has
been idle for the specified number of seconds. When DEFAULT_ACTIVE is unset or 0,
if the QSO recorder is manually activated it will be automatically deactivated
after the specified amount of time of inactivity. When DEFAULT_ACTIVE is set to 1,
if the QSO recorder is manually deactivated it will be automatically activated
after the specified amount of time of inactivity. Default: 0 (no timeout)
QSO_TIMEOUT
Set this configuration variable if you want to close the currently opened file and
open a new one after each QSO. The number of seconds the node should be idle before
closing the file should be specified. Default: 0 (no QSO timeout)
ENCODER_CMD
Specify a command to be executed after a new wav file have been written to disk.
This makes it possible to use an external encoder utility to encode the wav file to
another format. Even though this configuration variable was added to run an
external encoder it could do more complicated things with the file if needed. A
couple of examples would be to transfer the file to another computer or to send a
notification e-mail. If the command line get too complicated it may be a good idea
to write a script instead.
The encoder command will be run under a shell so normal shell operators like
redirects and pipes may be used. The shell specified in the SHELL environment
variable will be used and if not set, /bin/sh will be used. The "-c" command line
option will be added so the complete command will look something like: $SHELL -c
"$ENCODER_CMD". A number of %-codes can be included in the command. They have the
following meaning:
• %f - The full filename with full path
• %d - The directory part (what REC_DIR is set to)
• %b - The basename, that is, the filename without path and extension
• %n - The filename without path but with extension
The encoder will be started in the background and it will not be stopped even if
SvxLink exits. It will run in the background until it's done. As long as SvxLink is
running it is monitoring the encoding processes. If a process run for longer than
one hour it will be killed.
Note that SvxLink will never remove the original recording so that have to be done
in the encoder command. Here are a couple of examples:
ENCODER_CMD=/usr/bin/oggenc -Q \"%f\" && rm \"%f\"
ENCODER_CMD=/usr/bin/lame --quiet \"%f\" \"%d/%b.mp3\" && rm \"%f\"
ENCODER_CMD=/usr/bin/speexenc \"%f\" \"%d/%b.spx\" 2>/dev/null && rm \"%f\"
ENCODER_CMD=/usr/bin/opusenc \"%f\" \"%d/%b.opus\" 2>/dev/null && rm \"%f\"
Macros Section
A macros section is used to declare macros that can be used by a logic core. The logic
core points out the macros section to use by using the MACROS configuration variable. The
name of the MACROS section can be chosen arbitrarily as long as it match the MACROS
configuration variable in the logic core configuration section. There could for example
exist both a [RepeaterLogicMacros] and a [SimplexLogicMacros] section.
A macro is a kind of shortcut that can be used to decrease the amount of key presses that
have to be done to connect to common EchoLink stations for example. On the radio side,
macros are activated by pressing "D" "macro number" "#". A macros section can look
something like the example below. Note that the module name is case sensitive.
[Macros]
1=EchoLink:9999#
2=EchoLink:1234567#
9=Parrot:0123456789#
For example, pressing DTMF sequence "D1#" will activate the EchoLink module and connect to
the EchoTest conference node.
Logic Linking
A logic linking configuration section is used to specify information for a link between
two or more SvxLink logic cores. Such a link can for example be used to connect a local
repeater to a remote repeater using a separate link transceiver. The link is
activated/deactivated using DTMF commands and/or automatically depending on your
configuration. When the link is active, all audio received by one logic will be
transmitted by the other logic(s).
The name of the logic linking section can be chosen freely. In the example configuration
file, there is a section [LinkToR4]. To use a logic linking section in a logic core it
must be pointed out by the LINKS configuration variable in the GLOBAL section. Example:
GLOBAL/LINKS=LinkToR4
CONNECT_LOGICS
A comma separated list of logic specifications for the logic cores to connect
together. Each logic specification has three parts separated by colons: <logic
name>:<command>:<announcement name>. The "logic name" is the name of the logic to
include in the link. To manually activate or deactivate the link from the just
specified logic, "command" is used. The "announcement name" is used when announcing
link related activities like activation or deactivation. Both "command" and
"announcement name" may be left empty if no manual control is wanted. An example
config line may look like this:
RepeaterLogic_2m:99:SK3GW,RepeaterLogic_70cm:94:SK3GK
It will include two logics in the link, RepeaterLogic_2m and RepeaterLogic_70cm.
From the 2m side, the link will be activated when the user send command 991 and
deactivated when the user send command 990. Upon activation, an announcement like
"activating link to SK3GW" will be played back. From the 70cm side the command will
be 941 and 940 respectively. The announcement when activating the link from the
70cm side will be something like "activating link to SK3GK".
DEFAULT_ACTIVE
The link will be connected automatically during startup of SvxLink if this
configuration variable is set to 1. Also, if a link is manually disconnected by a
user it will be automatically reconnected after some time of inactivity. The time
is specified by setting the TIMEOUT configuration variable. If the TIMEOUT variable
is not set, no automatic reactivation will be done.
TIMEOUT
The number of seconds after which the link will be automatically deactivated if
there have been no activity. If 1 have been specified for DEFAULT_ACTIVE, this
configuration variable will specify after how many seconds the link will be
reactivated after being manually deactivated.
ACTIVATE_ON_ACTIVITY
Enter a comma separated list of logics, which should automatically activate the
link if there is activity (e.g. squelch open, announcements etc) in it. One
possible application for this is for example to make the connection of a
microphone/speaker combination (without DTMF encoder) for brief announcements but
without having to constantly listen in. Example: ACTIVATE_ON_ACTIVITY=MicSpkrLogic
Local Receiver Section
A local receiver section is used to specify the configuration for a receiver connected to
the sound card. In the default configuration file there is a Local configuration section
called Rx1. The section name could be anything. It should match the RX configuration
variable in the logic core where the receiver is to be used. The available configuration
variables are described below.
TYPE Always "Local" for a local receiver.
RX_ID A single character uniquely identifying this receiver. The RX identity can for
example be used in the TCL event scripts to get different roger sounds for
different receivers when using a receiver voter.
AUDIO_DEV
Specify the audio device to use. Normally alsa:plughw:0. Have a look at the AUDIO
DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS chapter for more information.
AUDIO_CHANNEL
Specify the audio channel to use. SvxLink can use the left/right stereo channels as
two mono channels. Legal values are 0 or 1.
AUDIO_DEV_KEEP_OPEN
The normal behaviour for SvxLink is to open an audio device when needed and close
it when it does not have to be open anymore. This may cause problems in some
applications or with some sound hardware. Set this variable to 1 to force SvxLink
to keep the audio device open from application start to exit.
LIMITER_THRESH
Set the threshold, in dBFS, for the audio limiter. The audio limiter really is a
compressor with a very steep compression ratio like 10:1. The limiter is used to
help keeping down the audio level for overmodulating stations. For a properly
calibrated SvxLink node max FM deviation is -6dBFS. A good value to start with for
this parameter is then -6 but try to lower it further (like -9 to -12) if it does
not affect audio quality negatively.
SQL_DET
Specify the type of squelch detector to use. Possible values are: VOX, CTCSS,
SERIAL, EVDEV, SIGLEV, PTY, GPIO, GPIOD, HIDRAW or COMBINE.
The VOX squelch detector determines if there is a signal present by calculating a
mean value of the sound samples. The VOX squelch detector behavior is adjusted with
VOX_FILTER_DEPTH and VOX_THRESH. VOX is actually a bit of a misnomer since it's a
"Voice Operated Squelch" and VOX actually means "Voice Operated Transmitter".
However, the term VOX is widely understood by hams all over the world so we'll
stick with it.
The CTCSS squelch detector checks for the presence of a tone with the specified
frequency. The tone frequency is specified using the CTCSS_FQ config variable. The
thresholds are specified using the CTCSS_OPEN_THRESH and CTCSS_CLOSE_THRESH config
variables. Other config variables that effect the CTCSS squelch is: CTCSS_MODE,
CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS, CTCSS_BPF_LOW, CTCSS_BPF_HIGH, CTCSS_EMIT_TONE_DETECTED.
The SERIAL squelch detector use a pin in a serial port to detect if the squelch is
open. This squelch detector can be used if the receiver have an external hardware
indicator of when the squelch is open. Specify which serial port/pin to use with
SERIAL_PORT and SERIAL_PIN.
The EVDEV squelch detector read squelch events from a /dev/input/eventX device. An
example where this could be useful is if you have a USB audio device with some
buttons on it. Some of these devices generate key press events, much like a
keyboard. Specify which /dev/input device node to use using the EVDEV_DEVNAME
config variable. Set which events that should open and close the squelch using the
EVDEV_OPEN and EVDEV_CLOSE config variables.
The GPIO squelch detector read a pin on the GPIO Port. Depending on the level of
the pin, the squelch is switched. A HIGH (3.3V) at the pin set the squelch to open
and a LOW (GND) level will set the squelch to closed. Specify which squelch pin to
use with the GPIO_SQL_PIN configuration variable. On some devices, like the Orange
Pi, you also need to set the GPIO_PATH configuration variable.
The GPIOD squelch detector read a pin in the GPIO subsystem using the gpiod
library. Depending on the level of the pin, the squelch is switched. Set GPIOD
interaction up using the following configuration variables: SQL_GPIOD_CHIP,
SQL_GPIOD_LINE, SQL_GPIOD_BIAS.
The SIGLEV squelch detector use signal level measurements to determine if the
squelch is open or not. Which signal level detector to use is determined by the
setting of the SIGLEV_DET configuration variable. The open and close thresholds are
set using the SQL_SIGLEV_OPEN_THRESH and SQL_SIGLEV_CLOSE_THRESH configuration
variables. If using the NOISE signal level detector note the following. The
detector is not perfect (it's affected by speech) so you will also want to setup
SQL_HANGTIME to prevent it from closing in the middle of a transmission. A value
between 100-300ms is probably what you need. If using this squelch type in
cooperation with a voter, you'll also probably need to setup SQL_DELAY to get
correct signal level measurements. A value of about 40ms seem to be OK. Also, when
using the NOISE signal level detector the input audio must be unsquelched since
silence will be interpreted as a high signal strength.
The PTY squelch expects a very simple protocol over a pseudo-tty device, created by
SvxLink at runtime. An 'O' over this pty device indicate an open squelch, a 'Z' is
a closed squelch. Define the slave pty using PTY_PATH (e.g. PTY_PATH=/tmp/sql)
and SvxLink will create a link to the specified path from it's pseudotty slave
device (/dev/pts/X). This can be used by a script to interface custom devices,
modems or other hardware to SvxLink. Look for nhrcx.pl or trx_pty_ctrl.py for an
example. It is possible to specify the same PTY for multiple functions (e.g. DTMF,
ptt etc) in both TX and RX configurations. This may be good if there is one script
handling all functions.
The HIDRAW squelch supports human interface devices (HID), USB devices like CM108
soundcard e.g. used in the URI Echolink adapter made by DMK.
The COMBINE squelch make it possible to combine multiple squelch types using a
logical expression. The expression is set up using the SQL_COMBINE configuration
variable.
