Be aware that this uses a supplied custom compiled dosbox which works with the FTDI controller to supply the required custom baudrates that the Motorola radios require. All timings and configurations have been preset and so far have worked with all tested radios. The Motorola programming packages run under this MSDOS environment.
#MOTOROLA RADIO PROGRAMMING ST PETERSBURG INSTALL#
Because it was not desirable to install the entire graphics package in the hamvoip installation, which would be necessary to run DOSBOX directly on the Pi, we instead do X11 forwarding to an X11 server where the program is displayed. The Raspberry Pi is an excellent platform to do this as it is readily available and provides a consistent environment to run the code. The hamvoip programming package uses dosbox a program to simulate MSDOS. This also could add the ability to program a radio at a remote site without being there. This works on the hamvoip Archlinux installation and can be used in conjunction with a running Allstar system in fact I have used a node on the same server while I was programming without any problems. Most would either not have the software or proper hardware.īecause of this we have implemented a novel approach that should work consistently using a Raspberry Pi, the hamvoip software, and a couple of inexpensive cables. It was widely accepted that you would need an old slow computer with a dedicated serial port to do this and trying anything else either did not work or was very finicky. One of the sticking points of using these radios has been the programming which required access to the software and more importantly a computer and hardware that was able to do it. Since the commercial changeover to narrow-band some years ago a great deal of the now unusable commercial equipment is available to the amateur community. For many years hams have been using Motorola commercial radios modified for amateur radio use.