Chirp with Kenwood TM-D710G on Linux +APRS

unsung

Active member
I have been a Tech for one week now and testing for General in April.

I am trying to get my radio programmed and having some issues.

First problem was solved partially which was a no connection issue and found that solution here.

https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Connection_Issues_using_Ubuntu

I am using Linux Ubuntu for my dedicated vehicle laptop, so that leaves out the option of the Kenwood software and the RT software.

I am now able to get past the error message described above but after I “download from radio” nothing pops up. I would have expected a progress bar followed by a blank Chirp file but it doesn’t give me that.

Wondering if anyone knew of a fix? I haven’t been able to find it with a search anywhere.


Problem #2 is when I beacon out APRS I am not showing on any of the APRS apps. My GPS updates my location and I don’t see an obvious problem on the radio. I am using aprs.fi as my app for this, APRS Droid is not available on iPads and it also looks like it hasn’t been supported in a while. I used a youtube link for the APRS setup and it seems to be working on the radio end. Wondering about a fix there as well.


Thanks!
 

Airmapper

Inactive Member
Problem #2 is when I beacon out APRS I am not showing on any of the APRS apps. My GPS updates my location and I don’t see an obvious problem on the radio. I am using aprs.fi as my app for this, APRS Droid is not available on iPads and it also looks like it hasn’t been supported in a while. I used a youtube link for the APRS setup and it seems to be working on the radio end. Wondering about a fix there as well.

You may not be reaching an i-Gate. This could either be a configuration (path) issue or you simply are not in range of one. Look at your local infrastructure and let us know if you are confident you should reach a nearby digipeater or i-Gate and work from there. If it's 20 miles to the nearest bit of infrastructure, and terrain in between, you may not be getting the packet through. If you have one 5 miles away and nothing but fields in between, you might have a config issue.

One issue I've run into is even individuals who host digipeaters will sometimes, either by ignorance or indifference, set them up improperly and they won't pass packets as they should. I know of some stations that quite literally do nothing other than spam their own packet to APRS-IS every 15 minutes and that is the only thing they do, but use a digipeater icon and comment saying they are a digipeater or i-Gate.

In other words, sometimes you can do everything right, and it's the other guys equipment screwing with you.
 

unsung

Active member
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This isn’t my area but I will be going through there. It shows icons that I do not have. I only have a few weather stations around me and an APRS Gateway Station 28 miles away and a House that says APRS station 17 miles away. The closest thing that shows up is an APRS weather station 10 miles away.

Does it matter which I go through?
 

Airmapper

Inactive Member
This isn’t my area but I will be going through there. It shows icons that I do not have. I only have a few weather stations around me and an APRS Gateway Station 28 miles away and a House that says APRS station 17 miles away. The closest thing that shows up is an APRS weather station 10 miles away.

Does it matter which I go through?

Sounds likely you just are not reaching a station to pass your packet to the internet from home. While not always the case, usually weather stations don't act as i-Gates. A house is someones home station, likely transmit only. Green star icons are usually digipeaters, and black diamonds are usually i-Gates. Not everyone follows the commonly understood icon assignments though, and some stations serve multiple functions.

Some digipeater setups are hosted on large antennas and have excellent coverage, sometimes it's just on someones roof, depends on who has access to what as it's all voluntary.

Unless you custom make a path, your packet will travel by whatever path is available. I'll have to look up the nomenclature again but the default path usually has your packet get forwarded once or twice. Any i-Gate in that area will pass it to the internet so you see it on the app. This all depends on what can hear you.

If you feel confident it's set up properly by the manual, with your callsign and suffix in there, do a drive around then look at aprs.fi and see what made it through. But remember, aprs.fi is the internet side of APRS, it is designed to work independently of the internet so just because you don't see it on the internet doesn't mean it's not working as intended.

Just to clarify, are you just looking in the app to see if you are showing up or do you have a physical cable link between the radio and your iPad? The Kenwood D710 is a stand alone APRS station. It can interface with a computer device but it does not need to. If you have a physical link and are not showing up it can get very technical very fast, if you are relying on the internet to close the loop, your depend on other people's hardware, and it's probably just your location is not favorable for that.