SQL_START_DELAY
The squelch start delay is of most use when using VOX squelch. For example, if the
transceiver makes a noise when the transmitter is turned off, that might trigger
the VOX and cause an infinite loop of squelch open/close transmitter on/off.
Specify the number of milliseconds that the squelch should be "deaf" after the
transmitter has been turned off.
SQL_DELAY
Specify a delay in milliseconds that a squelch open indication will be delayed.
This odd feature can be of use when using a fast squelch detector in combination
with the signal level detector. A squelch delay will allow the signal level
detector to do its work before an indication of squelch open is sent to the logic
core. A delay might be needed when using the voter to choose among multiple
receivers. A normal value could be somewhere in between 20-100ms.
SQL_HANGTIME
How long, in milliseconds, the squelch will stay open after the detector has
indicated that it is closed. This configuration variable will affect all squelch
detector types. Settable at runtime.
SQL_EXTENDED_HANGTIME
At low signal strengths it can be beneficial to use a longer squelch hangtime so
that it is less likely for the squelch to close. This configuration variable is
unset by default. A value of 1000 milliseconds may be a good value to start out
with. To enable the extended squelch hangtime feature, set up the
SQL_EXTENDED_HANGTIME_THRESH variable. Settable at runtime.
SQL_EXTENDED_HANGTIME_THRESH
At low signal strengths it can be beneficial to use a longer squelch hangtime so
that it is less likely for the squelch to close. This configuration variable is
unset by default. When set to a signal level it will activate the extended squelch
hangtime feature. When the signal strength during a transmission fall below the set
threshold, the extended hangtime will be used. Start out with a value between 10 to
15. The SQL_EXTENDED_HANGTIME variable is used to set how long the extended squelch
hangtime should be. Make sure that you have calibrated the signal level detector
before turning this feature on. Otherwise it will not work as expected. Settable at
runtime.
SQL_TIMEOUT
Use this configuration variable to set an upper limit, in seconds, for how long the
squelch is allowed to be open. If the timeout value is exceeded the squelch is
forced to closed. If the squelch close for real, everything is back to normal. When
it opens the next time a squelch open will be signaled. For example, use this
feature to make sure that a faulty receiver cannot block the system indefinitely.
VOX_FILTER_DEPTH
The number of milliseconds to create the mean value over. A small value will make
the vox react quicker (<200) and larger values will make it a little bit more
sluggish. A small value is often better.
VOX_THRESH
The threshold that the mean value of the samples must exceed for the squelch to be
considered open. It's hard to say what is a good value. Something around 1000 is
probably a good value. Set it as low as possible without getting the vox to false
trigger.
CTCSS_MODE
This configuration variable set the CTCSS detection method used. These are the ones
to choose from:
• 0 (Default) Will choose the detection mode that is the default in the software.
At the moment this is mode 4, "Overlap+Estimated SNR+Frequency estimation".
• 1 (Neighbor bins) This detection mode will use three narrow frequency bands
(~8Hz) to do the detection. One band is centered around the tone to be detected
and then there are one band above and one below the tone. These bands are used
to estimate the noise floor. This is the detector that have been used in
SvxLink for a long time. It is however rather slow with its detection time of
about 450ms. There is no good reason to use this detector anymore but it is
kept in case the new detector does not work for some hardware setup.
• 2 (Estimated SNR) This is a newer detector implementation which have some
improvements. The most notable difference is that it is faster. The mean
detection time will be around 200ms. This is the default detection mode if not
specified. This detector will use a larger passband to estimate the noise
floor which make it more stable. The default config use the whole CTCSS
passband but this can be customized using the CTCSS_BPF_LOW and CTCSS_BPF_HIGH
config variables.
• 3 (Estimated SNR+Phase) This detector is a bit experimental. It is even faster
and more narrow than the other detection modes. The mean detection time will be
something like 150ms. The detection bandwidth is very narrow and very sharp so
that no adjacent tones will trigger the detector. The price to pay for these
improvements is that is it a bit less sensitive.
• 4 (Overlap+Estimated SNR+Frequency estimation) This is an improvement of the
mode 3 detector which use another method for extracting the phase information
from the signal. This phase information can be used to calculate an estimation
of the tone frequency. The accuracy is like tenths of a Herz. Like the mode 3
detector, this detector is faster and more selective. With its 0.75% frequency
tolerance, it will not trigger on adjacent CTCSS tones. However, the "undetect"
algorithm does not use the frequency estimation so the squelch may be held open
by an adjacent tone if already in active state. One downside is that it is a
bit more CPU hungry due to using 75% overlap in the frequency analysis, thus
processing each sample three times. The reason to use overlap is that the
detector will be faster.
CTCSS_FQ
If CTCSS (PL,subtone) squelch is used (SQL_DET is set to CTCSS), this config
variable sets the frequency of the tone to use. The tone frequency ranges from 67.0
to 254.1 Hz. There actually is nothing that will stop you from setting the
frequency to something outside this range but there is no guarantee that it will
work.
If desired it is possible to specify a comma separated list of tone frequencies in
which case the squelch will open on all the tone frequencies. Note that for this
feature to work well the receivers frequency response in the CTCSS frequency range
(67.0 to 254.1Hz) need to be reasonable flat. When choosing tones, try to select
tones that are close to each other. However, selecting tones too close may cause
both to trigger. Also do not select tones that are a multiple of another tone since
overtones may trigger the wrong one.
CTCSS_OPEN_THRESH
If CTCSS (PL, subtone) squelch is used (SQL_DET is set to CTCSS), this config
variable sets the required tone level to indicate squelch open. The value is some
kind of estimated signal to noise dB value. If using CTCSS mode 2, 3 or 4 it is
helpful to set up the CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS config variable. This will make the SNR
estimation pretty good. Default threshold is 15dB.
CTCSS_CLOSE_THRESH
If CTCSS (PL, subtone) squelch is used (SQL_DET is set to CTCSS), this config
variable sets the required tone level to indicate squelch close. The value is some
kind of estimated signal to noise dB value. If using CTCSS mode 2, 3 or 4 it is
helpful to set up the CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS config variable. This will make the SNR
estimation pretty good. Default threshold is 9dB.
CTCSS_SNR_OFFSET
This configuration variable should not be used unless you know why you use it.
Using CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS is often more appropriate.
CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS
This config variable is used when CTCSS_MODE is set to 0, 2, 3 or 4. It will adjust
the estimated SNR values so that they become very close to a real SNR value. This
value will have to be adjusted if CTCSS_FQ, CTCSS_MODE, CTCSS_BPF_LOW or
CTCSS_BPF_HIGH changes.
Use the siglevdetcal utility to find out what to set this config variable to.
There is no requirement to set this config variable up. The downside is that you
will then need to experiment more with the CTCSS_OPEN_THRESH and CTCSS_CLOSE_THRESH
config variables to find the correct squelch level. If using multiple CTCSS
frequencies it may not be possible to find good threshold values due to uneven
frequency characteristics for the receiver.
The format for this config variable is a comma separated list of frequency:offset
pairs. The CTCSS_SNR_OFFSET variable may be used as a form of fallback value that
is used if a specific tone frequency in use is missing from this list.
CTCSS_BPF_LOW
When CTCSS_MODE is set to 0, 2, 3 or 4, this config variable will set the low
cutoff frequency for the passband filter. It normally should not have to be
adjusted but could improve the detector if some interference falls within the
passband (e.g. mains hum). Note however that the more narrow you make the passband,
the less stable the detector will be. You may need to compensate by increasing the
open/close thresholds or by setting up SQL_DELAY and SQL_HANGTIME. Default is 60Hz.
CTCSS_BPF_HIGH
When CTCSS_MODE is set to 0, 2, 3 or 4, this config variable will set the high
cutoff frequency for the passband filter. It normally should not have to be
adjusted but could improve the detector if some interference falls within the
passband. Note however that the more narrow you make the passband, the less stable
the detector will be. You may need to compensate by increasing the open/close
thresholds or by setting up SQL_DELAY and SQL_HANGTIME. Default is 270Hz.
CTCSS_EMIT_TONE_DETECTED
This configuration variable defaults to 1 which mean that a tone detected signal is
emitted when a CTCSS tone is detected. This is required for the function of other
features in SvxLink like CTCSS_TO_TG and OPEN_ON_CTCSS. In some situations it may
be necessary to disable this behavior, like when using advanced squelch
configurations where some tones are actively blocked due to nearby interference.
CTCSS_DEBUG
Set this to 1 to enable continuously printing SNR values for the CTCSS tone
measurements. This is only meant to be activated temporarily while searching for a
problem or for initial adjustment.
SERIAL_PORT
If SQL_DET is set to SERIAL, this config variable determines which serial port
should be used for hardware squelch input (COS - Carrier Operated Squelch). Note:
If the same serial port is used for the PTT, make sure you specify exactly the same
device name. Otherwise the RX and TX will not be able to share the port. Example:
SQL_PORT=/dev/ttyS0
SERIAL_PIN
If SQL_DET is set to SERIAL, this config variable determines which pin in the
serial port that should be used for hardware squelch input (COS - Carrier Operated
Squelch). It is possible to use the DCD, CTS, DSR or RI pin. If inverted operation
is desired, prefix the pin name with an exclamation mark (!).
Example: SQL_PIN=!CTS
SERIAL_SET_PINS
Set the specified serial port pins to a static state. This can be good if using a
pin for reference voltage or if a pin have to be in a certain state to not
interfere with the operation of some equipment. There are two pins that are
possible to use, RTS and DTR. If prefixed with an exclamation mark (!), the pin
will be cleared and if not it will be set.
Example: SERIAL_SET_PINS=RTS!DTR will set RTS and clear DTR.
EVDEV_DEVNAME
Specify which /dev/input device node to use for the EVDEV squelch detector. To
find out which device node and event codes to use, install the evtest utility. Find
a candidate device node under /dev/input/ or /dev/input/by-id/ and try the evtest
utility on it. Press some keys on the device you want to read events from. If
you're in luck, events will be printed on the screen.
EVDEV_OPEN
Use the evtest utility, as described above, to find out type, code and value for
the event you want to use to open the squelch. For example if type is 1, code is
163 and value is 1, set this config variable to 1,163,1.
EVDEV_CLOSE
Use the evtest utility, as described above, to find out type, code and value for
the event you want to use to close the squelch. For example if type is 1, code is
163 and value is 0, set this config variable to 1,163,0. If you set the same
type,code,value combination for both EVDEV_OPEN and EVDEV_CLOSE, that event will
toggle the squelch.
GPIO_PATH
Use this configuration variable to set the path to the sys control devices for
GPIO. This normally is /sys/class/gpio but on some hardware, like the Orange Pi,
the path is /sys/class/gpio_sw.
GPIO_SQL_PIN
If SQL_DET is set to GPIO this configuration variable is used to choose which GPIO
pin to use for squelch input. The most common name is gpio<number>, like gpio4.
Some GPIO drivers use more complex names, like gpio33_pe11. If inverted operation
is desired, prefix the pin name with an exclamation mark (!).
Example: GPIO_SQL_PIN=!gpio4
SQL_GPIOD_CHIP
The GPIO chip to use for squelch. The application tries to figure out whether the
value is the path to the GPIO chip, its name, label or number.
Example: SQL_GPIOD_CHIP=gpiochip0
SQL_GPIOD_LINE
If GPIOD was specified in SQL_DET, set this config variable to the gpiod line of
the GPIO pin to use. If a number is specified it is assumed to be the GPIO pin
offset within the chip. If a pin name is specified SvxLink will try to find a pin
with that name within the chip.
Normally, the pin will be active high but if the pin specification is prefixed with
an exclamation mark it will be active low instead.
For some hardware platforms you may need to also set the SQL_GPIOD_CHIP
configuration variable, if the pin you want to use is not on the default GPIO chip.
Example: SQL_GPIOD_LINE=17
SQL_GPIOD_BIAS
This config variable is only available when SvxLink has been built with libgpiod >=
1.5. It makes it possible to set if the squelch GPIO pin should be pulled up or
down. If you don't know what that mean you should check the documentation for your
hardware interface, whether it require a pull up or down. It's an electronics
thing. In essence, a pull up will force the pin high if nothing is connected to it
and a pull down will force it low.
SQL_COMBINE
This configuration variable is used to set a logical expression that is used to
combine multiple squelch types. The expression syntax consist of names for
configuration file sections where a specific squelch type is set up and of the
operators '| (logical or), '&' (logical and) and '!' (logical negation). Parts of
the expression may be grouped by surrounding them with parentheses, effectively
changing operator precedence. The normal precedence is that '&' bind harder to its
operands than '|'. The '!' operator bind hardest.
Below is a simple example of how to set up a combined squelch.
[Rx1:CTCSS]
SQL_DET=CTCSS
CTCSS_FQ=77.0
CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS=77.0:-3.22
[Rx1:SIGLEV]
SQL_DET=SIGLEV
SQL_SIGLEV_RX_NAME=Rx1
SQL_SIGLEV_OPEN_THRESH=30
SQL_SIGLEV_CLOSE_THRESH=2
[Rx1]
...
SQL_DET=COMBINE
SQL_COMBINE=Rx1:CTCSS | Rx1:SIGLEV
...
The configuration section names used above is just a convention but it is wise to
include the name of the associated RX for better diagnostic messages.
Squelch timing parameters like SQL_DELAY, SQL_HANGTIME etc may be set up in the
receiver configuration section (Rx1 above). The parameters will not be applied to
each subsquelch but rather to the combiner itself. It is often better to set up
parameters in each squelch specific configuration section unless you really know
what you are doing.
SQL_SIGLEV_RX_NAME
When using the SIGLEV squelch type, specify the name of the receiver that provide
the signal level. This is only useful when the squelch configuration is not in the
same configuration section as the receiver, like when using the COMBINE squelch
type. The default is to use the same configuration section as where the SIGLEV
squelch is configured.
SIGLEV_DET
Choose which type of signal level detector to use. The available choices are:
"NONE", "NOISE", "TONE", "AFSK" or "SIM", "CONST". Depending on other configuration
there may be more choices available. For example, if a Ddr receiver is used there
will also be a DDR signal level detector available. The signal level detector is
only needed when using multiple receivers in a voter configuration or when using
the SIGLEV squelch type.
Type NONE disable the signal level detector. This may be used if no signal level
detector is needed.
Type NOISE use a bandpass filter in the range of 5 - 5.5kHz (CARD_SAMPLE_RATE >=
16000) or a high-pass filter at 3.5kHz (CARD_SAMPLE_RATE = 8000) to estimate the
amount of noise present on the signal. If the passband contain a small amount of
energy, a strong signal is assumed. If the passband contain more energy, a weaker
signal is assumed. The noise detector must be calibrated for the receiver and
audio levels you use. This is done using the SIGLEV_SLOPE and SIGLEV_OFFSET
configuration variables. See chapter CALIBRATING THE SIGNAL LEVEL DETECTOR below
for more information.
Type TONE is not really a signal level detector but rather a transport mechanism
for getting signal level measurements from a remote receiver site, linked in via
RF, to the main SvxLink site. It is using ten tones, one for each signal level
step, in the high audio frequency spectrum (5.5 - 6.4kHz, 100Hz step) to indicate
one of ten signal levels. Only the receiving part have been implemented in SvxLink
at the moment. On the remote receiver side an Atmel AVR ATmega8 is used to map the
signal level voltage to tone frequencies. Use the TONE_SIGLEV_MAP configuration
variable to map each tone to a corresponding signal level value in between 0 - 100.
Type AFSK is like the TONE detector really a transport mechanism. Signal level
values are transmitted using Audio Frequency Shift Keying, AFSK, over the receiver
uplink channel from a remote receiver site. AFSK reception must have been enebled
by setting OB_AFSK_ENABLE=1 and also optionally IB_AFSK_ENABLE=1.
Type SIM is a simulated signal level detector that can be used to debug problems in
the SvxLink software. Use the SIGLEV_MIN, SIGLEV_MAX, SIGLEV_DEFAULT,
SIGLEV_TOGGLE_INTERVAL and SIGLEV_RAND_INTERVAL configuration variables to
configure the simulator.
Type CONST is not a detector at all. Instead it is possible to set a constant
signal level. This can be used for audio sources that does not have the concept of
a signal level. If configured in a receiver managed by a Voter it can be used to
determine priority in comparison to other receivers and audio sources. Use the
SIGLEV_CONST configuration variable to set the signal level.
HID_DEVICE
This parameter defines the device your hidraw adapter is connected to. This port is
created by the linux/hidraw driver. e.g. HID_DEVICE=/dev/hidraw3
HID_SQL_PIN
Define the pin your hardware squelch (from RX) is connected to. Valid values are
VOL_UP, VOL_DN, MUTE_PLAY or MUTE_REC.
Example: HID_SQL_PIN=VOL_UP
SIGLEV_SLOPE
The slope (or gain) of the signal level detector. See chapter CALIBRATING THE
SIGNAL LEVEL DETECTOR below for more information.
SIGLEV_OFFSET
The offset of the signal level detector. See chapter CALIBRATING THE SIGNAL LEVEL
DETECTOR below for more information.
SIGLEV_BOGUS_THRESH
This configuration variable set an upper threshold for the estimated signal level
when using the noise signal level detector. If the estimation goes over the given
threshold, a signal level of 0 will be reported. This can be used as a workaround
when using a receiver with squelched audio output. When the squelch is closed, the
receiver audio is silent. The signal level estimator will interpret this as a very
strong signal. Setting up the bogus signal level threshold will counteract this
behavior but a better solution is to use unsquelched audio if possible.
By default this feature is disabled. If enabling it, start with a value somewhere
around 120.
TONE_SIGLEV_MAP
This configuration variable is used to map tones to signal level values when
SIGLEV_DET=TONE. It is a comma separated list of ten values in the 0 - 100 range.
The first value map to the 5500Hz tone, the second to the 5600Hz tone and so on.
The last value map to the 6400Hz tone. What levels the tones should be mapped to
depends on the tone sender implementation. The default tone map is 10,20,30...,100.
The Atmel AVR processor used by the author have a reverse mapping so that the first
tone (5500Hz) indicate the highest signal strength and the last tone (6400Hz)
indicate the lowest signal strength. It is also not linear since it's more
important to have fine measurement granularity in the lower signal strength range.
This is how the mapping look for the AVR: 100,84,60,50,37,32,28,23,19,8.
SQL_SIGLEV_OPEN_THRESH
This is the squelch open threshold for the SIGLEV squelch detector. If using the
NOISE signal level detector, make sure to first calibrate the signal level detector
using the SIGLEV_SLOPE and SIGLEV_OFFSET configuration variables. The signal level
detector should normally be calibrated so that full signal strength is 100 and no
signal is 0. Depending on your background noise level a good value for this
configuration variable is between 5 and 20.
SQL_SIGLEV_CLOSE_THRESH
This is the squelch close threshold for the SIGLEV squelch detector. If using the
NOISE signal level detector, make sure to first calibrate the signal level detector
using the SIGLEV_SLOPE and SIGLEV_OFFSET configuration variables. The signal level
detector should normally be calibrated so that full signal strength is 100 and no
signal is 0. Depending on your background noise level a good value for this
configuration variable is between 1 and 10.
SIGLEV_MIN
The minimum signal level used by SIM signal level detector.
SIGLEV_MAX
The maximum signal level used by SIM signal level detector.
SIGLEV_DEFAULT
The default signal level set on startup by the SIM signal level detector.
SIGLEV_TOGGLE_INTERVAL
The interval, in milliseconds, that the SIM signal level detector will use to
toggle between the maximum and the minimum signal levels.
SIGLEV_RAND_INTERVAL
The interval, in milliseconds, that the SIM signal level detector will use between
randomizing a new signal level value. At each interval, the simulator will randomly
either increase or decrease the signal level with one step.
DEEMPHASIS
Apply a deemphasis filter on received audio. The deemphasis filter is used when
taking audio directly from the detector in the receiver, like when using a 9k6
packet radio connector. If not using a deemphasis filter the high frequencies will
be amplified resulting in a very bright (tinny) sound.
SQL_TAIL_ELIM
Squelch tail elimination is used to remove noise from the end of a received
transmission. This is of most use when using CTCSS or SIGLEV squelch with
unsquelched input audio. A normal value is a couple of hundred milliseconds. Note
that the audio will be delayed by the same amount of milliseconds. This does not
matter much for a simplex link but for a repeater the delay might be annoying since
you risk hearing the end of your own transmission.
PREAMP The incoming signal will be amplified by the specified number of dB. This can be
used as a last measure if the input audio level can't be set high enough on the
analogue side. A value of 6dB will double the signal level. Note that this is a
digital amplification. Hence it will reduce the dynamic range of the signal so
usage should be avoided if possible. It's always better to correct the audio level
before sampling it.
PEAK_METER
This is a help to adjust the incoming audio level. If enabled it will output a
message when distortion occurs. To adjust the audio level, first open the squelch.
Then increase the audio level until warning messages are printed. Decrease the
audio level until no warning messages are printed. After the adjustment has been
done, the peak meter can be disabled. 0=disabled, 1=enabled.
DTMF_DEC_TYPE
Specify the DTMF decoder type. Set it to INTERNAL to use the internal software DTMF
decoder. To use the S54S interface featuring a hardware DTMF decoder, set it to
S54S. To control it over a pseudo tty device set it to PTY. Setting it to PTY
will install the PTY dtmf decoder. SvxLink creates a symlink linked to a slave pty
device on runtime. The name has to be defined with DTMF_PTY. If AFSK reception is
enabled using OB_AFSK_ENABLE/IB_AFSK_ENABLE, remotely decoded DTMF digits may be
received by setting this configuration variable to AFSK. NONE or commenting it out
will disable DTMF detection.
DTMF_MUTING
Mute the audio during the time when a DTMF digit is being received. Note that the
audio will be delayed like 40-75ms, depending on the DTMF decoder used, to give the
decoder time to do its work. This does not matter much on a simplex link but on a
repeater it could be annoying since you will hear the last 40-75 milliseconds of
your own transmission. To counteract the added delay one can set up the
SQL_TAIL_ELIM configuration variable to at least 40 milliseconds. Legal values for
DTMF_MUTING are 0=disabled, 1=enabled.