If @dreadlocks or @DaveInDenver are around you might be fortunate enough to get a response from them. They are better versed in this than I am on many technical aspects.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
If your radio has not been programed then there is nothing to download I think? have you tried pulling in some of the repeater database configs?

are you using the TNC in the kenwood or piping audio out externally to your laptop and running TNC on it?
 

unsung

Active member
Sounds likely you just are not reaching a station to pass your packet to the internet from home. While not always the case, usually weather stations don't act as i-Gates. A house is someones home station, likely transmit only. Green star icons are usually digipeaters, and black diamonds are usually i-Gates. Not everyone follows the commonly understood icon assignments though, and some stations serve multiple functions.

Some digipeater setups are hosted on large antennas and have excellent coverage, sometimes it's just on someones roof, depends on who has access to what as it's all voluntary.

Unless you custom make a path, your packet will travel by whatever path is available. I'll have to look up the nomenclature again but the default path usually has your packet get forwarded once or twice. Any i-Gate in that area will pass it to the internet so you see it on the app. This all depends on what can hear you.

If you feel confident it's set up properly by the manual, with your callsign and suffix in there, do a drive around then look at aprs.fi and see what made it through. But remember, aprs.fi is the internet side of APRS, it is designed to work independently of the internet so just because you don't see it on the internet doesn't mean it's not working as intended.

Just to clarify, are you just looking in the app to see if you are showing up or do you have a physical cable link between the radio and your iPad? The Kenwood D710 is a stand alone APRS station. It can interface with a computer device but it does not need to. If you have a physical link and are not showing up it can get very technical very fast, if you are relying on the internet to close the loop, your depend on other people's hardware, and it's probably just your location is not favorable for that.

If @dreadlocks or @DaveInDenver are around you might be fortunate enough to get a response from them. They are better versed in this than I am on many technical aspects.


Yeah I am thinking I am not close enough to anything to be able to move the data. I’ll have my bumper back on by the end of next week so I will drive by one and see what happens. I have the iPad app running independently of the Kenwood.
 

unsung

Active member
If your radio has not been programed then there is nothing to download I think? have you tried pulling in some of the repeater database configs?

are you using the TNC in the kenwood or piping audio out externally to your laptop and running TNC on it?

I programmed a few memory positions manually and nothing changed. My first guess is no connection as nothing pops up on my screen that would need to be ejected to unplug, but I did manage to use terminal and write in the user command to get past the error message. It is fairly easy to program one at a time and since I don’t have too many I can go that route until I come across a solution.

I am hooked directly to the back of the 710 control panel with this cable.

Still learning so I know that wasn’t the question on TNC, I just have to learn what that is first. So probably no, haha.

 
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unsung

Active member
Thanks. I had tried that originally and I received the same error message and then read somewhere to go to the control panel. That did work but I was given another message since the Kenwood is Live I can’t save or upload.

Slow progress but at least progress nonetheless.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
The Head Unit/Control Panel is the TNC, you plug into that for APRS KISS Output if you wanna use the built in Kenwood TNC, I hooked Bluetooth up to that so I could use APRSDroid wirelessly.. the main Radio unit interface is for programming memory and controlling the radio with stuff like rigblaster,etc to control unit remotely w/software.. I just have the USB cable tucked away and take my laptop out when I wanna program new memories into it.

I didnt have much trouble w/Chirp, I just plugged it in, checked dmsg to see what serial interface it was using and then pointed it at that.. might needa make sure your user is in the serial group, could be your normal user account dont have permission to read/write to yer dongle.
 

DannyLLama

Observer
Thanks to this thread, I finally used my RT systems setup... mostly to make sure it works :) i did have to shell out another 15 bucks so that I can download their software since I have the old CD.

Anyone willing to share their memory bank for CA repeaters deserts and mountains? :D
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
dont need to when you program the memory w/Chirp.. it can connect to the repeater database and populate your memory banks automatically with no manual entry.. Ive got every single one in Colorado & Utah programmed into mine.

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