DTMF_HANGTIME
This configuration variable can be used if the DTMF decoder is too quick to
indicate digit idle. That does not matter at high signal strengths but for weaker
signals and mobile flutter it's not good at all. Each DTMF digit will be detected
multiple times. Using this configuration variable, the time (ms) a tone must be
missing to be indicated as off can be extended. Setting this value too high will
cause the decoder to be a bit sluggish and it might consider two digits as one.
The hang time only affect consecutive digits of the same value (e.g. 1 1). If a
detected digit differs from the previously detected digit (e.g 1 2), the hang time
is immediately canceled and the detected digit is considered as a new one. A good
default value is 50-100ms.
DTMF_SERIAL
When using an external hardware DTMF decoder this config variable is used to
specify a serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyS0).
DTMF_PTY
When using the PTY DTMF "decoder" this configuration variable will set the path to
the PTY slave softlink that the external interface script use to communicate to
SvxLink. Over this softlink a very simple communication protocol is used to notify
SvxLink about received DTMF digits: 0-9, A-F, *, #. "E" is the same as "*" and "F"
is the same as "#". Sending a digit tell SvxLink when it starts. To tell SvxLink
that the digit has ended, send a space character.
The PTY DTMF "decoder" can be used by an external script to interface custom
devices, modems or other hardware to SvxLink. Look for nhrcx.pl or trx_pty_ctrl.py
for an example.
It is possible to specify the same PTY for multiple functions (e.g. squelch, ptt
etc) in both TX and RX configurations. This may be good if there is one script
handling all functions.
Example: /tmp/rx1_dtmf.
DTMF_MAX_FWD_TWIST
DTMF use two tones to encode digits 0-9, A-F. These two tones should normally have
the sample amplitude. The difference in amplitude is called twist. Forward twist is
when the higher frequency tone is lower in amplitude than the lower frequency tone.
According to the standards, 8dB forward twist should be allowed. Some transmitters
do not correctly modulate the DTMF tones to get zero twist. The most common
situation is that the forward twist is too large. Increasing this configuration
variable above 8dB might allow DTMF from these transmitters to be detected. When
doing this, the DTMF detector will be more sensitive to noise and might cause more
false triggers.
DTMF_MAX_REV_TWIST
DTMF use two tones to encode digits 0-9, A-F. These two tones should normally have
the sample amplitude. The difference in amplitude is called twist. Reverse twist is
when the lower frequency tone is lower in amplitude than the higher frequency tone.
According to the standards, 4dB reverse twist should be allowed but SvxLink will
allow 6dB by default. The most common reason for getting reverse twist is a bad
de-emphasis filter or that none at all is used, like when taking audio directly
from the FM discriminator. Have a look at the DEEMPHASIS configuration variable
before starting to modify this configuration variable.
DTMF_DEBUG
Set to 1 to continuously print software DTMF decoder decision parameters. This
should only be used for a short while to pinpoint problems with the DTMF decoding
since it will print one row of analysis parameters 100 times per second. The
following parameters are printed.
• pwr - The power in the audio signal. Must be over about -50dB.
• q - Quality. Should be close to 1.00 for a good detection. If the signal is
strong but the value is low anyway, the signal probably is distorted for some
reason. The input audio level may be too high for example.
• twist - The amplitude difference between the two tones. Should be around 0dB,
which means the tones should ideally be of the same strength. By default,
values between -6dB to +8dB are accepted but the thresholds can be set using
the DTMF_MAX_FWD_TWIST and DTMF_MAX_REV_TWIST configuration variables.
• rowq - Quality of the row (low group) tone. Should be close to one.
• colq - Quality of the column (high group) tone. Should be close to one.
• digit - The digit mapped to the two detected tones.
• row3rd - The row tone relation to its third overtone. Should be close to zero.
If it's not, the signal is probably distorted.
• col3rd - The column tone relation to its third overtone. Should be close to
zero. If it's not, the signal is probably distorted.
• im - The relation of the two tones to their intermodulation product. Should be
close to zero. If it's not, the signal is probably distorted.
1750_MUTING
Mute the audio during a call tone of 1750Hz is received. Note that the audio will
be delayed 75ms to give the tone detector time to do its work. This does not
matter much on a simplex link but on a repeater it could be annoying since you will
hear the last 75 milliseconds of your own transmission. To counteract the added
delay one can set up the SQL_TAIL_ELIM configuration variable to at least 75
milliseconds. Legal values for 1750_MUTING are 0=disabled, 1=enabled.
SEL5_TYPE
Define here your selective tone call system. You have the choice of the following
types: ZVEI1, ZVEI2, ZVEI3, PZVEI, PDZVEI, DZVEI, CCITT, EEA, CCIR1, CCIR2, NATEL,
EURO, VDEW, AUTO-A, MODAT, PCCIR and EIA. Only one system can be used at the same
time. Please take into consideration that some Sel5 standards are using the same or
similar tones so it may have some unwanted effects if you define ZVEI1 for SvxLink
and a (e.g.) ZVEI3 sequence is received.
SEL5_DEC_TYPE
At the moment only SEL5_DEC_TYPE=INTERNAL is valid. Maybe we have support for some
external tone detectors later. To disable SEL5 tone decoding, specify NONE or just
comment the configuration variable out.
RAW_AUDIO_UDP_DEST
Setting this configuration variable makes it possible to stream the raw audio from
the sound device to an UDP socket. The sample format is the one used internally in
SvxLink, that is each sample is represented by a 32 bit float. The sample rate is
the same as the one chosen for the audio device. The destination is specified as
ip-address:port.
Example: RAW_AUDIO_UDP_DEST=127.0.0.1:10000
OB_AFSK_ENABLE
Set to 1 to enable reception of metadata like signal level measurements, DTMF
digits and tone detections via out-of-band (OB) AFSK. The out-of-band AFSK is
transmitted above the voice band so that it is possible to transmit AFSK bursts at
the same time as someone is speaking. The AFSK bursts are filtered out before the
audio is handed on to the next stage so normal users should never hear the AFSK
bursts. The AFSK feature is typically used on a remote receiver uplink. The
protocol used is SvxLink specific. Data is transmitted in 300Bd with a shift of
170Hz and a center frequency of 5500Hz. The RemoteTrx application have the
capability to transmit this protocol.
OB_AFSK_VOICE_GAIN
To be able to send both voice and AFSK at the same time it may be necessary to
lower the level of the voice audio as to not overdrive the transmitter. This is
compensated in the link receiver by amplifying the voice audio back to its original
level. This configuration variable should thus be set to the negated value of the
same configuration variable in the transmitter section of the transmitting
RemoteTrx. If it's set to -6dB in the transmitter configuration it should be set to
6dB here.
IB_AFSK_ENABLE
Set to 1 to enable reception of an initial signal level measurement via in-band
(IB) AFSK. This is used in cooperation with the out-of-band AFSK feature to quickly
transfer a signal level measurement to get the squelch opened. The in-band AFSK is
transmitted in the voice band and can thus use the higher baudrate of 1200Bd. Since
it's only transmitted when the squelch is closed the end user will not hear the
AFSK burst. The AFSK feature is typically used on a remote receiver uplink. The
protocol used is SvxLink specific. Data is transmitted in 1200Bd with a shift of
1000Hz and a center frequency of 1700Hz. The RemoteTrx application have the
capability to transmit this protocol.
CTRL_PTY
Set this configuration variable to the path of a PTY to use for controlling a
receivers frequency and modulation. This can be used to interface a receiver to
SvxLink using a translation script, like trx_pty_ctrl.py. To set the receive
frequency, SvxLink will send the sequence "f<frequency>;". The frequency will be in
Hz, e.g. f145550000; will be sent to set the receiver to 145.550MHz.
To set the modulation the command is "m<modulation>;". Look at the documentation of
the MODULATION configuration variable to see which modulations that are available.
To set "normal" 25kHz channel spaced FM the command would be mFM;.
It is possible to specify the same PTY for multiple functions (e.g. squelch, ptt
etc) in both TX and RX configurations. This may be good if there is one script
handling all functions.
LADSPA_PLUGINS
Used to set up one or more LADSPA plugins to process the received audio. The
processing chain is applied just before the final stages of the receiver audio
processing and will only affect how the audio sounds. Any digital signal processing
done on the audio before that, like DTMF, CTCSS etc, is unaffected.
LADSPA is a framework for sharing pluggable audio components and there are numerous
plugins to choose from. Each plugin has a name ("label") and zero or more
configuration parameters ("control input ports"). To find out which plugins are
installed on your system, use the "listplugins" command. If you are missing some
plugin it may be available to install using your package system (rpm/yum/dnf,
deb/apt etc). To find out more information about a plugin, use the "analyseplugin"
command (e.g. analyseplugin filter hpf). Learn more about the LADSPA framework in
their official documentation.
In SvxLink only plugins that have exactly one audio input and one audio output can
be used, so all stereo plugins are excluded for example. The same thing is valid
for input-only or output-only plugins.
The analyseplugin utility will, among other things, list the ports. All ports that
are typed as "input, control" can be used to configure the plugin. Valid range and
a default value may also be listed. The format for the LADSPA_PLUGINS configuration
variable in SvxLink is
"label1:port1:port2:...:portN,label2:port1:port2:...:portN,...". Note that only
control input ports are counted here so when applying the parameters any
intermingled ports of other types are skipped.
Example: LADSPA_PLUGINS=hpf:1000,tap_dynamics_m:4:500:15:15:13
Ddr Receiver Section
A special kind of local receiver is the Digital Drop Receiver (DDR). It will use either
the rtl_tcp utility or a direct USB connection to interface to a RTL2832U based DVB-T USB
dongle and use that as a wide-band receiver. These USB dongles can be bought cheaply from
an Internet shop (~$10). The radio performance may not be great but better than one might
think. Usage as a cheap local coverage receiver or as a link receiver may work very well.
One big advantage of using a wide-band receiver is that it is possible to monitor more
than one narrow band channel at a time. The only limit is the CPU power and the bandwidth
of the wide-band tuner. You probably need a Pentium4 or better to fulfill the CPU demands.
Getting the DVB-T dongle running is out of scope for this document but what you absolutely
need to do is to find out the frequency error on your specific dongle. When you have
figured out what the frequency error is, set up the FQ_CORR configuration variable in the
wide-band receiver configuration section.
The rtl_tcp utility is in a package named similar to something like rtl-sdr. When you
have the rtl-sdr stuff installed, just start rtl_tcp. No command line arguments are
needed. Then configure a Ddr receiver in SvxLink. All configuration variables that are
available for an ordinary local receiver is also available for a Ddr receiver, except the
audio device related ones which are just ignored. The following configuration variables
are available in addition to the ordinary ones.
FQ The narrow-band channel frequency to tune to.
MODULATION
The modulation used on the channel. Legal values are: "FM" (two-way radio frequency
modulation), "NBFM" (two-way radio narrow frequency modulation), "WBFM" (broadcast
wide-band frequency modulation), "AM" (two-way radio amplitude modulation), "NBAM"
(two-way radio narrow band amplitude modulation), "USB" (Upper Sideband), "LSB"
(Lower Sideband), "CW" (Continuous Wave, e.g. Morse), "WBCW" (CW wide).
WBRX The configuration section for the wide-band receiver to connect this DDR to. See
"wide-band Receiver Section" below.
SIGLEV_DET
For a Ddr there also is a special signal level detector available, DDR, that will
measure the RF power before demodulation. This is much more reliable than
estimating the signal power through the audio which is normally done in SvxLink.
The drawback is that the Ddr signal level is not completely comparable to the
ordinary SvxLink signal level measurements since it have a larger dynamic range.
Set SIGLEV_DET=DDR to activate the Ddr signal level detector.
Wide-band Receiver Section
A wide-band receiver section is used to configure access to a wide-band receiver which can
be used by a Digital Drop Receiver (DDR), described above, to handle multiple narrow-band
channels using the same hardware. The only hardware supported at the moment is RTL2832U
based DVB-T USB dongles. SvxLink access the dongle directly via USB or through the rtl_tcp
utility, which make the dongle available on a TCP network port. The following
configuration variables are available:
TYPE The type of wide-band receiver used. The only supported values right now are
"RtlTcp" and "RtlUsb".
DEV_MATCH
When using RtlUsb, this configuration variable is used to select the dongle to use
if there are multiple dongles connected to the computer. When looking for dongles,
SvxLink will try to match the string given in this configuration variable in
different ways. First, if it's a digit, a match against the device index is tried.
The device index is just a number, zero and up, that is given to a dongle when it's
inserted.
If the device index does not match, a match against the beginning, end or the whole
serial number will be tried.
Default: 0 (first device found)
HOST The name of the host that the rtl_tcp utility is running on (Default: localhost).
PORT The TCP port that rtl_tcp is listening on (Default: 1234).
SAMPLE_RATE
The sample rate used by the dongle. Legal values are 960000 and 2400000 (Default:
960000).
FQ_CORR
This is probably the most important configuration variable. Most dongles are far
off in frequency so they need to be calibrated. Calibrating the dongle can be done
in multiple ways. The recommended way is to use the devcal utility that is
distributed along with SvxLink. The calibration procedure is described in the
devcal (1) manual page.
The end result should be a correction value for how far off the dongle is in
frequency counted in parts per million (PPM). That is, how many Hz per MHz is the
tuner off by. Typical values are in the range -100 to 100.
CENTER_FQ
The frequency, in Hz, that the wide-band tuner should be placed at. This
configuration variable should normally be left unset since SvxLink will try to
place the wide-band tuner to cover all set up Ddr frequencies. SvxLink will also
try to avoid placing a Ddr on the center frequency of the wide-band spectrum since
there is usually some noise there. Only use this configuration variable if you need
to override the automatic placement for some reason.
XVRTR_OFFSET
If a transverter is used, this configuration variable can be set to the frequency
offset that the transverter introduce. The frequency set here will be added to the
center frequency of the wide-band receiver.
GAIN If unset, automatic gain is used. Do not use automatic gain control if using the
DDR signal level detector. That may mess up the measurements. Finding a good gain
setting may be hard. Too little and you will not hear the signals you want to hear.
Too much and the tuner will be driven into distortion. One way to decide the
maximum usable gain is to use the PEAK_METER explained below. When there are no
distortion warning messages printed or just a single one now and then you have
found the max gain. You should probably back at least one step down from this
value. If the signals you want to receive are very strong, set the gain as low as
possible.
What gain values that are available is tuner dependent. SvxLink will print the
available gain values when it establishes the connection to the tuner. Typical
values are in the range -10 to 50dB.
PEAK_METER
If PEAK_METER is set to 1, a warning will be printed every time the tuner is driven
into distortion. If it happens too often the gain should be lowered. At most, one
warning per second will be printed.
LocalSim Receiver Section
A simulated local receiver can be used to debug problems in the SvxLink software. The
only thing that this very simple simulator does is to play a tone. The generated tone can
be controlled using some configuration variables.
SIM_WAVEFORM
Set the waveform to use; SIN=sine wave, SQUARE=square wave.
SIM_TONE_FQ
Set the frequency of the tone in Hz.
SIM_TONE_PWR
Set the tone power in dB. 0dB corresponds to the power in a full-scale sine wave.
Voter Section
Receiver type "Voter" is a "receiver" that combines multiple receivers and selects one of
them to take audio from when the squelch opens. Which receiver to use is selected directly
after squelch open. It is possible to set up a voting delay which will make the voter wait
a while before choosing which RX to use. This will give all receivers some time to report
their signal strengths. After the initial choice have been made a periodic check is done
to see if any of the other receivers receive a stronger signal. In the default
configuration file there is a voter section called Voter.
TYPE Always "Voter" for a voter.
RECEIVERS
Specify a comma separated list of receivers that the voter should use. Optionally
the receiver name may be followed by a colon and a squelch delay value. This can be
used to adjust the voting delay for receivers that always are slower to open for
some reason. The delay value given will be subtracted from the voting delay if the
receiver is the first one to open.
The usage of the delay value is best illustrated with an example. Let's say we
have three receivers where two of the receivers take at most 100ms to report signal
level and one receiver requires 300ms. We then need to set the VOTING_DELAY to
something like 350ms so as to be sure that all receivers get a chance to report
their signal level measurement. If only the slow receiver opens there will be a
total delay of 300+350=650ms. This is unnecessarily long since the other two
receivers should have reported their signal strength way earlier. It's thus safe to
shorten the voting delay for the slow receiver, so we do this:
RECEIVERS=FastRx1,FastRx2,SlowRx:200. The total squelch open delay will now be
100+350=450ms for the fast receivers and 300+350-200=450ms for the slow receiver.
That is, all receivers are now equally fast.
Example: RECEIVERS=Rx1,Rx2:200,Rx3
VOTING_DELAY
Specify the delay in milliseconds that the voter will wait after the first squelch
open detection until the decision of which receiver to use is made. This time must
be set sufficiently high to allow all receivers to calculate and report the signal
level. Incoming audio and DTMF digits will be buffered for all receivers during the
delay time so nothing will be lost, but of course the audio will be delayed the
specified amount of time. This is most noticeable when using a repeater logic. Use
the BUFFER_LENGTH configuration variable to adjust the buffer length. The default
voting delay is 0.
BUFFER_LENGTH
Use this configuration variable to adjust the length of the voting delay buffer.
If not specified, the buffer length will be the same as the voting delay. When
using the voter with a repeater logic, try to keep this variable at 0 to reduce the
latency. Only increase it if you feel audio is lost in the beginning of
transmissions.
REVOTE_INTERVAL
This is the interval time in milliseconds with which the voter will check if
another receiver is receiving a stronger signal. If that is the case, a receiver
switch will be initiated. Default is 1000 milliseconds.
HYSTERESIS
The hysteresis setting will prevent the voter from switching back and forth between
two receivers that are equal in signal strength. For a switch to occur, the other
receivers signal strength must exceed the current receivers signal strength by the
percent specified in this configuration variable. So if the hysteresis is set to
50% and the received signal strength on the current receiver is 40, a signal
strength of 40*1.5=60 is required on another receiver to initiate a switch. At
squelch open, if the received signal strength plus hysteresis is larger than 100,
the voting delay will be skipped. The default hysteresis is 50 percent.
RX_SWITCH_DELAY
When a receiver switch is initiated by the voter, it will wait the number of
milliseconds specified in this configuration variable before actually performing
the switch. The switch will only occur if the other receivers signal strength is
still higher. Default is 500 milliseconds.
SQL_CLOSE_REVOTE_DELAY
The voter will wait the number of milliseconds specified in this config variable
after a squelch close before voting in another receiver. There are two reasons for
using this delay. The first is to prevent the voter from going into idle state
immediately when the squelch close for a fluttery signal. If it goes to idle, the
procedure with voting delay may cause longer dropouts than necessary. The second
reason to use this config variable is if different receivers have different hang
times (explicitly or implicitly). If both a slow and fast receiver is receiving the
same signal and the faster is currently chosen, when the PTT is released the slower
receiver will be voted before closing. This will cause a double squelch tail and
double roger beep. Default is 500 milliseconds.
COMMAND_PTY
Specify the path to a PTY that can be used to control the voter from the operating
system. Available commands:
• ENABLE rx_name - Enable the given receiver
• MUTE rx_name - Mute the given receiver
• DISABLE rx_name - Disable the given receiver
The difference between MUTE and DISABLE is that in the mute state only the content
(audio, dtmf, selcall tone detectors etc) is muted but the receiver is still
operational. That is probably only useful if also setting VERBOSE=1 so that squelch
open/close can be monitored in the log. That may be useful if a new receiver is
connected to the system which you want to monitor for a while without having it
actually participate in the voting. It may also be of use if a receiver misbehaves
in which case it can be monitored until it stops misbehaving.
Commands can be issued using a simple echo command from the shell. Example: echo
"DISABLE Rx1" >/dev/shm/voter_ctrl
VERBOSE
Set this to 1 to enable verbose mode. In verbose mode the squelch state events of
the satellite receivers will be printed. This can be used for fine tuning voter
timing parameters. Default: 0 (disabled)
Networked Receiver Section
A networked receiver section is used to specify the configuration for a receiver connected
through a TCP/IP network. In the default configuration file there is a networked receiver
configuration section called NetRx. The section name could be anything. It should match
the RX configuration variable in the logic core where the receiver is to be used. The
available configuration variables are described below. How to use a networked receiver is
further described in the remotetrx(1) manual page.
TYPE Always "Net" for a networked receiver.
HOST The hostname or IP address of the remote receiver host.
TCP_PORT
The TCP port that RemoteTrx listen on. The default is 5210.
LOG_DISCONNECTS_ONCE
Set this configuration variable to 1 to suppress logging of multiple disconnect
messages in a row, like when there is no RemoteTrx running on the other side.
Thus, failed reconnect attempts will not be logged at all. This may be of use if a
RemoteTrx is missing for a long time or if it's only used from time to time. The
default is 0 which means that all reconnect attempts will be logged.
AUTH_KEY
This is the authentication key (password) to use to connect to the RemoteTrx
server. The same key have to be specified in the RemoteTrx configuration. If no
key is specified in the RemoteTrx config, the login will be unauthenticated. A good
authentication key should be 20 characters long. If the same RemoteTrx is used for
both RX and TX, the same key must be specified in the RX as well as in the TX
configuration section. The key will never be transmitted over the network. A HMAC-
SHA1 challenge-response procedure will be used for authentication.
CODEC The audio codec to use when transferring audio from this remote receiver.
Available codecs are: RAW (512kbps), S16 (256kbps), GSM (13.2kbps), SPEEX
(8-25kbps), OPUS (8-64kbps). These are raw bit-rate values. There will be some
overhead added to this so the real bit-rates on the wire are a little bit higher.
The OPUS codec is the most modern one and it also have the best quality for a given
bit-rate.
SPEEX_ENC_FRAMES_PER_PACKET
Speex encoder setting. Each Speex frame contains 20ms audio. If using a low bit-
rate configuration, the network overhead will be quite noticeable if sending each
frame in its own packet. One way to lower the overhead is to send multiple frames
in each network packet. The drawback with doing this is that you get more delay. If
setting this option to something like 4 (default), the delay will be about
4x20=80ms.
SPEEX_ENC_QUALITY
Speex encoder setting. Specify the encoder quality using a number between 0-10.
Lower values give poorer quality and lower bit-rates.
SPEEX_ENC_BITRATE
Speex encoder setting. Specify the bit-rate to use. Speex will snap to the nearest
lower possible bit-rate. Possible values range from 2150 to 24600 bps. You should
probably not specify quality at the same time as bit-rate. Not sure though...
SPEEX_ENC_COMPLEXITY
Speex encoder setting. The complexity setting (0-10) tells the encoder how much CPU
time it should spend on doing a good job. The difference in SNR between the lowest
and highest value is about 2dB. Set it as high as possible without overloading the
CPU on the encoding computer (check CPU usage using command "top").
SPEEX_ENC_VBR
Speex encoder setting. Enable (1) or disable (0) variable bit-rate encoding. If
enabled, the encoder will try to keep a constant quality by increasing the bit-rate
when needed.
SPEEX_ENC_VBR_QUALITY
Speex encoder setting. The quality (0-10) to use in variable bit-rate mode.
SPEEX_ENC_ABR
Speex encoder setting. The average bit-rate encoding will try to keep a target bit-
rate by continuously adjusting the quality. This configuration variable specify the
target bit-rate and enable ABR. It also need to have VBR enabled so don't force it
to off.
SPEEX_DEC_ENHANCER
Speex decoder setting. Enable (1) or disable (0) the perceptual enhancer in the
decoder. Perceptual enhancement is a part of the decoder which, when turned on,
attempts to reduce the perception of the noise/distortion produced by the
encoding/decoding process. In most cases, perceptual enhancement brings the sound
further from the original objectively (e.g. considering only SNR), but in the end
it still sounds better (subjective improvement).
OPUS_ENC_FRAME_SIZE
Opus encoder setting. Specify how large, in milliseconds, each audio packet should
be. Default: 20ms.
OPUS_ENC_COMPLEXITY
Opus encoder setting. The complexity setting (0-10) tells the encoder how much CPU
time it should spend on doing a good job. Set it as high as possible without
overloading the CPU on the encoding computer (check CPU usage using command "top").
Default: 10.
OPUS_ENC_BITRATE
Opus encoder setting. This is the bit-rate that the encoder will encode for. Rates
from about 8000 to 64000 bits per second are meaningful but the codec can handle
from like 2500 to 512000 bps. Default: 20000bps.
OPUS_ENC_VBR
Opus encoder setting. Enable (1) or disable (0) variable bit-rate encoding. If
enabled, the encoder will try to keep a constant quality by increasing the bit-rate
when needed and decrease it when the quality can be assured with a lower bit-rate.
The target average bit-rate is the one set by OPUS_ENC_BITRATE. Default: 1.
Local Transmitter Section
A local transmitter section is used to specify the configuration for a local transmitter.
In the default configuration file there is a configuration section called Tx1. The
section name could be anything. It should match the TX configuration variable in the logic
core where the transmitter is to be used. The available configuration variables are
described below.
TYPE Always "Local" for a local transmitter.
TX_ID A single character ident for this transmitter. It is for example used in state
events published by transmitters through a STATE_PTY or other state event consumers
within SvxLink.
AUDIO_DEV
Specify the audio device to use. Normally alsa:plughw:0. Have a look at the AUDIO
DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS chapter for more information.
AUDIO_CHANNEL
Specify the audio channel to use. SvxLink can use the left/right stereo channels as
two mono channels. Legal values are 0 or 1.
AUDIO_DEV_KEEP_OPEN
The normal behaviour for SvxLink is to open an audio device when needed and close
it when it does not have to be open anymore. This may cause problems in some
applications or with some sound hardware. Set this variable to 1 to force SvxLink
to keep the audio device open from application start to exit.
LIMITER_THRESH
Set the threshold, in dBFS, for the audio limiter. The audio limiter really is a
compressor with a very steep compression ratio like 10:1. The limiter is used to
help keeping down the audio level to not overmodulate the transmitter. For a
properly calibrated SvxLink node max FM deviation is -6dBFS. A good value to start
with for this parameter is then -6 but try to lower it further (like -9 to -12) if
it does not affect audio quality negatively.
PTT_TYPE
Use this configuration variable to specify which type of hardware to use to control
the PTT. Specify "SerialPin" for using a pin in the serial port, "GPIO"
(sysfs=deprecated)/"GPIOD" to use a pin in a GPIO port, "PTY" if you want to use an
external interface script via a pseudo tty port or "Hidraw" to use the linux/hidraw
driver to support hidraw devices like CM108 sound card, e.g. URI device from DMK.
Set PTT_TYPE to "Dummy" or "NONE" to not use any PTT hardware at all. It is an
error to not specify PTT_TYPE.
Use PTT_PIN to specify the pin to use for "SerialPin" or "GPIO",
Use PTT_GPIOD_LINE and PTT_GPIOD_CHIP to specify the GPIO pin to use for "GPIOD".
PTT_PORT
Specify the serial port that the PTT is connected to. E.g. /dev/ttyS0 for COM1.
PTT_PIN
If PTT_TYPE is set to "SerialPin", specify the pin(s) in the serial port that the
PTT is connected to. It is possible to specify one or two serial port pins. Some
interface boards require that you specify two pins since one pin does not provide
enough drive power to the circuit. A "!" in front of the pin name indicates
inverted operation. Some of the possible values are RTS, DTRRTS, !DTR!RTS or even
DTR!RTS.
If GPIO was specified in PTT_TYPE, set the PTT_PIN config variable to the pin name
of the GPIO-pin to use. The most common name is gpio<number>, like gpio3. Some
GPIO drivers use more complex pin names like gpio33_pe11. Have a look at the USING
GPIO section for information on how to set up the operating system. Normally, the
pin will be active high but if the pin name is prefixed with an exclamation mark it
will be active low instead. For some hardware platforms you may need to also set
the GPIO_PATH configuration variable.
GPIO_PATH
Use this configuration variable to set the path to the sys control devices for
GPIO. This normally is /sys/class/gpio but on some hardware, like the Orange Pi,
the path is /sys/class/gpio_sw.
PTT_GPIOD_CHIP
The GPIO chip to use for PTT. The application tries to figure out whether the value
is the path to the GPIO chip, its name, label or number.
Example: PTT_GPIOD_CHIP=gpiochip0
PTT_GPIOD_LINE
If GPIOD was specified in PTT_TYPE, set this config variable to the gpiod line of
the GPIO pin to use. If a number is specified it is assumed to be the GPIO pin
offset within the chip. If a pin name is specified SvxLink will try to find a pin
with that name within the chip.
Normally, the pin will be active high but if the pin specification is prefixed with
an exclamation mark it will be active low instead.
For some hardware platforms you may need to also set the PTT_GPIOD_CHIP
configuration variable, if the pin you want to use is not on the default GPIO chip.
Example: PTT_GPIOD_LINE=17
PTT_PTY
If PTT_TYPE is set to "PTY" this configuration variable will set the path for the
PTY slave softlink that is used by the external script to communicate to SvxLink.
SvxLink sends a 'T' to start transmitting and a 'R' to turn the transmitter off.
This can be used by an external script to interface custom devices, modems or other
hardware to SvxLink. Look for nhrcx.pl to see an example.
It is possible to specify the same PTY for multiple functions (e.g. squelch, DTMF
etc) in both TX and RX configurations. This may be good if there is one script
handling all functions.
HID_DEVICE
Define the device node where your hidraw device is accessible at.
Example: HID_DEVICE=/dev/hidraw3
HID_PTT_PIN
Define the pin your ptt control is connected to. Valid parameters are are
GPIO1,GPIO2,GPIO3,GPIO4. Note that some sound cards like SSS1621 may not support
GPIO3 and GPIO4! You can invert the behavior with a "!" in front of the name. Only
one value is supported.
SERIAL_SET_PINS
Set the specified serial port pins to a static state. This can be good if using a
pin for reference voltage or if a pin have to be in a certain state to not
interfere with the operation of some equipment. There are two pins that are
possible to use, RTS and DTR. If prefixed with an exclamation mark (!), the pin
will be cleared and if not it will be set. This configuration variable can only be
used when PTT_TYPE is set to "SerialPin".
Example: SERIAL_SET_PINS=RTS!DTR will set RTS and clear DTR.
PTT_HANGTIME
Use this configuration variable to set a PTT hangtime. This can be good to have on
a transmitter in combination with using a tone squelch. When the transmitter is
ordered to stop transmitting, the tone is immediately turned off, causing the
squelch to close on the other side. Since the transmitter keeps transmitting for a
while, no squelch tail will be heard.
Another use is on a remote receiver link transmitter where you don't want the
transmitter to turn on and off between transmissions or if the squelch close and
open quickly due to for example mobile flutter.
TIMEOUT
This is a feature that will prevent the transmitter from getting stuck
transmitting. Specify the number of seconds before the transmitter is turned off.
Note that this is a low level security mechanism that is meant to only kick in if
there is a software bug in SvxLink. Just so that the transmitter will not transmit
indefinitely. It is not meant to be used to keep people from talking too long.
TX_DELAY
The number of milliseconds (0-1000) to wait after the transmitter has been turned
on until audio is starting to be transmitted. This can be used to compensate for
slow TX reaction or remote stations with slow reacting squelches.
CTCSS_FQ
The frequency in Hz of the CTCSS tone to transmit. It is possible to specify
fractions using "." as decimal comma (e.g. 136.5). For the tone to be transmitted
the CTCSS_LEVEL variable must also be setup and also the TX_CTCSS variable in the
logic core configuration section.
CTCSS_LEVEL
The level in dBFS of the CTCSS tone to transmit. A value of 0 is the highest level
and lower (negative) values give a lower level. What level to set depend on
multiple factors like the audio calibration settings and the low-pass
characteristics of the hardware. Assuming an ideal audio path with a completely
flat frequency response over the whole audio spectrum, including the CTCSS
frequency band, and a standard audio calibration where maximum FM deviation
corresponds to -6 dBFS, the following applies.
The FM deviation of the CTCSS tone should be in between 500-800 Hz if using an FM
channel with a maximum deviation of 5 kHz. Given that you can calculate what the
level in dBFS should be:
Llow = 20 * log10(500/5000) - 6 = -26
Lmid = 20 * log10(650/5000) - 6 = -24
Lhigh = 20 * log10(800/5000) - 6 = -22
The default in the configuration file is -24. For the tone to be transmitted the
CTCSS_FQ variable must also be set up and also the TX_CTCSS variable in the logic
core configuration section.
PREEMPHASIS
Enable this feature if you are modulating the FM modulator directly, like through a
9k6 packet radio input. If no preemphasis filter is applied to the audio, it will
sound very dark when received. If you modulate the transmitter through the
microphone input the radio will apply a preemphasis filter so this feature should
be disabled. 0=disabled, 1=enabled.
DTMF_TONE_LENGTH
The duration, in milliseconds, of DTMF digits transmitted on this transmitter.
100ms is the default.
DTMF_TONE_SPACING
The spacing, in milliseconds, between DTMF digits transmitted on this transmitter.
50ms is the default.
DTMF_DIGIT_PWR
The power, in dB, of DTMF digits transmitted on this transmitter. Zero dB will give
the same power in the generated signal as there is in a maximum amplitude (full
scale) sine wave. -15dB is the default.
TONE_SIGLEV_MAP
It is possible to transmit one of ten tones along with the normal transmission to
indicate a signal strength value to the receiver. This is of most use when using a
local transmitter as a link transmitter in a RemoteTrx. It is not implemented, and
probably not useful, in SvxLink Server. Another requirement is that SvxLink has
been compiled in 16kHz mode. Otherwise this feature is disabled.
The TONE_SIGLEV_MAP configuration variable is used to map tones to signal level
values. It is a comma separated list of exactly ten values in the 0 - 100 range.
The first value map to the 5500Hz tone, the second to the 5600Hz tone and so on.
The last value map to the 6400Hz tone. What levels the tones should be mapped to
depends on the tone receiver implementation. Typically, if using a SvxLink
application as a receiver, the TONE_SIGLEV_MAP should be the same in the RX
configuration for that node.
TONE_SIGLEV_LEVEL
It is possible to transmit one of ten tones along with the normal transmission to
indicate a signal strength value to the receiver. This is of most use when using a
local transmitter as a link transmitter in a RemoteTrx. It is not implemented, and
probably not useful, in SvxLink Server. Another requirement is that SvxLink has
been compiled in 16kHz mode. Otherwise this feature is disabled.
The TONE_SIGLEV_LEVEL configuration variable is used to set the tone level. It is
a value in the 1-100 range which indicate the output level in percent of the
maximum possible level. The default is 10.
MASTER_GAIN
This configuration variable can be used to fine tune or increase the audio gain for
all transmitted sound if it's not possible to do using the normal sound card
hardware gain controls. The gain should be given in dB and can be both positive and
negative.
OB_AFSK_ENABLE
Set to 1 to enable transmission of metadata like signal level measurements, DTMF
digits and tone detections via out-of-band (OB) AFSK. The out-of-band AFSK is
transmitted above the voice band so that it is possible to transmit AFSK bursts at
the same time as someone is speaking. The AFSK bursts are filtered out before the
audio is handed on to the next stage so normal users should never hear the AFSK
bursts. The AFSK feature is typically used on a remote receiver uplink. The
protocol used is SvxLink specific. Data is transmitted in 300Bd with a shift of
170Hz and a center frequency of 5500Hz. The RemoteTrx application have the
capability to transmit this protocol.
OB_AFSK_VOICE_GAIN
To be able to send both voice and AFSK at the same time it may be necessary to
lower the level of the voice audio as to not overdrive the transmitter. This is
compensated in the link receiver by amplifying the voice audio back to its original
level. This configuration variable should thus be set to the negated value of the
same configuration variable in the receiver section of the receiving node. If it's
set to 6dB in the receiver configuration it should be set to -6dB here.
OB_AFSK_LEVEL
The out-of-band AFSK modulation level in dBFS (dB full scale). Default is -6dB.
OB_AFSK_TX_DELAY
The number of milliseconds to send AFSK flag bytes before sending the actual data
when transmitting an out-of-band packet.
IB_AFSK_ENABLE
Set to 1 to enable transmission of an initial signal level measurement via in-band
(IB) AFSK. This is used in cooperation with the out-of-band AFSK feature to quickly
transfer a signal level measurement to get the squelch opened. The in-band AFSK is
transmitted in the voice band and can thus use the higher baudrate of 1200Bd. Since
it's only transmitted when the squelch is closed the end user will not hear the
AFSK burst. The AFSK feature is typically used on a remote receiver uplink. The
protocol used is SvxLink specific. Data is transmitted in 1200Bd with a shift of
1000Hz and a center frequency of 1700Hz. The RemoteTrx application have the
capability to transmit this protocol.
IB_AFSK_LEVEL
The in-band AFSK modulation level in dBFS (dB full scale). Default is -6dB.
IB_AFSK_TX_DELAY
The number of milliseconds to send AFSK flag bytes before sending the actual data
when transmitting an in-band packet.
CTRL_PTY
Set this configuration variable to the path of a PTY to use for controlling a
transmitters frequency and modulation. This can be used to interface a transmitter
to SvxLink using a translation script, like trx_pty_ctrl.py. To set the transmit
frequency, SvxLink will send the sequence "F<frequency>;". The frequency will be in
Hz, e.g. F145550000; will be sent to set the receiver to 145.550MHz.
To set the modulation the command is "M<modulation>;". Look at the documentation of
the MODULATION configuration variable to see which modulations are available. To
set "normal" 25kHz channel spaced FM the command would be MFM;.
It is possible to specify the same PTY for multiple functions (e.g. squelch, ptt
etc) in both TX and RX configurations. This may be good if there is one script
handling all functions.
Networked Transmitter Section
A networked transmitter section is used to specify the configuration for a transmitter
connected through a TCP/IP network. In the default configuration file there is a networked
transceiver configuration section called NetTx. The section name could be anything. It
should match the TX configuration variable in the logic core where the transmitter is to
be used. The available configuration variables are described below. How to use a networked
transmitter is further described in the remotetrx(1) manual page.
TYPE Always "Net" for a networked transmitter.
TX_ID A single character ident for this transmitter. It is for example used in state
events published by transmitters through a STATE_PTY or other state event consumers
within SvxLink. SvxLink cannot at this moment get the TX ident from the remote
transmitter so it must be specified here.
HOST The hostname or IP address of the remote transmitter host.
TCP_PORT
The TCP port that RemoteTrx listen on. The default is 5210.
LOG_DISCONNECTS_ONCE
Set this configuration variable to 1 to suppress logging of multiple disconnect
messages in a row, like when there is no RemoteTrx running on the other side.
Thus, failed reconnect attempts will not be logged at all. This may be of use if a
RemoteTrx is missing for a long time or if it's only used from time to time. The
default is 0 which means that all reconnect attempts will be logged.
AUTH_KEY
This is the authentication key (password) to use to connect to the RemoteTrx
server. The same key have to be specified in the RemoteTrx configuration. If no
key is specified in the RemoteTrx config, the login will be unauthenticated. A good
authentication key should be 20 characters long. If the same RemoteTrx is used for
both RX and TX, the same key must be specified in the RX as well as in the TX
configuration section. The key will never be transmitted over the network. A HMAC-
SHA1 challenge-response procedure will be used for authentication.
CODEC The audio codec to use when transferring audio to this remote transmitter.
Available codecs are: RAW (512kbps), S16 (256kbps), GSM (13.2kbps), SPEEX
(8-25kbps), OPUS (8-64kbps). These are raw bit-rate values. There will be some
overhead added to this so the real bit-rates on the wire are a little bit higher.
The OPUS codec is the most modern one and it also have the best quality for a given
bit-rate. There also is a NULL codec that will just throw away samples which can be
used in special situations when the audio is sent through another audio path.
SPEEX_ENC_FRAMES_PER_PACKET
Speex encoder setting. Each Speex frame contains 20ms audio. If using a low bit-
rate configuration, the network overhead will be quite noticeable if sending each
frame in its own packet. One way to lower the overhead is to send multiple frames
in each network packet. The drawback with doing this is that you get more delay. If
setting this option to something like 4 (default), the delay will be about
4x20=80ms.
SPEEX_ENC_QUALITY
Speex encoder setting. Specify the encoder quality using a number between 0-10.
Lower values give poorer quality and lower bit-rates.
SPEEX_ENC_BITRATE
Speex encoder setting. Specify the bit-rate to use. Speex will snap to the nearest
lower possible bit-rate. Possible values range from 2150 to 24600 bps. You should
probably not specify quality at the same time as bit-rate. Not sure though...
SPEEX_ENC_COMPLEXITY
Speex encoder setting. The complexity setting (0-10) tells the encoder how much CPU
time it should spend on doing a good job. The difference in SNR between the lowest
and highest value is about 2dB. Set it as high as possible without overloading the
CPU on the encoding computer (check CPU usage using command "top").
SPEEX_ENC_VBR
Speex encoder setting. Enable (1) or disable (0) variable bit-rate encoding. If
enabled, the encoder will try to keep a constant quality by increasing the bit-rate
when needed.
SPEEX_ENC_VBR_QUALITY
Speex encoder setting. The quality (0-10) to use in variable bit-rate mode.
SPEEX_ENC_ABR
Speex encoder setting. The average bit-rate encoding will try to keep a target bit-
rate by continuously adjusting the quality. This configuration variable specify the
target bit-rate and enable ABR. It also need to have VBR enabled so don't force it
to off.
SPEEX_DEC_ENHANCER
Speex decoder setting. Enable (1) or disable (0) the perceptual enhancer in the
decoder. Perceptual enhancement is a part of the decoder which, when turned on,
attempts to reduce the perception of the noise/distortion produced by the
encoding/decoding process. In most cases, perceptual enhancement brings the sound
further from the original objectively (e.g. considering only SNR), but in the end
it still sounds better (subjective improvement).
OPUS_ENC_FRAME_SIZE
Opus encoder setting. Specify how large, in milliseconds, each audio packet should
be. Default: 20ms.
OPUS_ENC_COMPLEXITY
Opus encoder setting. The complexity setting (0-10) tells the encoder how much CPU
time it should spend on doing a good job. Set it as high as possible without
overloading the CPU on the encoding computer (check CPU usage using command "top").
Default: 10.
OPUS_ENC_BITRATE
Opus encoder setting. This is the bit-rate that the encoder will encode for. Rates
from about 8000 to 64000 bits per second are meaningful but the codec can handle
from like 2500 to 512000 bps. Default: 20000bps.
OPUS_ENC_VBR
Opus encoder setting. Enable (1) or disable (0) variable bit-rate encoding. If
enabled, the encoder will try to keep a constant quality by increasing the bit-rate
when needed and decrease it when the quality can be assured with a lower bit-rate.
The target average bit-rate is the one set by OPUS_ENC_BITRATE. Default: 1.
Multi Transmitter Section
A multi transmitter section is used if one wants to transmit on multiple transmitters
simultaneously. The name of the section can be anything. Just point it out from another
transmitter specification like the TX variable in a Logic core configuration.
TYPE Always "Multi" for a multi transmitter section.
TRANSMITTERS
A comma separated list of transmitters.
Module Section
A module section contain the configuration for a specific module. It have some general
configuration variables and some module specific configuration variables. The general
configuration variables are listed below.
NAME The name of the module. This name must match the namespace used in the TCL event
handling script. If not set, NAME will be set to the section name.
PLUGIN_NAME
The base name of the plugin. For example if this configuration variable is set to
Foo, the core will look for a plugin called ModuleFoo.so. If not set, PLUGIN_NAME
will be set to the same value as NAME.
ID Specify the module identification number. This is the number used to access the
module from the radio interface.
TIMEOUT
Specify the timeout time, in seconds, after which a module will be automatically
deactivated if there has been no activity. Not including this parameter removes the
timeout.
MUTE_LOGIC_LINKING
Set to 1 to mute all logic linking audio when the module is activated or 0 to keep
logic linking unmuted at all times. Default is 1 (mute).
Module specific configuration variables are described in the man page for that module. The
documentation for the Parrot module can for example be found in the ModuleParrot.conf(5)
manual page.
LocationInfo
STATUS_SERVER_LIST
Enter a space separated list of EchoLink status servers that should be used to send
node status beacons. Your node information can be found on
http://www.echolink.org/links.jsp. The format is host:port. Host - hostname or IP
address, port - UDP port. Don't change the default unless you know what you are
doing. If you don't want to update the EchoLink status server, comment out this
configuration variable.
Example:
STATUS_SERVER_LIST=aprs.echolink.org:5199
APRS_SERVER_LIST
This configuration variable specifies connection parameters for connecting to an
APRS server network using the TCP protocol. In this case, the positioning
information is forwarded to the worldwide APRS network. Have a look at
http://aprs.fi/.
To choose a suitable APRS server from the so called tier 2 network, have a look at
http://www.aprs2.net/. Either choose a specific server or one of the regional
addresses. The regional addresses bundle all APRS servers within a region so that a
random tier 2 server is chosen within the region. There are five regions defined:
noam.aprs2.net - North America, euro.aprs2.net - Europe, asia.aprs2.net - Asia,
soam.aprs2.net - South America and Africa, aunz.aprs2.net - Australia and New
Zealand. The format is a space separated list of host:port entries. Host -
hostname or IP address, port - TCP port.
Example:
APRS_SERVER_LIST=euro.aprs2.net:14580
LON_POSITION
The longitude of the station position, entered as "degrees.arcminutes.arcseconds"
Example:
LON_POSITION=09.02.20E
LAT_POSITION
The latitude of the station position, entered as "degrees.arcminutes.arcseconds"
Example:
LAT_POSITION=51.02.22N
CALLSIGN
Enter your callsign for the APRS network with a prefix that indicates the type of
station, (ER- for repeaters, EL- for links).
Examples:
CALLSIGN=EL-DL1ABC # callsign for a link
CALLSIGN=ER-DB0ABC # callsign for a repeater
FREQUENCY
The tx-frequency of the link/repeater in MHz. For repeaters, information about the
RX/TX shift in the COMMENT configuration variable may be useful.
Example:
FREQUENCY=430.050 # tx-frequency is 430.050 MHz
TX_POWER
The power of your transmitter in watts.
Example:
TX_POWER=10 # tx output is 10 watts
ANTENNA_GAIN
The gain of your antenna in dBd.
Example:
ANTENNA_GAIN=5 # antenna gain is 5 dBd
ANTENNA_HEIGHT
The height of the link-/repeater antenna in meters or feet above the terrain, not
sealevel.
Example:
ANTENNA_HEIGHT=10m # 10 meters above the ground
ANTENNA_HEIGHT=90 # 90 feet
ANTENNA_DIR
Main beam direction of the antenna in degrees. If an omni direction antenna is
used, specify -1 as the direction.
Example:
ANTENNA_DIR=-1 # an omni directional antenna is used
ANTENNA_DIR=128 # main beam direction is 128 degrees
PATH The PATH variable controls the way of forwarding your beacon inside the APRS
network if it is gated by a local APRS digipeater. In some cases it has to be
changed according to local requirements. Please contact your local APRS sysop for
further information. Changes should be made only according to the NEWn-N paradigm.
Leave this variable untouched if you are unsure of its setting. No spaces or
control characters are allowed. PATH has no influence on the propagation on non-RF
networks.
Examples:
PATH=WIDE1-1
PATH=WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2
BEACON_INTERVAL
The interval, in minutes, with which beacons will be sent to the APRS network. A
good value is 10 minutes. If your beacon is gated via RF, please increase the
interval a bit to keep the APRS traffic on RF produced by the APRS RF gate as low
as possible. Intervals shorter than 10 minutes will be changed to 10.
Example:
BEACON_INTERVAL=30 # APRS-beacons will be sent every 30 minutes.
TONE The CTCSS sub-audible tone that is to be used for operation over your link or
repeater. If you don't use tone control set it to 0.
Examples:
TONE=136 # we are using a CTCSS-tone of 136.5 Hz
TONE=0 # we don't use CTCSS sub-audible or call tones
TONE=1750 # the link/repeater use a tone burst of 1750 Hz
STATISTICS_INTERVAL
Defines the interval in minutes in that an aprs statistic is sent into the aprs
network. Range: 5-60, default is 10 minutes
COMMENT
Specify a short comment here, maybe a link to your website or information that
could be interesting for others. The length should not exceed 255 characters and
may not have control characters like "Carriage Return" (\r) or "Line Feed" (\n)
inside. Make your comment as short as you can to give users with a small display
(TH-D7) the chance to display the full comment text.
Example:
COMMENT=[svx] Running SvxLink by SM0SVX
PTY_PATH
Specify a path to a communications PTY that can be used by external applications to
inject APRS packets into the APRS-IS network.
AUDIO DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS
The AUDIO_DEV configuration variables specify which audio device to use for a receiver or
transmitter. SvxLink support a number of different audio input and output devices. The
format of the configuration variable is "type:dev_spec". There are three different types
of audio devices supported, "alsa", "oss" and "udp".
The "alsa" type will use the specified Alsa device. Example: "alsa:plughw:0". Describing
the format of Alsa device names is outside the scope for this document.
The "oss" type will use the specified OSS audio device. Example "oss:/dev/dsp". OSS is
the old sound system used by Linux. Alsa should be used when possible.
The "udp" type is not really an audio device but instead will read and write audio from/to
a UDP socket. This can be used to interface SvxLink to all sorts of audio sources/sinks
capable of streaming raw audio through UDP. One example usage is to interface SvxLink with
GNU Radio. Example: "udp:127.0.0.1:10000". Note however that the only supported format is
raw 16 bit signed samples, two interleved channels. Sampling frequency can be chosen using
the CARD_SAMPLE_RATE config variable as usual.
USING GPIO
GPIO (General Purpose IO) is used to access hardware pins that are made available for
example on an embedded system. Before starting to use a pin in SvxLink some setup need to
be done in the operating system. With the standard distribution of SvxLink there is a pair
of scripts that help with setting up and taking down the GPIO pins. The scripts are named
svxlink_gpio_up and svxlink_gpio_down. The configuration file, which can be found among
the other SvxLink configuration files (typically in /etc/svxlink), is called gpio.conf.
CALIBRATING THE SIGNAL LEVEL DETECTOR
The signal level detector is used when using multiple receivers or when using the SIGLEV
squelch. The signal level is used by a voter to choose the receiver with the highest
signal strength. The choice is made directly after squelch open. For the voter to make a
correct choice, the signal level detector must be calibrated on each receiver.
To use the noise signal level detector, first set SIGLEV_DET=NOISE. There are two
configuration variables that is used to calibrate the detector. They are SIGLEV_SLOPE and
SIGLEV_OFFSET in a local receiver section. The slope is the gain of the detector and the
offset is used to adjust the detector so that when there is no input signal, the detector
will return 0. The goal is to adjust the detector so that when no signal is received, a
value of 0 is produced and when full signal strength is received, a value of 100 is
produced. It will never be exakt but that does not matter.
The calibration is normally done by using the siglevdetcal(1) application. To be able to
do a correct calibration, it must be possible to open the squelch so that only noise is
received. The antenna cable should be disconnected or a dummy load should be used.
WARNING: Before starting the siglevdetcal application, pull the PTT cable since the PTT
might get triggered during the calibration procedure.
The siglevdetcal utility will also measure the CTCSS tone SNR offset so that the
CTCSS_SNR_OFFSETS config variable can be set up to a proper value.
If the siglevdetcal application cannot be used for some reason, the manual procedure below
might be used. This procedure will only work for a receiver with unsquelched audio. Note:
To calibrate a remote receiver it must be connected to the SvxLink server. Otherwise the
squelch will not open.
1 Connect a dummy load or disconnect the antenna from the transceiver. If you
disconnect the antenna, make sure to also disconnect the PTT.
2 Set SIGLEV_SLOPE=1 and SIGLEV_OFFSET=0 and restart SvxLink.
3 Open the squelch so that there is only noise coming into SvxLink.
4 Use a second transceiver to make a short, unmodulated transmission. Release the
PTT when the "Squelch OPEN" message is printed. Repeat this for about five
times.
5 Calculate the mean diff (open level - close level) and the mean lower (squelch
close) value. Make sure to use at least four significant digits in your
calculations.
6 SIGLEV_SLOPE = 100 / (mean diff)
7 SIGLEV_OFFSET = - (mean lower) * SIGLEV_SLOPE
8 After changing SIGLEV_SLOPE and SIGLEV_OFFSET, restart SvxLink and check to see
that the squelch open value is now around 100 and the squelch close value is
around 0.
STATE PTY FORMAT
The format of the output from the state PTY is:
<timestamp> <context>:<event name> <event data>
where the different parts mean:
timestamp = <seconds since 1 jan 1970>.<milliseconds>
context = Name of context
event_name = Name of event
event data = Event specific data
An event must be all on one line so there must be no line breaks. JSON event data in the
examples below use line breaks to be easier to read.
Pretty printing events containing JSON formatted event data can be done using the
following one-liner.
awk '{ print "{\"name\":\"" $2 "\",\"time\":\"" strftime("%c", $1) "\",\"data\":" $3 "}"; fflush() }' /dev/shm/state_pty | jq .
The following specific events exist.
Tx:state
Report the state for a transmitter. The event specific data is a JSON object.
Example:
{
"id": "T",
"name": "Tx1",
"transmit": false
}
where the different fields mean:
name = Configuration file section name for transmitter
id = The transmitter ID from configuration
transmit = Set to true if the transmitter is transmitting
Voter:sql_state
Report the state of all squelches and signal levels for all receivers. The event
specific data is a JSON array containing an object for each receiver. Example:
[
{
"name": "Rx1",
"id": "E",
"enabled": true,
"sql_open": true,
"active": true,
"siglev": 59
},
{
"name": "Rx2",
"id": "R",
"enabled": true,
"sql_open": true,
"active": false,
"siglev": 33
},
{
"name": "Rx3",
"id": "D",
"enabled": false
}
]
where the different fields mean:
name = Configuration file section name for receiver
id = The receiver ID from configuration
enabled = Set to true if the receiver is enabled
sql_open = Set to true if the squelch is open
active = Set to true if the receiver is the active one, selected by the voter
siglev = The measured signal level
FILES
/etc/svxlink/svxlink.conf (or deprecated /etc/svxlink.conf)
The system wide configuration file.
~/.svxlink/svxlink.conf
Per user configuration file.
/etc/svxlink/svxlink.d/*
Additional configuration files. Typically one configuration file per module.
AUTHOR
Tobias Blomberg (SM0SVX) <sm0svx at svxlink dot org>
REPORTING BUGS
Bugs should be reported using the issue tracker at https://github.com/sm0svx/svxlink.
Questions about SvxLink should not be asked using the issue tracker. Instead use the group
set up for this purpose at groups.io: https://groups.io/g/svxlink
SEE ALSO
svxlink(1), remotetrx(1), siglevdetcal(1), devcal(1)